The Origin

 is a miniseries part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic main series.

Premise
Bear witness to teenager Buffy Summers’s transformation from simple high school student to super Vampire Slayer! Follow Buffy’s trials and tribulations as she comes to accept her destined role to thwart the legions of the undead from spreading their veil of evil across Los Angeles. Adapted from creator Joss Whedon’s original screenplay from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film, The Origin updates the material to match the tone and characters of the hit television series, making this the official Buffy launching pad!

Continuity

 * The events take place before Buffy moves from Los Angeles to Sunnydale ("Welcome to the Hellmouth").
 * Buffy’s first encounter and patrol with Merrick were shown as flashbacks in episode "Becoming, Part One".
 * Buffy burns the school gym, as principal Robert Flutie would eventually observe from her permanent record ("Welcome to the Hellmouth").
 * Buffy hints her adventures and Pike in Las Vegas from "Viva Las Buffy!".

Appearences

 * Buffy Summers (3/3)
 * Oliver Pike (3/3)
 * Lothos (3/3)
 * Kimberly Hannah (3/3)
 * Benny Jacks (3/3)
 * Jeffrey Kramer (3/3)
 * Amilyn (3/3)
 * Merrick (2/3)
 * Andy (2/3)
 * Cassandra (2/3)
 * Grueller (2/3)
 * Jennifer Walkens (2/3)
 * Robert Berman (1/3)
 * Rupert Giles (1/3)
 * Xander Harris (1/3)
 * Gary Murray (1/3)
 * Willow Rosenberg (1/3)
 * Hank Summers (1/3)
 * Joyce Summers (1/3)
 * Zeph (1/3)
 * Unidentified Bar Maiden Slayer (1/3)
 * Unidentified Dark Ages Slayer (1/3)
 * Unidentified Hong Kong Prostitute Slayer (1/3)
 * Unidentified priest (1/3)

Publications
The series includes 3 issues, collected in 3 trade paperbacks.

Behind the Scenes

 * According to editor Scott Allie, “established Buffy novelist Christopher Golden pitched an adaptation of Joss [Whedon]’s original screenplay, minus the camp of the film, and done in the style of the TV show.”
 * Unlike the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film, the comic’s story is canon. About this, Joss Whedon has stated: "The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick and not a certain OTHER thespian [referring to Donald Sutherland] who shall remain hated."