Buffy Summers

Buffy Anne Summers is a Slayer active in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Born in 1981, she was activated as the Slayer in 1996 at the age of fifteen. Initially based in Los Angeles, she later moved to Sunnydale where she acted as guardian of the Hellmouth for seven years before the town's destruction in 2003. Buffy is unique as a Slayer in many ways; she refuses to sacrifice her ordinary life for her supernatural destiny, often operates as part of a team with her friends the "Scooby Gang", and has maintained several romantic relationships, two of which were with notorious vampires Angel and Spike. Buffy is one of the longest-lived Slayers, and has returned from the dead not once but twice, an event which disrupted the traditional Slayer line. She later abolished the line completely with her plan to activate all the world's Potential Slayers, and is now dedicated to training the young Slayers she was responsible for creating.

Buffy first appeared in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, but the later television series marked her first canonical appearance in 1997. Since then, she has been featured in spin-off series Angel as well as various expanded universe material. In 2007, the character's history was continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight. Buffy was played by actress Kristy Swanson in the movie, but Sarah Michelle Gellar portrays her on television and is more closely associated with the role.

Origin
Buffy was born to Hank and Joyce Summers in January, 1981, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight, Buffy was close friends with her cousin Celia, and enjoyed playing superhero with her; Buffy pretended to be "Power Girl", which would prove to be a prophetic choice of alter ego. Buffy looked on helplessly as Celia was murdered in her hosptial bed by Der Kindestod, a demon that killed sick children and was only visible to those who were ill, an experience which instilled in Buffy a fear of hospitals. Growing up, Buffy came to idolize Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill as she learned the sport herself. In fifth grade, she developed a crush on sixth grader Billy Fordham; although the two were friends, he never returned her feelings. Buffy started attending Hemery High School in 1995; during her time there she became a popular cheerleader and was elected both Prom Princess and Fiesta Queen.

"I've got a few things the other girls didn't have. For one thing, there's my keen fashion sense..."

- Buffy

At the age of fifteen, Buffy started having violent dreams about women from different period of history slaying monsters. One day, she was approached by Merrick Jamison-Smythe, a mysterious man who revealed her destiny as the Chosen One and became her first Watcher. Buffy initially did not get along with Merrick, who was sarcastic and intolerant of her valley girl nature, but the pair eventually gained a mutual fondness as he prepared her for battle against the vampire king Lothos. As Buffy's increasingly strange behaviour alienated from her peers, she befriended fellow social outcast Oliver Pike, relying on him for support after Merrick shot himself to protect her from Lothos. Despite little training, Buffy managed to defeat Lothos and his minions at her school dance, burning down the high school gym in the process, for which she was subsequently expelled. Shortly after her expulsion, Buffy and Pike ran away to Las Vegas looking for vampires. Upon her return, Buffy's parents found out about what had really happened Hemery and about her destiny as the Slayer. Worried that she was losing her mind, they sent her to a mental institution. While there, Buffy realized that attempts to persuade others of the existence of demonic forces would be futile. She kept quiet and was released after a couple of weeks. Buffy and her parents never spoke of it again.

Sunnydale High
Buffy's parents, who had been experiencing marital troubles for years, finally divorced, and Buffy moved with her mother to 1630 Revello Drive in Sunnydale, a small town in California. Little did they know that the town was located on a Hellmouth, and that Buffy's presence there was pre-destined. Buffy enrolled at Sunnydale High, where she became friends with Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, as well as her new Watcher, Rupert Giles. She also met Cordelia Chase, a superficial cheerleader reminiscient of Buffy before she became the Slayer, and Angel, a mysterious and handsome stranger who aided Buffy with cryptic advice. . After successfully stopping the vampire ritual known as the Harvest together, Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles formed the "core four" of the "Scooby Gang" and continued to investigate the various supernatural mysteries that occurred on the Hellmouth. Buffy developed an attraction to Angel, and was horrified when he turned out to be a vampire. Steeling herself to do her duty and slay him, she relented after learning that he had a soul, having been cursed by gypsies over a century ago as punishment for his vicious crimes. Giles warned Buffy that she would eventually be forced to battle the thousand-year-old vampire leader known as the Master. Upon learning that the infallible Pergamum Codex prophecised her death at the hands of the Master, Buffy contemplated leaving town, but accepted her fate after Willow discovered bodies of her friends slaughtered inside the school. Buffy was overpowered and left to drown in a pool of water in the Master's dwellings, but Xander resuscitated her and she managed to defeat the Master stop him from opening the Hellmouth. "Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die."

