Our Angels Are Different: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|'''Dean:''' I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos -- You know, [[Highway to Heaven|Michael Landon]]. Not dicks.

 

Lots of works include angels, but not always the same kind of angels. Oftentimes, a creator will try and put a unique spin on his or her angels.

 

Compare [[Our Fairies Are Different]], [[Pegasus]]. For angel feathers or wings used for symbolism, see [[Feather Motif]].

 

== Biblical Angels ==

Angels in [[The Bible]] can belong to several classes. [[The Bible]] doesn't mention an exact ranking for these classes; only the "archangel" class is mentioned as being higher than the others, with the other classes presumably being of the same rank but having different job descriptions.

 

 

* The ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' angels take this to an extreme. The first few are skyscraper-sized humanoids, but then they descend into multi-eyed beasts, abstract shapes, '''nanoviruses''', formless... [[Buffy-Speak|things]], and, unbelievably enough, [[Bishonen Line|one that's easily mistaken for a human being]]. It's explained in the [[All There in the Manual|Classified Information]], but basically the Angels were born from [[Eldritch Abomination|Adam]] during [[Earthshattering Kaboom|Second Impact]], and each Angel can be considered a parallel to a whole species, hence why humanity as a whole, born from [[Tomato in the Mirror|Lilith]], are collectively the 18th Angel.

** However, in all honesty, aside from being called Angels and sharing some names, they don't seem to resemble Supernatural Cosmic Entities or Messengers/Servants of a Higher Power at all, but rather just Alien Invaders for all practical purposes.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Several works by [[Eyrie Productions, Unlimited]], including their magnum opus ''[[Undocumented Features]]'', include a character who goes by the name Zach Stephens and makes his living as a delivery guy for Celestial Pizza. In reality, he's an angel -- an Ofanite as defined by ''[[In Nomine]]'' (see below).

{{quote|Zach's grin became a more personal smile. "Utena," he said, in a friendly tone which suggested that he'd expected better from her, but forgave her. "I'm ''everywhere'' people need pizza."}}

* ''[https://www.wattpad.com/story/173566505-final-stand-of-death Final Stand of Death]'' has different kinds of angels... any soul that was [[Was Once a Man| once humans]]: Fallen, Normal, Celestial, and Archangels.

 

* ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'' has [[Psychopomp|The Angel of Death]]. This is perhaps one of the few [[Western Animation]] examples of an angel that is far away from the [[Winged Humanoid]] stereotype; it appears as [[Good Is Not Nice|a glowing smoke]] [[Eldritch Abomination]] that descends from the sky from what appears to be an '''interdimensional hole'''. This, as well as its job ({{spoiler|to kill every firstborn in Egypt that isn't an Hebrew}}) can easily be seen as a reason why the movie sticks to biblical tradition.

* One of the protagonists' original complaints about the [[Archangel Michael|title character]] in ''[[Michael]]'' is that they "thought they were cleaner". Michael, being an archangel (and one of God's Storm Troopers), cheerfully indicates that he's "not that kind of angel". He also smoked heavily and used his angelic powers to seduce women, but did have big fluffy wings (although the feathers [[Perpetual Molt|fell out as he neared the end of his time on Earth]]). As the [[Tagline]] said, "He's an Angel, [[Did Not Do the Research|not a Saint]]".

* ''Here Comes Mister Jordan'' and ''[[A Matter of Life and Death]]'' feature heavenly messengers (angels [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp|by another name]] ) who are really, really, really bad (like ''[[Misfile]]'' level bad!) at picking souls up from earth at their time of death. In the former they are too early and the latter too late.

* Though not an "angel" per se (actually "a singular cherubim," and no, that's not an error), Proginoskes from [[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s ''[[A Wind in the Door]]'' matches Ezekiel's idea of an angel: a composite of wind and flame at his heart, extending into dozens of immense wings and myriad, blinking eyes. (He finds it easier to not be corporeal at all, and scorns the human idea of "little pigs with wings.") Proginoskes' great skill is to Name people, and the key to naming is [[The Power of Love|love.]]

** By contrast, the seraphim and nephilim in the later book ''[[Many Waters]]'' are more like what a contemporary audience would think of as angels, being winged humanoids, but correspond to "the sons of God" as described in Genesis 6:4 rather than current stereotypes. The seraphim are basically servants of God on earth and usually have eyes and wings coloured in some variant of gold, silver or blue. The nephilim, which are implied to be fallen angels, have eyes and wings of more vivid colours like red and violet. They are all immortal, and not outright antagonistic with each other, but the nephilim are trapped on earth where the seraphim can return to heaven. Nephilim are male and enjoy sleeping with human women and fathering children on them; seraphim are androgynous and celibate (although they sometimes fall in love). Also, each one, seraphim and nephilim, has an animal form into which he can change—though the nephilim take the shapes of [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|worms, snakes, dragons, and other ugly things.]]

** The ''Oyeresu'' (singular ''Oyarsa'') are more powerful beings [[Genius Loci|that control the nature of each planet]] in the solar system. Although most are benevolent and love their subjects, the Oyarsa of Thulcandra (earth) is clearly [[Satan]] and, unlike the others, is actually trapped within the moon's orbit to prevent further harm. The Oyeresu, like the eldila, have no genders but some have masculine and feminine identities. Furthermore, they have the ability to [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|manifest themselves as they choose]]; at the close of the second book, the Oyeresu of Mars and Venus manifest as white, fiery giants.

** Further complicating the picture, the Oyeresu, as described in ''That Hideous Strength'', have a sort of shadow presence on each planet, which seems to act more or less independently. ''These'' are the "gods" that some Tellurians have reportedly met.

{{quote|He's also specifically stated to be a principality:

"Technically Aziraphale was a Principality, but people made jokes about that these days." }}

* ''[[His Dark Materials]]''—Angels aren't really divine higher powers (though they like to tell you they are)! They're actually self-aware incarnations of the [[Applied Phlebotinum]] that feed off sentience and powers the universe. They can either just spring into existence or, a ghost, with the help of another angel, can rise to angelic status. They die, [[We Are as Mayflies|have immeasurably long lifespans]], and envy humans for our bodies—angels have no real bodies, so they cannot experience real sensations. They appear in the books as translucent, winged humans but this is simply for the convenience of humans, and because human minds are too tiny to comprehend their true appearance; their real forms are described as being somewhat like architecture.

** And sometimes they're [[Yaoi Guys|very, very gay.]]

*** Debatably gay, since they don't really have genders and there's nothing inherently sexual about Balthamos and Baruch's relationship.

* In ''[[Weaveworld]]'', the nigh-omnipotent entity Uriel ''claims'' to be an angel. It's probably wrong.

* Cynthia Leitich Smith's ''Eternal.'' Guardian angels go on to a new charge when their old one dies, and might just fall in love with them. And they can be temporarily made human, kickstarting the romance. Which can even happen if their beloved is no longer in their charge and has become a vampire—and yes, vampires are satanic. Forbidden lovers anyone? ({{spoiler|the girl involved manages to redeem herself and die before her vampire nature destroys her soul completely. It's [[Better Than It Sounds]] and a bittersweet [[Tear Jerker]].}})