Buffy Summers
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===Television=== | ===Television=== | ||
| + | Buffy returned in Joss Whedon's television series ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', this time played by [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] for all of the show's [[List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes|144 episodes]]. In season one (1997), Buffy begins to accept the responsibilities and dangers of her calling as the Slayer after moving to the small [[California]] town of [[Sunnydale]]. She becomes best friends with [[Xander Harris]] ([[Nicholas Brendon]]) and [[Willow Rosenberg]] ([[Alyson Hannigan]]), and meets her new [[Watcher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Watcher]], [[Rupert Giles]] ([[Anthony Head|Anthony Stewart Head]]). Together, they form the [[Scooby Gang (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Scooby Gang]], and work together to battle [[Villain of the Week|various supernatural occurrences]] which plague [[Sunnydale High]]. In the season finale, Buffy battles the villain known as the [[The Master (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Master]] ([[Mark Metcalf]]), and is drowned in the process. She is [[CPR|resuscitated]] by Xander and rises to defeat the vampire. In the show's second season (1997–1998), Buffy continues to come to terms with her destiny, finds forbidden love with benevolent vampire [[Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Angel]] ([[David Boreanaz]]), and clashes with new villains [[Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Spike]] ([[James Marsters]]) and [[Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Drusilla]] ([[Juliet Landau]]). In the episode "[[Surprise (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode)|Surprise]]", Buffy loses her virginity to Angel, an event which triggers the loss of his soul and unleashes his sadistic alter-ego, Angelus. Angelus proceeds to subject the characters to mental and physical torture for the remainder of the season. In the final episode of season two, Buffy is forced to reveal her identity as the Slayer to her [[Joyce Summers|mother]] ([[Kristine Sutherland]]), and send the newly-good Angel to [[Hell|hell]] in order to save the world. She then leaves Sunnydale for [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] in the hopes of escaping her life as the Slayer. Season three (1998–1999) sees Buffy reconnect to her calling, her friends, and her family after her departure, as well as make difficult life decisions regarding her relationship with the resurrected Angel. She must also deal with the introduction of rebellious new Slayer [[Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Faith]] ([[Eliza Dushku]]), who becomes increasingly destructive and disloyal over the course of the season. In the season finale, Buffy stabs Faith in an attempt to save Angel's life, and leads her classmates into a climactic battle against the demonic [[Richard Wilkins (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Mayor of Sunnydale]] ([[Harry Groener]]). Angel then leaves Sunnydale in hopes that Buffy can have a more normal life without him. | ||
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| + | In the fourth season (1999–2000), Buffy balances her Slayer duties with her new life as a college student at [[University of California|UC]] Sunnydale. She experiences some difficulty adjusting to college life, and becomes increasingly disconnected from her friends, who all seem to be moving in different directions. Buffy eventually finds a new love interest in the form of [[Riley Finn]] ([[Marc Blucas]]), a soldier in the demon-hunting [[U.S. Government|government]] [[Task Force|task force]] known as the [[Initiative (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Initiative]]. She briefly joins forces with Riley's team, until they discover one of the Initiative's experiments, [[Adam (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Adam]] ([[George Hertzberg]]), is creating an army of demon-human hybrids. Buffy literally unites with her friends to defeat Adam in a spell which invokes the power of the [[First Slayer]]. During ''Buffy'' season four, Buffy also appears in the first season of spin-off series ''Angel'' (1999–2000), guest starring in the episodes "[[I Will Remember You (Angel Episode)|I Will Remember You]]" and "[[Sanctuary (Angel Episode)|Sanctuary]]". In season five (2000–2001), Buffy battles the hell-goddess [[Glorificus|Glory]] ([[Clare Kramer]]), and fully embraces her destiny for the first time. A younger sister named [[Dawn Summers|Dawn]] ([[Michelle Trachtenberg]]) mysteriously appears in Buffy's household, her existence having been seamlessly integrated with memories of the other characters. Buffy suffers emotional turmoil throughout this season, including the realization Dawn is not actually her sister, the deterioration of her relationship with Riley, the discovery that Spike has become [[Obsessive love|obsessed]] with her, and her mother's death from a [[Cerebral Aneurysm|brain aneurysm]]. While on a quest to learn more about her nature as the Slayer, Buffy is told "death is her gift, a message she has difficulty understanding until the episode "[[The Gift (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode)|The Gift]]", in which she sacrifices herself to save Dawn and the world by diving into Glory's interdimensional portal and closing it. | ||
