Discussion of 8.04 "The Long Way Home Part 4" Released 06/05/07 (Comic)

[nerd4hire]

"Buffy's back in action, thanks to a kiss of true love, but Willow's another story entirely-their capture of Amy the witch opened up a magical trap door, and now the Wiccan is in the belly of the beast. To make matters worse, she's at the mercy of someone truly bent on revenge, and he's been waiting for this for a long time. The conclusion to Season Eight's first arc."

http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-114

[nerd4hire]

"Her magic is my skin".

What exactly does that mean? I don't know. Kind of poetic though.

**

Xander:
Oh I bet you loved hearing that.

Buffy:
How much longer.

Gotta bit of a lump in my throat there.

**

Satsu is serious this time. She doesn't wear her "rude girl" buttons, or her cat hat.

In case you haven't read this issue yet and are wondering, here's a 3 word hint. Cinnamon lip gloss.

**

He he - The Scythe. "KRHUHBOOM - Magic - It's all done with mirrors"...Huh?

**

"About two miles South of Sunnydale"... Oh no.

**

Ice Spirit (in the ethereal world):
Your body is almost dead. You can't come back from a natural death dear. Not even you.
Do You Fear?

Willow:
Did I ever tell you about my best friend?

Buffy: (Back in the real world battle):
I like to think in a way that she is a part of me. That even when she's gone a part of her is with me.

Buffy con't: (Dark eyed now as she arms with slayer-witch magic):
Cause it is.

And me gets another throat lump.

**

But continuing to type as I read...Great battle.

"And someone ask Dawn to stop jumping up and down."

**

Ah ha triple X. OK, I get it now. Someone at BB was right. I think it was Lyri.

An Ah ha again. Ethan said "Twilight is falling" last issue. Never thought I'd feel sorry for Ethan Rayne.

**

Then the ending - eerie feeling.

That's my synopsis. If you want one that makes sense, go to Wikipedia. :)

[I love Eliza Dushku]

I agree about the eerie feeling of the ending! It was pretty funny seeing Amy's mom in this issue, especially since I just watched "Witch" like 2 days ago. I am sad that we now have to wait until August for a new issue !!

[Lyri]

Ah ha triple X. OK, I get it now. Someone at BB was right. I think it was Lyri.



what did i say? i wanna know what it means now! lol. i won't get to read it for weeks!!

[nerd4hire]

It's early in the thread so I'll spoiler it this once.

Wasn't it you who said the triple x could signify the number 30?

Be warned all. No more spoiler tags after that one. If you're here, that means you want to know. ;)

[VisionGuy]

I read the summary in Wikipedia cuz I know I won't get mine for at least two weeks thanks to TFAFW or whatever.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY KILL ETHAN!!!!!!!!!

[nerd4hire]

Spoiler tags aren't really necessary now. I just wanted to give people a bit of a warning before we start laying the big reveals out in the open. :)

[Ashxking]

Her magic is my skin line means just that. AMy's magic helps Warren able to walk and move with out him feeling the ground or having air blow on his tendons and everthing else. He would be in a world of pain if all his nerves were in the open

[Evilyn]

So, I picked it up today and didn't even get out of the parking lot before I had it read.

I got a total X-Men vibe from the end when the General is explaining to Buffy why they are after her and the other slayers. He says something about Buffy creating a master race (like mutants) and that they are now at war against the human race. How much does that suck? Everything she's fought to protect is now against her.

That Satsu thing was out of left field for me. The look on Buffy's face when she realizes it's cinnamon is great.

[CharmedSlayer85]

I can't find any summary or anything for part 4 on wikipedia

[CharmedSlayer85]

Can somebody tell me what happened in the comic with a little bit more detail please, cause the summary on wikipedia was very bland and not much detail.

[Bishop Cruz]

Cool issue, the Warren retcon was kinda weak though.

I think the whole cinnamon lip gloss thing is a red herring. Looking at the blocking of the previous issues, it wasn't even clear that Satsu was IN THE ROOM when the kiss happened. In fact the last we had seen of her clearly, was in issue 2 fighting the undead. My money is still on Xander.

