Penn (Buffyverse)
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 Jeremy Renner as Penn |
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Penn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television program Angel, portrayed by Jeremy Renner.
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[edit] Character overview
Angelus sired Penn in 1786 (according to "Somnambulist"'s shooting script). He was trained by Angelus, and seemed to look at him as a father figure. He would later point out that Angelus is his father, as he made Penn into the vampire that he was.
When Penn was alive, he was a puritan. Once he became a vampire, however, his kills were made to mock God; he killed his victims by carving a cross into their cheek and drank from them before they died of fear. According to Angel in the episode "Somnambulist", he was reliving killing his family. He first killed his own sister, with Angelus by his side. He then went with Angelus to kill the rest of his family.
It is never mentioned how long Penn was with Angelus but he did say that the pair were to meet in Italy. Penn waited in Italy until some time in the 19th century. He apparently visited Boston in 1908. He is known to have visited Los Angeles on at least two occasions, the first in 1929. He seems to have been a suspect in a case at the Regent Gardens Hotel. He returned to LA in 1963 and was at the Clover Wood Apartments. The police chased him, but by the time, they went to make their move Penn had already fled. On both accounts Penn was never caught.
Penn’s third known visit to the City of Angels would be his last. In 2000, Penn returns to LA and begins to kill, as it is his nature. His first victim is Reggie Sparks, a volunteer crossing guard. His second is Jinny Markem; she had just started the 10th grade. The third victim is Jessica Halpen, a waitress. When killing them, he uses an old trademark of Angelus's; he carves crosses on their cheeks. Angel has dreams of Penn killing the victims and thinks that it is himself; Kate's profile of Penn even appears to fit Angel. When Angel confesses this to Cordelia Chase and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, they tie him to the bed in case the dreams are real. As it turns out Angel is not the killer, but Penn kills a fourth person that night. The fourth victim is a white female. Penn is almost successful in killing an adolescent male he meets outside of a local bar, but the police interrupt him.
After the failed attempt to kill the boy, who reminded him of his brother, Penn goes to Angel Investigations. He tells Angel to think of the worst thing imaginable, and he will be there. He leaves plans to make it look like he is going to attack some children at a local school, but this is merely a diversion so that he can kill detective Kate Lockley. Angel sees through this plan and meets up with Penn and Kate. Kate ends up killing Penn, making him the first vampire she stakes. Having only just learned about Angel's vampire side, Kate is instinctively distrustful of him, but when she has a chance to stake Penn and Angel (Penn is on Angel's back) she drives the wood through Angel's stomach and into Penn's heart. Kate never fully trusts Angel after learning about his demon, however.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
Penn possesses the normal vampire abilities as well as weaknesses. He is stronger than most vampires but is vulnerable to holy objects. He can be killed by direct sunlight, decapitation, or a stake to the heart. Like all vampires, Penn needs an invitation in order to enter the home of a living being.
Penn also seems to possess speed that has not been demonstrated by any other vampire. He is able to move so fast in the police briefing room that he appears as a blur. The episode's writer, Tim Minear, has stated, "...to my mind we didn't really invent new powers for our vamps. Penn did leap into a second story window, but he had been feeding and was fueled with adrenaline. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. As far as anything that may have seemed new... I made a point to have Penn "speed up" or go all Matrix-y when we were in a scene that was Kate's POV"[1].
Penn is often seen wearing glasses. However, in some scenes he does not appear to need them, so it can be assumed that he only wears reading glasses.
[edit] Appearances
- Angel
- Season 1 (1999) - "Somnambulist"
