Whistler

"Bottom line is even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what, are we helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come, can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."

- Whistler

Whistler was the alias taken by a demon with human form who, despite its origins, served The Powers That Be. He was the one who recruited Angel to the side of good

Putting Angel on his Path
"You could become an even more useless rodent than you are right now, or you could become... someone. A person. Someone to be counted."

- Whistler to Angel

Whistler, whose real name was unpronounceable for a human as it consisted on a series of whistles, referred to his mission as "maintaining the balance between good and evil". In 1996, he was present in New York City, where he approached the vampire Angel. At the time, Angel was living on the streets, feeding on rats and refusing to come into contact with any human being, fearing to fall to his impulses and feed on one of them, as he had done in the 70's.

Whistler convinced Angel to join him on a trip to Los Angeles, where the two witnessed Buffy Summers being informed of her calling as the new Slayer, and later witnessing her first slaying. Whistler warned Angel that this new, unprepared Slayer would face serious danger. Having fallen in love with her, Angel asked Whistler to train him, to show him how to become someone to be counted on.

Two years later, Whistler, aware of the upcoming awakening of the demon Acathla, travelled to Sunnydale to seek out Angel, whom he believed was destined to stop the demon. He met Buffy at Rupert Giles' apartment, telling her he had not foreseen Angel losing his soul and she needed to be ready to do more than just fight if she wanted to stop the end of the world. Whistler's words proved true when Buffy was forced to send the re-ensouled Angel through Acathla's vortex in order to put the demon back to his eternal sleep.

Role in Universal Upheaval
"You can save the world together, but only if you're not together. You have to decide where your loyalty lies... with the girl or with the world."

- Whistler

Years later, Whistler approached Angel with the bleak news that in most possible futures he had foreseen, Angel fighting alongside Buffy would result in them losing against the coming darkness. Instead, he advised Angel to take up the mantle of "Twilight" and attempt to limit the power of the anti-Slayer factions and manipulate them by directing their actions, while also guiding Buffy toward ultimate power.



A few months after Buffy and Angel desert Twilight, and the destruction of the Seed of Wonder, the heart of magic, Whistler apparently was unable to contact the the Powers That Be, and his clairvoyant powers were no longer working properly, and he blamed Angel for not going through with the plan. He approached Pearl and Nash, a pair of half-demons who had been part of Twilight's cabal, after they had massacred all the patrons of a bar and informs them that the world which doesn't know it's dead yet, needs to evolve. The duo accepted Whistler's proposition for the sake of bringing in the next stage of evolution and getting payback on their old boss.

Attempting to find Angel, Whistler tracked him to Giles's former apartment- where Angel now lived with Faith as he attempted to complete Giles's unfinished business and find a way to bring the now-dead Giles back to life-, but only discovered Giles's aunts as Angel was currently in another dimension with Faith, Willow and Connor. Informing the Giles family that he intended to complete the ascension that Buffy and Angel had interrupted as part of a plan to save the world by evolving it to the next stage, giving the aunts a card with an address on it and telling them to tell Angel to meet him there on their 'anniversary'.

Personality and Traits
Despite the important mission he performed for The Powers That Be, Whistler remained a down-to-earth individual. He was also prone to sarcasm and irony, for which people like Angel and Buffy found him somewhat annoying. However, despite his way of relating to people, he remained a wise figure ready to offer guidance, despite not being asked to.

Following the failure of the plan to evolve the world into Twilight and the subsequent end of magic, Whistler became more short-tempered and hostile, preferring to continue with his plan in the belief that he was 'saving' the world rather than allowing Angel and others to try and tackle the problem their own way.

Powers and Abilities
"Anyway, I've seen some of the futures."

- Whistler

Whistler possessed a psychic link to the Powers That Be that allowed him to perceive potential futures. However, after the destruction of the Seed of Wonder, his powers became severely affected. During a confrontation, he displayed a degree of superhuman strength and the ability to apparently generate blue energy from his hands, although the extent and nature of this power is unclear.

Behind the Scenes

 * He was portrayed by Max Perlich.


 * Whistler was originally planned to serve as a sidekick for Angel on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff, Angel, but Joss Whedon cited schedule conflicts with Max Perlich's film career as the reason for replacing Whistler with Doyle, a similar character. Some fans contend that the "real" reason was a copyright issue with Marvel Comics, whose own character named Whistler is a sidekick to their heroic dhampir (human/vampire-hybrid), Blade.


 * Whistler was also planned to appear on the never-produced Ripper, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off detailing the adventures of Giles in England.

Appearances

 * "Becoming, Part One"
 * "Becoming, Part Two"
 * "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley"
 * "Live Through This, Part One"
 * "Live Through This, Part Four"
 * "Family Reunion, Part Two"
 * "The Hero of His Own Story"