Allen Francis Doyle

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 the late Glenn Quinn.

Biography

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. As if his newfound physical traits weren't enough, he also received "great splittin' migraines that come with pictures"; prophetic visions from The Powers That Be. He had his first vision in the throes of which he thought he was having a stroke after a fellow Brachen demon named Lucas asked for his help against the Scourge, a militant pureblood sect of demons.

Still self-loathing, Doyle turned Lucas away and got a mind-numbing vision of Brachen demons getting massacred. Upon seeing their bodies, he realized and confirmed the visions were real. It was these same visions that led Doyle to Angel, thus joining forces and first forming Angel Investigations along with Cordelia Chase. Doyle soon fell in love with her, but was afraid she would reject him upon finding out about his demonic heritage. However, the past came back to haunt him when the Scourge returned. This time they were after the Listers; another tribe of half-human/half-demon hybrids. During the battle, Doyle proved himself a reluctant hero, possessing a kind heart and great strength of character. He died in Angel's place, sacrificing his life to save his friends, the Listers and the city of Los Angeles. Not only that, he fulfilled the Lister's prophecy of the "Promised One", the bringer purported to save them from the Scourge in the last days of the twentieth century. Before he died, Cordelia learned of his demonic traits, telling him that it didn't matter to her. The two exchanged a passionate kiss; a blue ribbon of electricity passing between them as he gave her his visions, which would have given her a dramatic new outlook on her life.

In the fifth season of Angel, Lindsey McDonald impersonated Doyle in an attempt to control Spike.

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. Due to Max Perlich being unavailable, the character of Doyle was quickly created with similar character traits. Doyle's abrupt and violent death midway through the first season angered many viewers. The creator of the series, Joss Whedon has always mantained that his death had been planned from the start. However, rumors persisted that actor Glenn Quinn's out-of-control substance abuse problems interfered with production. In interviews before Quinn's death, creator Joss Whedon discussed plans for Doyle to return to the show as one of the season's big bad role. Quinn died before anything could come of the talks.

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.

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.

In the episode "I Fall To Pieces", he admits to finding Angel attractive.

Appearances

Doyle has appeared in:

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".

Comics

In July 2006 IDW will release Spotlight (Angel comic)

Doyle is also a main character in the following comics (ordered by chronology):

Surrogates, Earthly Possessions, Angel #4, Hunting Ground.

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 Summoned.

The book, Monster Island, set in Angel Season 3 also includes a story linked to the character and his father.

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