If you’re an original Charmed fan, you’d be surprised to learn that the show continued through two comic runs, Season 9 and Season 10.
We’ve had the graphic novels for Charmed Season 9 for years. We’ve read it before, but we’re doing a reread to catch up on our Goodreads reading goal, which is currently four books behind.
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Charmed Season 9 is split into four volumes. We will break it down per story where it is possible.
What’s great about Charmed Season 9 is that it revisits storylines from the television show and brings them to the forefront in new ways.
A Normal Life Interrupted
Eighteen months have passed since the Charmed Ones last saved the world. Piper Halliwell, the eldest sister is attempting to return to her cooking roots, except her toddler daughter, Melinda’s powers have activated, prompting her to be attacked by vegetable plants.
Middle sister, Phoebe Halliwell is late for a meeting and accuses her Cupid husband, Coop of preventing her from leaving the house. Except, their newborn daughter, Prue has come into her Cupid powers and doesn’t want her to go.
The youngest sister, Paige Matthews, juggles twin daughters, Tamora and Kat while dealing with teenagers at Magic School. These teens have no time to study the magical arts and want to jump into the fray blindly.
When Piper and Phoebe receive word that one of their earliest innocents has died, they attend her funeral.
Phoebe comments that losing the innocent is like losing a part of their late sister, Prue all over again. She suddenly gets a feeling something’s off and realises that the woman, Brittany, had died of “natural causes.”
Died Too Young?
Piper freezes the environment around them and opens the coffin to find Brittany, who is younger than her and has reverted to being an old woman. She comments that it shouldn’t be possible as they reversed the aging spell placed on Brittany alongside Prue all those years ago. They had also killed the demon.
Back at Halliwell Manor, Piper and Paige do research into the innocents they’ve saved and find some of them have been killed while others are missing.
It soon becomes clear that the Charmed Ones’ archnemesis, The Source is back, despite having been vanquished years ago.
The sisters find a way to stop the Source once and for all. However, it is pointed out that while evil still exists, there may be a way to bring a version of the Source back.
Upon the mission’s completion, Grams visits her granddaughters and is updated on everything. This includes Melinda and Prue coming into their powers. She comments that she will have to tell Patty and the elder Prue about what’s been going on. Grams also nicknames little Prue as “P.J.” which is to Phoebe’s annoyance.
Phoebe’s Past Comes Back To Bite Her And New Blood
The Past
In Charmed Season 9, Volume 2, Phoebe is forced to relieve an event from her past.
When her friend, Mika, comes to her to tell her about her new boyfriend, Phoebe is shocked to learn that the guy is Cal Greene, a famous baseball player whom, she kills in an alternate future. Even now, she doesn’t know how she murdered him.
Determined to protect Mika, Phoebe finds as much information as possible on Cal. She comes up blank on negative stories. All she digs up is positive PR on him.
Phoebe turns to her boss, Elise for help.
Elise explains Greene is notorious for beating up women.
Elise adds that she told the woman to go to the police. However, the downside was the woman’s word against Cal’s. The woman goes to the district attorney before Elise attempts to publish the story about a barrage of other victims who were too scared to come forward.
The explanation goes further as Elise mentions she was forced to shut down the story because of threats before it was published.
After talking to her sisters and husband, Phoebe decides she needs to protect Mika from becoming another victim.
When Cal almost kills Elise, Phoebe comes up with an idea to get him arrested. She is forced to come clean to her boss about her status as a witch to involve her in the plan.
The Charmed Prophecy Continues
When Melinda, Piper and Leo’s youngest child’s powers continue to grow, her mother orders Paige to take Leo Up There to discover more.
It was assumed that because Leo was human when Melinda was conceived, she would have standard witch powers.
Upon their arrival Up There, Paige and Leo are reunited with an old friend, Kyle, one of Paige’s exes who died and was brought back as a Whitelighter.
As they talk, Leo explodes, knowing Kyle is lying. The Elder admits that he was partially telling the truth. He explains that they purposely gave Melinda Whitelighter abilities so that she would be on equal footing with her brothers, Wyatt and Chris.
Kyle further explains the Elders have interfered too much and were giving back. He adds their aim of giving Melinda Whitelighter abilities was to allow her, Wyatt and Chris to become the next Charmed Ones.
The logic behind this was they were the first children born into the next generation of the Warren-Halliwell bloodline. This means Phoebe’s three daughters are ineligible and one of Paige’s three kids is adopted.
Kyle then makes Leo choose between being a Whitelighter again and mortality.
Leo chooses his mortality. He says he doesn’t want to watch his children grow old and die before his eyes.
Meet Henry Junior
During a fight with Leo’s archnemesis Rennek, a Darklighter he fought for decades, the Charmed Ones are placed in a predicament. A pregnant teenage girl is found dead, but her baby boy still lives.
