WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Angel #8, by Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov and Roman Titov, on sale now
The new version of the Buffyverse has been making tweaks to certain characters and motivations, pushing certain elements of the series into surprising and exciting directions. Sometimes the characters have gone down radically unexpected paths, taking them either away from their previous form or pushing their story arcs forward in quick, unexpected ways. The latest comes in the newest issue of the "Hellmouth" crossover, with the vampiric Spike joining the heroes far earlier than he did in the original canon.
TAKING THE LIMELIGHT
With Angel still MIA in the Hellmouth, it's up to Spike and Gunn to rescue Fred from the grasp of Wolfram & Hart. Although both end up working together on the orders of Lilith, they are still clearly uneasy around one another. Gunn, in particular, seems wary of Spike -- which makes sense given his own experience with vampires. Spike just keeps making things worse though, by teasing out many of the details of Angel's past as a murderer before he tried to become a good guy. But Spike tries to keep working with him, even seeming to take a liking to Gunn over the course of their mission together.
He makes sure to save Gunn when they are attacked by Wolfram & Hart, taking all the shots intended for them both. Spike even warns Gunn to give him space after he murders the attacker, giving him time to tame the berserker vampire mode he'd just entered. He seems to develop a genuine fondness for Gunn, promising not to kill him. When they arrive at Wolfram & Hart, they're shocked to find piles of body and a terrified Fred. Realizing that Wolfram & Hart will still target them, Spike decides to ignore Angel's earlier warning to leave Los Angeles so he can help protect the city.
BECOMING A HERO
This is actually a major shift for Spike from the pre-established canon. In the original Buffyverse, Spike was a full-blown villain for most of the second season of the show. He betrayed Angelus to help Buffy save the world though, stealing away into the night with Drusilla. But she left him and Spike ended up back in Sunnydale where (through a series of strange events) he became a reluctant ally to Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies.
It's during this time that he realizes he's in love with her, and sets out to become a good guy and thus the kind of person she might be more attracted to. He even regained his soul for her, with the two eventually forming an on-again-off-again romantic relationship. A lot of his positive character development came directly in service of that goal, and it was an important direction for the character to take on his way to becoming a hero. This even carried over into his time in Angel and in the original spin-off comics, cementing Spike as a good man.
But in the new continuity, while he's met Buffy already he's hardly in love with her. She hasn't had a major impact on him, at least not one that can be seen. At most, he's currently angry at Drusilla for using him as the "sacrifice" to help open the Hellmouth. More than his relationship with Buffy, the new take on Spike seems to instead be playing up another element of Spike's personality -- his snarky and spiteful relationship with Angel. The bickering between the pair became a consistent element of his time on Angel, especially as the rest of Angel's crew was picked off or taken down by the forces of Wolfram & Hart. Here, Spike is almost gleeful to be fighting in Angel's stead, taking on the role of hero with a far more swagger and enjoyment than his television counterpart. It's an interesting way to take the character, shifting his most important relationship from Buffy to Angel.
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