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| + | Season six (2001–2002) depicts Buffy's struggle with [[Depression (Mood)|depression]] after her friends, believing she was trapped in a [[Hell]] dimension, performed a spell to bring her back from the dead; however, she was actually in [[Heaven]], and feels great loss after being ripped out. Forced to take a mundane and degrading job slinging burgers at the [[Fast Food Restaurant|Doublemeat Palace]], she begins suffering from extreme depression and self-loathing, embarking on a violent sexual relationship with the vampire Spike which leaves neither satisfied and spawns dire consequences for the both of them. As the season draws to a close, Buffy is forced to battle her best friend when Willow becomes psychotic with dark magics after the human, [[Warren Mears|Warren]] ([[Adam Busch]]) shoots and kills Willow's girlfriend [[Tara Maclay|Tara]] ([[Amber Benson]]) and wounds Buffy in the process. Willow then tries to destroy the world to end all suffering, although Xander gets through to her in the end. Buffy then promises to change her self-destructive behavior in order to be there for her sister. In the final season of the show (2002–2003), things start to come around for Buffy when Principal [[Robin Wood (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Robin Wood]] hires her as a school counselor for the newly-rebuilt Sunnydale High School and she has repaired her relationships with Dawn and her friends. However, she is also confronted with the threat of the [[First Evil]] and becomes a reluctant leader to the [[Potential Slayers]], who are initially respectful of her, but become increasingly more alienated by her tactics and decisions throughout the season. She unexpectedly becomes emotionally close with Spike, who has sought out his soul in an effort to prove himself to her. In the show's final episode "[[Chosen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode)|Chosen]]", Buffy shares her power with her fellow Slayers before leading them into an epic battle against an army of [[Turok-Han]] vampires. She also confesses her love to a disbelieving Spike before he sacrifices himself to save the world; as he dies, Buffy escapes Sunnydale's destruction with the surviving characters. Following the end of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', the character maintains a presence in the fifth season of ''Angel'' (2003–2004), but does not appear onscreen. In the episode "[[The Girl in Question]]", Angel and a resurrected Spike travel to [[Rome]] to find her, where they learn she is apparently now dating the [[The Immortal (Angel Character)|Immortal]]. Sarah Michelle Gellar was approached to appear as Buffy in ''Angel''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[You're Welcome (Angel Episode)|one hundredth episode]], but declined, so the character of [[Cordelia Chase]] ([[Charisma Carpenter]]) was used instead. She was asked to appear in the second to last episode of the series, "[[Power Play (Angel)|Power Play]]", but had to decline due to outside conflicts. | ||
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| + | Between 2001 and 2004, Joss Whedon and [[Jeph Loeb]] developed a 4-minute pilot episode for ''[[Buffy the Animated Series]]'', which was set during the show's first season. Had the series been picked up by a network, the series would have focused upon Buffy (voiced by [[Giselle Loren]]) in more high-school adventures. Following a 2008 [[Internet Leak|leak]] of the pilot to [[YouTube]], Loeb expressed some hope the series may be resurrected in some form. | ||
===Literature=== | ===Literature=== | ||
Revision as of 15:52, 9 September 2013
| Buffy Summers | ||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel character | ||
| First appearance | Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film) (1992) | |
| Created by | Joss Whedon | |
| Portrayed by | Kristy Swanson Sarah Michelle Gellar Giselle Loren | |
| Information | ||
| Affiliation | Scooby Gang Watchers' Council | |
| Classification | Slayer | |
| Notable powers | Supernatural strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and rapid healing. Enhanced intuition, prophetic dreams. | |
Buffy Anne Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous non-canon expanded universe material, such as novels, comics, and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film, and later by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series.
