Master

Master
Name	Heinrich Joseph Nest
Aliases	The Despised One The Sleeper King of Vampires The Master
Status	Deceased
Died	1997 (first time) 2011 (second time)
Classif.	Vampire
Affiliation	Order of Aurelius
Appearances
Debut	"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Last seen	Last Gleaming
Portrayed by	Mark Metcalf D.C. Douglas David Boreanaz

“Very few Vampires are cunning enough to have lived as long as I — which you've now demonstrated.”

―The Master

The Master, formerly known as Heinrich Joseph Nest, was an ancient and powerful vampire who was also named the "King of Vampires", due to the respect and fear vampirekind had for him. He was older than any other vampire on record.

The Master was the leader of the Order of Aurelius; a vampire cult that worshiped the Old Ones and sought to bring about their return to the world. He was also the sire to Darla — inadvertently leading to a long legacy of infamous vampires.

Biography

Siring

At some point, the Master was turned by the Demon Lord Archaeus, giving him a direct link to the power of this ancient demon that he passed on to other vampires in his bloodline.

The Old World

Angelus: “So, Darla here tells me you're some sort of master?”

Darla: “The Master. He commands our order.”

— Angelus and Darla.

The Master reveals himself to Darla after posing as a priest

In the 12th Century, the Master had become very powerful. At some point he was enslaved by the Seed of Wonder. By 1609, he had already lived past the 'curse' of human features, becoming much more demonic in appearance than other vampires, to the point where he resembled the much older and more powerful Turok-Han vampires.

At this time, the Master (posing as a priest) came to the Virginia Colony where he visited the deathbed of a prostitute suffering from syphilis, while posing as a priest. He tested her faith and discovered that she had lost all hope in having her soul saved. Alone with her, the Master revealed himself and that he had been the one that 'sang' to her from her window the previous night. She first believed he was Death, but the Master claimed he was actually her savior. Assuring her that while God had never done anything for her, but he would, he sunk his fangs into her neck and made her into a vampire. Over a hundred years after she was born, the Master would give her the name "Darla", the Anglo-Saxon derivation of "Dear One/Loved One". Darla become one of the Master's disciples, and grew into one of his favourites.

The Master meets Angelus

In a sewer in London, England in 1760, the Master was introduced to Angelus, Darla's progeny after they had returned from Yorkshire, England. Angelus, mocking the Master's appearance and the Order's harsh dogmas , including enforced underground dwelling, was pummeled into the ground after the Master lost his temper during their confrontation. Darla, despite the Master having made her the person who she was, preferred Angelus' offer of pleasure and adventure to remaining with the Master, leaving to Naples with the "stallion" after the offended Master beat him to a bloody pulp. Despite Darla choosing to abandon the Master and the Order to pursue her love affair with Angelus, the Master allowed the two to leave and ordered his henchmen to let them pass, but estimated that the couple would last no more than a century before breaking up.

File:The master vs yuki.jpg

The Master fights the Slayer

Around 1801, the Master fought a Japanese Slayer by the name of Yuki Makimura and sired her, making her one of his own devoted followers. The creation of a Slayer-vampire hybrid disgraced the Watcher's Council so much they erased all records of Yuki from the Slayer timeline.

Around 1880, the Master welcomed Darla back to the Order after she and Angelus had a fight. However, she soon returned to the arms of her lover.

After 1900, Darla returned to the Master for good after Angelus' soul was restored by a gypsy curse.

Imprisonment

“There was an earthquake that swallowed about half the town. And him too.”

―Willow RosenbergBy 1937, the Master had moved to the New World with the hopes of opening the Hellmouth located in Sunnydale and bringing about the end of the world by releasing the Old Ones. While in Sunnydale, he caused a notable ruckus by murdering a large number of people. However, months later an earthquake hit town in the middle of the ritual to open the Hellmouth, swallowing half the town, including the church in which the Master was performing the ritual. As the ritual had already commenced, the Master was imprisoned within a mystical barrier, like a cork in a bottle. Now all he had to do to open the Hellmouth was to break through the barrier, but he didn't have the power to do so. Some time around that event, the Master came into contact with the Slayer, India Cohen.