- Buffy upon learning of her prophecised death

Buffy took months to recover emotionally from her clinical death, finally moving on after destroying the Master's remains herself. In her junior year of high school, she came into conflict with Spike and Drusilla, a vampire couple intent on wreaking havoc in Sunnydale. Buffy's relationship with Angel heated up and the pair began officially dating. Buffy also met and formed an awkward friendship with Kendra Young, a second Slayer who had been activated when Buffy drowned. Kendra helped Buffy appreciate that being a Slayer was part of who she was, and not just a burden. On the night of her seventeenth birthday, Buffy lost her virginity to Angel, and unknowingly lifted the Kalderash curse placed on him a century earlier, causing him to lose his soul and revert to the evil Angelus, the most notoriously evil vampire in history. Angelus became obsessed with destroying Buffy's life and joined Spike and Drusilla, who had reconstructed an invincible demon called the Judge. Buffy managed to defeat the Judge with a stolen rocket launcher, but Angelus' pathological abuse continued to take a heavy toll on Buffy and her friends over the months. When faced with Angelus's subsequent plan to destroy the world, Buffy reluctantly accepted an alliance with Spike, who had become tired of Angelus' presence. While strategizing with Spike, Buffy was forced to reveal her identity as the Slayer to her mother, who reacted badly to the news and demanded that she stay home and discuss things with her. Buffy told her she had to go "save the world", and her mother told her not to come back. Buffy confronted Angelus and tried to prevent him from opening a vortex to a hell dimension while Willow worked a spell to return Angel's soul. The spell was successful but too late, and Buffy was forced to send the re-ensouled Angel to hell in order to close the vortex. Traumatized and alone, Buffy then left Sunnydale and escaped to Los Angeles.

In L.A., Buffy spent the summer waiting tables in a diner under a false identity (her middle name, Anne), trying to turn her back on her destiny. However, after rescuing a runaway from a hell dimension, Buffy returned to Sunnydale to face her own demons. She returned to Sunnydale and reunited with her loved ones, and tried to find closure to her relationship with Angel. However, when he returned mysteriously from hell, Buffy found herself still drawn to him, much to the disgust and confusion of her friends. Meanwhile, a rebellious new Slayer, Faith Lehane, who had been activated upon Kendra's death, arrived in town. Faith was initially a powerful ally for Buffy, but their opposing personalities led to antagonism and acrimony as Faith indulged her dark side. Increasingly alienated from the Scoobies, Faith found a friend in the affable yet sinister Mayor of Sunnydale, who was preparing to become a pure-blood demon on Sunnydale High Graduation Day. As the Mayor used Faith to help him prepare for his ascension, Buffy worked first to thwart his efforts, then to organize a resistance. When Buffy learned that Angel, who was on the verge of death after being poisoned by Faith, must drink the blood of a Slayer in order to survive, Buffy attempted to sacrifice Faith to save him. Their battle left Faith in a coma, and Buffy ultimately saved Angel with her own blood. Buffy then led her classmates in a climactic battle against the transformed Mayor and his minions, which culminated in an explosion that destroyed the Mayor as well as Sunnydale High. After the smoke cleared, Angel left for Los Angeles so that Buffy could try to have a more normal life without him.

College
Buffy initally experienced some difficulty adjusting to life as a college freshman. After sharing what she believed to be a night of emotional intimacy with fellow student Parker Abrams, she became depressed when he neglected to contact her afterwards. Eventually, Buffy attracted the sincere attentions of teacher's assistant Riley Finn and began to wonder how she would balance her Slayer duties while dating a seemingly-normal guy. However, while fighting the Gentlemen, she discovered that Riley had a secret of his own; he was in fact a member of the Initiative, a U.S. government task force created to research mystical and demonic creatures led by Buffy's psychology professor Maggie Walsh. Buffy briefly joined forces with the Initiative, but her relentless questioning of the Initiative's plans and motivations, as well her relationship with Riley, began to unsettle Professor Walsh, who tried to dispose of her by having her killed in action. Afterwards, Walsh was murdered by her own creation, a monstrous bio-mechanical demonoid named Adam, who subsequently escaped and began his plan to create an army of similar super soldiers. Meanwhile, Faith, having awakened from her coma, used a mystical device to switch bodies with Buffy. In Faith's body, Buffy was taken into custody by the Watchers Council Special Operations Team. She managed to escape and convince Giles of her true identity, and with Willow and Tara's help, reversed the body swap. Faith escaped to Los Angeles, where Buffy was dismayed to find her under the protection of Angel, who insisted that she could be rehabilitated. Eventually Riley, who had been torn between the Scooby Gang and the Initiative for some time, turned his back on the corrupt organization to join Buffy. Although the Scooby Gang had been drifting apart over the last year, Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles finally reconciled and combined their essences by invoking the spirit of the First Slayer, allowing Buffy to physically destroy Adam.