Paige orbs the child from his mother’s womb. She takes the baby home to foster, much to the reluctance of her husband, Henry. He’s concerned Rennek could target her and their twin daughters, Tamora and Kat because they’re part-Whitelighter.
There’s an attack and Piper suddenly disappears. Leo sees a woman he immediately recognises as Neena, the first witch.
Piper ends up with an Angel of Destiny. Leo tells Phoebe and Paige about the First Witch.
The Angel of Destiny disappears through a portal and Piper ends up stuck. Her way out is handed to her by an old frenemy, her former brother-in-law, Cole Turner.
Operation Get Piper Back Fails
Paige and Leo try a glamour to get past Neena’s forces. It fails. The First Witch threatens Leo to get Paige to open the vault. Meanwhile, Phoebe and Coop try to find Piper.
Elsewhere, Piper wants to return to the Manor but feels Cole is up to something. When she tries to go back, the portal disappears. This forces her to bite the apple she was offered. It forces her to pass out to Cole’s surprise.
Hope Fades
Phoebe begins to grow desperate and calls upon Paige’s father, Sam, to help pull her out of her coma. However, it fails, which leads to Henry’s concern his wife won’t wake up.
Cole manages to get Piper’s trust once Phoebe contacts her and Paige.
Paige is greeted by Kyle who takes her to a realm where she meets with her mother and grandmother.
The group reunites with Piper and Phoebe. Leo escapes and picks up a sword which then gives him wings.
Paige’s spirit returns to her body. The magic users bind Neena’s powers. Patty and Penny (Grams) then explain why Prue didn’t show up to fight. They tell the girls she has moved on to her next life.
As Patty and Penny return to the afterlife, Cole shows up. He reprimands them for lying to the girls about Prue. Patty then sends the half-demon on a quest. She wants him to find Prue.
Wyatt Makes Copies Of Piper
Continuing in Charmed Season 9 Volume 3, the battle ends and Piper returns to opening her restaurant. She works late too much but has time to tell the kids a bedtime story over the phone. Chris and Melinda fall asleep, but her eldest son, Wyatt is unhappy as he misses her.
Piper returns home to find everyone asleep. After she’s gone to bed, Wyatt gets up and casts a duplication spell. This isn’t realised until the morning… when Leo finds his wife doing multiple chores.
The real Piper walks in with a different outfit and is shocked to find clones of herself. She and Leo question Wyatt who lies and says he had nothing to do with it.
Piper realises copies of herself will come in handy. What initially is a good idea, ends up being disastrous. The more copies of Piper there are, the more it tires the original out.
It takes three Pipers to pry the truth out of Wyatt. But the real Piper gets him to apologise for making copies of her. She reassures him that while her restaurant is important, she will always make time for him.
Once Piper is restored to her old self, she has Wyatt be a server at the restaurant as punishment.
Phoebe Attempts To Reunite Coop With The Family He Never Knew
Charmed Season 9 expands on Phoebe’s third husband, Coop. It reveals that he didn’t live long after he was born 200 years earlier.
Phoebe knows what it’s like to have her family around. Moreover, she wants to find Coop’s relatives and seeks Elise’s help. She comes across a couple’s wedding where the groom’s last name is Coopersmith. Intrigued, she decides to try to make a connection.
However, Phoebe isn’t aware that the strange incidents over the last few months have been the concoction of her ex-husband, Cole.
With the help of her sisters, Phoebe’s plan to integrate Coop with the Coppersmiths almost backfires. The groom changes an old ugly wedding cake tradition to be served at the rehearsal dinner instead, which causes a fight between his parents.
Once the conflict is resolved, Phoebe apologises for almost blowing the plan. Coop tells her that she, P.J. and their extended family only matter.
Cole continues to watch and complains to Patty that he cannot believe Phoebe is married to a Cupid. Annoyed, Patty tells him to quit his obsession with her daughter, admit she has moved on with someone else, and remain on task.
Firestarter
Phoebe is at the Manor with Piper when Paige arrives, telling them to go to her house immediately. They find the fire brigade has arrived and the house is ablaze.
Henry barely managed to get the kids out.
It becomes clear that one of Paige and Henry’s twin daughters lit the fire. The family concludes that Tamora and Kat have powers that are variations of Piper’s power.
Henry and Paige disagree on whether the girls should have their powers bound. In the end, they realise that it needs to be done. It is also said that their abilities will return at a later date.
Cole Helps Prue Reunite With Her Sisters
In Salem, a woman named Sarah works at a business called the Salem Witch House with another woman calling herself Patience.
Patience is aware that Sarah is a witch and tries to comfort her.
After Sarah leaves, Cole shows up and Patience aka Prue’s spirit in another body, tries to throw him off the scent. He already knows who she is and tells her she needs to reunite with her sisters.
In San Francisco, the Charmed kids are at Magic School and their powers are going haywire. Piper’s power has somehow frozen half the country, including Henry.
