Charles Gunn

“I can’t take it easy. I can never take it easy. Not for one second, alright? The minute I
forget that, someone like Alonna pays the price.”

Played by J. August Richards

First Appearance: War Zone

Charles Gunn grew up on the harsh streets of Los Angeles, shaping himself into a protector long before he ever met a vampire with a soul. He formed a crew to defend his neighbourhood, training himself to hunt and kill the monsters that preyed on the vulnerable. His loyalty to his people — especially his sister Alonna — defined him, and her death at the hands of vampires left a wound that never fully healed. When he crossed paths with Angel, Gunn was wary, but the two men recognised something familiar in each other: a fighter’s instinct and a need to make the world better than they found it.

Gunn eventually joined Angel Investigations, bringing street smarts, courage and a fierce moral compass to the team. He struggled with the tension between his old life and his new role as a champion, especially as the battles grew more complex and morally ambiguous. At Wolfram & Hart, Gunn underwent a mental upgrade that gave him legal expertise but cost him pieces of himself, forcing him to confront the price of power. Still, he remained loyal to Angel, fighting beside him in the final stand against the Circle of the Black Thorn.

In the aftermath of that battle, Gunn lay dying in an alley, overlooked in the chaos. A pack of vampires found him, sired him, and unwittingly created one of the most dangerous foes Angel would ever face. Rising as a vampire, Gunn killed his sire and took command of the pack, convincing himself he was different — that he could hold on to his identity and serve the Powers That Be. He hunted down a demon with prophetic visions, drank its blood, and inherited its foresight. Believing he was still a hero, he tried to reverse time and restore Los Angeles, managing only a five‑minute loop he used to trap and train Slayers for his cause.

Gunn’s delusion deepened as he fed on innocents and gathered magical artefacts, all while nurturing a growing hatred for Angel, whom he blamed for his death. He stormed a stadium, killed the demon lord Kr’ph, kidnapped the telepath Betta George, and destroyed the Wolfram & Hart building. When Angel confronted him, Gunn revealed his vampiric nature and sought Angel’s approval for his grand plan. Angel refused, calling him what he had become — a demon — and Gunn retaliated by stripping Angel of the spells keeping him alive. Only Wesley’s ghost revealed the truth: the visions guiding Gunn came not from the Powers, but from the Senior Partners.

Still clinging to his twisted sense of destiny, Gunn attempted to use Illyria to rewind time to before Los Angeles fell into hell. Illyria, broken by her inability to become Fred, nearly unravelled all existence, and Gunn accepted the destruction as inevitable. In the final confrontation, he even killed Connor before Angel stopped Illyria by flooding her with memories of Fred. To save the city, Angel goaded Gunn into killing him, forcing the Senior Partners to reset the timeline. This time, Angel saved Gunn before he could be sired. Gunn survived, but slipped into a coma, carrying the memories of everything he had done as a vampire.

When he awoke, Gunn found forgiveness waiting for him. Angel visited him, offering compassion instead of condemnation. Gunn later reunited with Angel when he, Faith and Willow returned to Los Angeles seeking Connor’s help to restore magic. Gunn briefed Angel on the state of the city and stood guard at the Hyperion’s portal to Quor’toth, protecting the team as they crossed dimensions. Through death, damnation, redemption and return, Charles Gunn remained one of the Buffyverse’s most complex figures — a man shaped by loyalty, scarred by loss, and defined by the fight to reclaim himself from the darkness.

APPEARANCES

Angel SEASON 1

Angel SEASONS 2-5