After an encounter with the famous vampire Dracula, Buffy began to fully accept her duty as the Slayer for the first time in her life. A younger sister, Dawn, mysteriously appeared in Buffy's household, her existence seamlessly integrated with the memories of Buffy, her friends, and her mother. Buffy discovered that Dawn wasn't her sister, but rather a ball of cosmic energy that could open interdimensional portals. A group of monks transformed the "Key" into human form to hide it from a hell-god known as Glory, choosing the Slayer to protect it because they knew she would protect her sister with her life. Buffy's relationship with Riley began to deteriorate as she failed to give him the emotional intimacy he craved. Riley began visiting vampire brothels where he would allow himself to be bitten, and when Buffy discovered this, they finally broke up and Riley returned to the military. As Buffy recovered from this, she was disgusted to learn that Spike, now unable to harm humans due to the Initiative's experiments on him, had fallen in love with her. Buffy was devastastaed when her mother, who had been experiencing health problems for months and only recently received surgery for a brain tumour, died unexpected from an aneurysm. Taking up the role of Dawn's legal guardian, Buffy was forced to drop out of college to look after her sister. As she struggled to fully understand what being the Slayer meant, Giles took Buffy on a vision quest, where the spirit of the First Slayer told her that death was her gift, a message she found confusing and hurtful so soon after her mother's death. When Glory finally discovered the Key and captured Dawn, Buffy retreated into her subconscious, where she battled with the possibility that she may have to kill Dawn to save the world. Willow successfully drew Buffy back out into consciousness, and the Scoobies attacked Glory's stronghold in full force. Despite everyone's efforts, Dawn's blood was used to open the interdimensional portal and chaos reigned on Earth. Buffy defeated Glory and, finally understanding the meaning of the message from the First Slayer, sacrificed her own life, using her own blood to close the portal so Dawn wouldn't have to. Afterwards, Buffy was buried on the outskirts of Sunnydale with the epitaph, "She saved the world. A lot." Finally able to rest, she ascended to heaven and found peace. "Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live.  For me."

- Buffy

Resurrection
Buffy was resurrected by her friends, who worried that she may have been in hell due to the mystical circumstances of her death. Buffy's transition back to her life was difficult; she experienced an overwhelming sense of loss after being ripped from heaven, as well as the added everyday responsibilities of raising Dawn and paying bills. She attempted to keep her problems secret from her friends, not wanting them to share in her grief, and confided only to Spike that she had in fact been at peace while dead. Buffy's depression worsened when Giles, believing that he was standing in the way of her growing up, left Sunnydale and returned to England. Struggling to feel alive and seeking someone who understood her, she began a violent sexual relationship with Spike which left neither of them satisfied. At the same time, she was forced to deal with the ongoing efforts of the villainous Trio, a group of nerds she went to high school with who had decided to take over Sunnydale. In order to deal with her increasing financial problems, Buffy started working at local burger bar the Doublemeat Palace, a job she found degrading and disturbingly mundane. A brief reunion with Riley shocked Buffy into finally breaking up with Spike, admitting to him that she was just using him and it was killing her. Confused and angry, Spike later cornered her in the bathroom and tried to rape her; Buffy fought him off, and Spike fled Sunnydale, horrified by his own actions. When Warren Mears, the leader of the Trio, killed Willow's girlfriend Tara in an attempt to kill Buffy, Willow, possessed by dark magic and grief, exacted bloody revenge against Warren. Unable to condone Willow's actions, Buffy battled her best friend to stop her from committing more murders, but was promptly defeated before Giles came to her rescue. Willow then tried to destroy the whole world to end everybody's pain, leaving Buffy and Dawn trapped underground. Xander eventually came through for Willow in the end and Buffy promised to change her self-destructive behavior in order to be there for her sister and appreciate life.

