Name: Elisabeth Anne “Buffy” Summers
DOB: 19 January 1981
Origin:
Buffy (she prefers Buffy to her Christian name and gives evil looks to anyone who uses it) Summers was born to Hank and Joyce Summers in Los Angeles, California, in the first weeks of 1981. Buffy was placed in her mother’s arms after a very difficult labor which, unknown at the time or until March of 1998, resulted in Joyce’s real daughter being stillborn. Buffy herself was found in an outside dumpster and, thanks to the compassionate doctors, was switched with the deceased infant (Buffy Watcher’s Guide Volume 1, Scooby Snacks: A Question Of Paternity).
While growing up, Buffy wanted for very little, possibly due to the difficulty of Joyce’s pregnancy and the knowledge of how such things could have gone badly. While growing up as an only child, Buffy’s closest relative was her cousin Celia, who was just as close to Buffy as she was to her cousin. Celia would often play with Buffy, in a game where Buffy would pretend to be the DC Comic hero Power Girl (Killed By Death). It was shortly after Buffy’s eighth birthday that Celia took ill and was sent to the hospital. While Buffy was visiting her, Celia suffered some form of seizure and died before Buffy’s eyes. This caused Buffy to develop a combination of hate and fear regarding hospitals, something that lingers to this day (Killed By Death).
By the time Buffy entered high school, she had become something of a spoiled Valley Girl, the prototypical Miss Popular and Cheerleader (Buffy: The Origin <Dark Horse Comics>, Becoming Parts 1-2). During her freshman year at Hemery High School, she quickly staked her claim as the next generation of Popular Clique leaders. However, everything changed in early March of 1996.
Buffy was approached by a strange (and strangely dressed) man with a British accent. He told her that she had a special destiny, and that he was here to start her on the path she’d been Chosen to travel. After asking him if he saw Elvis, Buffy stalked off, wondering if she’d just attracted her first stalker. Her theory seemed to be confirmed the next day when, getting some gymnastics practice, the man calling himself Merrick invaded the naked place (the girls’ locker room). Buffy thought she’d successfully argued that she wasn’t this “Slayer” he was looking for until he tossed a big knife at her. After catching it without injury, she shouted at him that she could have been killed, but he then brought up the strange dreams she’d been having, wherein she’d lived past lives (sort of). Buffy was now intrigued when he put names to those faces and told her he could prove she was the Slayer by virtue of her birthmark on her left shoulder.
She said she’d had that hairy mole thing removed a long time ago.
The next night, Merrick took her to a local cemetery to find her first vampires. When confronted by the existence of the undead, Buffy began to realize that she was indeed meant for something greater (as well as up s--- creek without a paddle or boat). She agreed to take up the training, although in her opinion it was like winning the lottery, only it sucked. Merrick explained to her the history of the Slayers, and how there were many potential Slayers across the world. In her case, he’d been selected years ago to be her Watcher, but had been delayed by other (and still unknown) circumstances. Merrick was hard on her, telling her that he’d trained five girls to be Slayers, and that they’d all died horrible deaths. He also mentioned his father, who was a Watcher like him. He taught Buffy techniques that he said were “subtleties the Council never bothered with” (which might explain part of her unorthodox fighting style).
Shortly after her training began, Buffy rescued a boy named Pike from a group of vampires, one of whom looked strangely like Pee Wee Herman. Merrick told her that these particular vampires worked for Lothos, a master vampire created sometime in the 11th or 12th centuries. He’d killed many Slayers in his time, and Merrick refused to let Buffy go hunting for him until he felt she was ready. The point became moot when Lothos tracked her down and confronted her in an amusement park. He used the charming powers possessed by some vampires (like the Master, Drusilla, and Dracula) to make her drop her weapons and was about to end her short tenure when Merrick intervened, using a gun to inflict pain enough on Lothos to make him lose control of Buffy. Merrick made Buffy run away, saving her own life (by fleeing on Pike’s motorcycle). When Lothos cornered Merrick and promised to turn the Watcher and make him divulge everything about his new Slayer, Merrick did the only thing he could. He put the barrel of his revolver in his mouth and fired his last bullet. Buffy heard the shot and knew what had happened, crying for the man who’d told her not to be his friend yet had willingly sacrificed his life for her.
Buffy tried to leave the Slayer life behind, despite Pike’s objections. Fate dragged her back into the role when Lothos’ minions, having learned Buffy’s identity, attacked her school’s Prom. Buffy went looking for Lothos while Pike led the other students in a battle for survival (including staking his best friend). In the end, Buffy killed Lothos by setting him on fire (using a can of hairspray and a lit cross) and then staking him, muttering, “This is for Merrick” (Buffy: The Origin <Dark Horse Comics>).
In the first case of major denial to the existence of the supernatural, the Principal of Hemery had Buffy suspended for burning down the gymnasium (although the Fire Marshal said it could have been asbestos). Buffy’s parents furiously appealed her suspension, but the School Board denied the appeal. Buffy had enough credits so that she wouldn’t have to repeat her freshman year, but her situation didn’t improve any. She made the mistake of trying to tell Hank and Joyce the truth, for which she was locked up in an institution for two weeks (Normal Again, Scooby Snacks: Psycho Babble). She got out by telling the doctors what they wanted to hear, and by trying to forget that vampires existed.
When she got out, her parents had finalized their divorce and decided that Joyce would have custody of Buffy. Joyce tried to find a school that would accept Buffy, but the only public school that would do so was Sunnydale High School, which was in a suburb of Los Angeles. The decision was made easier by Joyce’s discovery of a property she could buy to open her long desired art gallery. What was not known at the time was that the Council of Watchers (to which Merrick had belonged) had secretly manipulated events to arrange for Buffy’s enrollment at SHS (as well as for Joyce’s purchase of the gallery) (Dating Blues).
Buffy and Joyce moved to Sunnydale in time for her to begin her sophomore year at her new school. Joyce asked her not to blow the school up on her first day if she could prevent it. Within minutes of stepping onto the Quad, Buffy had met her first friend, Xander Harris. He had picked up the stake she’d dropped, to which she replied that everyone in LA was carrying them (pepper spray was so passé). Xander introduced her to his friends Jesse and Willow, and Buffy later met the resident Popular Leader, Cordelia. Cordelia seemed to be impressed with Buffy’s knowledge of what was cool or uncool (like John Tesh being the Devil), but when she saw Buffy gravitating towards Xander and Willow, she quickly “blackballed” Buffy from any popular groups.
Buffy went to get some schoolbooks from the new librarian, who Willow said was “some cute British guy from the British Museum.” When she arrived, she tried to introduce herself, “Hi. I’m…” He interrupted her by saying, “The Slayer.” She was stunned to learn that Rupert Giles was not just a librarian; he was also her new Watcher. She rejected him and her destiny, citing how she’d lost her life to it. She stormed out but Fate, it seemed, was about to bite her in the butt a second time.