[Black Eye Guy]

It was a good issue, but I did prefere the last one! But it was odd that Ethen was dead! Did he's body look decomposed? I thought it did, but it looked like he was just killed?

Wonder why the military were talking with Ethen, if he was a prisioner?

I left my comic in a friends, but was it Buffy's eyes that wen't black, or willows? I thought it was buffys when I read it, but I liked all that bit!

Willow is so much more powerfull then she was before, like she healed her eye instantly! And what was with that other dimension she Entered? What were those thingm where they elements? What was the one that looked like it was made up of math stuff (going off memory)

The ending was cool!

[Bishop Cruz]

She didn't just heal her eye instantly, she was tortured for hours, and lobotomized, and she healed all of that instantly. She's barely human anymore. I wonder if that is going to change throughout the series. I mean what danger can there possibly be to Willow at this point in time. She is insanely powerful.

I'm also wondering if they are going to address, the reason that Xander still has an eye-patch (other than it looking cool.) I mean if Willow can do the Mojo she can do, regrowing Xander's eye should be cake. I think that means he has chosen to remain one-eyed. I think that could be a cool story if they explain why.

[CharmedSlayer85]

Well this is the Buffyverse I'm sure there are plenty of creatures strong enough to take on Willow. I mean Willow is the strongest human being in the world, but humans can only contain but so much power. I mean look at Illyria her new human body couldn't contain all of her godly power. And also no matter how powerful she may get if her head is chopped off she can't come back from that

[nerd4hire]

I was just thinking about the triple X clue from last issue again.

I actually made the connection XXX = 30, but then I thought, "No there's got to be more to it". Ethan quotes from Hamlet, "More antique Roman than a Dane". What could that possibly signify? Then they enter Amy's old rat cage, and Ethan starts talking about how when you enter someone's dreamscape you bring a bit of your own, so I naturally puzzled over what Amy could possibly bring from her dreamscape which would be signified by triple X.

Of course now that I know the answer it's all so obvious. More antique "Roman" = "Roman Numerals". It wasn't Amy's dreamscape bringing the Triple X symbol. It was Ethan's. Ethan's dreamscape was connected also. Double-Duh...

Joss might as well have asked for George Washington's first name. I was looking for these complex clues, and he totally sucker punched me by laying out the obvious. I must smile, and chuckle at me now. What a dummy. :lmao:

[CharmedSlayer85]

I was just thinking about the triple X clue from last issue again.

I actually made the connection XXX = 30, but then I thought, "No there's got to be more to it". Ethan quotes Hamlet, "More antique Roman than a Dane". What could that possibly signify? Then they enter Amy's old rat cage, and Ethan starts talking about how when you enter someone's dreamscape you bring a bit of your own, so I naturally puzzled over what Amy could possibly bring from her dreamscape which would be signified by triple X.

Of course now that I know the answer it's all so obvious. More antique "Roman" = "Roman Numerals". It wasn't Amy's dreamscape bringing the Triple X symbol. It was Ethan's. Ethan's dreamscape was connected also. Double-Duh...

Joss might as well have asked for George Washington's first name. I was looking for these complex clues, and he totally sucker punched me by laying out the obvious. I must smile, and chuckle at me now. What a dummy. :lmao:

Ummmmmm I don't get it

[nerd4hire]

Seriously? Hope you never do then, because if you do you're going to be kicking yourself.

Edit

Oh wait I understand why you don't get it. You haven't read # 4 yet. Ethan is being held in cell # 30. When Buffy saw the triple X last issue it was a symbol from his dreamscape, not Amy's. When Buffy puzzles over what a triple X could mean, he says he's Roman, as in Roman numerals. XXX is the Roman Numeral for 30. There were two clues telling us the number 30 was significant to Ethan.

He wanted Buffy to help him. Come to think of it why else would Ethan have been there if he didn't have a selfish motive. He's Ethan. He's not going to tell Buffy outright what he wants, because again, he's Ethan. Ethan doesn't do that.

