Boys and Their Toys, Part One

"Boys and Their Toys, Part One" was the twenty-sixth issue of the Angel comic book series.

Synopsis
Angel is watching the Hollywood movie version of the Fall of Los Angeles called Last Angel in Hell starring Nicholas Cage as Angel Cartwright. Angel walks out, disappointed by the inaccuracy of the film compared to what really happened. Flashing back to how he got here, Angel remembers meeting Connor, Kate and Groosalugg in his office at the Hyperion Hotel. They came to the convention to retrieve the Flaming Sword that Gunn used to kill Angel in hell. Groo starts to say that they don't know where the sword is, until Connor interrupts, saying it's at the San Diego Sci-Fi Festival and that "Seriously, you guys have to embrace the Internet."

Back at the convention, Angel overhears a security guard telling a British accented man that there is no smoking in the lobby. Looking behind him, he sees Spike telling the guard that the cigarette is part of his costume. After the guard leaves, Angel asks Spike why he is here. He says that he was curious about the film and is amused that his film counterpart is a "stunning" girl. A guy in the auditorium dressed as a wizard starts complaining that the only thing accurate about the film was the fact that Los Angeles was sent to hell. Spike recognizes the voice and takes a closer look. The guy turns out to be Jeremy Johns; he claims that he hung out with Spike in hell, that he saved his life and anyone else he could, and that "I'm 95% sure he was a dude". Jeremy continues to rant, saying that he never met Angel, but Spike told him that they have never officially dated and that he considers Angel like an older brother, to which Spike mutters "Jerry must have been high on Hell-Fumes". The convention kicks Jeremy out of the building, and Angel and Spike approach him. Jeremy is enthusiastic to see Spike and hugs him. Then he shakes hands with Angel while still hugging Spike. Angel answers his cell phone while Jeremy states that Angel got his name right the first time and Spike says "You can let go of me."

Groo calls Angel to tell him he is first in line at the auction and has seen the sword. He also notes that a group of demons dressed as brightly colored teddy bears are plotting to purchase the sword and kill Angel with it. Angel tells Groo that he'll find a way inside unnoticed and hangs up. Spike says he wants to join in, but Angel says that he is not subtle enough to go in unnoticed and that if people know him, they will know Spike too. Spike says loudly that there are people everywhere dressed as them. Angel says that what Spike is doing now is the exact opposite of subtle. Spike says that now he can do what ever he wants and that it is freaking him out and that he's never had a blank slate. Eventually, Angel decides to let Spike come along. Jeremy comes up to them, saying that if they want to get in unnoticed, they should do what everyone else is doing: go in costume. He says that the convention is giving costumes away like a charity.

In the background, two venders dressed as a super hero and a ninja are satisfied that people are willingly accepting their costumes and that what they are doing will be a big deal. One of them takes out a two faced bust of Janus and performs the same spell Ethan Rayne did in Sunnydale on Halloween, 1997. Meanwhile, Groo engages the teddy bear demons. They overpower him until Jeremy, dressed as a Kung Fu Master, Spike dressed as Angel, and Angel dressed as "She-Spike" join in. Angel takes off his mask because of the limited line of vision and yells at Spike to do the same. Then as Angel prepares to face off with one of the demons, he turns to see an oversized teddy bear instead, which hugs him. Shoving the bear aside, Angel asks Groo what is going on. Looking around, they realize that everybody at the convention has turned into what they were dressed as. Mostly super heroes. They hear Spike say that he will find the source, then sulk in the shadows, think about Buffy, sleep, then do the whole thing again tomorrow. Angel asks Spike what happened to his accent. Spike turns, revealing Angel style hair, saying "Spike? You're confused, friend. I'm Angel. Let's go to work." A confused Angel says "Wait, What?!"

Continuity
The story was set after "Aftermath", but before "Immortality for Dummies".

Individuals

 * Angel
 * Spike
 * Jeremy Johns
 * Groosalugg
 * Connor
 * Kate Lockley
 * Buffy Summers
 * Xander Harris
 * Andrew Wells

Locations

 * Los Angeles

Behind the Scenes

 * The spell and bust of Janus that was used to turn everyone at the convention into their costumes was the same type used by Ethan Rayne in "Halloween".
 * Angel's line "Lets go to work" is a reference to Angel's famous last words in the Angel television finale "Not Fade Away". Stephen Mooney did the artwork for both Boys and Their Toys and the adaptation comic Angel: Not Fade Away; the "Let's go to work" scenes are almost identical in layout.
 * There are several noticeable items and costumes at the convention. They include: An R2-D2 statue and two Stormtrooper outfits from Star Wars, a Cylon costume from Battlestar Galactica, an Autobot Matrix of Leadership from Transformers, the pink hoverboard from Back to the Future and a Mr. Spock costume from Star Trek. Other objects and costumes from Superman, Marvel's Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four can also be seen throughout the comic.
 * SpAngel calls the events going on a "Harmonic Divergence". This could be perceived as a reference to both his ex-girlfriend Harmony Kendall and the Season Eight comic issue named after her.

Collections

 * Angel: Last Angel in Hell (Volume Six)