That night, when trying to meet Xander and Willow at the local nightclub, Buffy had to rescue them and Jesse from a group of vampires. She was intercepted inside a crypt by a vampire named Luke, who she managed to fight to a standstill. That was enough for the Sunnydale kids to escape, although Jesse was quickly recaptured. When Buffy found out what had happened, after Willow and Xander had been briefed on Slayers and vampires in general, she mounted a rescue operation to get him out. It was too late, as Jesse had been turned and led them into a trap.
Buffy and Xander escaped and found out about the Harvest, a vampiric ritual that would give the Master (Luke’s superior) the power to escape his prison and open the Hellmouth, which sat under Sunnydale. With the aid of Xander, Willow, and Giles, Buffy was able to stop Luke and foil the Harvest, thus keeping the Master trapped (Welcome to the Hellmouth, the Harvest).
Buffy continued to go through adventures during her sophomore year, from trying out for the cheerleading squad (which didn’t work out <The Witch>), to dating a boy but breaking it off with him because he was an adrenaline junkie who lived for danger (Never Kill A Boy On The First Date), to killing a demon who’d become trapped in a robot body (I Robot, You Jane).
The two true bright spots during her initial months on the Hellmouth were her growing friendships with Giles, Xander, and Willow, and her growing attraction for Cryptic Guy, an occasional informant who called himself Angel. It wasn’t until the Three, a group of samurai vampires, attacked Buffy that Angel took a direct role in helping her and they barely escaped with their lives. When Buffy and Angel gave into their mutual attraction and kissed for the first time, Angel was revealed as a vampire. Buffy was tricked into believing that he’d attacked Joyce (in reality it was Darla) and tracked him down to kill him. Angel revealed his origins to her, at least the secret portions Giles had no knowledge of; after a hundred fifty years of murder and mayhem across Europe, he’d killed a Gypsy girl and her clan performed the ultimate vengeance. They restored his soul. He told her that he felt the guilt of a century and a half of unlimited evil every day, telling Buffy, “You can’t know what it’s like to have done such things for a century and a half… and to care.” Realizing her plan to have Angel kill Buffy had failed; Darla attacked them, shooting Angel with a pair of pistols. Angel fought off his injuries and killed Darla, who had turned out to be his sire (Angel).
As her sophomore year started approaching its end, Buffy and Angel grew closer. When Angel provided Giles with a copy of the Pergamum Codex, they found a prophecy that said that the Master would rise and that the Slayer would die. Buffy tried to quit, weeping that she was only sixteen and didn’t want to die. However, her commitment to duty resurfaced when she realized what might happen to her Watcher and friends if she didn’t confront the Master. She found Giles preparing to go after the Master himself and knocked him out. Facing the prophecy that heralded her fate, Buffy went into the Hellmouth chamber. The Master soundly defeated her and drained a portion of her blood. Weakened and unable to stop him, the Master threw her into a pool, breaking free and leaving her to drown.
Luckily for her, Xander and Angel had followed her. They dragged her out of the pool and Xander performed CPR on Buffy, praying that he’d be able to revive her. His attempt was successful and Buffy suddenly revived, spewing forth water. Rather than be weak as most would, Buffy felt somehow energized and powerful. It wasn’t known at the time, but this occurrence would have two far-reaching effects on Buffy.
Buffy exited the Hellmouth and found Giles, Jenny, Cordelia, and Willow attempting to hold back the first demon to come out of the Hellmouth; Tiamat, ruler of the First Circle of Hell and Mother of All Evil Dragons. Buffy somehow deduced that the Master was responsible for her emergence and managed to kill him, leaving him nothing but bones. Still not fully formed on this plane and unable to defeat the Slayer at her low level of power, Tiamat withdrew back into the Hellmouth, which sealed shut behind her (Prophecy Girl, Destiny Unfolding).
After the Prom, Buffy went to stay with her father for summer vacation, during which time she refused to deal with her temporary death. Her father noticed she was distant but didn’t know what had happened. When she came home for her junior year, she started treating her friends the same way (as noted by Cordelia of all people). When she found out that an attempt to resurrect the Master was being performed, Buffy opened her heart back up and ruined the attempt. After dispersing the remaining members of the Order of Aurelius, she took up a hammer and smashed the Master’s bones into powder. When finished, she broke down in Angel’s arms, finally coming to terms with her fears.
The year didn’t become smoother anytime soon as Buffy was confronted with issues on two fronts. The first was the arrival of Spike and Drusilla on the Hellmouth. The second was Joyce being told by the ass of a Principal what a troublemaker she was. Spike attacked the school during a Parent-Teacher conference but was foiled by Angel, Xander, Buffy, and of all people, Joyce (who hit Spike over the head with a fire axe). In the end, Joyce saw that Principal Snyder was a jerk and that Buffy was a courageous and caring girl she could be proud of (even going so far as to promise to lay off of Buffy for at least a week and a half <School Hard>). In the ensuing weeks, Spike became the principal opponent of the Slayer and her Slayerettes, mainly because he took a different route when it came to dealing with Slayers; he had vampires film her fighting style so that he’d know what he was getting into before hand. He made an attempt when Ethan Rayne’s Chaos spell turned Buffy into a witless, ditzy noblewoman from 1775, but he failed when Giles broke the spell and she kicked his ass. He also hatched a plan to bring Drusilla back up to full strength, but the ritual required something only one being could provide; the blood of her sire.
To keep Buffy from interfering, Spike hired the Order of Teraka, a group of assassins going back to the time of King Solomon, to kill her. The Order sent three assassins, one of whom Buffy killed with a skate blade. Another assassin attacked the Summers home (occupied by Xander and Cordelia), while another was yet unrevealed. It seemed her identity was made known when she attacked Angel at Willy’s and locked him in a room with an eastern exposure and then went after Buffy. It was while fighting that the Jamaican woman declared that she was Kendra, the Vampire Slayer (What’s My Line, Part 1).
Some quick research and deductions on the part of Willow and Giles came up with how Kendra’s activation had occurred; when Buffy had momentarily died fighting the Master, it was long enough for the succession process to kick in, activating Kendra (Destiny Unfolding). When they realized Spike’s plan, the two Slayers mounted a rescue operation, foiling the ritual and forging the beginnings of a friendship that lasts to this day. Before Kendra left, she gave Buffy a new view of her destiny, saying that, “Being the Slayer isn’t who you are. It’s what you do. I got that from you.” (What’s My Line, Part 2).