[Tranquillity]

This one left me with more questions than it actually answered!!
Loved the drawings in this one - buffy's battle gear looks very cool. Great to see the Axe back in action. Loved the use of magic and how they made Amy think that Buffy was her mum and it turn have hit on Amy's Archilles Heel. it might come in handy now that she and warren have zapped off to who knows where. Kinda cool that they've ended up two miles south of Sunnydale - the long way home indeed.
I too would love to know a bit more about the elementals that helped Willow. Are they versions of herself or just generic spirt guides? I think Willow has gotten so powerful since the destruction of sunnydale - partially as a result of the empowerment spell, partially as a result of whatever she was doing in her absence from the gang - i'd reckon that is why she didn't fix xanders eye because, at the time she wasn't powerful enough to grow a new eye. The eye patch gives him an edge, i don't think he should be i any hurry to get the eye fixed :)
Dawn is still big! i thought for sure, with her on the cover and all, that she would get 'fixed' this issue- but i like big Dawn, so in no hurry to see her reduced in size.
And yup, kinda sux that you spend your life fighting evil on behalf of the world and its people only to have them (or a group of them) turn against you and accuse you of being the eneny and a demon!
And in the slay the critics column - i think Shawler should just chill out a little or maybe not buy the comics as they seem to be bad for his/her blood pressure.
It will be a long wait for #5 but the omnibus will be in stores mid july so that will be a nice filler.

[Evilyn]

OK, so after further research that WAS a Gamorrean Guard from Star Wars in the panel right before the XXX with Ethan in #3. N4H pointed out the people bringing their dreamscape to Buffy's dream, so who was bringing that into Buffy's dream? Was it Warren? I know he explained that Amy's magic is his skin, essentially keeping hime alive, but that doesn't tell me why Star Wars was brought into Buffy's dream. I know it means something darn it, I'm not just beating a dead horse, well....to death again.

I mean for Warren to be able to bring a Gamorrean Guard into Buffy's dreamscape, he and Amy would have to be magikally linked, big time, right? I wonder if it's like a Harry Potter type thing, where one of them has to die to kill the other one. Like you can't kill Warren, unless you kill Amy, or something to that effect.

[CharmedSlayer85]

One thing that I didn't really see anybody discuss is the ending of this comic with General Voll basically saying that once all evil is wiped out by the new slayers they fear the demon aspect of the slayer will basically try to create a new world and I think that's something that is really worth talking about. Can whatever this demon is that gives the slayer it's power really take shape? Is that even possible? And I still didn't get the comic but Buffy's reaction was it more of a "Bring it on." type of thing when Voll said you're not just fighting demons but you're fighting the entire human race or was it more of a shock type of thing like when she found out Glory was a God.

[nerd4hire]

I want to practice typing with my S 8 scans in the background, so what the heck...I'll give you that scene.

Buffy:
The Mark...

General:
Twilight...
is coming for you, for all your monstrous spawn...It all ends very soon.

Buffy:
Are you talking about the girls who are protecting the world from...

General:
Evil? Demons? Where do you think your power comes from? Oh wait: You already know
You've upset the balance girl. Do you Really think we were going to sit by and let you create a master race?

Buffy:
This isn't about demons at all is it? It's about women. It's about power, and it's about women, and you just hate those two words in the same sentence, don't you?

General:
You think it's only men want to bring you down?
You're not human. You've been to war with the demons, with The First, but believe me, you picked the wrong side 'cause God help us, if you win then you'll decide the world still isn't the way you want it, and the demon in you will say just one thing. "Slay".
We're not waiting for that to happen. We will wipe you out. Not just monsters anymore. It's you against the world. You're at war with the human race.

Buffy:
Oh...
(several frames of reaction shots, finally a stern, determined look comes over her face)
Kay.

[CharmedSlayer85]

I'm wondering if that could perhaps be true though that once the evil is vanquished the demon inside the slayer will basically cause them to attempt to murder humans, maybe that could be how all magicks and demons and such disappeared from the Earth pre-Fray. Maybe Buffy has Willow cast a spell after all the humanoid demons are killed, I don't know. Cause it does sound a little unrealistic that Buffy and her people can seemingly murder demons from around the world, considering I'm sure there are millions of vampires alone not even counting other demons....I don't know. I realize a slayer's power came from a demon but I didn't think that meant a demon was inside of them almost like a vampire.