As Dawn enrolled in the recently rebuilt Sunnydale High, Buffy was offered a job as guidance counsellor by Principal Robin Wood, which she gratefully accepted. Spike returned to Sunnydale after regaining his soul in an attempt to prove himself to Buffy. Buffy recognised the difference in him, and even when it seemed he may revert to a dangerous killer, she assured him that she believed in him. When agents of the First Evil, the Bringers, began tracking down and killing Potential Slayers in an attempt to wipe out the entire Slayer line, Buffy's home quickly filled up with teenage Potentials who came to Sunnydale for protection. Buffy stepped into a leadership role to the girls, who initially looked up to her with respect, and worked to train them into an army that could stand against the First and it's army of ancient Turok-Han vampires. However, as the dangers around them increased, Buffy's unforgiving methods began to alienate the terrified girls. A reformed Faith, having escaped from prison to help Angel, travelled to Sunnydale to aid the Scoobies in the battle. Upon learning that the First's minion Caleb had something of hers, Buffy led the Potentials into battle to retrieve it, which resulted the loss of several girls as well as Xander's eye. Blaming Buffy for the deaths and injuries, the Potentials held a mutiny and appointed Faith as their leader instead; even Buffy's friends and sister refused to stand up for her and Buffy was kicked out of her own house. Only Spike remained loyal to her, and his love and encouragment gave her the strength she needed to keep fighting. Buffy found the object Caleb was keeping from her—an ancient Slayer Scythe—and earned back the Scoobies' trust, informing them of her plan to share her power with every single Potential. Willow used the Scythe to perform a spell which activated Slayers all around the world, and a huge battle was waged in Sunnydale between the Slayers and the Turok-Han. During the fight, Spike sacrificed himsef to close the Hellmouth one and for all. Before he crumbled to dust, Buffy admitted to his disbelief that she loved him, before escaping the ruins of Sunnydale with the other survivors. "Slayers... every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"

- Buffy

Post-Sunnydale
Following the destruction of Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang scattered around the world to locate and train newly-activated Slayers. When Xander once again fell under the thrall of Dracula and went to live with him as his manservant, Buffy was forced to break into the vampire's castle and convince Dracula to let Xander go. Encompassing mystics and a wide technological armory, the Scoobies expanded to keep on top of demonic threats on a more global level. Buffy funded this organization by going on a bank heist with other Slayers, which she reasoned was a "victimless crime" due to the bank's insurance. For Buffy's protection, decoy Slayers were set up to divert enemy attention, one in Rome who was supposedly dating the Immortal, and the other underground; not even former allies like Angel were aware of her true location. Buffy, Dawn, and Xander eventually set their base in a Scottish castle, with Buffy training a squad of new Slayers, including Satsu, Rowena, and Leah. However, she failed to experience the feelings of connection that the other Slayers did, and Xander became concerned that Buffy was spending too much time alone.

Over a year after Sunnydale's destruction, Buffy investigated signs of an attack from a new enemy known as Twilight and her team came under attack from the United States military, who had employed her old enemies Amy Madison and Warren Mears. Questioning General Voll as to his motive for attacking them, Buffy learned that the military now considered all Slayers to be a threat, should they start to think of themselves as above the law, as Buffy had done during her bank robberies. While searching for information about upcoming dangers, Buffy discovered that Twilight planned to eradicate all magic from the Earth and that Buffy would suffer a betrayal; "The closest. The most unexpected." In her first encounter with Twilight, she was warned that her decision to activate the Slayers had been a mistake, and she began to question her own actions. After realizing that Satsu was in love with her, Buffy had sex with the other Slayer, only to be discovered by her astonished friends.

Personality
"The Slayer does not walk in this world. I walk. I talk. I shop, I sneeze.  I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back.  There's trees in the desert since you moved out and I don't sleep on a bed of bones."

- The First Slayer and Buffy

Before becoming the Slayer, Buffy's personality was that of a superficial blonde valley girl; she herself claimed that even Cordelia "looked like a classical philosopher next to me". Initially snobby towards people of a lower social class such as Pike, the isolation she experienced from her popular friends at Hemery gave her new-found empathy towards outcasts like Willow and Xander. Nevertheless, Buffy was something of a rebel who did not conform to traditional Slayer conventions; Giles once admitted that "some flexibility is required" when it came to being Buffy's Watcher. Buffy is unique as a Slayer in that she refuses to give up her "normal" life for her destiny and works with a group of close friends who know her identity. The spirit of the First Slayer once insisted to Buffy that the Slayer must work alone, a belief which Buffy rejected. Kendra, who had been trained as a Slayer from early childhood, told Buffy that a Slayer did not have the luxury of emotions. Buffy responded by claiming that her emotions gave her power and she considered them "total assets".

