-Top Ten, Greatest Angel battles-
By Wolverine68

For centuries, Angel has battle the badest of the bad, and the ugliest of the ugly. These vile villians have included vampires, ninja demons, ninja cyborgs, demon monks, werewolves, armies, tribunals, mobsters, vampire slayers, and aliens. He has even faced doctors, lawyers, an evil mind warping shroud, ancient demons, a higher being, a life sucking tree, and traveled to other dimensions. All to save us.

Here is my list of the most memorial battles that Angel & friends have endured on the show throughout the span of 5 years. I am mostly basing this off of how well the fight scene was scripted & the use of special effects. However some that have great moral purpose or plot are included as well.

10-HEARTTHROB (writiten by David Greenwalt)

Angel batles a vampire from his past, who is out for revenge on Angel after his lover was killed. But there is a catch, this vampire has found a way to become invincible, not stakes, fire, or even sunlight will kill him. Angel must battle him continuously until the duration of invunerabilty expires.

9-ORPHEUS (writiten by Mere Smith)

While Willow battles an evil an evil entity that posseses Cordelia to restore Angel’s soul, Angel fights a battle wthin himself. One against his alter ego Angelus. This fight was major let down in some ways. I felt it should have had Angel beat Angelus at the moment his soul was restored, but the writter or director went with his battle being more to convince Faith to keep fighting, rather then overcoming Angelus. Even with that, it was still awsome to see these two fight it out, but cause it disapointed me it only gets ranked at ten.

8-THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE PLRTZ GLRB (writiten by David Greenwalt)

While attemting to rescue Codelia from Pylia, Wesley gets stuck in a revolt against the government run by evil priests. Angel offers his help by challenging the champion of the land; the undefeated Groosalug. Unfortunatly the only way he can beat the Groosalug is by turning into a vampire, and in this dimension he has little control over the dark part of himself. The last ime he accessed the demon he lost control, and attack his friends. This time, however, he overcomes it.

7-THAT VISION THING (writiten by Jeffrey Bell)
Angel fights Skip, a funny but tough skinned demon who also works for the powers of good, in order to save Cordelia from false visions sent by their friends at Wolfram & Hart. At one point, Skip get caught in prison flames, Angel pulls him out and asks if he’s ok. Skip nods, and Angel says “sorry aobut this,” then knocks Skip unconcious. (Skip turns out to be a reoccuring character, appering in 3 more episode. Even fighting Angel once more, which is a good thing.)

6-JUDGEMENT (telleplay by David Greewalt))

In order to save a pregant woman from demon after he, he steps in as her champion to the Tribunal. He fights a medievil style battle that starts horseback, and ends on the streets with swords clashing. The demon best him, turning his own sword into his chest, but he gets up and beheads him, saving the day.

5-TO SHANSHU IN L.A. (writiten by David Greenwalt)

Wolfram & Hart summons Vocah to perform a ritual to bring him over to the dark side. During his stay on Earth, Vocha puts Codelia & Wesley in the hospital. Angel then battles it out with Vocah. While he is unable to stop Lindsey from finishing the ritual, he does cut his hand off to reclaim the scroll, and is able to save Cordelia with it.

4-DESTINY (writiten by David Fury & Steven S. DeKnight)

Angel and spike are sent on a mission to find the cup of torment to declare who really is the detined vampire. The fight they wage actually spans over one act of the show. It also helps them take the 1st steps to putting their differences behind them, as they exchange much dialogue during the battle. (Buffy did say they needed to battle out their differences.)

3-RELEASE (writiten by Steven S. DeKnight, and Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain)

Faith helps Wesley track down Angelus. She fights an epic battle with him. Though she eventually losses, she tricked him to bitting her so a drug she took will tame him, and allow Angel to be restored. So, Angel’s in this one (at least not in the true sense), but this fight takes the cake for all out brutality, and deserve it’s recognition. (One of the longest fight sequences ever done, lasting most of the final act.)

2-YOU’RE WELCOME (writiten by David Fury)

Angel comes face to face with a lawyer he has faced before, but finds he has learned some new tricks. Though just a human, Lindsey has found a way of making his strength match Angel’s though a device in the Wolfram & Hart building. They fight it out in stunning display of swordmanship, where neither takes the advantage till Cordelia turns off the machine, and Angel is able to take the upper hand.

1-APOCALYPSE, NOWISH (writiten by Steven S. DeKnight)

Angel and friends track the focal point of the lastest apocalyptish actvities to a roof top. They arrive to see a hideous monster made of rock (that we know not by name, but only as The Beast), and find it to be nearly invincible. The group throws everything at it, from traditional weapons to firearms, but eventually losses. However the effort put it was spectacular, and Angel only missed winning by an inch. The fight got even better when even after everyone was down and out, Angel still got up and went a second round, only to be thrown off the roof. (And even The Beast had to nod his head in a show of respect during the fight, as he was impressed with his adversary.)

-Top Ten, Greatest Angel battles - without Angel-

So a mere top ten doesn’t begin to sum up the glory of Angel’s battles for you?
How about a look at some of the best fights that involve people other then Angel.

