A Dark Place, Part Five is the fifth and final issue of the Spike: A Dark Place comic book series. Written by Victor Gischler and illustrated by Paul Lee with Cliff Richards, it was originally published on January 23, 2013, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
Spike and his new demon companion are getting along really well... On Easter Island, the duo work to activate a remnant of magic to help get Morgan home. Spike has stars in his eyes, but the bugs are wary of Spike's newest friend and their master's overly relaxed attitude. Something seems off. He’s come out of his self-inflicted dark place a bit too swiftly...
- The conclusion!
- Coincides with events in Buffy Season 9.[1]
Summary[]
Spike and the bugs turn their ship around in pursuit of Morgan. Spike jumps out of the broken window and lands near where Morgan was performing her ritual to open the Hellmouth. She is standing in a circle of Moai (the Easter Island statues) and begins speaking in an ancient language. The Moai's eyes begin to glow red, and they climb out of the ground, revealing short stone bodies were submerged beneath the earth. Spike calls out to Morgan to stop, but one of the Moai hits him.
At the ship, Sebastian commands the bugs to man the battle stations to rescue Spike. Moai surround Spike as he confronts Morgan, and the statues attack both of them. The bugs blast the Moai to pieces with their ship's guns. The remaining Moai merge into one larger specimen, which knocks the ship out of the sky.
To make it easier to escape, they decide to split up though the the giant Moai only follows Spike. Meanwhile, the ship is ablaze, and the bugs decide to abandon it. However, Sebastian stays behind so that Frisky and the others can use the escape pods. Morgan turns into her winged succubus form and saves Spike. Just as they fly out of the Moai's reach, and the escape pods have jettisoned, Sebastian crashes the ship into the Moai, sacrificing himself and saving the day.
Later, the bugs inform Spike that they searched the wreckage but there was no sign of a survivor. Without their ship, they decide to stay on the Easter Island to live in a cave, away from tourist area. After Spike and the bugs say their goodbyes, he goes to talk to Morgan. She expresses regret that Spike doesn't like her back; Spike tells her to sod off, and Morgan flies away. As Spike laments the loss of his ship and crew, he wonders where to go to next: should he return to San Francisco and Buffy? At that moment, he gets a call from Angel.
Continuity[]
- The story is set between Spike's appearances in Apart (of Me), Part Two and Death and Consequences, Part Three.
- Spike travels to London to help Angel and Faith with Eyghon immediately afterward, arriving in Death and Consequences, Part Three.
- Spike declares he will return to San Francisco, but he is not ready yet. He will eventually return to watch over a deathly sick Dawn in The Core, Part One.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Angel
- Frisky
- Faith Lehane
- Morgan
- Sebastian
- Spike
- Buffy Summers (Only mentioned)
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Events[]
Locations[]
- Easter Island
- London
- San Francisco (Only mentioned)
Objects[]
Death count[]
- Sebastian, blown up with the ship.
- Nine Moai, blown up.
Behind the scenes[]
Distribution[]
- A Dark Place, Part Five was the 144th best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 13,385 sales in January 2013 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Goofs[]
- The official synopsis refer to Morgan as "Nadia."[1]
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Quotes[]
Sebastian: "What the #@%$ is that?!" |
Bug: "Sir, I believe it is an amalgam of all the smaller Easter Island statues." |
Sebastian: "I know! it was a rhetorical exclamation intended to express my panicked displeasure!" |
Morgan: "Okay, what's worse? Lots of little ones or one big one?" |
Sebastian: "I am the one dubbed by the master as Sebastian, leader of this expedition... and this is my final entry. It has been an honor to lead my crew and to serve Master Spike. Goodbye." |
Morgan: "No, I guess not. But I did mean it, Spike. We could've been this century's power couple. When I found myself disconnected from my home, I wanted to reconnect to something else. To you. But there's no way to get to you without getting past her. I can't compete with a memory." |
Spike: "Let's not gloss over the fact you jerked me around." |
Spike: "So I'm smoking my last cigarette, I've got no bugs, no ship, and no plan. And most conspicuously, no girl. Fact is, I might even sort of miss those bugs, but I won't miss tooling around in space like some half-assed astronaut." |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike #3 (Jenny Frison cover)." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on April 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--January 2013." ICv2, February 12, 2013.