also known as '''Connor Angel''', '''Steven Franklin Thomas Holtz''' and '''Connor Reilly''', is a
Fictional Character created by
Joss Whedon for the television program ''
Angel ''. The character is portrayed by
Vincent Kartheiser .
Connor was born in November 2001 in Los Angeles, California, a "miracle" human child of two vampires,
Angel and
Darla . His birth was the result of a series of trials his father Angel undertook to save a dying and (at the time) human Darla in season two's ''
The Trial ''. However, after he passed them, he discovered that Darla, having already died once as a human, could not be saved; humans can only have two chances at life. The life that Angel was owed by passing these trials was used for the miraculous creation of Connor.
Connor was introduced in season three's '' kidnapped the baby and planned on raising him. However, before he had the chance to leave Los Angeles, the vampire hunter
Daniel Holtz ordered his lackey
Justine to slit Wesley's throat and take Connor as vengeance for Angel's murder of his own family. After complications involving the lawyers at
Wolfram & Hart , who wanted the miracle baby to dissect it, Holtz ran into a dimensional portal into the hellish world of Quor'Toth with Connor in his arms.
Time ran more quickly in Quor'Toth and Connor aged at an accelerated rate; forced to constantly fight for his life in a violent, demonic dimension. Holtz fed him lies about his true father and Connor grew to despise him. Mere weeks had passed since his disappearance in Los Angeles before the unthinkable happened, Connor returned; now nearly eighteen years old. He discovered a rift in the dimension and was transported into the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel with one goal: to kill Angel. Conflict and confusion were abundant as Connor adjusted to L.A. and was told even more lies by Holtz, who had followed him back into our reality. Eventually, under his own plan, Holtz was killed by Justine in a manner that framed Angel. Enraged, Connor (with help from Justine) sealed Angel in a box and sunk him to the bottom of the ocean.
Meanwhile, Connor lived on his own, slowly learning to fight the good fight under
Fred and
Gunn 's supervision. Upon Angel's return, relations were still shaky, yet slowly improved. Due to his difficult upbringing, Connor found it hard to develop emotional attachments to people, yet he formed a close bond with
Cordelia . When a demon known as
The Beast rose from the ground in the very same place that he had been born, Connor felt responsible and as fire rained from the sky, he sought solace in Cordelia's arms. Unknown to him, and to everyone else, was the fact that Cordelia was under the control of a powerful entity who sought dominion over the human race, and who for years had been orchestrating events in order to be fully brought forth into the world. Their night of passion, then, had serious repercussions as it allowed the arrival of Jasmine, an ambiguously evil goddess from another dimension who brought joy and hope to all she encountered. Unfortunately, whilst everyone basked in the glory of
Jasmine , Connor did not feel the same inner peace and was left with untold loneliness and isolation, struggling with his inner demons and weary of the constant fight against demons and vampires; all he wanted was to rest. This ultimately led him into a desperate situation where he was willing to hurt not only himself but take others with him. In a final act of love, Angel agreed to take over Wolfram & Hart in exchange for Connor having a completely new life with no memories of his time with Angel. Connor died, killed by Angel's own hand, so that he could be "reborn" into his new life.
He became Connor Reilly, the eighteen-year old son of Lawrence and Colleen Reilly. However, Connor was destined to cross Angel's path again. One day at Wolfram & Hart, Angel had a new client; Connor's new parents. They came to Angel because Connor was hit by a van and had no injuries whatsoever. Soon after, Connor's family was attacked by demons. Having no other choice, Angel informed Connor of his special abilities, but left out that he was his father. As fate designed it, the attacks were not random occurrences. , he visited Connor for coffee, where Connor revealed that he knew Angel was his father and was grateful for all he had done for him. Later, when Angel fought
Hamilton , Connor showed up to fight by his father's side. As the
Senior Partners begin to exact their vengeance, Angel told him to go home and that as long as Connor was all right the Partners can never destroy him.
Connor possesses the typical abilities of a Buffyverse vampire without any of their weaknesses: superhuman strength, speed, durability, recuperation, and senses. Presumably because of his human heritage he is not eternally young; however, this has not yet been determined; given that
Lorne's anti-violence spell read his as "demon" rather than human, it is possible, if unlikely. The limits of Connor's superhuman strength have not been determined, but they are demonstrably inferior not merely to the vampire slayer
Faith Lehane , but also to his biological father's. However, he was stronger than most vampires.
In addition to his native powers, Connor was trained by his foster father, Holtz, in hunting and in both unarmed and armed combat.
- : A runaway teenager addicted to drugs, the first female Connor had ever met since been taken to Quor Toth and with whom he shared his first kiss after protecting her from the drug dealer Tyke.
- : The pair of them became the 'parents' of Jasmine .
- : Connor was instantly atracted by Faith's toughness and fighting skills
- .
- : When the two met, Illyria sensed that Connor was lusting after her.
Connor has appeared in:
''
Angel ''
Connor became a series regular for the show's fourth season. He appeared in 36 episodes overall. He has made guest appearances in the episodes:
Series 3 (2001, 2002) - ''Lullaby'' (birth), ''Dad'', ''Birthday'', ''Provider'', ''Waiting In The Wings'', ''Couplet'', ''Loyalty'', ''Sleep Tight'' (kidnapped), ''The Price'' (return as a teenager), ''A New World'', ''Benediction'', ''Tomorrow''.
Series 5 (2003, 2004) - ''Origin'', ''Not Fade Away''.