Buffy is the protagonist of the story, and the series depicts her life and adventures as she grows up. In the film, she is a high school cheerleader who learns that she is the Slayer (a Chosen One gifted with the strength and skills to fight vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness). The television series shows Buffy carrying out her destiny in a small town built atop a portal to hell (Hellmouth), surrounded by a group of friends and family who support her in her mission. In the comic book continuation, she is a young woman who has accepted her duties and is now responsible for training others like her. The character of Buffy was created to subvert the stereotypical female horror film victim; Whedon wanted to create a strong female cultural icon. In 2004, Buffy was ranked at number 13 in Bravo's list of The 100 Greatest TV Characters. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly ranked her third in its list of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years. AOL named her the sixth Most Memorable Female TV Character.
Contents |
Appearances
Film
The character of Buffy first appears in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer film, played by Kristy Swanson. The film, written by Joss Whedon, depicts Buffy as a shallow high school cheerleader who is informed by a man named Merrick (Donald Sutherland) that she has been chosen by fate to battle the undead. Buffy reluctantly undergoes training in her abilities by Merrick, and as her responsibility as the Slayer causes her to become alienated from her valley girl peers, she finds friendship and romance with fellow outcast Pike (Luke Perry). Merrick eventually comes to respect Buffy's rebellious nature, and she defeats vampire king Lothos (Rutger Hauer) by relying on her own contemporary style as opposed to traditional Slayer conventions. Although this film is not in continuity with the later television series, in 1999, author Christopher Golden adapted Joss Whedon's original script into a comic book entitled "The Origin", which Whedon later confirmed to be "pretty much" canonical.
On May 25, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment would be working with Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kazi Kuzui on a relaunch of the Buffy series for the big screen. The series would not be a sequel or prequel to the existing movie or television franchise and Joss Whedon will have no involvement in the project. None of the cast or original characters from the television series will be featured. Television series executive producer Marti Noxon later reflected that this story might have been produced by the studio in order to frighten Joss into taking reins of the project. Studio interest in the project has continued, however. A script was rejected in 2011.
Television
Buffy returned in Joss Whedon's television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this time played by Sarah Michelle Gellar for all of the show's 144 episodes. In season one (1997), Buffy begins to accept the responsibilities and dangers of her calling as the Slayer after moving to the small California town of Sunnydale. She becomes best friends with Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), and meets her new Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). Together, they form the Scooby Gang, and work together to battle various supernatural occurrences which plague Sunnydale High. In the season finale, Buffy battles the villain known as the Master (Mark Metcalf), and is drowned in the process. She is resuscitated by Xander and rises to defeat the vampire. In the show's second season (1997–1998), Buffy continues to come to terms with her destiny, finds forbidden love with benevolent vampire Angel (David Boreanaz), and clashes with new villains Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau). In the episode "Surprise", Buffy loses her virginity to Angel, an event which triggers the loss of his soul and unleashes his sadistic alter-ego, Angelus. Angelus proceeds to subject the characters to mental and physical torture for the remainder of the season. In the final episode of season two, Buffy is forced to reveal her identity as the Slayer to her mother (Kristine Sutherland), and send the newly-good Angel to hell in order to save the world. She then leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles in the hopes of escaping her life as the Slayer. Season three (1998–1999) sees Buffy reconnect to her calling, her friends, and her family after her departure, as well as make difficult life decisions regarding her relationship with the resurrected Angel. She must also deal with the introduction of rebellious new Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), who becomes increasingly destructive and disloyal over the course of the season. In the season finale, Buffy stabs Faith in an attempt to save Angel's life, and leads her classmates into a climactic battle against the demonic Mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener). Angel then leaves Sunnydale in hopes that Buffy can have a more normal life without him.
