Name: Cordelia Brittany Chase

AGE: 18

Origin:

Cordelia was born in Sunnydale during the summer of 1980 and grew up wanting for nothing. Her parents were filthy rich (their detractors referred to her father as a workaholic moneybags and her mother as a neglectful trophy wife) and left Cordy virtually parentless with vast amounts of money. Her father was often away on business while her mother apparently amused herself by constantly falling ill with some “fashionable new disease.” This left the growing girl with money to “literally” burn, and by the time she was fifteen was the ultimate spoiled little rich girl. Proof of this is when she was nine, she ran over a girl while riding her bike. She couldn’t understand why everyone was worried about the girl’s injuries when Cordelia herself was “traumatized” by the event. Other examples of her shallowness were her labeling of one Alexander Harris as a loser on the first day of first grade for the “crime” of tripping over his shoelaces (not knowing it was because he had formed an instant crush on her) (Road Trip: Duet), and her treatment of both Xander and his best friend Willow Rosenberg, who retaliated by forming the “We Hate Cordelia Chase Club” (Innocence).

In her freshman year at Sunnydale High School, Cordy was the nominal head of the freshman level Popular Clique, with her friends Harmony Kendall, Alison Jarman, Marisa Heerken, and their gophers, Aura and Aphrodesia (A Glimpse At The Past). However, with the death of Marisa and Alison sleeping with Percy Williams and totally trashing her wardrobe and rep (Cordelia didn’t know the truth that Percy had in fact raped Alison), their “positions” in the group were filled by wannabes who did nothing more than hang on Cordy’s every word.

When sophomore year began, Cordelia had seemingly completed her growth into Sunnydale High’s resident bitch-queen. She was completely shallow and self-centered. She even went so far as to name her group the Cordettes, who scorned all but what was fashionable, rich, and pretty (which in turn depended on Cordy’s opinion of the moment). Immensely popular, even more than most seniors, Cordelia was the most desirable woman in Sunnydale because of her combination of looks and money. However, some people were put off by her personality; most of the boys in school were on her string (and the ones she did date tended to end up dead), cruelty to others was one of her favorite hobbies, and when it came to fearing things, Cordelia’s fears revolved around losing her popular status and position on the cheerleading squad. Nothing else mattered to her.

However, what most people failed to see was that underneath the bitchy exterior, Cordelia did have layers. Most of her superficiality was a defense mechanism caused by her parents’ absence; she was actually a lonely young woman who relied on her groupies to have any life at all. That didn’t change the fact that she was ruthlessly honest; tact had never been a stop on her busline. She had no idea that her life would change, and eventually for the better, when the new girl from LA showed up.

When Buffy Summers joined the sophomore class of Sunnydale High, Cordelia reached out to her to test her “cool” factor. When she passed, she gave Buffy a “Sunnydale primer.” She was impressed with the former Angelino but things soon changed. The first of these was Buffy coming after her with a wooden stake, which freaked Cordelia out to no end. Then the new girl started hanging around with her longtime nemeses, Willow and Xander. She quickly labeled Buffy a loser and blackballed her from most good things at school (as Cordy saw it) (Born to Raise Hellmouth). She was amongst those at the Bronze when the minions of the Master initiated the Harvest, a ritual meant to give the ancient vampire enough power to open the Hellmouth. When Xander’s friend Jesse turned really ugly (okay, uglier than usual) and brought her up to this worse looking guy, Cordy finally got the idea that things were not normal that night. Buffy came in and started fighting the uglier guy and Cordelia repressed everything, escaping with the rest of the crowd and not realizing that the people she treated like crap had just saved her life (Glimpse At The Past, The Harvest).