10 (tie)

A-THE MAGIC BULLET (writiten by Jeffrey Bell)

Jasmin controls all who see her with hypnotic love, except Fred who has escaped her spell. Little Fred, alone and no super powers, lures her into a trap, and fires a bullet into her. It doesn’t kill her, but passes through, and hits Angel, stealing the champion back to the side of good. This plot line was horrid, hence it takes a low rating, never the less it was triuphant.

B-HARM’S WAY (writiten by Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain)

Harmoney gets set up to take the blame for ruining a peace summit by by a jealous co-worker who killed the peace maker. She does alot of funny things to keep from being killed by Angel’s no tollerance policy, and eventually has to fight the vampiress who framed her. Not the best fight, but come on, girl fight, always cool. Harmoney ultimatly wins, but stakes the woman, thus destroying evidence of her innocence (lol). It was mainly good for it’s comical sense as the girls try to use chop sticks to stake each other (lmao), but was a well planned fight scene as well.

9-HELLBOUND (writiten by Steven S. DeKnight)

Spike is getting sucked into hell, more and more each day. He finds it is a man called Matthias Pavayne (aka “The Reaper”), who is sending others to hell to eternally prevent his own decension. Spike finds out and battle him, while Fred builds a machine to rematerialize him. He beats Pavayne with his own tricks, and traps him in Fred’s machine, sacrificing his chance to become corporeal. (In one really cool part of this fight, you see The Reaper & Spike beating each other up, whille walking through a desk.)

8-SALVAGE (writiten by David Fury)

Faith tracks down the escaped Angelus, but he leads her into a trap, where she has to face The Beast. Angelus technically takes part in this, but leaves most of the action to the other two. The fight is really one sided, The Beast throws her around like a pillow, and ultimatly demolishes her, but she puts up a good display of courage. (The ironic part is that the only reason she survived is cause Angelus jumped in, and killed The Beast. Of course Faith then had to use her wit to best Angelus, as she was teribly wounded.)

7-PLAYERS (writiten by Jeffrey Bell and Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain)

Electro girl Gwenn tricks Gunn into help her steal a device called L.I.S.A., by telling him it’s a kidnapped girl. The device has the power to shut off her electric power, and let her touch other people. She set him up, as he grabs the girl, she goes for the device, and he has to fight off two guards in martial arts fashion.

6-A NEW WORLD (writiten by Jeffrey Bell)

Connor returns (with a vengence) from Quar-toth. He goes on a rampage, flees the hotel, and hops a bus (literally). He encounters a scene on the street between a woman, and her drug delear. He intervens on her behalf, and gets in a fight with a gang. At 1st he takes a cheap shot from a crowbar. But he makes a comeback, and has the last laugh by cutting the dealer’s ear off.

5-GUISE WILL BE GUISE (written by Jane Espenson)

While Angel is away on a quest to find himself, Wesley is forced to impersonate him. He protect a rich warlocks daughter, Virginia Bryce, and sure enough is attacked. The 1st time he sends the hired hitmen away with words, the second time they catch him by suprise, and he fights them off. (Laughably, at the end Virgina say “you were amazing.” To which he replies “I was, a bit.”)

4-DEEP DOWN (writiten by Steven S. DeKnight)

After spending all summer, looking for a missing Angel, Gunn & Fred find themselves in a fight against a bunch of vamp who don’t lilke “warm bloods” hasseling them. They fight the vampires, and win, but that is not the spectacular part. It’s that one gets Gunn’s axe and throws it at Fred, there is nothing they can do to stop it, but the super fast Connor shows up, grabs it, and hurls it back at the vampire, beheading him.

3-ORIGIN (writiten by Drew Goddard)

Connor battles it out with Sahjahn, as some prophecy said he would. For the 1st part he gets his but kicked. But after he regains his memories he turns the table, and in a few spectacualr moves leaves the demon beheaded. (This kid has issues, he’s heavily into beheading.)

2-WAR ZONE

A young woman gets follow down the street by 3 vampires, and seemingly cornered. A hero arrives to save her, but it’s not Angel. One of the vampires looks up and says “you!?” The camera then tilts from feet to head, and eventually see it is Charles Gunn a vampire hunter on the streets, and he has an army behind him. They fight, and kill all but one vamp, who escapes. What makes this scene so great is that it is played off as if it was Angel to the rescue, they had Gunn dressed in similar dark cltohing and even played his music, but it wasn’t.

1-LINEAGE (writiten by Drew Goddard)

Wesley’s own father infiltrates Wolfram & Hart to take control of Angel. It all comes down to a confrontation of the roof, where they each point loaded guns at each other. When Mr. Wyndam Price attempts to take Fred hostage, Wesley, well, blows his father away. (The good news for Wes, is it turns out to be a Cyborg, the bad news is he still feels guilty. Cheer up Wes, the guy was a jerk.)

(Thank you for reading.
And thanks to all the writters for 5 years of one of the best shows ever.)
A special thanks to Mike Massa, the stunt double for David Boreanez and stunt coordinator, for making all this happen.