After the departure of Kendra, the Slayerettes learned that Spike was still alive, having survived the climactic battle. Even more unfortunate for them, Drusilla had returned to the peak of her strength and insanity. She concocted the plan to rebuild the Judge, a demon who could destroy anything that had a hint of humanity within it and was immune to all weapons forged by man. This coincided with Buffy’s upcoming birthday (and very disturbing dreams in which Drusilla staked Angel). When the team (including Xander’s new girlfriend Cordelia and Oz, on his first date with Willow) arranged a surprise birthday party at the Bronze, things didn’t go according to plan; Buffy and Jenny stumbled on a group of vampires carrying a box. After fighting off the vampires, Angel realized that the arm inside the box was part of the Judge. Jenny suggested that Angel was the only one who could take the arm to a safe place where vampires would never find it. Angel agreed, believing this to be the case (but not knowing it was an attempt by Jenny to break him and Buffy up). However, Spike and Drusilla had anticipated this; their minions intercepted Buffy and Angel and recovered the arm. The Judge was assembled and killed a vampire who loved books, prompting the giddy Dru to tell him to do it again. When the Judge tried to touch Buffy, she managed to kick him away and the Slayer and Angel escaped with their lives.
They fled to Angel’s house, where after realizing just how close they’d come to being separated (both by the quest and by nearly dying), Buffy and Angel finally gave into their feelings, making love for the first time. However, the feelings of peace and love Angel felt triggered the clause in his curse; his soul began to leave and as his last act as Angel, fled so that he would not feed on Buffy. Angelus was reborn (Surprise). After waking up, it didn’t take long for Buffy to learn what had happened, as well as Jenny’s role in everything. After threatening Jenny, the teacher came clean, explaining her origins and that the curse couldn’t be restored (as the magics had been lost).
Buffy accompanied Giles and Jenny to meet her uncle Enyos, but they were too late. Angelus had killed her and left a message in his blood to taunt the Slayer. It backfired, as it steeled her resolve a bit that her love was well and truly gone. Buffy got the team working on a plan to seek out a way to destroy the Judge, who was now aided by Angelus. Xander thought of a way to do this and he, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz got the supplies needed to enact the plan. Buffy confronted the vampires and the Judge at the Mall, shooting the Judge with a crossbow and gaining his attention. Once she had it, she brought out her new toy; a Strella anti-tank missile. Angelus and Dru, realizing what was about to happen, dove out of the way before the Judge was blown to bits.
Buffy tracked down Angelus and the two fought it out, with Buffy gaining the upper hand and ready to kill Angelus. However, her resolve faltered and he taunted her on it. She repaid his insults by kicking him in the nuts and telling him, “Give me time.” That night, she talked with her Mom about her birthday activities, telling Joyce, “I got older.” (Innocence)
Over the intervening weeks, Angelus cranked up his plan to torment the Slayer, finding ways to hurt her heart. This was done over the objection of Spike, who said what worked with Slayers was killing them. Angelus’ need to play psychological games with Buffy would come back to haunt him only two weeks later. On February 2nd, Angelus had caught Willow out after dark and sent her on a merry chase through Weatherly Park. When two unknowns killed his five minions in mere seconds, Angelus was forced to retreat without being able to kill Willow. He did realize how things could turn for the worse if the two deadly men came into contact with the Slayer, so he hired the Order of Teraka to take them out.
Buffy received a call from Willow, who told her the details about her rescue. The next morning, the Scooby Gang met and discussed the mysterious men. After arranging a meeting, Buffy and the team went to Sunnydale Mall (after bringing Jenny back into the fold upon Buffy’s permission, and Amy Madison, who was approached by Xander and revealed to the team that she’d been working on her witchcraft). When the meeting was about to take place, Buffy suddenly doubled over in her seat, suffering from a massive headache. One of the men who’d rescued Willow told her to look at him and her head cleared. After the initial meeting went fairly well, Buffy talked alone with the man calling himself Steven and one of those who’d accompanied him, an FBI Agent named Scully. It was then that she was told why she’d had the headache; she was Immortal, part of a race of humans who, upon dying a violent death, lived forever and could only be killed by having their heads cut off. The information was too much for Buffy, who begged off learning any more.
After returning to the library, Giles and Jenny talked about the people they’d met (including Jenny’s talk about how Mulder and Scully were as dangerous as Frank Iverson and Steve St. Wolf). Giles dismissed them for the night, having arranged to talk about St. Wolf the next morning. Buffy skipped school that day and went to St. Wolf’s house, becoming overwrought by the revelations she’d been handed last night. She broke down and Agent Scully realized that with her recent trials, Buffy was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She tried to help Buffy, as did Steve and Agent Mulder when they returned from an outing. Buffy checked in with Giles, who was frantic about Buffy’s disappearance. She asked for another meeting to which Giles reluctantly agreed. The truth about St. Wolf’s and Buffy’s Immortality came out with the usual demonstration. After some discussion, Buffy asked Steve to join their team, a decision rapidly seconded by most of the team (Giles being the reluctant one).
After the formal acceptance, Steve called in some friends to help Buffy and the Slayerettes deal with Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla once and for all. The next night, a force of nearly two hundred vampires was wiped out by the twenty Immortals and others who helped eliminate Angelus’ army. With the victory party that was long deserved by the Slayerettes, Buffy approached Steve and besides agreeing to become his student, asked Steve if they could start seeing about a relationship. Steve decided to take it slow as Buffy was still dealing with the loss of Angel (New Beginnings).
Over the intervening weeks, Buffy and the team were joined on patrols by Steve, who began training the Scoobies in the same way he’d been trained, by Immortals and by Special Forces of the US military. Three weeks after Steve had joined, Cordelia inadvertently summoned Artemis, Greek Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, and former Goddess of the Amazon Nation. Artemis felt sympathy for Cordelia, seeing the fire and courage totally hidden by her bitchy exterior, and offered Cordy Her blessing to become her mortal champion, the first of a new generation of Amazons. The next day, Cordy’s changed behavior was all too evident and raised suspicions. After trapping her in a containment circle (and subsequently being trapped by Artemis, who was protecting her new charge), Steve called in Hercules and explanations were quickly doled out, one of which was Buffy and Giles learning just how the Slayer line had started over twenty-five centuries ago (How Cordelia Got Her Amazon Groove, Destiny Unfolding, Tales of the Wandererverse: The Chosen One).