Over sophomore year, Cordelia’s status increased as well as her bitchiness. Her opinion of Buffy soured even more when she noticed that Buffy always seemed to be at the center of the strange occurrences that suddenly began to happen around Sunnydale. However, it wasn’t until the May Queen competition started that she began to get drawn into the Twilight Zone that was life in Sunnydale. Someone began attacking Cordelia’s friends and her boyfriend (du jour). Frantic to end this stalker thing, Cordelia went to Buffy for help. It seemed logical to Queen C; after all, with all the fighting she did, Buffy had to be part of a gang. She wasn’t ready to learn the truth; the stalker turned out to be Marcie Ross, a girl so ignored and forgotten that she literally turned invisible. When she and Buffy were kidnapped and tied up, Marcie (in her unbalanced state) used a sharp instrument to cut Cordy’s face, citing that when she was through with her, no one would want to see her anymore. Buffy broke free and took down the Invisible Girl, saving Cordelia and allowing her to win the May Queen award, a responsibility Cordy took very seriously (Out of Mind, Out of Sight). However, after her rescue at the hands of Buffy, Cordelia did soften a bit towards the Slayerettes, thanking them for saving her life. That is, until her friends showed up and she reverted to her usual shallow self.

But still, this was the beginning, where Cordelia was slowly drawn into the Scooby life. When the Master rose and it appeared that Buffy had been killed, Cordelia was the one who drove Willow and Ms. Calendar to the library (by driving her car through the front doors of the school!) to help Giles try and stop the Hellmouth from opening. Buffy’s reappearance sealed the fate of the Master, but Cordelia had not run when the chips were down (Prophecy Girl). Instead, she ran when summer vacation started, spending the time off from school overseas.

When her junior year started, Cordelia seemed to be back to her usual bitchy self, any kind of conversation making her sound like a ditz. But when she saw that Buffy was alienating those around her, the one person in school who should have considered Buffy’s troubles beneath her instead reached out and told her, “Whatever’s causing the Joan Collins ‘tude, deal with it. Embrace your inner child, spank your inner moppet, whatever. Deal with it, or you won’t even have the loser friends you have now.” While those who “knew” Cordelia best might have scoffed at the idea she was showing sympathy for a loser like Buffy, it might have been her own experiences dealing with home life that prompted Cordelia to talk to Buffy (When She Was Bad). Cordy never got to reveal her motives, as she was kidnapped about ten seconds after Buffy stalked off, one of the keys needed in a ritual to resurrect the Master. As usual, it was Buffy who saved her and everyone else.

When football season started, Cordelia’s focus shifted to cheerleading once again. However, she learned that even with a Slayer in town, she wasn’t immune to stalker boys and kidnapping. She was kidnapped by the brother of a former boyfriend who died (although unlike most deaths in Sunnydale, Darryl Epps’ death was due to an accident), who planned on using Cordy’s head to finish a body to give his reanimated brother a girlfriend. When the lab they were working in caught fire, Buffy fought Darryl while Xander risked his life to rescue Cordy, using the gurney she was strapped to like a bobsled to escape the burning room. Cordy was very thankful and impressed by Xander’s heroism and tried to thank him, but he just blew her off, finding his conversation with Willow (they were talking about why they couldn’t get dates) more important. Xander, who it seemed, had finally overcome his crush on Cordy, failed to see the pained look that crossed CC’s face (Some Assembly Required).

Cordy was again dragged into activities with the Scooby Gang when Ethan Rayne cast his costume spell; despite her put downs of Buffy in the days leading up to Halloween. Buffy revealed to her that Angel was a vampire, but Cordelia didn’t believe her, thinking she was just trying to keep her from taking Angel away from Buffy. She found herself at Buffy’s, the only person (besides Angel and Willow) who remembered who she was (because she’d bought her costume at another store). Her activities mostly consisted of letting the ditzy Buffy cling to her and explaining how Angel was a “good” vampire, although she didn’t totally fail to notice how hot Xander looked as Soldier Boy (Halloween).

