No Future for You, Part One

No Future for You, Part One
Publication	September 05, 2007
Length	23 pages
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #6
← Previous	The Chain
Next →	No Future for You, Part Two
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Writer(s)	Brian K. Vaughan
Penciller(s)	Georges Jeanty
Editor(s)	Scott Allie
Cover artist(s)	Jo Chen Georges Jeanty
Inker(s)	Andy Owens
Colorist(s)	Dave Stewart
Letterer(s)	Richard Starkings & ComiCraft's Jimmy Betancourt

"No Future for You, Part One" is the sixth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series, and part of the Season Eight meta-series.

Synopsis

Faith sits atop the Art Deco Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland, smoking. After somewhat cynically reminiscing that her mother used to read Oh, The Places You'll Go! to her as a child, she receives a telephone call from Robin Wood. Wood and his "squad" are taking care of a vampire nest, but he tells Faith that one of the vampires they staked used to be a single mother. After asking Faith to go check on the children, he attempts to make small talk, revealing the two are no longer together, but Faith cuts short. Faith arrives at the dead woman's house and finds six children, all vampires. After quickly dusting them, she heads back to her apartment.

She finds Rupert Giles waiting for her and drinking tea. Giles needs Faith for a dangerous mission with high stakes. If she succeeds, he will give her a passport to anywhere, with a new name and an early retirement. Faith agrees, and finds out Giles wants her to kill a rogue Slayer for whom there is no hope of rehabilitation.

Lady Genevieve, the Slayer in question, is seen training with a warlock, Roden. They had captured another Slayer, whom Genevieve hunts and kills savagely with no sign of guilt, later demanding that the training be completed.

Giles trains a reluctant Faith to pass as an English aristocrat, so that she can crash Lady Genevieve's 19th birthday party and assassinate her.

In Scotland, Buffy and Xander are training. After Buffy questions him, Xander states that he needs to train so he can be Renee's sparring partner. After Buffy makes fun of his love interest, she stares blankly at the symbol of twilight which they had previously found. Buffy confides that she had a recurring nightmare in which a monster says "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen" and then devoures her.

Back in England, Faith is dressed for the party while Giles gives her a last-minute quiz in etiquette. Faith appears at the top of the stairs in an elegant gown, ready to leave for the party, and asks Giles if things are all right, to which Giles responded that things are "five by five."

Continuity

• The events took place after "The Chain" and before "No Future for You, Part Two".

• After training, Xander puts on a Sunnydale High School's swim team T-shirt; years earlier Xander had previously joined the swim team to investigate the deaths of some of its members .
• This issue reflects on the deterioration of Buffy and Giles' relationship which started two years earlier .
• Giles' tattoo from his demon-worshipping youth, the mark of Eyghon, makes a rare appearance.

Appearances

Individuals

• Faith Lehane
• Robin Wood
• Rupert Giles
• Lady Genevieve Savidge
• Roden
• Xander Harris
• Buffy Summers
• Twilight

Organizations and Titles

• Slayer Organization
• Scooby Gang
• Twilight Group

Species

• Human
• Slayer
• Vampire
• Gargoyle

Locations

• Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
• London, England, U.K.
• Scotland, U.K.

Weapons and Objects

• Stake

Death Count

• Five vampires, dusted by Robin Wood's Slayer squadron
• Six vampire children, dusted by Faith
• a Slayer, killed by Genevieve Savidge

Behind the Scenes

Trivia

• Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan collaborated in breaking down the story, before Vaughan penned the four-part story individually. There were some presumptions that Vaughan would have difficulty writing the characters' dialogue, given that he wasn't a member of the TV series' writing staff. Despite this, Vaughan proved otherwise. Whedon himself was compelled to tell Vaughan what great lines he had written to Faith specifically.
• In the opening panels, Faith is supposedly in Cleveland, but the skyline in the background is Cincinnati, Ohio. Notable in the background is Carew Tower, Scripps Center, and PNC Tower.

Collections

• No Future for You
• Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 1

Pop Culture References

• Giles wears a sweater with the image of a Yellow Submarine after the famous Beatles song and video.
• The issue features a cameo appearance from the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler from British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
• The title refers to a verse from the song "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols. Other rock song lyrics are mentioned by characters as well: Faith tells Giles she's "the go-to girl for dirty deeds done dirt cheap," whereas Roden paraphrases Pink Floyd's song "Another Brick in the Wall" with the phrase "as a wise man once said, you can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat."
• Whilst training, Xander makes reference to Snake Plissken, the eye-patch wearing anti-hero of Escape from New York.
• When discussing their partnership, Giles asks Faith if she would like to be the Peel to his Steed, referencing the popular British television show The Avengers. Faith then asks him if that is as gross as it sounds.

• Giles refers to "the great bearded wizard of Northampton": a nod to legendary comic book writer and magician Alan Moore.

Quotes

“	Faith Lehane: "You can skip the friendly uncle routine. I ain’t your beloved Buffy, I’m the go-to girl for dirty deeds done dirt cheap, right? So what do you need me to kill?"
- No Future for You, Part One		”

“	Rupert Giles: "Five by Five"
- No Future for You, Part One		”