The very next day, Buffy realized that Joyce was trying to set her up with Steve, going so far as to arrange a shopping trip and buying tickets to Titanic. After an acne-ridden jackass tried to falsely accuse Buffy and Joyce of shoplifting, Buffy agreed not to cancel the date her Mom had gone to so much trouble to arrange. After she and Steve had some fun, going through the motions of reluctance for Joyce’s benefit, they left on Steve’s Harley. Buffy should have known that the date was going to go strangely when they couldn’t even go to dinner at McDonald’s without having to break up a robbery attempt, but she and Steve plugged on. After seeing the movie, they returned to Buffy’s house to have some coffee and talk with Joyce. When she walked in, the acne-ridden jackass came at Buffy with a machete. Without hesitation, the young heroine shoved her boyfriend back to protect him from the attack and the man took advantage of her selfless act to stab her through the back. As she fell, Steve burst in and saved her and Joyce by shooting the man in the heart and head. The result of this was that Buffy was forced to come clean to Joyce about everything; Slaying, Immortality, and the fact that Joyce’s last boyfriend had been a homicidal android. In the end, what reassured Joyce the most was the feelings the team had for Buffy and that she wasn’t alone in the fight (Dating Blues).
Things didn’t slow down that much over the next few months. After Joyce was
attacked in her own shop, Steve went to some friends to get some protection.
This came in the form of Spirit Guardians, cats and dogs that could transform
into sabertooth tigers and dire wolves (Buffy adopted a Labrador Retriever she
named Sarah, Joyce adopted another she called Sherlock). Buffy didn’t
appreciate the joke that Steve played on her about sleeping with someone the
previous night but she forgave him once she realized how much he was coming to
care for the team (Kitty’s Tale). Buffy also found herself involved in
events that didn’t have to do with vampires or demons, like when the Amazons
tracked down the Jewish Ripper (Midnight Visitations). Buffy didn’t get
involved with the hunt as she and Steve were fending off an attack from Krtog, a
demon known for killing many bearers of the Swords of Destiny. During that
battle, Steve lent his sword to Buffy, which she used to kill two Gaki demons.
Although Buffy was understandably upset about their date being broken up (as she
and Steve had been about to give into their mutual passion), she knew she had
her man when she found out St. Michael had erected special wards around 317
Bryant Terrace to prevent anything like this from happening again. A short time
later, Buffy accompanied the rest of the team to Dragon Valley to celebrate the
birthday of a dragon named Fragnar, who had given Steve Demon Slayer a decade or
so before. Buffy quickly made several friends there and, despite being a true
big city girl, fell in love with the peaceful valley. She met Smaug and was
given a gift, the mate to Steve’s sword; a mystical katana named Vampire Slayer.
After Steve returned to the Valley (after picking up some entertainment), he realized he’d been the butt of Smaug’s joke. He stormed off, not liking the curse that now bound Buffy to him. When she found out he wanted to break up, she punched him in the jaw and cried that she didn’t care about any curse; she’d fallen in love with him long before she got Vampire Slayer. Fragnar interceded and in a roundabout way, told them the truth. The legendary curse was a hoax, created by Fragnar himself to prevent two Bearers from being killed. Realizing they had nothing preventing them from loving each other without coercion, the couple became even closer (How Buffy Got Her Sword).
During the last months of school, Buffy and Steve took it slow, frustrating their teammates (especially Willow and Cordelia). Buffy enrolled in summer school in order to make up the classes she’d lost out because of her expulsion from Hemery the previous year (Calling Out The Clan). This was made possible by the fact that for the first time, she and the guys were winning the battle against the vampires and demons that preyed upon the Hellmouth. In late June, the team noticed a shift in the populations, which were gathering in Los Angeles. By early July, Steve and Buffy realized that there was something big brewing in the City of Angels. After Merlin told them that Katherine Plantagenet (an noble scion of the house of Richard the Lionheart) was going to raise Throlog, a First Circle demon who’d once been worshipped as an Aztec deity. The team began calling in friends and were aided by an alien calling himself Quinn in preparing to strike at Katherine’s army.
Quinn took Buffy for a quick scouting trip and having determined the lairs of three groups of vampires, the Slayerettes, their allies, and two Los Angeles SWAT teams raided and eliminated four hundred vampires in a series of blitzkrieg raids. Finding out that the target for the sacrifice was the Society of Watchers, the mission took on a tinge of desperation. While Steve called in more allies, Buffy dealt with the emotions she felt, having failed (in her eyes) to save several hundred innocent civilians. Steve helped her with her emotions and in the aftermath of the fight, Steve and Buffy made love for the first time. The next morning, the fight was taken up once again as the various allies of the newly named Section Seven began to converge on the Sunnydale Motor Lodge (although their activities were being watched by the Mayor). Amongst the surprising arrivals were King Arthur Pendragon (the first bearer of a Sword of Destiny), an alien-hunting unit which had former comrades of Steve’s, officers from multiple police departments, and Kendra, her fellow Slayer. Once they found out that the Society was being held prisoner at the LA Forum, the Section moved en masse to stop the ritual and prevent the world from ending (again).
Buffy joined Steve and Arthur in leading the charge against Katherine’s forces. In the chaos of combat, Throlog was summoned and Buffy was among the first to engage the First Circle demon in battle in an attempt to destroy him. When Remo Williams was killed, Shiva possessed him and sent Throlog back to Hell. This wasn’t the end of the fight, as Katherine and her remaining forces tried to kill Steve and Buffy in particular. Katherine challenged Buffy to single combat and Buffy killed the master vampiress, but not before she gave Buffy some advice; she had an army that would die for her, and not to let them down. Despite the fact that this was a soulless vampire, the Immortal Slayer knew that as a royal-type woman, she knew what she was talking about. During searches of the Forum, Kendra was gravely injured by a Sixth Circle demon. Buffy rushed to the hospital and stayed until she was assured by the doctors (and Quinn) that Kendra would recover. The next day, she, Steve, and Giles returned to the hospital where they confronted Sam Zabuto (Kendra’s Watcher). When he tried to kill Kendra to summon a healthy Slayer, a healthy Slayer backed him off, pulling Vampire Slayer and allowing Giles to get Zabuto arrested for attempted murder. In the end, Buffy and Steve arranged for a guard for Kendra and went home to celebrate with those who’d escaped unscathed (Calling Out The Clan).
Three weeks later, things started moving into motion again. The Council, wanting to find out what had happened between Giles and Zabuto from Giles’ point of view, sent a delegation to talk to the Watcher and his Slayer. Quentin Travers, the head of the delegation, was insulted by Giles’ attitude that he would not keep secrets from his allies and friends. Travers tried to fire Giles and ordered Buffy to pack her things so that she could be taken to England and be given a new Watcher. When he made the mistake of threatening her life (however indirectly), Travers was stopped by an angry Cordelia Chase and none other than the Knight General of the Order of the Grail, Marc Le Chevalier. Merlin read that Quentin planned on having Giles killed and kidnapping the two Slayers, so he turned Travers into a duck and forced the other Watchers to leave. After they left, the team received a call from Hannibal Smith, who told them that a madman was preparing to launch a biological attack that would destroy Earth’s population. When Steve tried to keep Buffy from going along, she refused to be left behind. Against his better judgment, he allowed her to go. When they arrived in Chad, the Knights under Steve’s command hit the command post of the terrorist organization. Buffy killed a man with an assault rifle but choked down her horror, knowing that too much was at stake.