When Career Week came to school, Sunnydale’s resident Prom Queen got her monthly laugh when she saw that Xander’s suggested career was “prison guard” (hers included motivational speaker). She again found herself dragged into the weirdness when she and Xander went to Buffy’s house to look for the Slayer. Instead, they found themselves locked in the basement when a wormy assassin forced them to run for their lives. Although their lives were threatened, Cordelia and Xander still found time to have one of their usual shouting matches. It was while they were screaming how much they hated each other that IT happened.

Xander and Cordy found themselves in each others’ arms, trading lip action and swapping spit. After a passionate kiss that would have inspired classical love scene music to play out of television speakers, they seemed to come to their senses and turned their attention to getting out of the Summers basement (What’s My Line, Part 1). After discovering the assassin had left, the kissers helped research the Order of Teraka, the organization that employed the assassin. When Buffy and the new Slayer Kendra went to deal with Spike, Cordy got her first “kill” as an official Slayerette by helping deal with Mister Phister (okay, so what if it consisted of making his worms get stuck in crazy glue and stomping on them with her heels; a kill’s a kill, okay?!?). After the first crisis was over, the longtime foes discussed the second one; their kiss in Buffy’s home. After swearing the highest of oaths not to divulge what had happened, they sealed their bargain by sucking face (What’s My Line, Part 2).

Over the next couple of months, Cordelia feelings for Xander began to grow (she’d claim like, and as irritating as, a fungus), although she tried to hide her attraction for him from the other Cordettes. She also tried to explain to Xander her idea of dating (groping wasn’t dating; they hadn’t actually dated until they went somewhere where he paid for food). Despite her fears of being ostracized by her popular friends, Cordy found herself drawn tighter into the Slayerettes’ circle. Indeed, Cordelia was the one who took down Ethan Rayne with a well-placed knee during the incident where the demon Eyghon had returned to avenge itself on both Rayne and Rupert Giles, showing an early glimpse of the warrior she’d soon become (The Dark Age). She was “truly official” when Xander came to her for a ride when Spike and Drusilla were preparing to reassemble the demon known as the Judge. When she asked if that was all she was good for (mass transportation), Xander replied that if she wanted to run with the Scooby Gang, she had to be inconvenienced once in a while. To her credit, she put up with the “inconvenience” and did her best to help (Surprise). After Angel lost his soul because of the unknown clause in his curse, the team realized that things could not get darker.

Cordelia wasn’t thrilled when Xander came up with an idea on how to beat the Judge, but she sucked it up and was an instrumental part in getting past the guards at the Sunnydale Armory so that Xander could steal a rocket launcher (even if her part consisted of dressing up like a bimbo). She was also with the team when Buffy blew up the Judge and, despite constant complaints, picked up her share of blue bite-size body parts (Innocence).

Cordelia suffered even more “inconveniences” a week or so later when her beloved ‘Queen C’ (her car) had its convertible top shredded by the claws of a werewolf (who later turned out to be Oz). She also brought up to Xander that while she was bringing him to places she couldn’t tell her Dad about because “he still thought she was a good girl,” all he ever talked about was the all-mighty Buffy or the poor, helpless Willow (Phases). It was yet another sign of her growing feelings for him, which would lead to things changing a mere month or so later.

When Steven St. Wolf, a demon hunter known to some on the Watcher’s Council, arrived on the Hellmouth, he rescued Willow from Angelus and his minions. They arranged a meeting that led to Steve joining the team and calling in some allies to wipe out Angelus’ army. While the Immortals took the greater risks when fighting the vampires in the Sunnydale High gym, Cordelia helped by aiming water guns filled with holy water from the second level (New Beginnings). Afterwards, Steve beganto train the Slayerettes in the styles of combat he’d learned during his time in the military and beyond, a combination of ancient martial arts and modern Special Forces tactics.

