Angels

"Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."

- Zuzu Bailey

Angels are metaphysical beings found in various Judeo-Christian lore, particularly the Old and New testaments of the Bible. Modern convention places the image in many peoples' minds of an angel being this majestic Caucasian being with flowing hair, magnificent white wings and a brilliant golden halo while wearing white robes and playing a harp. Either that or they perceive them as cute, pudgy little babies slinging arrows into the asses of someone looking to fall in love.

The origins of angels may vary depending upon the source. Some film concepts present angels as immortal celestial beings completely divorced from humanity and existing solely to serve God's whims. Other story ideas may proffer forth the notion that angels were once humans who had lived virtuous lives and became an angel upon their death. Often, these beings become Guardian angels, assigned to protect one or more members of the living.

A fine example of the latter is Clarence Odbody from the 1946 film classic It's a Wonderful Life. Clarence was a human who had died some two-hundred years ago who then became an Angel second class (which means he had not yet earned his wings). He was sent to Earth on an important mission to save the soul of one George Bailey who had considered giving up God's greatest gift - his own life. Through a series of metaphysically bizarre circumstances, Clarence taught George the value of his life and earned his wings.

Contrary to typical movie-watching convention, not all angels are created equal. Nor are they always bastions of goodness and virtue. Some of them are just plain dicks. They are warriors of God and are primed and ready to put the sandal of righteousness up the asses of any clown they think deserves it. In film, Angels play a vital role in the Prophecy series, in which the Archangel Gabriel is actually an antagonist, looking to grab onto some of that crazy free-will everyone keeps yammering about. Gabriel and his brood are not nice people, and in fact, are little better than the demons they profess to abhor.

Then there's Bartleby and Loki. These two ass-hats caught the back-door exit out of Heaven in the 1999 film Dogma and were hanging out on Earth. Their plan was to find a way to sneak back in under God's notice, thus proving that God is fallible, which would basically cause the entire integrity of the Heavenly kingdom to implode. A woman named Bethany, the Last Scion, was charged with stopping these two renegade angels, thus saving the world.

Appearances

 * Prophecy, The
 * Prophecy II, The