[Evilyn]

OK, so after further research that WAS a Gamorrean Guard from Star Wars in the panel right before the XXX with Ethan in #3. N4H pointed out the people bringing their dreamscape to Buffy's dream, so who was bringing that into Buffy's dream? Was it Warren? I know he explained that Amy's magic is his skin, essentially keeping hime alive, but that doesn't tell me why Star Wars was brought into Buffy's dream. I know it means something darn it, I'm not just beating a dead horse, well....to death again.

I mean for Warren to be able to bring a Gamorrean Guard into Buffy's dreamscape, he and Amy would have to be magikally linked, big time, right? I wonder if it's like a Harry Potter type thing, where one of them has to die to kill the other one. Like you can't kill Warren, unless you kill Amy, or something to that effect.


There shoulda been a vice versa in there too. That Amy can't be killed without killing Warren.

[LawgSkrak]

Scoobies vs the world. YAY!

[Evilyn]

Okay, so I read into the Star Wars thing too much. I think that was slipped in there for the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, along with the Lando speech Andrew gave in #2.

Carry on.

[goldenboy]

Ah, I’m late to this party. Nothing much to add. A fun four issue, epic arc. Loved that last page. I like it when comics start to verge on animation with their panels.

I like the scale and pace of this story, really makes it feel like a feature film. I’d love an issue that’s just the Scoobs sitting around, talking, decompressing after a battle or something. Kinda missing all the down time, the “real life” time from the show. That all kinda went away in late Season 7. Always something to complain about, heh. Guess we are getting a dose of that with Dawn and her issues.

So, “twilight” is sort a metaphor for “balance”? Lightness/darkness, good/evil. I like that. I wanna know how large this organization is, how old it is, why Watchers and demons don’t know about it...

[CharmedSlayer85]

one thing I'm wondering that I guess I'll have to wait and see is is the balance really out of whack? Because I mean there are thousands, maybe millions of vampires around the world and other demons and evil and that's only on the Earth dimension alone, but only one slayer how is that balance? Now there are thousands and possibly millions of slayers around the world so shouldn't the scale actually now be somewhat more or less even, with the exception of the possiblity of there being evil slayers

Also not to mention the murderers and evil witches/warlocks and Wolfram & Hart so I'm not really getting the whole balance thing

[Evilyn]

I could kinda see where the balance would be out of whack with 1800 slayers. I mean one slayer can take out quite a few vamps alone. So if 1800 slayers do their jobs and pretty much wipe evil off the face of the earth, then the when other little girls are born and eventually become slayers, there will hence be more slayers than vamps or demons. And therefore more slayers than regular humans.

[nerd4hire]

On the other hand only 500 are under Buffy's control. 1300 could go Faith, or Dana.

[CharmedSlayer85]

And even those 500 under her command can still go evil and supposedly during Faith's comic arc she runs into a couple of evil slayers

[nerd4hire]

And that's kind of my point, because even with 1800 new slayers the balance of good and evil is still maintained, because the potential for good, or evil still exists in each of them.

The Twilight isn't really worried about the balance between good and evil. They're worried about who has control over how that balance is maintained. They feel they've got it, and they don't want anyone else muscling in. That's my theory.

[alexa]

Oh thanks to n4h for sorting out the tripleX thing, it's makes very simplistic sense now... Ethan is trapped in the Xs, then Buffy finds him in the initiative prison.

Ok, first of all... what the hell is Willow doing with red hair in the flashback killing Warren? This really bothers me.. I want to colour in her hair :p I'm sure someone else has pointed this out, but haven't read all the posts yet.

I really enjoyed it, still wondering about the whole Satsu thing... how long will this smooching thing be dragged out for.. I wanna know.. no wait, I need to know! :p
I'm also a bit sad Ethan died, he was just becoming interesting. I assumed he was probably kept in jail since season 4. :(
The whole Willow in the nether realm was cool.