Cordy soon fell behind in the training, unable to pick up the elements that Steve and Buffy were trying to teach. By the time three weeks rolled around, Steve was wondering what could be done to help her. During a break after being thrashed by the lowly (in her eyes) Willow, a depressed Cordelia finally dropped her tough act and began to cry as she talked to a statue and complained about her inability to keep up with her friends. Unbeknownst to her, her plea attracted the attention of an ancient Power, who decided to follow her while she drove home. When she heard a scream, Cordelia put her misery aside and began searching for the person needing her help. In a display of courage the Scoobies had rarely witnessed, the Popular Queen risked her life against a dozen vampires to rescue Harmony, armed with nothing more than a water gun. When she was captured, the Power known to the world as Artemis made herself known, rescuing Cordy and Harm. Artemis explained how Cordy had gained her attention and she asked why she had been crying. Cordelia replied that she really cared for Xander and wanted to be with him (not mentioning her lack of combat skills). The Goddess of the Hunt offered Cordelia something that would allow her to remain amongst her comrades; Her blessing to become an Amazon warrior.

After being assured that not all Amazons were lezboes, Cordelia agreed, seeing this as her chance to stay with the team. In an unusual display of thoughtfulness, the brunette beauty asked Artemis to make the same offers to Willow, Jenny, and Amy, who were also having problems with the training. The next day, Cordelia was a changed woman in more ways than one. She promptly dumped her Cordettes (to the shock of said Cordettes) and made her relationship with Xander very, very public (to the shock of all). After telling off Snyder, she stormed off to class, not knowing that she’d raised suspicions about herself amongst the others. Xander drew her into a trap and she got to display her new skills for the first time, knocking Steve and Buffy around before being trapped in a containment circle. They did realize in short time that this was their Cordelia, although it took a visit from Artemis and Hercules to learn the whole situation (How Cordelia Got Her Amazon Groove).

At an impromptu party at the Bronze, Cordy and Xander confessed their love for each other. The next day, they showed their affection for each other when members of the football team tried to trash Xander, stating that she was property of the football team. Cordy told Xander to break some bones if he had to, and Xander later stood up for her when a football player called her a “ho.” After school, Cordy took Xander to the Sunnydale Motor Lodge and the couple consummated their love (it was the first time for both). When they woke up, they joined Willow and Oz for patrol and ended up having to bring a vampire to Buffy’s house to explain the whole Slaying and Immortality thing to a frantic Joyce Summers (First Date Blues, Dating Sunnydale Style).

Cordelia’s new status as an Amazon helped her advance rapidly in terms of training and skill. Knowing that Xander had loved her before becoming an Amazon also allowed positive traits she’d never known she possessed to come out and the Scooby began to become less of a bitch and more of a hero (although she was determined to be a fashionable hero). In fact, Cordy’s skills and courage were so well-regarded that when the threat of Throlog being raised came up, it was Cordelia who was trusted with guarding Steve’s house (aka Section Seven’s headquarters). When arranging rooms for the fighters who were in the active combat in Los Angeles, Cordy was accosted by two guys, whose asses she promptly kicked (well, one of them did ask her how much she charged by the hour). After the men were humbled, Cordelia stayed the night at Amy’s, to avoid having to answer her Mother’s questions. The next day, Cordy again assumed guard duty when she wasn’t helping Xander arrange a joke on Casey Romaine or helping save Kendra from two Immortal headhunters. While she didn’t take part in the battle itself, she was the one trusted to keep the support personnel safe (Calling Out The Clan).

