Like Puppets On A String

Is that a Neil Diamond song where they sing about 'puppets on a string', and if so, why the hell am I quoting Neil Diamond? Whatever., I'm gonna spend a little time today talking about Shadowpact #13 today. I find it weird that for two weeks straight a book I didn't give a good grade to provided interesting fodder for a post. Well, interesting to me, anyway. Maybe I need to retroactively boost scores, based on how many post ideas I get from a single issue.

So Heaven has commissioned Zauriel to SPOILER! kill Blue Devil. First off, I think it's kind of a crap move to dump that job on someone who knows the guy you want dead, and who isn't technically one of you anymore. What, the rest of the angels are too busy? It's molting season? It just gives me that vibe I got from Ennis' Ghost Rider mini, that Heaven and Hell only care about their big war, and mortals are either in the way, or tools to be used and discarded.

But setting aside what is probably a personal hang-up, Zauriel and Blue Devil are mirrors of each other in a way. Zauriel was an angel that gave up that life for love, and became a mortal. If what poets tell us about love is true, that a really good reason to give up on the perks of being an immortal warrior of Heaven. In his own way, Zauriel's presence on Earth helps to spread the word of God, helps build faith by demonstrating that yes, there are in fact angels, and they serve God, and so yes, there is a God. And since Zauriel spends his time saving lives, that tends to bolster the idea of a loving God, because he's sent one of his agents here to protect his flock. While this probably isn't why Zauriel does the things he does, I'd imagine he's aware of it, and glad to be of service to his boss.

Conversely, Dan Cassiday sold his soul for fame, and wound up as a demon. While he's also seeking something for himself, it's somewhat less pure than what Zauriel desired. Dan didn't want to love and be loved by one person, he wanted the love, adulation, respect, whatever of lots of people. People he didn't know, or would ever know. Seems greedy (and kind of dumb) by comparison. Dan's spreading the word of his benefactor, unwillingly, but he's doing it all the same. He tries to do good, but all it ends up doing is (if you can believe demons) convincing more people that selling their soul to the Devil is cool, because you can get superpowers and help save the world, and be loved by many.

So in some ways they're the opposite of each other, in other ways they're strikingly similar. Which is probably why Zauriel is the one going after Blue Devil, rather than some other ass-kicker who's still a full angel (ignoring things like Willingham preferring to go with an established character, and potential ulterior motives not yet revealed).