Appearance
Early in the television series, make-up supervisor Todd McIntosh was instructed to make Buffy "a soft and sort of earthy character." He gave Gellar a soft, muted green make-up and kept her look very natural. However, it was later decided that this was inappropriate for the character, and that Buffy needed to look more like a valley girl. McIntosh switched her make-up around, giving her frosted eyeshadow and lip colours, bright turquoise and aqua marines, bubblegum coloured nails, and bleach-blonde hair, causing the character to "blossom." In attempts to preserve the seriousness of her character, Buffy's clothing became increasingly less frilly and started to give off the appearance of a tougher, feminine, mature character. Since the very beginning of the series she shows a fondness for leather coats, an aspect of her character played up in the episode "Prophecy Girl" where she wears a prom dress with a leather coat while wielding a crossbow. This idea of femininity mixed with militaristic undertones is frequently used in later seasons. By season 3 Buffy is rarely seen wearing short skirts (partially at Sarah Michelle Gellar's request) and is instead seen wearing either longer skirts or pants while still maintaing a youthful sexiness that usually comes out in her choice of tops and the fit of her jeans. Buffy also was shown to have abandoned the bleach blonde look for sometime during seasons 5 and 6 where she was shown to have darker highlights mixed in with a honey blonde color, in season 6 she even cuts her hair relatively short in a fit of anxiety and is shown to have almost a reddish tint to her hair color. Though in both seasons she eventually is seen as having gone blonde again, possibly just to reinforce her recognizable and iconic blonde image.

Buffy's distinguishing features include a bite-mark scar on the left side of her neck. She originally received this scar from the Master, but has been bitten by other vampires Angel (cf. "Graduation Day, Part Two") and Dracula (cf. "Buffy vs. Dracula"). In "The Dark Age", Buffy received a tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon from Ethan Rayne, but later spent her allowance on having it removed.

Powers and abilities
Slayer Enhancement: Buffy is a Slayer and has the normal powers that other slayers do, including:


 * Superhuman Strength: Slayers are endowed with strength greater than that of humans (barring mystically or genetically enhanced), some demons and the majority of vampires.


 * Superhuman Speed: Slayers are able to move faster and react quicker than normal human beings. Outmaneuver all sorts of bullet-fire from multiple ranges and setting off a bear trap, but not getting caught in it.


 * Superhuman Agility: A Slayer is capable of superhuman feats of agility. She can leap to great heights, the maximum being unknown.


 * Superhuman Reflexes: Slayers are able to move faster and react quicker than normal human beings. Buffy has been shown snatching a crossbow bolt in mid-flight.


 * Superhuman Durability: A Slayer's body is substantially more durable and resistant to blunt force trauma than an ordinary human's. It is difficult, though not impossible, to bruise them, break their bones or strain their joints.


 * Accelerated Healing: Despite this durability to blunt force, a Slayer's skin can be punctured by sharp weapons such as knives or bullets, but they recover from even very severe injuries in remarkably short periods of time. Usually, Buffy is completely healed within 24 hours of being injured, though more serious injuries have been shown to take at least a few days.[25] Buffy has survived contact with a live electrical wire; the normally lethal jolt simply renders her unconscious.


 * Slayer Precognition: Buffy also seems to possesses an enhanced type of slayer precognition that warns her of impending danger through her dreams. For example, her dreams warned her of both her death by the hands of the Master and Angel's death; soon after, Angel lost his soul and reverted to Angelus, holding true to her vision. Later on in the series Buffy dreams of Faith, she talks to her and finds a way to defeat the Mayor through her vision.


 * Slayer Sense: Slayers possess a heightened awareness of their surroundings. This heightened awareness can, with experience, allow the Slayer to know the position of an attacker and fight them blindfolded or in the dark. This is not a constant ability, however. This skill must be honed through practice and the Slayer usually must focus to achieve the full benefit. A Slayer also has the limited ability to detect the presence of vampires. This power must be honed as with the heightened awareness, and the Slayer must focus to achieve the full effect. This does not prevent Buffy (and other Slayers) being ambushed by Vampires. Buffy is unusually deficient in this sense


 * Slayer Collective Memories: Like all Slayers, within Buffy's "dreamspace" are a collective of inherited slayer memories and prophecies. All Slayers through the ages share a psychic link, manifested in dreams. A Slayer will frequently dream of herself as a Slayer in another time and place. These dreams are usually vague, but can also be prophetic. Dreams exist in their own mystic plane or "dreamscape" where for a Slayer, precognitive sense and the inherited memories of other Slayers can manifest themselves. Also, Slayers have been shown to appear in each other's dreams, and Buffy and Faith shared a dream while Faith was in a coma.