Another example of how close Cordy had become to her teammates happened three weeks later, when Quentin Travers made the mistake of indirectly threatening Buffy’s life. Cordelia responded with her typical lack of tact by punching Travers and sending him falling to the ground, but she was the first one to react to the threat against “recalcitrant Slayers.” When Section One came to Sunnydale to kidnap Steve, it was Cordelia that Buffy called for backup. She helped keep Buffy from being kidnapped herself, kicking several Level Fours around with Buffy and Andrea Parker. Her skills didn’t save her later when a three way battle between Section Seven, Section One, and mercenaries hired by Travers erupted, leading to her, Xander, and Willow being gravely injured (it took giving up some of the mystic powers of Vampire Slayer to save Willow). She later took part in the fight to prevent an opening of the Hellmouth by a former Knight Templar-turned-vamp, showing how skilled she was with modern weapons by using ricochets to hit vampires and wound them (Libyan Assault/War of the Sections). After the Endworld mission, in which Cordy aided Buffy and Willow during scouting missions, the team returned home for what was the remainder of their summer vacation (Endworld Assault), although she did see Sydney Greene for counseling after suffering some nightmares about being shot.

As the team celebrated Christmas, Xander left town for a couple days and when he returned, Cordelia could sense some things were different, despite his telling her and Steve what had happened. She didn’t ask though, since she figured her lover would tell her in time. She was also happy to have him back for the rest of Christmas vacation (Road Trip). When the New Year started, the Slayerettes flew to Atlanta to deal with Kakistos and the army he was raising. After the completion of that mission, Cordelia found herself with a new teammate and rival of sorts in fashion matters; Faith Pryce (Faith’s Story). In January and February, Cordelia joined the team on more than one adventure or misadventure; the journey to a world four thousand light years away (Avatars of Sung), the arrival of a Silerwor on the Hellmouth (which led to her mistakenly being identified as the Slayer) (Another Run), becoming the Warrior Princess of the New Amazon Nation in its defense of Earth against the mad goddess bent on destroying all life on the planet (Daughters of the Moon), to her becoming the target of a woman whose brother had been killed in Libya the year before (Drake’s Play).

When a sniper attacked Cordelia, she called in backup and they foiled the first attack. When the second attack came later, Xander was wounded and Cordelia, reacting on instinct, turned and fired on the gunwoman, killing Saraha Acheed. Cordelia, realizing what she’d done by accident and that the woman had been lied to, saw that the death had been for nothing. Cordelia was wracked by guilt and it took counseling from Sydney, discussions with Gabrielle and Sonja, and Xander’s love to get over the tragedy. The misadventure was when a protection spell gone wrong caused Xander (and several others) to fall in love with Buffy’s mother. After being rescued from a trap sprung by Xander, Cordy joined those not actively guarding Joyce in trying to find a cure. She found it by having an illusion of Joyce cast over her and sleeping with Xander (although they were both haunted for a week or so by images of Xander sleeping with Joyce) (Another Tuesday Night In Sunnydale).

In April, Cordelia and Xander were accidentally transported to an alternate reality where the fight had been lost almost two centuries earlier. There, the couple joined up with the local Resistance cell and learned the history of Section Seven in this reality. In particular, their doubles had sacrificed themselves and killed a quarter of Kahad’s army by detonating a nuclear device that gave the Resistance another twenty years of preparation time. Xander came up with an idea to gain allies for the Resistance and Cordy joined him and the cell they’d taken up with on a raid to Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, site of an abandoned military base. Once the Resistance cell (and their general, a white-haired, Amazon-like alien babe calling herself Zealot) realized the impact using the StarGate to call in alien allies could have on their fight, the General called someone to take Xander and Cordelia home. Before they left, Cordelia caught sight of one of the fighters brought in from another Resistance cell to back up the Sunnydale cell. When she approached the girl, who appeared to be about her own age, Zealot snuck up behind her and told Cordy that she wasn’t imagining things; the woman, named Cora by her “creators,” had been genetically engineered using a combination of her and Xander’s DNA. But before they could talk, the Time Lord that Zealot had called gathered the Scoobies up to take them home. Xander and Cordy took home the knowledge that their doubles had made an impact and left behind a legacy to aid the Resistance (although Cordy still wonders how that Tardis thing can be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside) (For Every Action).