In the fourth season (1999–2000), Buffy balances her Slayer duties with her new life as a college student at UC Sunnydale. She experiences some difficulty adjusting to college life, and becomes increasingly disconnected from her friends, who all seem to be moving in different directions. Buffy eventually finds a new love interest in the form of Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), a soldier in the demon-hunting government task force known as the Initiative. She briefly joins forces with Riley's team, until they discover one of the Initiative's experiments, Adam (George Hertzberg), is creating an army of demon-human hybrids. Buffy literally unites with her friends to defeat Adam in a spell which invokes the power of the First Slayer. During Buffy season four, Buffy also appears in the first season of spin-off series Angel (1999–2000), guest starring in the episodes "I Will Remember You" and "Sanctuary". In season five (2000–2001), Buffy battles the hell-goddess Glory (Clare Kramer), and fully embraces her destiny for the first time. A younger sister named Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) mysteriously appears in Buffy's household, her existence having been seamlessly integrated with memories of the other characters. Buffy suffers emotional turmoil throughout this season, including the realization Dawn is not actually her sister, the deterioration of her relationship with Riley, the discovery that Spike has become obsessed with her, and her mother's death from a brain aneurysm. While on a quest to learn more about her nature as the Slayer, Buffy is told "death is her gift, a message she has difficulty understanding until the episode "The Gift", in which she sacrifices herself to save Dawn and the world by diving into Glory's interdimensional portal and closing it.
Season six (2001–2002) depicts Buffy's struggle with depression after her friends, believing she was trapped in a Hell dimension, performed a spell to bring her back from the dead; however, she was actually in Heaven, and feels great loss after being ripped out. Forced to take a mundane and degrading job slinging burgers at the Doublemeat Palace, she begins suffering from extreme depression and self-loathing, embarking on a violent sexual relationship with the vampire Spike which leaves neither satisfied and spawns dire consequences for the both of them. As the season draws to a close, Buffy is forced to battle her best friend when Willow becomes psychotic with dark magics after the human, Warren (Adam Busch) shoots and kills Willow's girlfriend Tara (Amber Benson) and wounds Buffy in the process. Willow then tries to destroy the world to end all suffering, although Xander gets through to her in the end. Buffy then promises to change her self-destructive behavior in order to be there for her sister. In the final season of the show (2002–2003), things start to come around for Buffy when Principal Robin Wood hires her as a school counselor for the newly-rebuilt Sunnydale High School and she has repaired her relationships with Dawn and her friends. However, she is also confronted with the threat of the First Evil and becomes a reluctant leader to the Potential Slayers, who are initially respectful of her, but become increasingly more alienated by her tactics and decisions throughout the season. She unexpectedly becomes emotionally close with Spike, who has sought out his soul in an effort to prove himself to her. In the show's final episode "Chosen", Buffy shares her power with her fellow Slayers before leading them into an epic battle against an army of Turok-Han vampires. She also confesses her love to a disbelieving Spike before he sacrifices himself to save the world; as he dies, Buffy escapes Sunnydale's destruction with the surviving characters. Following the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the character maintains a presence in the fifth season of Angel (2003–2004), but does not appear onscreen. In the episode "The Girl in Question", Angel and a resurrected Spike travel to Rome to find her, where they learn she is apparently now dating the Immortal. Sarah Michelle Gellar was approached to appear as Buffy in Angel's one hundredth episode, but declined, so the character of Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) was used instead. She was asked to appear in the second to last episode of the series, "Power Play", but had to decline due to outside conflicts.
Between 2001 and 2004, Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb developed a 4-minute pilot episode for Buffy the Animated Series, which was set during the show's first season. Had the series been picked up by a network, the series would have focused upon Buffy (voiced by Giselle Loren) in more high-school adventures. Following a 2008 leak of the pilot to YouTube, Loeb expressed some hope the series may be resurrected in some form.