Sleep-Induced Mystical Protection: In Season Eight, Xander comments that Buffy has some degree of mystical protection over her now, at least while she sleeps. To that end, her protection means even daggers split apart so as not to pierce her skin ("The Long Way Home, Part Two").

Mystical Link w/ Willow: Buffy's connection to Willow is now so strong, that even when unconscious, Willow's consciousness can (at will) channel an amount of her power through Buffy in a similar way to "Primeval" ("The Long Way Home Part Four").

Despite her various abilities and talents as the Slayer, a running gag in the show is Buffy's notoriously bad driving skills. She repeatedly asks her mother if she can take lessons, to little avail. When she finally does get her hands on the wheel in "Band Candy", she doesn't know what the hand brake is for. In Season Four's "Something Blue", she admits that "cars and Buffy are unmixy things." In Season Seven's "Him" she is shown to still have possession of, and drive, her mother's SUV, though she is still characteristically terrible at driving and parking it.

Temporary abilities
Buffy has had possession of other abilities for brief periods of time.

Telepathy: In the episode "Earshot", Buffy gets an aspect of a demon that she killed, and gains the ability to hear the thoughts of others (although not vampires, which leave no reflection in the mind). She becomes unable to control all of the thoughts in her head, so Angel kills a second demon of this type (which had gotten away) and feeds her a potion containing the demon's heart, stopping the ability altogether.

Super Slayer: In the episode "Primeval", Buffy was the focus of a complex spell that briefly gave her the abilities of Xander, Willow, and Giles; the spell also drew on the pure source of the Slayer's power. She became faster, stronger and had magical abilities. for example she stopped Adam's bullets in the air and turned a missile into a dove. She was able to punch through Adam's armored hide and rip out his radioactive uranium power core without ill effects. Immediately after Buffy defeated the nearly invincible Adam, the spell faded.

Invisibility: In the episode "Gone", Buffy is rendered invisible by the Trio. At first, she enjoys her new ability, until learning that her life is in danger. Willow reverses the effects when she gets a hold of the Trio's gun.

Buffy's deaths
"Hey, I've died twice."

- Buffy Summers

Buffy's first death (in the episode "Prophecy Girl") was a clinical death, in which the heart stops beating, but there is still brain activity. People who experience clinical death have often been revived. This death activated Kendra Young as the Slayer, and Kendra's death activated Faith. Buffy's second, real death happened at the climax of the episode "The Gift", where she sacrificed herself to save Dawn and the world by hurling herself off a tower and using her own body to close a mystical portal. Her body rested for 147 days until Willow, Xander, Tara, and Anya resurrected her in the episode "Bargaining". Buffy also "died" in a magical nightmare (in the episode "Nightmares") and in an alternate reality (in the episode "The Wish"). In both cases, she was killed by The Master.

Relationships
Buffy's primary romantic interests in the series are Angel and Spike. The two characters have both their parallels and rivalries. When Angel and Spike search for Buffy, Andrew Wells tells the two vampires that Buffy loves them both, but she has to live her life. In the season eight comics, Buffy is shown dreaming a scenario where both lovers are naked and holding her. The three of them are wrapped in chains and surrounded by cupids or putti, and Buffy wears a nurse outfit. In the Buffy series finale, "Chosen", Buffy both indicates to Angel and to Spike that she loves them, although they react with varying degrees of belief.

Other love interests in the series have been relatively more short-lived, including Pike from the movie and "The Origin" adaptation as well as Riley Finn, an antithesis to Angel and Spike who was her third longest running relationship.