When Robin’s best friend showed up on the Hellmouth, Cordelia was amongst those captured when Outworld’s forces attacked. She showed her bitchy side to its best effect, insulting Maeve at every opportunity and once again declaring her love for Xander. When they were freed, Cordy kicked around some ninjas in her anger at having been put up as part of a very bad art deco piece (Immortal Kombat). However, during the last week of April, Cordelia’s life was turned upside down in a way that Slaying never could do; her mother, having had a long affair with the family accountant, split with much of the money that the accountant had said was used to pay off the yearly taxes. The IRS showed up and froze all of the Chase family accounts, leaving Cordelia without money or a home. She was stunned to learn from Artemis that she wouldn’t lose her Amazon blessing and went to Xander for comfort. Despite her year long tenure with the team, she was still somewhat surprised to learn just how close a family they were when none of the team cared about her lost money. Cordelia became even closer to the team and showed just how mature she had become by giving her father some of the money she’d had saved through various accounts (and Section pay for risking her life on a nightly basis) so that he could save the family business (A Fighter’s Tale).

She then allowed Gabrielle and Sonja to show her some charity in the form of a college scholarship and for herself, she moved into the apartment with Xander, where they continue to fall deeper in love (while groaning that their cats are so much like them). Currently, she’s preparing to knock his socks off with the fabulous gown she has for the Prom (Prom Night).

Race: Human.

Description: Cordelia is widely considered one of the most beautiful women in Sunnydale and, perhaps, the state of California. Taller than most of her female teammates, Cordelia stands five foot eight and weighs a well-toned one hundred twenty pounds, a result of her long career as a cheerleader, and later from her intense training with the Scooby Gang. Her greater height is added to by her very long, dark hair (brunette with chestnut highlights) and bewitching, dark hazel eyes.

Cordelia has an incredible figure; tanned arms, muscular legs, and an impressive bust. People can’t help but notice her, not the least of which is because she still takes no prisoners when it comes to looking good. She dresses fashionably (even on her currently reduced budget) and wears tailored clothing whenever possible (off-the-rack clothing gives her hives), but unlike the person she was three years ago, Cordy tries to help her friends look as good as she does rather than play a distant second (even Willow, who she once accused of seeing the “softer side of Sears” when Willow wore an appalling dress Willow’s mother had bought for the red head) (Welcome to the Hellmouth).

Also unlike three years ago, when Cordy’s workout routine was centered on her cheerleading, now her regimen is directed at keeping herself in shape and increasing her physical prowess to fight the Darkness. The result is that while she’s still one of the best looking women in Sunnydale, her body now subtly reflects the power at her command.

Cordelia does have one distinguishing mark on her body; a horseshoe shaped birthmark on the inside of her left thigh. Although at one point only she, her parents, and Xander knew about it, thanks to Xander’s big mouth, now Giles, Oz, Charlie, and Spike have knowledge of that birthmark (Calendar Girls).

Abilities (uncommon): As an Amazon, Cordelia’s strength, agility, endurance, and reflexes have been enhanced to metahuman levels. In theory, Cordelia is as strong as a woman of her height and weight can possibly be (in May 1998, she was capable of doing multiple bench press reps at 500 pounds). Her fighting skills are also enhanced, as is her ability to learn the martial arts.

Abilities (learned): Cordelia has the normal education of an American high school graduate, giving her basic understandings of various sciences, mathematics, and English skills. While Cordelia doesn’t specialize in any particular area (like Willow with computers), she does have a keen intellect (as her 1360 SAT score would attest). She also possesses a wide knowledge of the fashion field and knows how to operate on a budget (from multi-thousand dollar shopping sprees to monthly expenses). Cordy also has some knowledge of cheerleading and how to avoid injuries that commonly occur from those activities.

As an Amazon, Cordelia has taken her devotion very seriously. Because of this, she has done a great deal of research into the Amazons of the past and has a great deal of knowledge concerning the history of her ancient sisters.

