Was he a demon or was he just human with a really long life span?

ANGEL
She'd never fall for a centuries-old guy with a dark past who may or may not be evil.

So I guess he's human... kinda.  :evil:

Just because Angel calls him a "guy" doesn't make him human! He could be a vampire, a warlock who made a deal for immortality, a human gifted with eternal life, a demon with human appearance, or even a kind of creature from another dimension where his kind live eternally and are able to shapeshift or use a glamour to appear human. Don't limit your imagination in the Buffyverse!

I never read the comics, so I don't know if they ever do say what he is there.

He isn't just the latest Immortal?  "There can only be one..." kinda guy?

He's several hundred years old.

I always assumed vampire--a very pretentious one.  With the The Immortal.  Like he was the original one or something.  Even though we know that isn't true.  There's vampires, then there's Dracula, but then--

*gasp*

There's The Immortal, who's oh so wonderful at everything, and foil Angel and Spike's every plan...The bastard :p

From The Girl In Question

DARLA
(in the corner dressing, putting on a robe)
Not like him. I mean, he's not some common vampire. He's—I don't know what he is. A giant. A titan straddling good and evil, serving no master but his own considerable desires.

So, depending on how you read this, she could be saying he's a vampire--but not a common one--or that he's not as common a thing as a mere vampire. Either way, I'd go with demon.

Then again, thats just MHO :D

He isn't just the latest Immortal?  "There can only be one..." kinda guy?

I know, everytime they would say "The Immortal" I would think of Duncan  MacLeod from the Clan MacLeod. :D

I know, everytime they would say "The Immortal" I would think of Duncan  MacLeod from the Clan MacLeod. :D

I usually think of Methos. Duncan was too chivalrous and noble to pull any stunts like that.

I don't see either Duncan or Methos being the Immortal.

I agree that Duncan's much too good and chivarlous to pull to stunts the Immortal did with Darla. Duncan is a MUCH MUCH better man than that and while Methos' morals are quite dubious at times, he's all about staying below the radar and not revealing himself out of self preservation. Methos (Mr. Just because I don't like to fight... ) would never be so (stupidly) flashy nor would he go out of way to make enemies of anyone, let alone two of the world's most notorious vampires.

If "The Immortal" was any Higlander-type immortal, it was a young and stupid one that most likely had every watcher and other immortal after his head before he exposed them all.

*"There can only be one..." kinda guy?*

No no no no no no no no! It's "there can be only one"... lol that would be funny actually..

Hehe, when Jackofspikes and I wrote a Van Helsing/BTVS crossover, we made Van Helsing the Immortal.  Of course, he was messing with Spike and Angel for a purpose. 

I mean, he's not some common vampire. He's—I don't know what he is.

To me, that sounds like he's definitely NOT a vampire. If he were a vampire, but just not a "common" one, then Darla would know what he is, wouldn't she? Surely, she can tell another vampire when she sees (or sleeps with) one. She wouldn't be saying "I don't know what he is," she'd be comparing him to the greatest vampires of all time (in her mind, most likely the Master). That implies he's either a demon of some kind, or a human who's been able to make himself immortal through some kind of magic.

Also, if the Immortal were a "there can be only one" type of Immortal, then actually he and Buffy (the Chosen One) are pretty well-suited for each other, aren't they? ;)

Another thing that Darla states when describing him is "straddling good and evil..." this also makes him not a typical vampire - in the Buffyverse the normal vampire is described as evil.

Hee! Thanks, guests Jan and mesh.  I'm not a big follower of the Immortal lore, it's just what I think of first when someone is called "The Immortal". Makes me wonder what Joss was thinking when he chose that name.  I agree, Duncan is too good a guy to be this Immortal. I'm not as familiar with Methos, so I'll have to take your word for it. :)

*quote* Also, if the Immortal were a "there can be only one" type of Immortal, then actually he and Buffy (the Chosen One) are pretty well-suited for each other, aren't they?

One would think so but then there's the whole immortal shtick which would be kinda problematic.... Either he would have to become mortal (which, having his reputation would prolly never consider it) or Buff would have to become mortal.
Otherwise Buffy would be worried about getting all wrinkly and gross while he stayed young and beautiful.

And from what I've read on summaries on the comics-- Buffy never actually dated the immortal. They say that she sent another blond slayer out with him to Italy as a ploy so her enemies wouldn't actually know where the real Buffy was. That's what I read, anyway.

As for him being a vamp.... I never actually thought of that. From the episode I saw of Angel, my first impression was that he was just a really strong person who somehow achieved immortality. Basically a really ambitious guy.

Otherwise Buffy would be worried about getting all wrinkly and gross while he stayed young and beautiful.

That didn't really seem to bother Buffy when she was with Angel. Nor does it seem to bother most Spuffy fans.

*nods* if we follow Season Eight (comics), the Immortal is sort of a non-issue because it wasn't really Buffy with him.

It's true that most Spuffy fans don't worry about the fact that Spike won't age and Buffy will. Sometimes that's because the assumption is that she is going get offed by something having its "one good day" well before her age is an issue, and sometimes it's just ignored. "La la la not going to think about that..."  However, some have thought about it, and there are a few  good fics out there (and on here) in which Buffy grows old and Spike deals with it. It's interesting to see how different authors view the situation that will inevitably arise someday if they stay together and there is no magical/author intervention of some sort.  Common ways of getting around it are: vamp!Buffy, shanshued Spike, Barbverse semi-human Spike, slayer immortality (they always get killed - who knows how long a slayer's body can keep healing itself if it isn't cut down in the prime of life?), and so on.

*quote* That didn't really seem to bother Buffy when she was with Angel. Nor does it seem to bother most Spuffy fans.

Yes but when Buffy was with Angel she was insane and not thinking clearly O.O

In fact.. no, wait... I'm making excuses... Buffy has never thought clearly when she was in a relationship. Period.
The writers for Buffy were so bent on making Buffy's love life so irrational and insane that it was unhealthy. Everybody seems to think to be in love is to be crazy.... But to each their own, I guess... Maybe I'm just to rational.

But if I fell in love with a vamp (hypothetically speaking, or course lol) I wouldn't spend the rest of my life with him no matter how much I loved him. I wouldn't  say that I'm being cold or callous--just reasonable. I'd know that if I stayed in that kind of relationship it would destroy me so in a way, leaving him would just be one of the lesser evils for him and myself.

Whereas Buffy is blinded by love to the point where she can't see anything past Angel. Angel is in a way more reasonable than her for leaving her. But stupid for the way he went through with it (leaving her before the prom AND before the big fight! what an ass!!)

All this makes me wonder about the writers....

Watching "Pangs" and "Something Blue" today while working - and this idea that sometimes comes into the Buffy-Angel relationship; that the sexual problems they had would not become an issue, IMO, is not realistic - it would eventually have been an issue.  Buffy is a young woman, and as a Slayer, has strong sexual urges - perhaps I am too cynical to believe that love conquers all - it does not.  It is something that Angel would always, on some level, be aware of.

 Angel and Joyce I think made the right decision -