As they started retreating, the Knights engaged in a running firefight with Libya’s 3rd Border Guards, devastating the regiment with their superior equipment and an artillery barrage that left the unit decimated. Buffy was horrified by Steve’s willingness to kill the Libyans when they entered Chad, but realized that there were some things Steve had been holding back from her because he’d not wanted her to see that side of him. She was able to accept this side, and they overcame what could have been a rift in their relationship. This was aided by their mutual grief over one of Steve’s friends dying in the battle.
The lovers and their friends journeyed to Paris for the funeral of Francois Renhard and Steve kept Buffy from going with him to relay the news to his next of kin. Buffy was angry at first but talks with Scully and Steve’s deceased wife, Katherine, helped her to understand his reasons and that sometimes, there were things they would not be able to handle as a team or couple. She forgave him by going down to the Victoria’s Secret branch in the hotel lobby and meeting Steve wearing nothing but some skimpy underwear.
Upon arriving home, Section Seven’s activities were noticed by Section One, who sent people to look for Steve St. Wolf and bring him in for questioning. When Buffy approached Nikita, who had attempted to seduce Steve in preparation for getting him kidnapped, she, Cordelia, and Andrea Parker took several Section operatives down with little trouble. She went to Steve’s place of work and a plan of battle was formed to find out who had come after them. As they searched the house with backup provided by the Slayerettes, Mulder and Scully, and Jack Ryan and some of Steve’s former commanders, Section One and some mercenaries hired by the Council attacked almost simultaneously, trying to kill St. Wolf or Buffy and Giles. Cordelia, Xander, and Willow were almost lost in the attack. It took Buffy giving up some of Vampire Slayer’s power to save Willow. In the end, Section One realized they couldn’t take out St. Wolf without facing powerful enemies (and that they had powerful backing in the form of Jack Ryan and the President himself). They aided the Slayerettes in defeating a master vampire to prevent him from opening the Hellmouth. The battle ended when Buffy accepted Reginald de Brachy’s challenge of honorable combat and dusted him with a thrust of Vampire Slayer (Libyan Assault/War of the Sections).
The Section barely had time to rest before they were called on by their old friend Quinn to go to an alternate reality to rescue one of the Q who had been stripped of his powers. With an assault force that was even larger than the one involved in Los Angeles, Section Seven went in and rescued the Q and his friends (including his mortal wife). Buffy showed her leadership skills again and the team returned home, with Steve and Buffy planning a long overdue (and Merlin ordered) vacation (Endworld Assault).
When Buffy and Steve returned from their vacation, they found out things had hardly been boring (and that they’d been lucky not to be delayed again!). It seemed that Angelus, Spike, and Dru had returned, unintentionally summoning a Cenobite who wished to open a massive doorway to Hell by combining the energies of the Hellmouth and a relic called the Lament Configuration. Buffy was stunned to learn that the Slayerettes had been forced to forge a temporary alliance with the vampires to defeat the greater threat, as well as the fact that Spike had betrayed Angelus because Dru had foreseen that he would do the same in the future. She also welcomed a new member to the team, an other dimensional priestess who had some Earth ancestry that tied her to Amy’s family (Born to Raise Hellmouth).
The next major threat came when the ashes of Dracula and several dark artifacts were going to be auctioned off at Buckland’s in San Francisco. Buffy accompanied Steve to the City By The Bay and saw that even a night out could be an adventure when they had to stake a group of vamps in the House of Jazz. The next day, Buffy helped Steve and the others prevent some Black Mages from taking Brian and a young girl named Kat because they turned out to be the reincarnations of two ancient heroes. The Section managed to defeat the Black Mages, but not before they reincarnated the Prince of Darkness himself and forced them to fight one of the Darkness’ greatest minions (Witch Hunt).
Returning home, the team discovered that Shaw had been infected with a Dark Quickening and moved to track her down and bring her home. After a cross-country race, they found her in New York and managed to foil Ares’ plan of trying to enlist Shaw as His mortal champion (but not until after Buffy was forced to send the Headless Horseman back to Hell). Buffy talked to Shaw, who thanked the Slayer for her help in dealing with certain issues regarding her family; Buffy had been the first person who didn’t know beforehand that Shaw had ever told about the scars covering her back (Slayer in Black). Amy later told Buffy that it seemed Shaw had something of a case of hero worship when it came to her (Buffy). Buffy didn’t feel too comfortable with that but she did pitch in to throw the half-elf a birthday party and later enlisted her aid to play a joke on Steve to get even with him for the prank he played on her during his first visit to New Salem (Hunter in Dark).
As the year passed into its final month, Buffy was confronted with something she’d always feared but never realized; what she might have been like if she had lost her mother. Her fear came in the form of another Buffy, who had been transported to the Wandererverse from another reality. Buffy treated Wish Buffy coldly, mostly because she hated what her “mirror” image represented; a cold, emotionless killing machine who lived for nothing more than Slaying. After Giles and Robin called her on it (Giles telling Buffy he was ashamed of her for her behavior towards her twin), Buffy tentatively reached out to the other Slayer, who just as reluctantly accepted the olive branch. Buffy gave her something that she couldn’t refuse; she told her to talk to Joyce and hopefully gain some peace. The impact would be even more than either Buffy or Joyce could ever have expected. When the team journeyed to the Wishverse, Buffy took charge along with Wish Buffy, engaging the vampire minions of the Master and leading one raid before the primary battle. Wish Buffy killed the Master, but not before having her neck snapped, which triggered her own Immortality. Privately, Buffy explained the things about Immortality to her counterpart and both laughed over the look on Steve St. Wolf’s face when Wish Buffy had stabbed the Master with his own sword (Be Careful What You Wish For).
The team returned home and celebrated a well-deserved (and for once, a peaceful) Christmas Day, exchanging presents before Steve and Buffy left for the Caribbean for a short vacation. Continuing their streak of bad luck for time off, they were called back because of duel emergencies; Spike and Drusilla being souled by Shaw, Amy, Jenny, and Willow; and Xander having been attacked by an Immortal hit man (How The Big Bad Stole Christmas, Road Trips). Buffy and Steve had to convince Spike not to kill himself and it was Buffy who convinced the Big Bad to give redemption a try by reminding him that Dru needed him, which was the one thing that kept him from staking himself.
