Illyria (Angel)

Interviews have revealed that had there been a sixth season of Angel, Illyria would have used Fred's appearance more often.[3] This would have led to an identity crisis, according to Joss Whedon.^[4]

In the canonical comic Angel: After the Fall, it is confirmed Illyria survived the final battle against the Senior Partners.^[5]

Literature

Illyria appears substantially in the comic books published by IDW Publishing following Angel's series finale. Several titles featuring Illyria have nothing or very little to do with the larger Buffy and Angel franchise. Until the advent of the canonical comics of 2007, most Illyria stories were set during Season Five of Angel. The comic book Illyria: Spotlight (2006) by Peter David depicts Illyria's encounters with Fred's friends and family, and she begins to cry when she watches home movies of Fred's life; she later asserts to Wesley that she feels no regret. Peter David also published an Illyria crossover with his own comic book, Fallen Angel. In volume one of Fallen Angel Reborn (2009), set in Season Five, Illyria is transported to the dimension of Bete Noire where she attempts to reclaim her lost power; flashbacks depict her battle with the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart as well as other Old Ones; in the present day, she faces the series' heroine Liandra. Illyria appears on the cover of each issue. In the miniseries Spike: Shadow Puppets, she appears in flashbacks and as puppet in the narrative of that story, a sequel to Season Five episode "Smile Time".

In canonical comics, she first appears in the second issue of Angel: After the Fall, the official Angel continuation. The spin-off miniseries Spike: After the Fall charts Illyria's journey between "Not Fade Away" and Angel: After the Fall. All After the Fall stories are written by Brian Lynch, who receives substantial input from creator Joss Whedon. In Angel: After the Fall, Los Angeles has been sent to hell by Wolfram & Hart. Illyria is established as the Demon Lord of Beverly Hills, and working with Spike saves innocents by placing them in Connor's care. Spike: After the Fall details their acquisition of Lord status. Throughout the series, Illyria features temporary reversions to her Fred state as the hell dimension causes her powers to go out of control. Later, when Gunn (now a vampire) kills the last of her memories of Fred, these stop, and she reverts to her primordial form and begins savaging Los Angeles. Telepathic fish Betta George is able to fill her with Spike and Wesley's memories of Fred, and Fred's humanity causes her to stop. Though Wolfram and Hart reverts time to before they destroyed Los Angeles, Illyria retains the memories of her experiences like everyone else. Illyria guards a hospitalized Gunn — human once more — in his hospital bed from angry demons, and her new memories of Fred make her crisis of humanity even more apparent. The two depart Los Angeles and encounter an Old One from her past. In IDW's ongoing Angel series, Illyria attempts to seduce Connor as part of her mating cycle. She fails due to Connor's reluctance. At one point she makes clear to Angel that while she's not and never will be Fred, like him, she's a formerly evil being trying to redeem their past sins.^{[citation needed]}

In the comic Illyria: Haunted (2011), Illyria begins having nightmares consisting of Fred's memories. She reaches out to an emotionally unavailable Angel and finds no comfort. Illyria then seeks out Spike for advice. He believes she should return to the Deeper Well for answers and comfort. She then, in an unprecedented show of humility, formally asks Spike for help. Spike takes Illyria to Sally, a Frellian demon who grants favors for a price. She sends them to retrieve a charm from a potential suitor of hers, and then opens a portal for Illyria to the Deeper Well. Illyria quickly dispatches the Vastari demons guarding the entrance and enters to find the new guardian is a rare matriarchal demon. The new guardian sends two Yastigilian Hounds to attack Illyria, unaware that Illyria has the knowledge to control them. Illyria explains that they are kindred species. She is granted access to the Deeper Well but is warned not to touch anything. Illyria finds nothing but Gylphs on the wall where her coffin once was and begins smashing things in disappointment. Drawn to a gem on the wall, she touches it and is magically enlightened to her new place in the world, unaware that she has accidentally released a former rival old one, Arsgomor. Illyria attempts to both fight and reason with Arsgomor until he kills one of her new Yastigilian pets. Illyria commands the local plant life to subdue Arsgomor and then degenerates him to a fetal form. She releases this new baby Arsgomor to the new guardian and returns to L.A. with her pet Yastigilian hound, Pancakes. She then uses her restored powers to open a dimensional portal and go traveling.

Subsequent to the above story, the rights to Angel characters were transferred from IDW to

The full scope of Illyria's power is unknown, and probably unlimited. When Illyria takes over her new "shell," she possesses tremendous physical strength, far superior to that of most vampires, demons, or Slayers. Spike likens a blow from Illyria to being hit by a Mack Truck. Her strength, reflexes, and agility make her a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Illyria uses an ancient fighting style that Spike compares to Tae Kwon Do and (fictional) Brazilian Ninjitsu. Although Spike's adaptability gives him an occasional advantage, Illyria dominates their sparring sessions. Her skin is a hardened shell, providing her body with a heavy armor capable of withstanding blows from forged weapons, such as swords or axes. In the episode "Time Bomb", she managed to single-handedly kill Spike, Wesley, Lorne and Angel in a matter of seconds, a testament of her prowess in combat.^{[citation needed]}

Illyria is aided in combat by her ability to selectively alter time, which allows her to easily dodge both attacks and bullets; she can accomplish a goal and leave an area before her opponent even realizes she has moved. She has only been shown altering the flow of time to produce a slow motion effect, though it is possible that she can alter time in other ways. She can also open interdimensional portals. In the episode "

Illyria can alter her physical appearance on a basic level, and she is capable of recreating Fred's persona accurately enough to fool Fred's parents. She tells Wesley that she can take any form she chooses. Illyria has empathic abilities that allow her to perceive the emotional states of others. She was, for instance, capable of sensing Connor's lust for her and Wesley's frustration with Angel, as well as his grief over Fred's death. Illyria communicates with flora, often spending hours at a time communing with a plant. She is also capable of distinguishing humans (or "primitives") from demons, vampires, and other non-human life forms.^{[citation needed]}

Illyria retains the insights from her experiences as an

In her/its natural form, Illyria is a massive genderless cephalopod-like monster, similar to Lovecraft's Cthulhu, with inhuman size and numerous tentacles, with all of her powers at full capacity.^{[citation needed]}

Powers diminished

After being drained by the Mutari generator, Illyria's abilities are significantly diminished. Her physical strength is decreased (although retaining a high level of strength, well above that of Slayers,

In the series Angel: After the Fall, Illyria's powers behave erratically and are closer to their full potential. Early in the series, she was shown to hold herself unarmed against a grown dragon at full strength, enduring a blast of fire from its mouth and being swallowed by it without visibly losing her taste for the fight – all this while sporting a stab wound to the torso from Angel which seemed to only offend and irritate as opposed to hurt her.