[CharmedSlayer85]

Yeah I realized that Willow had red hair too and it made me raise an eyebrow for a second but then I got over it

[alexa]

Everyone send their comics back now!
REPRINT!!!

;) just kidding.

[Angel's vision]

I was rather intregued as to Buffy's reaction to the Army bloke when he told her she was against humanity, and also i do wish she'd stop giving Dawn a hard time, and act like her sister!
I also do not like her "Do as i say or else" attitude.

[The Chosen]

It was a great issue, I think! I think it's hitting on all the corners now. The only knitpick I have is that Georges is making Buff's head TOO BIG!

Other than that the art is amazing and I'm glad to be a Buffy fan. Oh, the writing's good, too.

[alexa]

and also i do wish she'd stop giving Dawn a hard time, and act like her sister!
I also do not like her "Do as i say or else" attitude.

I don't see how Buffy is giving Dawn a hard time? Maybe it's because I'm not a Dawn fan.. not that I hate her or anything, just indifferent. I'm not sure what people think Buffy should be doing, Dawn wont communicate with her so she can't do much if Dawn wont reach out for help (about her giant issue, and other assorted issues). But I would get how Dawn would feel extra on the outer now because Buffy's training heaps of new slayers and spending a lot of time with them. With Buffy's dream conversation with Xander she seemed worried and guilty about Dawn's issues to me.

[Angel's vision]

I was refering to issue one where she reluctantly speaks to Dawn on Xander's behalf and i was analysing the dialogue, i picked up resentment on Buffy's side as to her having to speak to her, and also Dawn was resentful at Buffy not spending enough time with her, it is down to poor communication between them both, and i felt that Buffy wasn't wasn't understanding her fully.
I wasn't trying to imply she didn't care.

[alexa]

Guess it seemed normal to me for siblings not to be looking forward to seeing each other sometimes, especially when they're giant and wont talk to you about it :p

[Angel's vision]

The reason is i think is that Dawn reckons Buffy was more interested in her Slayers then her, so she started to clam up, and be resentful, hense her refusal to talk about it, although i never got that immpression, just they were
aurguing everytime they spoke.

[GATEGOD]

Definitely another great issue!! Not as good as number 3 but still a very enjoyable issue! Sad that Warren/Amy got away. They are bringing everyone back :( except the only one who matters. Anya
haha. But I really liked it!!

[Kemy]

Well the problem is there was always some ambiguity about Warrens death, that brief moment his life was in the balance that the First exploited to take his form and the mysterious incineration that Willow didn't seem to cause.

There are rumours that Willows Astral Projection lessons in Brazil were a way to leave her body as seen in this issue and talk to Tara's spirit and that we may see that later in Season 8, not bringing her back exactly but you know.

Anya unfortunately doesn't have that margin of error, her death was pretty straightforward, knife taking her nearly in half, a mortal death and since she wasn't a Demon and D'hoffryn wanted her dead most of Season 7, no one is in a position to bring her back. Even Tara couldn't be because of the mortal death thing. *shrugs* though it would be funny if she could manifest in a limited spirit form and nag Xander from beyond the grave.

[palabravampiress]

I'm confused about the slayer army/master race thing.

I mean, if the slayers do vanquish all other demons on Earth and the senior partners and the first evil and the old ones that might from time to time surface (like Illyria) and rogue slayers and rogue sorcerers and etc. etc... why would they turn on humanity? Doesn't it make more sense that, with the only remaining demon energy being contained within one another, they'd then turn on each other in a great big battle royale slay-for-all?

[alexa]

I'm confused about the slayer army/master race thing.

I mean, if the slayers do vanquish all other demons on Earth and the senior partners and the first evil and the old ones that might from time to time surface (like Illyria) and rogue slayers and rogue sorcerers and etc. etc... why would they turn on humanity? Doesn't it make more sense that, with the only remaining demon energy being contained within one another, they'd then turn on each other in a great big battle royale slay-for-all?

I think it's about saying that some men, or certain people aren't comfortable entrusting that much power with women.
Cool issue though hey? My favourite was issue #2 though for the laughs in Buffy's dream.