Angel

Angel was born "Liam" in the year 1727 an Irish commoner. By age 27, he had developed a taste for alcohol and women and an aversion to work. Though not a bad man, Liam’s only real ambition lay in seeing the world. That seemed a laughable dream until he met an affluent woman named Darla.
Darla promised Liam a world full of excitement and travel - a world in which he could take anything he wanted. But this gift came with a price, for Darla was a vampire. And in her deadly embrace, Liam was transformed into Angelus, the cruelest vampire the world had ever known.

For generations, Darla and Angelus terrorized humankind, murdering and torturing anyone who crossed their path. It was a family of gypsies who finally destroyed Angelus. In their grief over the death of their favorite daughter, they cursed him, restoring his soul and condemning him to an eternal life of regret and guilt. Only a moment of pure happiness could break the curse.

A shadow of his former self, Angel eventually wandered across the path of a demon named Whistler. Whistler persuaded Angel to join the fight against the evil that had corrupted him and to help the newly called Vampire Slayer. Her name was Buffy.

Over time, Buffy and Angel fell in love with each other. Though they tried to deny their feelings, they could not resist the passion growing between them. And so it was that one night of unrestrained passion led to Angelus' repossession of Angel.

Angelus quickly returned to his former evil ways, except this time Buffy was there to stop him. In a battle to undo the evil that Angelus had unleashed on the world and to save humankind, Buffy killed her lover. But before the Hellmouth consumed him, Angel was cursed again and his soul restored.

When Angel was unexpectedly released from Hell's clutches, he knew it was for a reason. Departing Sunnydale, Angel left the woman he still loved and moved to L.A. to find his purpose and to redeem himself in the service of others. He found support from Doyle, sent by the Powers That Be, and Cordelia, a fellow Sunnydale transplant on the road to fame and wealth. They formed "Angel Investigations," protecting those who cannot defend themselves and helping other lost souls find their way.

After losing Doyle, his trusted friend and connection to the Powers That Be, Angel became even more protective of those who mean the most to him. Wesley, a former Watcher, came to town as a rogue demon hunter, but stayed to help Angel and Cordelia. The team was later joined by Gunn, an unlikely partner and self-proclaimed Slayer, but a formidable force nonetheless.

Los Angeles is now Angel's city. But however good his intentions, Angel is still tempted by mortality and pleasure - two desires he can never fulfill and retain his soul. Every day he is called to walk among mortals, wishing he could be one of them even while the demon inside him lusts for their blood. He knows, though, that the only true path to redemption is a hard one – and he proves his conviction through every painful test. Even when it means giving up the chance for a normal life as a human with Buffy, so that he can protect her, and carrying the burden of remembrance alone.

Prophecies have fortold that Angel can look forward to forgiveness after "he survives the coming darkness, some apocalyptic battles, a few plagues and some uhh, several, not that many, fiends that will be unleashed." But until that time comes, Angel must remain level-headed and ready for the evil that lay ahead.