Current Status:(include here if the person is immortal or not): Active member of the Slayerettes and Section Seven. Citizen of the United States with no criminal record. Student at Sunnydale High School, accepted to and planning to attend the University of California at Sunnydale on an academic scholarship (Cordelia was also accepted to Colorado State, USC, and Columbia but chose to attend UC-Sunnydale). Member of the Board of Directors of VAN, Ltd, acting as Security Executive. Warrior Princess of the New Amazon Nation. Part-time associate of Wolfshead Security Services, licensed to carry concealed firearms. Cordelia is not an Immortal, nor is she a Pre-Immortal. Having sipped from the Holy Grail, Cordelia’s life expectancy is three to four hundred years.

Proficient weapons: Due to her Amazon blessing and intensive training over the last year and a half, Cordelia is proficient with a wide variety of weapons, ancient and modern day. She is a multiple black belt, with particular training in karate, tae kwan do, kung fu, and various medieval and military weapons. Her favored weapon is the katana, and in all around combat, Steve estimates she and the other Amazons are more than equal to a similarly sized group of Delta Force operatives. In pure getting medieval, Cordelia is not as skilled as Buffy or Steve, but probably ranks in the top five or six on the whole team (slightly behind Giles but equal to Xander and Shaw at this point).

With military weapons, Cordelia is a qualified expert on virtually all NATO, Warsaw Pact, and Israeli firearms. On patrol, she will often carry twin Desert Eagle magnums with appropriate vampire hunting ammunition, although other favored weapons include the Uzi (for close quarters combat) and M16 (for distance shooting).

Current beliefs: Cordelia’s life was recently turned upside down by the IRS audit and especially the betrayal of her mother. She’s seen once and for all just how devoted Xander and her friends are to her. While she is still adjusting to the new lifestyle she’s had thrust upon her, she is doing her best. Moving in with Xander has proven to be a good choice for her, as she and Xander continue to grow ever closer.

Cordelia still has her moments of bitchiness, but they are more commonly directed at those who she feels truly deserve it. Examples include Gar in Calling Out the Clan, Gabrielle (for insulting Artemis) and Travers (for threatening Buffy) in Libyan Assault/War of the Sections, Rhiannon Catchart in Daughters of the Moon (when she hints that Artemis was a minor deity), and that IRS idiot in A Fighter’s Worth. After coming to terms with Xander’s relationship with Willow that was shoved in her face during the Wishvere mission and her realization that Xander is a desirable man who she’s lucky to have love her (she’d heard about his misadventure in love from Willow concerning the Praying Mantis Lady and the Inca Mummy Princess (Teacher’s Pet and Inca Mummy Girl), she’s grown up. Cordy has come to appreciate Xander and see the rest of the team as her extended family, truly considering the other Amazons as her sisters. Part of this was because of the loneliness she felt growing up due to inattentive parents. With Willow and Amy (and later Buffy and others), she has people she can talk to who don’t hang on her every word and will agree with her just because she’s cool. Indeed, three years ago, she and Willow were bitter enemies; now they are as close as siblings with all the love and irritations that are shared by true sisters.

She has also found a new “mother” in Gabrielle, despite Gabrielle’s initial actions in Sunnydale (scoping out Xander, insulting Artemis, and taking her down). The Battling Bard has seen what Artemis saw in Cordelia and as a result, chose Cordelia to be the new Nation’s Warrior Princess and has truly taken Cordy under her wing.

In the near future, Cordelia plans to do what she can to make sure the grant of a scholarship for her education wasn’t wasted on her. She has a good mind and refuses to go back to the airhead ditz she was two years ago. She is happier than she was then because she has true friends and a man that she loves totally. And while she may sometimes show flashes of the Bitch of the Year she once was, it’s usually directed at those who threaten her family.

What is the one most important thing you can say about the character?

