Allen Francis Doyle
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| Image:Alan Francis Doyle.jpg Glenn Quinn as Allen Francis Doyle | ||||||||||||||
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Allen Francis Doyle (born in 1970 in Dublin, Ireland, died in 1999 in Los Angeles, California) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television program, Angel. The character was portrayed by Glenn Quinn.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Character history
Allen Francis Doyle was born in 1970 to a human mother and a Brachen demon father in Dublin, Ireland. His demonic genes didn't physically manifest themelves until 1991 when he was 21 years old. At that time, Doyle was a third grade school teacher and a soup-kitchen volunteer married to the love of his life, Harriet. He didn't take the news of this revelation very well and his marriage disintegrated. He hid behind the flimsy veneer of a ne'er-do-well hustler, seemingly more interested in where his next drink was coming from than helping others.
Later, he was approached by a fellow Brachen demon, Lucas. Lucas told Doyle that the Scourge, a militant group of pureblood demons, was after all half-breeds and begged for Doyle's help. Doyle turned Lucas away, believing that this wasn't his problem. Soon after he received a vision, which he described as "splittin' migraines that come with pictures," in the throes of which he thought he was having a stroke. The vision showed him a group of massacred Brachen demons. Doyle searched the city to find out if what he had seen was real--it was. These visions, which come from The Powers That Be are what led Doyle to Angel. As Doyle says, "We all got something to atone for," and therefore the two join forces to fight evil in Los Angeles. Once Cordelia Chase joins the team, Angel Investigations is officially formed.
Doyle soon falls for Cordelia, but is afraid she will reject him upon finding out about his demonic heritage. However, the past comes back to haunt him when the Scourge returns. This time they are after the Listers, another tribe of human/demon hybrids. During the battle, Doyle proves himself a reluctant hero, possessing a kind heart and great strength of character. He dies in Angel's place, sacrificing his life to save his friends, the Listers, and the city of Los Angeles. Not only that, he fulfils the Listers' prophecy of the "Promised One", the bringer purported to save them from the Scourge in the last days of the twentieth century. Before he dies, Cordelia learns of his demonic traits and tells him that it doesn't matter to her. The two exchange a passionate kiss; a blue ribbon of electricity passing between them as he gives her his visions, which change the course of her life considerably.
In the fifth season of Angel, Lindsey McDonald uses Doyle's name in an attempt to control Spike, claiming to fulfil the role for Spike that the original Doyle filled in Angel's life. When they learn what Lindsey has been calling himself, Cordelia and Angel are angered by the misuse of their friend's identity.
[edit] Powers & Abilities
Doyle is a seer, who receives prophetic visions from The Powers That Be, usually of people in peril. His half-Brachen demon physiology grants him the ability to shift from normal human to demonic appearance (red eyes and green skin adorned with blue spikes), in which he has heightened sense of smell and superior strength.
[edit] Romantic Relationships
- Harriet "Harry" Doyle: Doyle's ex-wife, who finally divorced him in the episode "The Bachelor Party" after a period of separation.
- Cordelia Chase: Doyle fancied Cordelia since the first episode of the series and nursed a crush on her from then on. Their relationship never really developed, but one of the last things he did before sacrificing himself was kiss Cordelia, which also had the effect of passing his visions on to her.
[edit] Trivia
Originally, it was Whistler (ambiguous demon seen in Buffy's second season episode, "Becoming") who was to be a supporting character in the spin-off series starring Angel, but instead, the character of Doyle was created with similar character traits.
At the TCA Writer's Guild of America West party in 2000, supervising producer David Fury stated, "Joss has bandied about, 'I love the idea of putting a character in the main credits as one of the stars of the show and then kill him right off the bat.' But in the case of Doyle, he didn't want to kill off Doyle. It just became a situation. The work situation became difficult... It's hard enough to make a television show without the headaches."[1]
In an interview in Dreamwatch #118, David Fury discussed plans for Doyle to return to the show, perhaps in the role of a "big bad".
[edit] Appearances
Doyle has appeared in:
[edit] TV
Angel
Doyle was a series regular for part of the show's first season. He appeared in 9 episodes overall. After the events of "Parting Gifts", he disappeared from the opening credits.
Archived footage of the character appears in episodes, "Birthday" and "You're Welcome".
[edit] Comics
- In July 2006 IDW released Doyle: Spotlight
Doyle is also a main character in the following comics (ordered by chronology):
[edit] Novels
Doyle is a main character in the following novels (ordered by chronology)
- Not Forgotten, Close to the Ground, Soul Trade, Redemption, Shakedown, Hollywood Noir, Avatar, Bruja,
- The book, Monster Island, set in Angel Season 3 also includes a story linked to the character and his father (who, ironically, is a pure-blood supremacist who wanted to purge Doyle of his human half).