As 1999 began, Buffy received word that there was a vampire army led by the ancient master Kakistos, who was being aided by a vampire named Mr. Trick and the believed dead Angelus. The Slayerettes and a task force from Section Seven converged on Atlanta to deal with the threat. Buffy met the new Slayer Faith Reilly, who was shocked to find out that her Watcher had (unknowingly) lied to her about the fates of Buffy and Kendra. This cemented her decision not to go back to the Watchers, and she asked to help them out. Buffy and the other kids gladly accepted, especially after hearing Faith’s background of living on the streets. During the battle against the vampire army, Buffy confronted Angelus, who had had his soul restored by unknown means (until they returned home, upon which time they found out it had been Shaw). Angelus tried to make things up to Buffy, giving up his life by having his neck broken, apparently killing him. Days later, she was among those shocked to find out he’d been given another purpose. When he realized that Buffy had fallen in love with another, Angel left for Los Angeles, but not before Buffy forgave him and told him if he ever needed help, to call them (Faith’s Story).
When the demon Drake arrived through a dimensional portal, Buffy was among those who found out that there were demons in the world that could care less about destroying or ruling the world. She wasn’t a target of this demon because she was the Slayer so much as she was in danger because this demon hunted Immortals. After their temporary ally, the Rainbow Archer, apparently destroyed the Silerwor, a group of terrorists led by the sister of a man killed by Section Seven in Libya came to take her revenge on the Wanderer. Unfortunately for Buffy, her identity was mistaken for that of Cordelia, which led to Buffy being kidnapped along with the other Slayerettes who were seniors. Buffy and the others managed to win free and covered up their magical abilities, aided by the classic denial of Sunnydale residents. When the situation was resolved, Buffy tried to help Cordelia with her grief over having to kill a human being to save herself and Xander (Drake’s Play).
Shortly thereafter, Buffy joined Steve and the team by going to the headquarters of the Order of the Grail to drink from the Holy Grail. When Joyce collapsed after drinking, it was learned that she in fact had a brain tumor. Buffy began to panic, her greatest fear resurfacing in a way that she couldn’t handle; a physical illness. Robin Goodfellow went to the Fountain of Youth and, after battling Strife to get to the Fountain, helped Joyce to overcome the cancer growing within her. Buffy apologized to those teammates she’d lashed out at because of her terror and started becoming closer to some (Faith) or working to bring others closer (Shaw) (A Midlife Crisis).
Things became slightly less serious when Buffy, wanting to protect her mother from the forces that might come after her because Buffy was the Slayer, asked Willow and Amy for aid in the form of some kind of protection spell. The spell went awry, causing every man who saw Joyce to fall in love with her at first sight. After running around Sunnydale trying to avoid Xander, Oz, Snyder, Ted the pizza boy, and Detective Stein, the situation was resolved and Buffy found herself grounded for one week for attempting to use witchcraft on her mother. She, Amy, and Willow found themselves working at the gallery pro bono (Another Tuesday Night In Sunnydale).
The next crisis the team faced was when a mad goddess tried to destroy Earth’s solar system by sacrificing servants of Earth’s Moon Goddesses. This unintentionally counted Buffy, who had come to worship Artemis by this time. But with the aid of the Amazons, her fellow Slayers, Shaw, Morgaine le Fay, and several of Earth’s Goddesses, the plan was foiled (Daughters of the Moon). Out of this came a surprising development; besides being named the Queen of the New Amazon Nation, Gabrielle was revealed to be one of the Nine, the destined wielder of the sword Purity.
As February and March passed along, Buffy began preparing for her inevitable Graduation and college. She was among those struck speechless upon discovering her 1430 SAT score (second only to Willow’s 1500 but just ahead of Cordy’s 1360). She was accepted to Northwestern University and UC Sunnydale, choosing the latter college because this was where Steve and her friends were (and because she refused to go to college where it snowed in the winter). The first week of April, Buffy met another of the mystical champions of Earth, the Guardian Diana Tregarde. When the Mayor, in his attempts to block their meeting, allowed some Black Mages to attempt a dangerous spell in Weatherly Park, Buffy was among those who were transported to an alternate reality. After finding out she was two years in the past (and getting really, really po’ed about it), Buffy decided to take care of first things first. She tried to buy a cheeseburger but when she entered a diner full of lycanthropes, she tossed one werewolf through a window and complained that all she’d wanted was a fricking cheeseburger. The same night, she found herself trying to save a woman from a vampire, only to have the woman shout that she’d call the police if Buffy didn’t stop attacking her boyfriend. Buffy ran off into the night, wondering what the Hell she’d gotten herself into.
The next morning, Buffy went to a St. Louis library and began studying. Besides cursing Giles for making her into a book geek, she discovered that she’d been transported to another world, one where the supernatural was known and accepted. What she did NOT like finding out was that on this world, vampires were legal citizens of the United States (although not anywhere else). Buffy realized that she was going to have to find her own way home and set out to think up a plan to do so. However, it seemed her previous night’s hijinks were not well received by the local supernatural crimes unit (a local, police version of the X-Files division). When one of their members, a practicing witch, tracked her down, Buffy led them on a running fight, pulling her punches as she tried to escape. She found herself drawing down on another woman, Anita Blake. After Anita tried to stop her, Buffy threw the animator around like a rag doll (Anita only weighs a hundred pounds as it is) before starting to escape. She stopped and realized that perhaps the local magic cops were the people to help her find a way home. After explaining her situation to the skeptical police (even Anita and the witch found alternate realities hard to believe in at first), Anita accepted responsibility for Buffy once the witch read Buffy’s aura and saw things that could not be seen on people native to their Earth.
Needing a source of information, Anita took Buffy to see a frequent contact of hers. Upon saying that she’d seen everything upon finding out the contact ran a vampire strip club, the bouncer wasn’t happy to realize that a Slayer had been brought to Guilty Pleasures. Buffy threatened him if he didn’t back off and Anita vouched for her, saying that she needed to see Jean-Claude. The Master of the City couldn’t believe that a Slayer existed. When Anita and Buffy asked how he couldn’t believe it if he knew what Slayers were, he reluctantly revealed the truth; over two hundred years ago, the Ruling Council of vampires had hired a coven of witches to deal with the Slayer of that world and time. The Slayer’s Watcher, a powerful witch in her own right, was killed, but the Slayer was not so lucky. To avoid having future Slayers called, Maria Delgado was placed into magical stasis (or as Buffy put it, the Sleeping Beauty spell). By doing this, the Council prevented any future Chosen Ones from being called to hunt them down. Buffy, rightfully outraged at this treatment of her “sister,” threatened Jean-Claude and told him to tell her where she was imprisoned. Jean-Claude laughed her off until Buffy produced Vampire Slayer, calling it the Japanese version of Excalibur to give him an idea of just how powerful her sword was. When she realized that even that wouldn’t work, she switched gears and, in a display of strategic thinking, made a deal with the devil.
