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Note: This article is about the comic. For other uses, see Chaos Bleeds.
Btvs The subject of this article is non-canonical.
While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse continuity.
Angelwings

Chaos Bleeds is a one-shot from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic comic book series. Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, and illustrated by Cliff Richards, it was originally published on June 11, 2003 by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis[]

Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, writers of the upcoming videogame Buffy: Chaos Bleeds, bring the story straight to comics in this look into the twisted world of the game. The barriers between alternate realities have begun to erode around Sunnydale, and Buffy and the gang face nightmare versions of friends and allies, as well as enemies thought long dead. Featuring the return of the vampiric Gorch clan, Sid the Dummy, Faith and more![1]

Summary[]

On the outskirts of Sunnydale, near the Golden Spur restaurant, a dimensional rift opens up, spilling out members of the Gorch Clan. Smelling humans inside, they enter to get "a drink."

Meanwhile, at the Summers residence, Buffy, Willow, and Xander are visited by a battered and bruised Spike. Buffy jokes about Spike "getting caught cheating at Kitten Poker again," and Spike explains that he had been at the Golden Spur and attacked by vampires "out of a Spaghetti Western", while Willow and Xander try to imagine Spike at the Western-themed restaurant. Spike goes on to explain that he was overwhelmed and escaped to gather "the cavalry"; recognizing this means them, Buffy and the others depart.

Meanwhile, in an alleyway, Sid arrives out of another dimensional rift.

Arriving at the Golden Spur, Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Spike quickly begin to discuss who they may be dealing with. Buffy theorizes that it may be Lyle Gorch; Xander remarks that, since his brother Tector was killed by the Bezoar and his wife Candy staked by Cordelia, he was hoping that there were no more of them.

Inside, the Gorches have been wreaking havoc, all the while struggling to understand a jukebox. When the Scooby Gang bursts in, they discover that they are led by none other than Tector himself. He does not recognize Buffy, but she assumes that his apparent resurrection gave him amnesia. Buffy begins the fight, and the others on both sides quickly join in. Buffy suffers a nasty blow to the head and Spike is both shot by multiple revolvers and badly stabbed in the abdomen. The fight is cut short due to the rising sun, and the Gorches escape.

At the Magic Box, after tending to Spike's wounds, Giles explains the backstory of the Gorches to Spike, then goes on to say that all members of the clan they faced at the Golden Spur are dead, according to the Watchers Council's records. Giles theorizes that they are dealing with versions of the Gorches from either the past or an alternate reality. Buffy decides to patrol and search for the Gorches while the sun is still up, while Willow, Xander, and Spike go to their respective homes to rest. Giles stays in order to do further research to find a way to repair the dimensional breach.

Returning home, Willow climbs into bed with Tara, and is horrified to her as a vampire. Narrowly avoiding being attacked, Willow blasts the vampire Tara out the window, and then the real Tara bursts in; Willow embraces her in relief.

Meanwhile, at the Magic Box, Giles has fallen asleep on his books. Sid appears, and quietly takes a volume from the shelf leaves it opened on the table. He quickly hides in the closet just as Willow and Tara enter the shop. They explain what happened, so Giles concludes it confirms his theories about the dimensional breach. Willow points out a spell to stop dimension bleed in the book open on the table. Giles assumes that he fell asleep just as he found it, so Willow says they just have to gather the ingredients.

At dusk, Buffy arrives at Spike's crypt and awakens him. As they leave together, she tells him she spent the day searching everywhere, including the remains of Sunnydale High School, and has been unable to find the Gorches. Although, she adds that Xander suggested they'd be in the Nigh Owl Motor Lodge. The three meet and observe the Gorches in the motel through binoculars. They quickly confront the Gorches, and the fight continues.

Meanwhile, Willow, Tara, and Giles perform the ritual to repair the breach, while Sid watches unnoticed from the shadows, quietly begging them to finish before "it" notices that he's gone. Nearing the end of the ritual, the vampire Tara breaks into the Magic Box and pleads for Willow not to finish, explaining that her world's Willow is dead and she merely wanted to see some form of her again. Though shocked, Willow completes the ritual, and the remaining Gorches, the vampire Tara, and Sid are all sucked back into their world.

However, on the other side, a number of Buffy's acquaintances are just waiting to escape, saying that very soon the game will begin.

Continuity[]

  • Buffy asks Spike if he has been caught cheating at Kitten Poker again, the game she'll see him playing in the episode "Life Serial."
  • Sid secretly helps the Scooby Gang, having been their ally in "The Puppet Show."
  • Xander mentions that Lyle's brother, Tector, was killed by a Bezoar ("Bad Eggs") and his wife, Candy, was staked by Cordelia ("Homecoming").
  • Buffy says that "there's no such thing as leprechauns," as she first mentioned in "Faith, Hope & Trick", established as well in "Double or Nothing" and eventually "Unleashed." As she recognizes saying "but what do I know," Buffy eventually sees a leprechaun in Day Off (or Harmony in My Head) and another appears in United, Part Two.
  • Buffy tells Tector that she doesn't like guns, as she has noted not being helpful ("Flooded") nor useful in ("As You Were") and that "Slayers don't use guns" (Retreat, Part Two). In Twilight, Part One, she will conclude: "I don’t like [guns]. They keep killing my friends."
  • Although the comic states that "This story takes place during Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fifth season," Willow in Tara are sleeping in a house, when they only move from their dorm to Summers residence after Buffy's death ("Bargaining, Part One").
  • Giles mention Willow's vampire doppelganger, whom the Scoobies met in the episode "Doppelgängland".
  • In the Chaos Bleeds game, the "it" Sid mentions is revealed to be the First Evil.
  • This story is a prologue the Chaos Bleeds video game, as the various alternative forms of past characters in the First Evil's dimension threaten the "game" to begin.

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Rituals and spells[]

  • "Ia zi dinjur yirra marduki"

Death count[]

  • Unknown number of humans, killed by the Gorch Clan at the Golden Spur.
  • Sara Gorch (alternative version), staked by Spike at the Nigh Owl Motor Lodge.
  • Lyle Gorch (alternative version), staked by Buffy at the Nigh Owl Motor Lodge.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5.
  • The comic is also available within the Chaos Bleeds game as an unlockable special feature.

Distribution[]

  • Chaos Bleeds was the 142nd best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 14,542 sales in June 2003 at comic specialty stores.[2]

Collections[]

Pop culture references[]

  • Spike describes the Gorch Clan as "lookin' like something out of a Spaghetti Western," in reference to the Western film subgenre from the 60s and 70s.
  • In relation to the existence of alternate dimensions, Xander mentions the Star Trek franchise, then correct Giles that Spock was not a captain, but Kirk and Picard.
  • Willow exclaims "Yahtzee," the name of a dice game.
  • Xander suggests Jilly should carry a Barbie doll instead of a dismembered hand.

Gallery[]

Covers[]

Cover artwork[]

References[]

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