It’s been stated by some that Cordelia could be considered a two-dimensional character (specifically, the prototype Joan Collins, Dynasty-class bitch). Of course, those same people sometimes fail to see the subtle changes in Cordelia’s character over the first season and a half of Buffy (up to Phases, where the series breaks off). In the first half of Season 1, Cordy is the Bitch and is exceedingly proud of it. But by the end of the year, she’s started to notice things aren’t what they seem in Sunnydale.

That shows that underneath the superficial attitude that is Cordy, there is a brain after all. In Out of Mind, Out of Sight, Cordelia arrogantly (yet correctly) assumes that the attacks have to do with her. She goes to Buffy for help, remembering how Buffy has been involved with this weirdness before. In Prophecy Girl, Cordy saves Willow and Jenny by driving her car through the front doors of the school to get them to the library to help keep the Hellmouth from opening.

In the second season opener, it’s Cordelia of all people who informs Buffy of what will happen if she keeps treating her friends like crap. While it might come off as her being tactless or typical Cordy, it shows some people that she actually gives a damn about whether or not Buffy has friends or not (perhaps because all she has is her sheep Cordettes). As the season progresses, Cordelia finds herself drawn deeper into the life of the Slayerettes. In Some Assembly Required, she actually tries to make nice with Xander for saving her life, but gets shot down. By What’s My Line, she’s dating Xander and gets her first supernatural kill (okay, they were worms, but it still counts). When Angelus loses his soul, Cordy is on the team, no doubts.

When the Wandererverse breaks from Buffyverse, Cordelia is falling behind in the training and cries about it because she’s afraid of not being able to be a viable member of the team, perhaps fearing getting kicked out. She becomes an Amazon and it kick starts her maturing process, already in progress, into higher gear. In Calling Out The Clan, she’s the one who guards the support personnel. She gets a taste of her mortality in LAWS, but comes out stronger when she finds a new role model: Gabrielle, last Queen of the Amazons.

As the year progresses, the team adds new members; Randi, Brian, Robin, Shaw, and Kendra. When Robin gives Xander an empowerment, Cordelia willingly learns the lesson that she’s been hurting Xander’s feelings with her “I have to protect him” attitude. With his empowerment, she can rid herself of that and they can become closer and more in love without impediments.

Over the course of summer vacation and their senior year, Cordy grows closer to her fellow Amazons and comes to consider them her surrogate family. She loves her sisters and even hopes to find Amy a boyfriend. As time goes on, Cordelia grows from being a fighter to a true warrior, even showing some capacity for field command as we see in the Wishverse. She begins to think strategically rather than just pound her opponents into snail snot (like Gar). She matures to the point that when the IRS audits her father, she sees how wallowing in self-pity is the last thing she needs. She needs her man and her family, and in turn she’s there to help out her father when he needs her the most.

She used to be a self-centered, heartless bitch, but she’s grown into much more than that in the Wandererverse. And while there are still times when she can be a bitch, it wouldn’t be Cordy otherwise. And Xander (and we) wouldn’t have it any other way.

Favorite quote: “I wanted to help my friends, Bitch! I don't know where you were raised, but I wanted to help my friends protect this town. I may have thought of them as losers and nothings a year ago, but they showed me what a few good people could do and I wanted to be a part of them!” (her reason for calling on Artemis and becoming an Amazon, to Gabrielle in Libyan Assault/War of the Sections)

“No, I think that’s whacked! Artemis was SO a major deity. She was the patron goddess for the Amazon Nation. At the height of Amazon influence, Artemis’ worshippers controlled large portions of Asia Minor, all of Libya, and portions of Greece.” (to a teacher, when asked if Artemis was a “minor” deity in the Greek Pantheon <Daughters of the Moon>)

Nicknames: Cordy, Queen C, CC, Defending Champion (of Bitch of the Year Award, by Buffy), the Ball Buster, THE Bitch (by herself), the Meanest Bitch in the Valley (by Artemis), Mistress of the Bitch-Slap (by Sonja), Soliloquy Girl (by Buffy), Cora (ONLY by Xander).

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