The Master rises in 1997 after three score years of sleep

In 1997, after spending 60 years sleeping in a pool of blood, the Master arose again and used the acolytes of his Order of Aurelius to help him escape his prison within the Hellmouth. This involved a ritual called the Harvest. The Harvest occurred on a single night occurring each century where the Master could draw power from one of his minions (named "the Vessel"). Each time the Vessel fed the power was transferred back to the Master. Hoping to gather enough power for him to escape. the Master selected an acolyte named Luke as his Vessel and sent him to out to find blood. Luke and many of the Master's other followers attacked the patrons of the Bronze nightclub, draining and killing a few of them until the current Slayer, Buffy Summers, who had just moved to Sunnydale from Los Angeles, intervened. Buffy disrupted the ritual by killing the Vessel (and many other Aurielius vampires), thus foiling the Master's plan.

Buffy further upset the Master by killing more of his most cherished minions, such as Zachary. Angered by her meddling, the Master sent the Three to assassinate her but when Buffy and her friends defeated them, he had them killed as penance. The destruction of the Three proved to bring little solace or satisfaction. Darla offered to kill the Slayer her own way and the depressed Master agreed. Jealous of Buffy, Darla's scheme involved making it appear that Angelus, now an ally of the Slayer and going by the name "Angel", had turned evil, making Buffy duty-bound to kill him; and in turn force Angel to defend himself and kill her. This plan backfired when Angel unhesitatingly killed Darla in order to save Buffy, thereby deepening Master's depression. Visibly distraught and sincerely grieving the Master nearly lost the will to carry out his plans. Only words of encouragement from his right-hand vampire child, the Anointed One, brought comfort, strengthening his resolve to continue making preparations for his release.

Buffy meets the Master for the first time when her nightmares become real

Billy Palmer, a human boy who had been beaten into a coma by an unknown assailant, astral projected from his hospital bed triggering a response from the Hellmouth which caused the nightmares of Sunnydale citizens' to manifest into a false reality. In a manifestation of Buffy's deepest fears, the Master was briefly released from his prison and set upon the surface. He confronted Buffy at a mystically conjured cemetery before pushing her into an empty coffin and burying her alive (an interesting foreshadowing of events that would not occur for another five years). Buffy freed herself, rising as a vampire temporarily. Awakening Billy from his coma ended the realization of nightmares coming true. If in fact the Master had been truly freed and was not just a manifestation of Buffy's own inner terrors, he was returned to his mystical prison and appeared to have no memory of his brief sojourn on the surface.

Escape

“You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything. You're the one that sets me free. If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that.”

―The Master, before killing Buffy

File:The Master Is Free!.jpg

The Slayer's blood provides the Master with enough power to escape his prison

File:Prophecy Girl- The Master.jpg

The Master fulfills the prophecy

Even though the Pergamum Codex prophesied that the Master would inevitably rise from his prison and kill the Slayer, Buffy resolved to deal with him after signs of the upcoming apocalypse encouraged the Master's minions to start taking people's lives on school grounds. The first sign that the Pergamum Codex prophesy would not work out as expected happened when the Master sent the Anointed One to bait the Slayer into entering his lair. Contrary to the codex, Buffy recognized the Anointed One instantly and asked him to fulfill his task as guide. The Master welcomed the Slayer but avoided confronting her directly. Instead, he taunted her from the shadows in order to prolong the moment.

Disgusted with his theatrics and eager to get the confrontation over and done with, Buffy told the Master to reveal himself. Appearing behind her, the Master easily disarmed and rendered her helpless through hypnosis. Holding an incapacitated Buffy and just prior to killing her, the Master happily informed her that if it weren't for her attempt to kill him then he wouldn't have been able to leave. The Master bit her, but drank only a small amount of blood, before dropping her and leaving her to drown in a shallow pool, with a sarcastic compliment about her pretty gown. Despite only drinking a small amount, the Slayer's blood imbued the Master with so much power he broke through the mystical barrier that kept him prisoner for so long.