If Jean-Claude secured Maria’s release from stasis and brought her here, Buffy would take that world’s Slayer with her when she returned home. This would free the vampires from the threat of ever having a Slayer on their world again, while allowing Buffy the chance to free the Slayer from a fate worse than death. Jean-Claude, being the ultimate businessman, agreed to do what he could.
Anita wasn’t thrilled about the plan but Buffy wouldn’t budge, citing that any life, even one two centuries after her peers were dust, was better than nothing at all. Anita was then called on a case that seemed to involve a demonic sacrifice and Buffy accompanied the Executioner, hoping to lower the tension caused by Buffy’s plan.
Buffy aided Anita and the RPIT unit from the St. Louis police department handle the demon and its cultists, Anita’s powers of necromancy and Buffy’s Immortal healing allowing them to combine their powers to foil the sacrifices that would bring the demon to this Earth. After they finished the case, Anita received a call from Jean-Claude; the Slayer had arrived.
The Slayer and Executioner arrived just in time for Maria’s coffin to be opened. Because the vampires didn’t know how to cancel the spell, Buffy used Vampire Slayer’s ability to cancel hostile magics to negate the stasis. She kept Maria from launching a suicidal assault against the vampires and talked to her in private, explaining what had happened and her bargain with the Ruling Council. Although angry and hesitant, Maria knew that if she wanted to avoid being placed back into stasis (as the vampires would not be stupid enough to kill her), she reluctantly agreed to accompany Buffy back. Two days later, after Buffy had given her a Cliff’s Notes version of her Earth’s history and the current situation, Joan of Arc appeared and Buffy grumbled that she was three weeks late. Buffy was taken back home with a new companion. Upon arriving, Steve told Buffy what had happened during their trip elsewhere, and that they had to head out to help Connor and Duncan MacLeod out of a trap laid by Connor’s old enemy, Jacob Kell. Placing Maria in the care of Edwin Giles and Amy Madison, the Slayer and Wanderer journeyed to Glenfillen, Scotland, only to find the situation resolved by Shaw, Faith, and a friend that Mielikki had enlisted to stop them. When Shaw was unexpectedly cold towards her and Steve, Faith relayed both her and Shaw’s time travel stories, including how Shaw had given the Slayer swords to the Dragons to ensure they would get them in time.
The warriors returned home and Buffy asked Steve to allow her and the other travelers some time to get used to being back in the “real world.” Things didn’t get to settle down to quickly as Outworld attacked only weeks later. Buffy was amongst those captured and imprisoned for the sacrifice that would merge the two planes together. Once they were rescued, Buffy avenged her imprisonment on the Outworld forces, showing them just what an Immortal Slayer trying to protect her family was capable of (Immortal Kombat).
The next day, the rising of a new Crow made it necessary for the team to cut short their rest. Although Buffy stayed in Sunnydale, she did receive some peace; she made her peace with Angel when she found out he was in love with another woman, an LA police officer. The lack of schoolgirl jealousy showed the Slayer that she had grown up tremendously over the past year, and to her, it felt good (The Crow: Vengeance Never Dies). As the hectic April ended, Buffy looked forward to a new challenge that she didn’t relish:
Getting her boyfriend to take her to the Prom. However, with her skills of diplomacy and the tricks only she had mastered (the puppy dog eyes and the killer pout), she succeeded admirably (Prom Night).
Race:Human.
Description: Buffy is an attractive eighteen year old woman, the prototype of a “California Girl;” shiny blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and a dazzling smile. What most people know (although Buffy doesn’t mention it to others) is that her hair color isn’t natural; her normal color is a deep brown color that would be attractive enough on its own, but she prefers the lighter color. Another feature that “stands out” is Buffy’s pug nose, which instead of being a drawback, only adds to the beauty that the Slayer radiates.
Buffy has a beautiful, lean, suntanned body that she maintains with an almost-daily regimen of aerobics, martial arts, Slaying, and Covert Operations. She is on the short side, standing only 5’3” tall and weighing barely one hundred ten pounds, but that only serves to hide the power at her command. Unlike many of her fellow seniors, who dress only to look good, Buffy’s outfits will alternate between fashionable and serviceable (if she expects to Slay something during the day). At night, Buffy usually wears clothing better suited for her calling, like sweaters, pants, boots, and leather jackets she can hide her weapons in.
Abilities (uncommon): As the Slayer, Buffy has greatly enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, agility, and endurance. Like most Slayers who last longer than the average (less than a year), Buffy has grown stronger as time has gone on. Her fighting and gymnastics abilities put even other Slayers or Amazons to shame at times, and Buffy is the only Slayer who has not been adversely affected by Amy’s enhancement spell. Buffy has the same Slayer sense that allows her to detect vampires within one hundred feet of herself.
As an Immortal, Buffy does not age (she is permanently frozen at her appearance at age sixteen), is immune to all diseases, and cannot be killed permanently unless she is decapitated.
One anomaly caused by Buffy’s dual Slayer abilities and Immortality is the speed at which she recovers from physical injuries. Both Slayers and Immortals heal at quicker rates than normal humans, and being the only known Immortal Slayer, Buffy’s recuperative powers are nothing short of amazing.
Abilities (learned): As the Slayer, Buffy has the ability to learn fighting arts and weapons skills at an increased rate of speed (her exact abilities are detailed below). Besides her combat skills, Buffy has learned much over the last three years. She has the typical education of an American teenager and high school graduate (albeit being one month away from Graduation). She has some knowledge of the sciences like chemistry and biology, mathematics, and computer operations. Buffy could also be classified as multilingual, but that’s iffy at best (besides English, she has one year each of high school Spanish and French, and Giles hasn’t given up on teaching her Latin).
Buffy also has a wide knowledge of vampires, demons, and other supernatural critters that she uses to perform her duties as the Slayer (although it’s gotten to the point where when a half-elven priestess from another dimension shows up, she merely wonders why they get all the weirdoes). Buffy is more intelligent than most people (like typical vampires, ancient vampires, less than brilliant demons, and Snyder) give her credit for, as her 1430 SAT score would attest. However, she hides this sometimes to devastating (to her opponents) effect.
Current Status: (include here if the person is immortal or not): Leader of the Slayerettes, Executive Officer of Section Seven (while Steve is recognized as the field leader for out of town or larger operations, in Sunnydale Buffy is more often seen as the leader of the guys). Citizen of the United States with no criminal record (hey, the Fire Marshal SAID it could have been asbestos!). Senior at Sunnydale High School, accepted to and preparing to attend the University of California at Sunnydale. Buffy is an Immortal and has been Immortal for nearly two years (her anniversary is June 2nd).