 * Billy "Ford" Fordham ("Lie to Me") — Buffy developed a crush on Ford in the fifth grade, but he was a "manly sixth-grader" who had no time for younger girls. The previously popular student came to Sunnydale and lied to Buffy, saying his father had been transferred and that he would be attending the local high school. In fact, Ford had months to live and was there only to find a vampire leader to arrange a deal: the blood of Buffy and his followers in exchange for eternal life. Buffy is devastated by Ford's betrayal, though moved by his cancer. When he rises as a vampire, she stakes him without reaction; the Ford she knew and loved had already died.
 * Tyler ("Becoming, Part One") — In a flashback to Buffy's pre-Slayer days, Buffy briefly mentioned the presumably popular student at Hemery High just before she was called. "...Tyler would have to crawl on his hands and knees to get me to go to the dance with him. Which, actually, he's supposed to do after practice, so I'm gonna wait."
 * Jeffrey Kramer — Buffy's vain and popular freshman boyfriend at Hemery High. Buffy and Jeffrey begin to grow distant as she takes on the responsibility as the Slayer and he breaks up with her by leaving a message on her answering machine. He goes to the dance with Buffy's vapid friend, Jennifer.
 * Oliver Pike — A sarcastic slacker and Buffy's main romantic interest pre-Sunnydale. Although they initially hated each other as Buffy's superficial valley girl perspective was at odds with Pike's ethics, the two grew closer when they lost friends to Lothos' minions. Pike helped Buffy in killing the vampire king and burning down the school gym full of his minions. The two presumably broke up when Buffy moved to Sunnydale; however, he is never mentioned in the series. Pike was mentioned and appeared in The Origin, a story detailing Buffy's old High School pre-Sunnydale, filling the same role as the movie.
 * Angel — Angel initially loves Buffy from afar, watching her as she is called to her destiny as the Slayer; this experience inspires him to move to Sunnydale and become a useful ally in the fight against evil. Buffy loses her virginity to Angel (in the episode "Surprise"), an experience which triggers the loss of his soul. As Angelus, he attempts to destroy her life, as well as the world, until his re-ensoulment; because of his actions, Buffy is forced to send him to a hell dimension to save the world. When Angel returns, Buffy takes care of him and they try to be friends, but they continue to be drawn to each other. Angel eventually moves to Los Angeles to give Buffy a chance at a more normal life, although they keep in contact. Sparks again fly when Angel comes into contact with demon blood that makes him human again; however, Angel decides that he cannot abandon his fight against evil and prevails upon the Powers That Be to rewind time, leaving Buffy with no memory of their recent happiness together and restoring him to his vampire form. In the Buffy series finale, Buffy admits to Angel that she does still look into the future and leaves him with hope that they can be together at some point in that future. However, Buffy apparently loses trust in Angel after he takes control of Wolfram & Hart. Angel and Spike seek her out in Italy, but never catch up to her.
 * Owen Thurman ("Never Kill a Boy on the First Date") — A sensitive and shy Sunnydale High student, whose date with Buffy became a vampire-hunting adventure that made him feel alive. Fearing that such an attitude would get him killed, Buffy broke up with Owen, unable to tell him the real reason why; nor to say that she still cares for him just as much.
 * Xander Harris — Although Buffy does not return Xander's romantic feelings for her, she flirts and dances seductively with him in the episode "When She Was Bad". Later, under a love spell, Buffy attempts to seduce Xander in the school library. When the love spell is broken, she is grateful that Xander did not take advantage of the situation. While just close friends for the majority of the series' run, in Season Eight, there are comments made in a dream of Buffy's referring to a sexual relationship between them, with Buffy going as far as to proposition and kiss him before the dream wackiness escalates.
 * Tom Warner ("Reptile Boy") — A rich member of Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity, a cult that sacrifices beautiful young high school girls to their demon lord Machida in exchange for worldly success. Tom lures Buffy to a party, pretending to be nicer and less materialistic than his vain fraternity brothers. The leader of the cult, Tom attempts to offer Buffy and Cordelia as sacrifices. Though the only good thing Tom does is prevent Buffy from being date raped by frat brother Richard Anderson after she falls unconscious after being drugged.
 * Cameron Walker ("Go Fish") — A self-absorbed and arrogant swimming athlete at Sunnydale High. Initially, Buffy is interested in the good-looking Cameron, who waxes poetic about the ocean. However, by the end of their first date, he won't take no for an answer and Buffy breaks his nose and gets blamed for leading him on.