Death

The Master: “Where are your jibes now? Will you laugh when my Hell is on Earth?”

Buffy: “You're really that amped about Hell? Go there.”

— Buffy and the Master, before she slays him

The Master as he died

Fortunately for Buffy, Angel and Xander Harris arrived in time to revive her, and Buffy confronted the Master just as he ascended to the roof of Sunnydale High School, above the library where the Hellmouth was located directly below. Though shocked at seeing her alive, the Master made another attempt at her with his hypnosis but she somehow resisted and the two began fighting, hand-to-hand. As a creature from the Hellmouth rose and attacked Buffy's friends, the Master remarked on if Buffy would still be making jibes while his hell was raining on earth. Buffy grabbed the Master by the neck and said if he was so excited about hell, he should go there. She then ultimately defeated him by throwing him through the skylight and impaling him on a large piece of wood that had formed from a broken table. Unlike most vampires, who turned completely to dust upon their death, the Master left behind a skeleton. His remains were then buried in the Sunnydale Cemetery and consecrated with holy water in a special ritual to prevent any vampires from retrieving him. 

Legacy 

Big Ugly: “The Master is dead. Someone has to take his place.”

Lean Boy: “As long as the Slayer is alive, whoever takes his place will be sharing his grave!”

Big Ugly: “Then let the soul who kills her wear his mantle.”

— The Master's minions discussing who should take his place

Following the Master's death, the Anointed One assumed leadership of the Order. 

Buffy smashes the Master's remains, ensuring he never returns

Working with Absalom, the Anointed One concocted a plan to resurrect the Master via a revivification ritual. He forced his minions to dig up the Master's bones (despite the holy water burning their hands) and kidnapped Rupert Giles, Jenny Calendar, Willow Rosenberg and Cordelia Chase, all of whom where in the vicinity of the Master when he died as the ritual required. Buffy returned to Sunnydale from Los Angeles around the same time as the Anointed One initiated his scheme and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as result of her death at the Master's hands. Buffy as a result became mean and malicious to others and it was only when she discovered that her friends had been kidnapped — due to her falling into a trap because of her impulsivity — that she began to think straight again. Buffy, along with Angel and Xander, intervened and killed all of the remaining minions present before crushing the Master's bones to dust with a sledgehammer, ending his threat permanently and allowing herself to move on with her life.

Weeks after the event, the Order decided that whoever would be successful in killing the Slayer would take the Master's place as leader of the Order. Spike, a member of the Master's bloodline, elected to prove himself by killing the Slayer his way on the Night of Saint Vigeous. His plan wasn't successful, however. Spike launched his attack at Sunnydale High during parent-teacher night which Buffy organized, several nights before the Night of Saint of Vigeous out of impatience, but failed due to the Slayer's efforts. The Anointed One demanded that Spike give penance for ruining the Night of Saint Vigeous and costing the Order several minions from the attack, but Spike instead killed the Anointed One and took over the factory the Order inhabited following the Master's death. It was then that Spike announced that there would be a little less ritual, and little more fun in Sunnydale, contrasting to the Master's near unshakable traditionalist world view.

“Right back to the beginning! Not the bang, not the word... the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride, and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you... tried to do what's right. Just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right. Not about wrong.”

―The First, impersonating the Master.

The First appears in the form of the Master

Six years later, the First Evil taunted a now-ensouled Spike by taking the shape of the major enemies faced by the Scooby Gang including the Master (despite the Master and Spike never actually meeting before) along with Drusilla, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, Adam, Glorificus and Warren Mears in that order reversed.

Reappearance

“Kids. They only visit when they need something.”

