Canon

"Official cannon is so complicated. So many people with so many opinions!"

- Puppet Fred

In terms of works of fiction or fictional universes, Canon describes works that are considered more important/more "real" than others, i.e. "official" works. As with tie-in materials related to Star Trek, Star Wars, and other prolific sci-fi/fantasy franchises, most Buffyverse fans (and the show's creators themselves) acknowledge the Buffy and Angel TV episodes as absolute canon. Other sources which are generally agreed upon to be canon include the scripts and credits (in particular for the spellings of various characters names.) The Season Eight comic series, as well as Angel: After the Fall have been declared canon by the creators.

Other items which have been announced as canon are more in dispute, in particular Faith's full name Faith Lehane. While Joss Whedon came up with the last name for a role playing game it never appeared in any of the episodes.

Definition
Using the religious analogy of a canon of scripture (see Biblical canon), things that are not canon are considered "apocryphal". When a body of work is not specifically accepted or rejected by an authority, 'canon' can be a fluid term that is interpreted differently by different people. This is the case with 'Buffyverse canon', which has yet to be publicly defined by an authority to the satisfaction and consensus of all observers. The creator of the Buffyverse, Joss Whedon, has implied that additional materials he was not heavily involved in creating are separate from canon. When asked in an interview about canon, Whedon stated:
 * "Canon is key, as is continuity. If you are massive nerd. Which I am. I believe there's a demarcation between the creation and ancillary creations by different people. I'm all for that stuff, just like fanfic, but I like to know what's there's an absolutely official story-so-far, especially when something changes mediums, which my stuff seems to do a lot. "

Television
Both television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are canon, and are the primary sources of canon in the Buffyverse.

The Origin
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Origin is a four-part comic series written by Christopher Golden and Dan Brereton which details Buffy Summers' calling as the Slayer before she came to Sunnydale. Based on the non-canon film, it brings the story more into line with the continuity of the television series; for example, Buffy burns down her high school gym, an act mentioned in the show which never occurred in the movie. Buffy creator Joss Whedon affirms the story's place in continuity though not without some reservation:
 * "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."

Fray
Fray is an eight-part comic series written by Joss Whedon himself. The story is about a Slayer of the future named Melaka Fray and her discovery of what being a Slayer means. Fray is the first appearance of the Scythe, a significant weapon which later appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season seven. This is only instance in the Buffyverse where elements from the comic books have crossed over into the television series.

The canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight featured a crossover with Fray in the story "Time of Your Life".

Tales
The comic book anthology series Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires are largely accepted as canon. They were written by writers of the Buffy and Angel television shows. Joss Whedon told a number of tales for these comic series. Other writers include Amber Benson, Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Drew Goddard, Doug Petrie, and Rebecca Rand Kirshner.

Stories from the Tales series have been referenced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight; "Wolves at the Gate" is partly a sequel to "Antique" which sees Xander and Dracula reunited, while "Time of Your Life" uses characters and locations introduced in the Melaka Fray story "Tales". Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Vampires is a one-shot issue of Tales which ties into the larger Season Eight storyline.

The novels Tales of the Slayer are unrelated to these comics and do not share their canonicity.

Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is the official continuation of the television series, plotted and co-written by Joss Whedon. Whedon has confirmed the series' canonicity, stating:
 * ""We could do something and for once we could make it canon. We could make it officially what happened after the end of the show."

After the Fall
Like Season Eight, Angel: After the Fall is the official continuation of Angel, and narrates the aftermath of the events shown in "Not Fade Away". Joss Whedon was involved in plotting the series, while Brian Lynch wrote the scripts.

The four-issue spin-off Spike: After the Fall is usually accepted as canon since it falls under the After the Fall title and is written by Lynch. However, Joss Whedon is not credited for these issues as in Angel. Nevertheless, Spike is closely interlinked with the events in the Angel title, and later issues of Angel: AtF reference characters who appear in it.

Discussing Whedon's role in plotting Spike: After the Fall, Brian Lynch stated:
 * "The series is information and stories that were going to be inferred/referenced/glimpsed at in ANGEL:AFTER THE FALL. Spike's situation in that was one Joss and I discussed, now I'm fleshing it out and adding new wrinkles to it."


 * I was adamant that we get Joss' blessing on telling Spike's story or else I wasn't going to do it. He was for it, I attempted a script, at any point ready to stop if it felt like filler or lazy or unnecessary. I wasn't for doing a spin-off, but a few pages in it was apparent this was going to work beyond any Spike story we've told."

Lynch also addressed the question of whether Spike: After the Fall was canon:
 * "SPIKE:ATF tells a story that was going to be talked about and seen in the very canon ANGEL:ATF but instead builds on it and fleshes it out, that's pretty much canon."

Issue 23 of IDW's ongoing Angel title acts as an epilogue to After the Fall and is also written by Lynch.

Angel (IDW series)
Following the After the Fall storyline, IDW continued the Angel title as an ongoing series, starting with Aftermath. However, Joss Whedon was no longer directly involved in plotting the storyline. Aftermath writer Kelley Armstrong stated:
 * "I'd love to say my arc is co-plotted [by Whedon], because then I'd be able to share the blame if fans hate it. But, no, it's all mine. Sadly."

Armstrong elaborated on the canonical status of Aftermath in another interview:
 * "I leave it up to the reader. Yes, Aftermath is intended to be canon in the sense that it "counts" - it continues the main storyline of the series. But if a reader feels that anything not written by Joss Whedon isn't canon, I can understand that. Or if they really didn't like my story and decide to wipe it from memory, I'd be okay with that, too (well, okay with the "it's not canon" part...not so much with the "it sucked" part!) With a universe that so many writers add to, I think it comes down to the fans to decide, for themselves, what they consider canon."

Following a brief return by Brian Lynch, writer Bill Willingham took over the Angel title. After Twilight was unmasked as Angel in Season Eight, Willingham reiterated Whedon's lack of involvement in the series. He responded to Dark Horse's claims that they were coordinating the series with IDW's Angel titles:
 * "I am not coordinating, nor have I ever coordinated stories with Scott Allie, Joss Whedon, nor anyone else at Dark Horse Comics."

However, after it was announced that the Angel franchise was returning to Dark Horse comics, IDW commented on their website:
 * "Under the direction of BUFFY and ANGEL creator Joss Whedon, all parties are working together for as seamless a transition as possible. The companies have been coordinating storylines in both Dark Horse's BUFFY and IDW's ANGEL, creating a greater sense of cohesion and cooperation to ensure that this transition is true to both ongoing storylines and to the faithful fans of both series."

As it stands, IDW's ongoing Angel comic remains in-continuity, but its canonical status following After the Fall is open to interpretation.

Confirmed Non-canon
There are a select few works have been confirmed as non-canon.


 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film)
 * Cursed Confirmed in a historian's note
 * Wicked Willow: The Darkening
 * Wicked Willow: Shattered Twilight
 * Wicked Willow: Broken Sunrise The Wicked Willow Trilogy is an alternate reality series, and is stated as such from the get-go