Proficient weapons: As a Slayer, Buffy has the capability of becoming a master with all known weapons that she can handle. She is a recognized master or expert with the following weapons already; katana, longsword, hand axe, crossbow, hand crossbow, stake, quarterstaff, M16A2 rifle, Uzi submachine gun, and Glock 9mm pistol. Buffy has the equivalent of black belts of varying degrees in the following fighting arts; Slayer Style (the art learned by Slayers from their Watchers), Amazon style (taught to her by her friends and Sonja and Gabrielle), Okinawan style karate, tae kwan do, Chuan Fa kung fu, Zen sword, Philippine stick fighting, archery, and fencing.
Also, Buffy is a qualified expert on almost all known NATO and Warsaw Pact weapons due to her intensive training over the last year and a half with Steve.
Current beliefs: Buffy’s beliefs have undergone radical changes since meeting Steve in February of 1998. At the time, she thought she was the lone champion fighting a losing battle against the Darkness that would result in her dying an early death. Since finding out about and coming to accept her Immorality and importance to the world, Buffy has gone from being an angst-ridden junior to “Lady Buffy” (as King Arthur refers to her), one of the future Generals in the war to save mankind.
As of May 1999, Buffy accepts the burdens and responsibilities that come with being the Slayer and a Sword Bearer, although it doesn’t rule her life. Like when she first met Merrick, Buffy fights to keep her freedom and to have a life outside of the fight. Things are made easier by the fact that her friends are now more than capable of surviving the fight as well, not to mention the unwavering support given to her by Joyce, who serves as Buffy’s rock. Although she still has her doubts at times (like in COTC or LAWS), Buffy has emerged a better person who refuses to allow any innocents to suffer if she can avoid it. While she still shows the occasional flash of immaturity (despite the progress she’s made over the years, she IS only eighteen) that teenagers will show, the Immortal Slayer now takes comfort in that she has a definite future that doesn’t involve being alone in her battles, and that she has a man to love that won’t die on her anytime soon.
Buffy still has her weaknesses, some of which are due simply to her lack of experience when one compares her to Steve, Mulder, Scully, Gabrielle, and others who have been fighting a similar fight for a much longer time. In LAWS, she finds herself in her first real battle against human opponents and learns two lessons; things aren’t black and white as they sometimes are in the demonic battles, and that even human beings can be worse than things without a soul. In Wish, Buffy faces one of her unspoken fears; what she would be like if she had only the Slaying. This fear manifests itself in Wish Buffy, but in the end Buffy puts aside her issues and tries to reach the person inside, the person she is now. While not totally successful at first, the stepping-stones are laid for her double.
In Mid Life Crisis, Buffy’s other fear, losing her mother, is nearly realized because of the brain tumor. Again, she shows her true age by snapping at others like Shaw and Faith. But when she sees she’s at fault, she makes things right.
The one thing Buffy still has to work on is that she (and by extension, the rest of the team) simply cannot be everywhere at once. They can’t save everybody. Buffy still tends to be harder on herself (as told to her by Alika in The Chosen One), holding herself up to standards higher than her teammates simply because she thinks she has more responsibility. Despite her living the life of an American teenager, she sometimes conveniently forgets (to her disadvantage) that she is still a teenager with a long life ahead of her.
In time, with the help of her friends and the man she loves, she will overcome this weakness and become even more of a hero than she is now.
On a personal level, Buffy’s extended family continues to grow closer. When Steve arrived, she only considered Joyce, Giles, Xander, and Willow “family,” the others were just friends (yes, even Jenny!). As the team faced more challenges and became closer, they bonded in a family way and truly became a band of brothers and sisters (proof of this being that Buffy is sisters with Cordelia and Faith of all people). Over time, Buffy has also helped others to see that they are part of the family when they were partially blind to that fact (like Shaw or Robin). Quite simply, Buffy is a key member of the Scooby family and takes after her Mother in that she willingly embraces new members (like Kendra or Faith). One person, though, who is not a member of her extended family at this time is her “father.” For some reason, Hank Summers has not been included by Buffy in any aspect of her life after the summer break between her sophomore and junior years. Instead, she seems to have two new father figures now; Rupert Giles and the mysterious JP Withers, the Immortal Demon Hunter who was Aderron, Captain of the Atlantean Guard.
What is the one most important thing you can say about the character?
As one of the two “main” characters in the Wanderer universe, it’s quite simple when it comes to Buffy. If not for her, there wouldn’t be any Slayerettes.
We see this in the episode The Wish, what would have happened if Buffy hadn’t arrived in Sunnydale. In Phases, Xander gives another take on the consequences of Buffy not being there for them (although his take, him not having a head and Willow being Robbie the Robot’s love slave, is funnier than events in The Wish). Buffy is, to put it as simply, the heart and soul of the Slayerettes. She is the one who inspires the others (Giles, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz to start with) to join a fight that they aren’t really equipped to fight. She’s the leader, nuff said.
When Steve St. Wolf comes to town, Buffy and the team come to understand that they aren’t alone in the dark. There are other sources of light in the world that hold back the night. Buffy makes the offer to Steve to join, not only because she likes him, but because she recognizes someone with the experience she can only dream of achieving (until she finds out she’s Immortal). The team supports her decision, even Giles (despite his reluctance). She goes slowly with Steve despite her irritation over his James Bondy behavior (Kitty’s Tale, Midnight Visitations). In Calling Out the Clan, Buffy finally steps out of Steve’s shadow and starts to recover from her Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome by taking down Pat Kelly. We begin to see the beginnings of the leadership abilities she’s had all along, but rarely had to exploit. This grows stronger during later battles in Libya, the Wishverse, Midkemia/Krondor, and in the Anitaverse when she negotiates the release of a Slayer wrongly imprisoned.
Buffy is the Chosen One, but she’s no longer alone. And as her support network continues to flourish, the Immortal Slayer will continue to grow and inspire others to follow her.
Favorite quote: “In this day and age, it doesn't matter any more. We don't fight alone anymore. We have allies that will help us and protect us, if we need it." (to Kendra, when Kendra asks Buffy about keeping the identity of the Slayer secret)
"Miss Cole, for your information, I've been fighting these vampires for over two years. Steve, just came here less than a week ago. One of those bastards killed me when I was sixteen. Besides vampires, we have fought demons, animated corpses, witches and the Order of Teraka. Steve, Frank, Mulder and Scully understand that we won't be shoved aside. You all may be a thousand years old for all I care, but we've been here, fighting, these things for the last two years and WE WON'T BE TREATED LIKE CHILDREN." (to Reagan Cole, defending herself and what she and the Slayerettes have gone through in two years of fighting alone)
Nicknames: Buff, The Buffster, Slayer, The Chosen One, B, Bottle Blondie, Little-Miss-Likes-To-Fight, The Bitch, Lady Buffy.