Marcus (Buffyverse)



Marcus was a vampire and a torturer for hire, as well as the true main antagonist of the Angel episode, "In the Dark". He also had a taste for feeding on and killing young children.

He was portrayed by Kevin West.

Biography


Not too much is known about Marcus' past, but it is implied that he's lived for centuries since he apparently inspired some of the "classic" methods of torture. It is also implied that he is a pedophile, as much as he is a child murderer.

An expert torturer, he was hired by fellow vampire Spike when the latter traveled from Sunnydale to Los Angeles in an attempt to recover the Gem of Amarra. The Gem of Amarra was a ring that granted any vampire who wore it absolute immortality, including immunity to sunlight and being staked in the heart. Spike had lost the Gem to Buffy Summers, and the Slayer sent the ring to Angel.

Marcus captured Angel during a trap laid by Spike and imprisoned him in a warehouse. Astonished by Angel's lack of external wounds, and surprised to discover he had a soul and that he had known love, the torturer employed hot pokers as well as sunlight in his attempt to break Angel's will. Thanks to the torture, Marcus discovered that Angel did not want the Gem for himself, and went so far that the ensouled vampire confessed to the torturer he sought forgiveness for the evil he had done.

Despite the damage suffered by the torture, Angel managed to grab a stake with his feet and use it in an attempt to stake Marcus, only to be stopped by Spike. Although Spike believed that Marcus had no interest in the Gem, he claimed the ring for himself when the chance arose. Spike was distracted by the arrival of Cordelia Chase, Allen Francis Doyle and Oz, who had agreed to relinquish the ring to Spike in exchange for Angel's freedom. Amidst the confusion, Marcus grabbed the Gem from the patch of direct sunlight the ring was thrown to and subsequently left the warehouse where he had been torturing Angel. Afterward, having become invulnerable to the effects of sunlight, Marcus headed for a nearby beach, seeking to find prey. When Marcus was about to attack a group of children purchasing ice-creams on a pier, Angel, despite having been weakened by torture and exposed to sunlight, charged him, throwing them both off the pier and into the ocean. As the two battled underneath the pier, covered from direct sunlight, Angel managed to impale Marcus on a thick support column, giving him the chance to grab the ring from Marcus's finger, leaving Marcus to collapse into dust.

Powers and Abilities


Marcus possessed the common powers and weaknesses of a vampire. Besides this, he was also capable of sensing Angel's soul and that he had known love simply by touching him. As vampires were immune to mind-reading, Marcus must have possessed some kind of empathic ability. With the Gem of Amara, Marcus was rendered invulnerable, able to walk in sunlight and remain unaffected by staking.