 * Scott Hope — A fellow Sunnydale High student who had a crush on Buffy. Scott asks Buffy out several times during Season 3. Although Buffy is interested in Scott, she is still overwhelmed by her heartbreak over Angel and repeatedly turns him down. Eventually, Buffy decides to date Scott ("Faith, Hope & Trick"), but Angel's return from Hell distracts her. Buffy and Scott are only together a few weeks; Scott breaks up with her because he is tired with dealing with her ongoing preoccupations. Years later, Buffy learns that Scott had told classmates that they had broken up because she was a lesbian, and has ironically come out as gay himself in college.
 * Parker Abrams — An attractive, older student whom Buffy met in college. Parker was the second person Buffy had sex with. However, he was only interested in having "a good time" and, not wanting a romantic commitment, ignored Buffy after they slept together ("The Harsh Light of Day"). Buffy is devastated by his behavior, and maintains a brief hope that they can reconcile. While under the influence of enchanted beer, Buffy saves Parker's life when he is trapped in a burning building. In the aftermath of the rescue, Parker apologizes to Buffy for his actions, and she responds by bashing him on the head with a wooden club.
 * Riley Finn — Buffy met Riley when she started at college in the episode "The Freshman". They begin a serious relationship after discovering each others' demon-fighting secret identities. Riley sacrifices his career and friends to be with Buffy, but is continually disappointed by her unwillingness to be truly open and vulnerable with him. Also Riley felt that he wasn't strong or aggressive enough to satisfy Buffy the way that dangerous vampires did. He begins drifting away, and Buffy is repulsed to discover that he has been visiting vampire prostitutes and allowing them to drink his blood to get a rush from the intoxication of the blood loss. Although Buffy ultimately tries to stop him, Riley rejoins the military, where he is able to continue demon slaying, and leaves the country, returning to Sunnydale only briefly to track down a dangerous demon, with his new wife.
 * Ben Wilkinson — Buffy met Ben in Season Five when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. They flirted but never dated, because Buffy didn't want to define herself by her lack of a relationship.
 * Spike — Originally enemies, Spike and Buffy become reluctant allies. Spike falls in love with Buffy in Season Five; she does not return his feelings, and is unsettled to discover his growing obsession. Buffy is moved when Spike withstands significant torture to protect her and her sister, and they reconcile and fight side-by-side until her death. After her resurrection in Season Six, Buffy begins a violent sexual relationship with Spike. She breaks things off, admitting that she is only using Spike and the relationship is "killing her". Spike later attempts to rape an injured and weakened Buffy (she fights him off), and then leaves town in search of his soul. Spike's loyalty to Buffy continues after his ensoulment, and she eventually tells Spike she loves him (in the episode "Chosen") as he is about to sacrifice himself to save the world (to which Spike replies: "No, you don't. But thanks for saying it."). Spike chooses not to contact Buffy after he is resurrected in L.A., wanting her to remember him as a self-sacrificing hero.
 * R.J. Brooks — Buffy, under the influence of a love spell (in the episode "Him") develops a brief, powerful obsession with this high school quarterback, along with Dawn, Willow, and Anya. She betrays her sister's trust by seducing RJ in an empty classroom, and almost kills Principal Wood to prove her love to him. The spell is broken when Spike and Xander destroy the enchanted letterman's jacket.
 * Principal Robin Wood — Buffy and Wood went on one date, but their relationship never went beyond friendship after he revealed that he was the son of an earlier Slayer.
 * Satsu — As Buffy trained newly activated Slayers, a young girl named Satsu became her closest ally. Satsu fell in love with Buffy; when Amy Madison put Buffy in the influence of a love spell, which could only be broken by the kiss of true love, it was Satsu who awakened Buffy from her mystical sleep. Realising this, Buffy talked to Satsu, telling her that she was flattered to know she felt that way about her, but was not gay herself.  Despite this, Buffy ended up having sex with Satsu, in a moment she described as a "wonderful night" but claimed would go no further.

Canonical appearances
Buffy has been in 153 canonical Buffyverse appearances.
 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy was a series regular for all seven seasons (1997-2003). Buffy and Willow were the only two characters that appeared in each of the 144 series' episodes.


 * Angel


 * Season 1 (1999-2000)
 * I Will Remember You
 * Sanctuary


 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
 * The Long Way Home
 * No Future for You


 * Other : Other stories featuring Buffy which are considered canonical include:
 * The Origin
 * Tales of the Slayers: "Broken Bottle of Djinn"
 * Tales of the Vampires:"Antique"

Other Appearances
As the main character in the franchise, Buffy has also appeared in the majority of Buffy expanded universe material. She first appeared in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film in 1992, which was the basis of the far more successful television series. She has also appeared in various Buffy novels and comic books, and is playable in all of the video games.