Five by Five. Another piece of Buffy Season 8 is put in place with the conclusion of the Faith arc in “No Future for You” Part 4. A slayer will die, Giles will kill, and Faith with get an offer she can’t refuse. Oh, and there’s a cameo by everyone’s favorite former mayor of Sunnyville. If that’s not enough to make you pick-up this issue I honestly don’t know what to say.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #9
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“No Future for You” part 4 brings the end of Faith‘s story arc, but thankfully not the end of our beloved “bad” slayer. The final chapter starts with a memory of Faith and Mayor Wilkins. Equally parts sweet and creepy it reminds us again just how fucked up this girl has gotten over her short life (and what a terrific villain the Mayor really was). From there we jump right into a slayer vs. slayer battle and some magic thrown in too (see Giles isn’t just watching anymore as he lets a little of the old Ripper loose).
We also see Buffy and Giles haven’t completely made up after the Spike incident from Season Seven and glimpse a new partnership between Giles and Faith which might be something worth pursuing in future issues. And we finally get a peek at the name and face of this season’s big bad – Twilight (okay, so it’s the masked face, but that’s something right!). From the short ending scene with his minion we are given more hints about his plans and the lengths he will go to obtain his goal, the “coming purge,” and the focus of all his plans – the death of Buffy Summers.
In many ways Faith is a more compelling character than Buffy and I’m glad she got her own story arc here, but is some ways I wish they would spin her off in her own book which could deal more in-depth with emotionally screwed-up sex pistol who can take care of the world, but isn’t quite sure how to take care of herself. And I must admit I loved the flashback and always enjoy some of Mayor Wilkins.
We get what we need from this issue. Although there are no surprises there’s plenty of hurt to go around including Buffy’s bruised ego at Giles’ dismissal, Faith once again forced into a role she seems uniquely suited for, and, finally, the appearance of our villain. It’s not all it could be, but it moves the season along and with Whedon returning for the next issue it looks like a promising new year, maybe not for Buffy herself (knowing Whedon’s joy in putting his beloved creation through pain), but definitely for her fans.