No Future for You, Part One is the sixth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series. It was written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Georges Jeanty. Joss Whedon is the executive producer.
Synopsis
The second arc of our bestselling Season Eight starts here. Top creator Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man; Pride of Baghdad; Lost) takes over writing duties and dives headlong into what Faith is up to-infiltration, assassination, and nonstop Cleveland. The fugitive Slayer is given the assignment that could change her life… if Giles's specialized training doesn't make her want to end it first.[1]
Summary
Faith sits atop the 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
- Faith referes to Robin Wood as her ex, revealing their relationship ("Touched") had ended.
- Giles mentions Faith's attempts to forge a passport; she mentions having become an escaped convict for murderer after she breakout from prison ("Salvage").
- Faith sees Giles' tattoo for the first time.
- Giles refers to his past and his tattoo the Mark of Eyghon, recalling having an innocent person killed ("The Dark Age"), as Faith also had ("Consequences"; "Graduation Day, Part One").
- 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 ("Go Fish").
Appearances
Individuals
- Rupert Giles
- Xander Harris
- Faith Lehane
- Mrs. Lehane (Only mentioned)
- Renee (Only mentioned)
- Roden
- Genevieve Savidge
- Buffy Summers
- Twilight (Only in visions)
- Robin Wood
- Unidentified Slayer
Organizations and Titles
Species
Locations
Weapons and Objects
Other
Death Count
- Five vampires, dusted by Slayer Organization's Cleveland squad.
- Six vampire children, dusted by Faith Lehane.
- An unidentified Slayer, killed by Genevieve Savidge.
Behind the Scenes
Production
- The title refers to a verse from the song "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols.
- The issue features a cameo appearance from the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler from television series Doctor Who.
- Giles refers to "the great bearded wizard of Northampton", a nod to legendary comic book writer and magician Alan Moore.
Collections
- "No Future for You"
- Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 1
- Buffy Omnibus: Season 8, Volume 1
Pop Culture References
- Faith mentions the children's author Dr. Seuss and recalls her mother used to read to his book Oh, The Places You'll Go!.
- Giles wears a sweater with the image of a Yellow Submarine after the famous song and video.
- Faith tells Giles she's "the go-to girl for dirty deeds done dirt cheap"
- Gigi mentions luxury brand Louis Vuitton.
- Roden paraphrases the 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."
- Faith compares Giles' etiquette classes with the musical My Fair Lady.
- Whilst training, Xander mentions actor Kurt Russell and his roles as Captain Ron and Snake Plissken.
- When discussing their partnership, Giles asks Faith if she would like to be the Peel to his Steed, referencing the British television show The Avengers.
Other
- No Future for You, Part One was the eighth best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 96,556 sales in September 2007 at comic specialty stores.[2] It was also among the 300 best selling of October 2007.[3]
- This issue was adapted into a Season Eight Motion Comic episode.
Gallery
Cover Artwork
Preview
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?” |
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #6 No Future for You". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--September 2007" ICv2, October 14, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--October 2007" ICv2, November 16, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2018.