Paige goes looking for Sarah, as she is a potential student for Magic School, and runs into Cole. He tries to stop her from going into the Salem Witch House. She meets “Patience”, but they get thrown backward when they touch.
Patience tells Paige that she’s Prue in a different body. Understandably, Paige doesn’t believe her and is still not certain. She and Prue orb to the Manor where Piper and Phoebe recognise her soul instantly.
There Can Be No “Power Of Four”
Prue explains where she’s been since she died all those years ago and how dying affected her. She adds not being able to fulfil the prophecy of the Power of Three upset her.
Paige feels conflicted and confides in Bailey, the Magic School librarian about whether she will give up being a Charmed One because Prue is back. She decides that to stop the current carnage, she needs to give up her powers. She also thinks it will take the strain off her marriage. However, she is reminded that Henry wouldn’t want her to give up part of herself for him.
Prue tells Paige the Charmed legacy passed to her after she [Prue] died and has every right to be there.
Moreover, Prue decides to have her own powers stripped so that the Power of Three can go back to normal.
No Rest For The Criminal
In the final story in Charmed Season 9 Volume 3, Paige and Henry are summoned to the office of Bob Cowan, Paige’s former boss who had been tasked with finding Henry Jr’s family.
Paige and Henry are surprised to learn that Henry Jr’s father is the son of a well-known criminal. Not wanting to give her son up, Paige comes up with a plan to find evidence that cements the father and son as criminals as there was never any proof. Also, the biological father has no idea his child exists as his girlfriend never told him she was pregnant.
Deciding to use magic, Paige summons a detective from a Neo-Noir story and ends up going on a “date” with Henry Jr’s biological father. She manages to knock him out long enough so she and Quinn, the detective, can get the necessary evidence.
They manage to do so, but it causes a problem at Halliwell Manor. The house starts to turn black and white.
The sisters trap Quinn so they can send him back to where he came from.
The Birth Of A New Halliwell
In the first issue of the final Charmed Season 9 graphic novel, there is still no magic and Phoebe is in labour with her second child. She gives birth to a daughter named Parker.
Phoebe’s boss, Elise shows up just as the Halliwell family’s neighbour asks about the screaming. Piper apologises and says it was Phoebe giving birth. The woman is dressed in a stereotypical witch outfit and gives off Marcie Steadwell vibes.
A leprechaun shows up asking for help. Piper and Paige explain that they don’t have their powers, but some normal humans do. Then Piper gives Seamus an address and sends him on his way.
Piper realises they need to use what they have and gathers Paige, Henry, Elise and Coop together. Leo and Phoebe, who both should be resting, join them.
Phoebe, who had been talking to Elise previously, questions whether Parker will be mortal because she was born into a world without magic or her powers have been suppressed like her sister and cousins.
Henry and Elise, with Piper’s assistance, put gargoyles on the Manor roof.
Piper believes that Rennek is at fault for the magical carnage, but that mightn’t be the case as he is seen in the lap of luxury.
Escaping The Magic Squad
Phoebe’s car runs out of gas and legs it through New York with newborn Parker. The formerly mortal humans who now have powers are hunting those without abilities. Coop manages to find his wife and get them off the street.
They find Paige doing what she can to reassure the kids that they will be okay. Phoebe goes to join Piper who is with Leo.
Leo is about to be operated on to have his wings removed.
Knox Academy, where the group is hiding, gets hit with a fireball.
As the battle continues, an old ally shows up; Darryl.
Prue then arrives with her sister’s powers inside her. She takes a fall and ends up between life and death where she reunites with Cole.
Paige revives her sister.
Prue reveals she knows someone who can help them find Rennek.
Finding Rennek
As the Charmed Ones struggle to find Rennek, Leo returns to memories of his time fighting the Darkligher. Elsewhere, Piper trains a now mortal Prue to train with a crossbow.
Piper threatens to freeze her sister and cause her to combust if she doesn’t agree to help them take down Rennek.
The battle progresses. Rennek goes after Leo and the Charmed Ones aren’t strong enough to stop him with just Piper, Phoebe and Paige. However, Prue is the one who can help as she can break the spell that Leo is under that prevents him from getting rid of his wings and the sword that he has to carry around.
Back at the house after the battle, Piper comments that she and Phoebe’s dad, Victor, might be tired of having the grandkids. Cole then shows up and tells Prue that he is now her guardian as the Elders were impressed that he assisted her rather than helping himself.
Prue also reveals that her spirit is permanently stuck in her new body. Also, the house they’re at, which is not Halliwell Manor, is now Prue’s home as she cannot leave. Cole will spend time with her to prove to the Elders he has what it takes to move on.
Verdict
The comics are fun to read and very easy to get through. The four-star ratings of each volume reflect that Charmed should have had a live-action Season 9 rather than a book version.