―The Master

File:The Master comic.jpg

The Master returns from the dead to torment Buffy once more

Following Buffy and Angel's rejection of their roles as the creators of a new universe and their releasing of thousands of new demons, Spike revealed that the Seed of Wonder, which was the thing from which everything came, was what they needed to end this. Based on information Spike acquired from the Las Vegas branch of Wolfram & Hart, he explained that the Seed had been there all along. The seed was not made by Angel and Buffy, but rather its existence even preceded The First and it was considered the beginning of everything. It had been specifically kept in Sunnydale in the church where the Master was trapped after his original attempt to open the Hellmouth, and that the Slayer Organization needed to collect it in order to avert a demonic invasion. However, the seed was guarded by a protector in the form of the Master, returned to life via the intervention of the Seed who chose him as the Seed's protector and restored him to "life."

File:The master dies.jpg

The Master dies once more at the hands of Angel

As a result of the battle, Willow overtook the power of the Seed, abandoning the Master in the church. When Buffy and a Twilight-possessed Angel arrived, Angel shattered the Master's head with a single punch, dusting him once again.

Appearance

The Master: “You're dead!”

Buffy: “I may be dead, but I'm still pretty. Which is more than I can say for you.”

— Buffy Summers, commenting on the Master's appearance

File:The master tall.jpg

The Master's advanced age gave him a more demonic and permanent visage

Physical appearance

Darla: “The Master has grown past the curse of human features”

Angelus: “I'm not gonna get a bat-nose like that, huh? Am I? ”

— Angelus, insulting the Master

The Master possessed a more ghoulish appearance than regular vampires which was apparently permanent, preventing him from assuming a human visage (a likely effect of his old age). His features somewhat resembled that of a Turok-Han vampire. He had white pale skin, a bald head with pointed ears and yellowish, talon-like nails. His face had the basic vampire brow ridge, wrinkles and fangs, except with blood red eyes instead of yellow ones; and a snub, bat-like nose. The Master also had a distinctive bloody red stain on his nose down to his mouth, something Buffy referred to as "fruit punch mouth."

Clothing 

At least since the late 20th century, the Master was always seen wearing a black leather Nehru jacket with a belt and matching pants and boots. In the 17th century when he sired Darla, the Master disguised himself as a priest, using a dark robe with its hood covering his face. Later in the 18th century while meeting Angelus, the Master wore a black leathery vest with long, quilted sleeves.

Personality

“Nobody died...what's the fun in burying someone if they're already dead?”

―The Master

The Master sitting on his throne

The Master was a ruthless overlord who expected total devotion from his followers and expected them to risk their very own lives for his cause.

Minions who failed to carry out their objectives were brutalized by the Master himself or called upon to mutilate themselves in an act of penance. An example of this was Claw, who cut off his own arm after displeasing the Master, but still had to depart from the Order. The Master was also personally offended when Darla offered him Jesse McNally as food, a human she feed off beforehand which the Master considered to be scraps.

However, the Master did consider the taking of a life (obviously not a human one) to be a serious matter and not to be taken for personal joy. He also believed the Order of Aurelius was more a family than a religious order, viewing his minions as his own children and that providing them with the responsibility to perform executions was for their own learning, even initially denying Darla the chance to kill Buffy because her desire to do so was based mainly for her own self-interest rather than for the good of the Order. Despite this family-orientated attitude, the Master was prone to favoritism. His most treasured disciple was Darla, whom he viewed as a daughter, and nearly lost the will to continue his plans when she was staked by Angel.

The Master was a strong traditionalist who viewed human culture and life above ground as "pestilence", forbidding his minions from living on the surface, only allowing them to leave when hunting, however, he seemed to change this view when rising from the church after being freed, admiring the surface after decades of isolation where it he forgot what it was like. His Wishverse counterpart furthered this; after having spent so long trapped underground, he openly defied the Order's old-established views and conquered Sunnydale.

The Master was deeply religious, believing unquestioningly in the prophecies of his old mentor, Aurelius, to the point that it became a flaw. When Buffy is resuscitated after her initial fight with him, The Master's disbelief at her survival in spite of what the prophecy stated leaves him so shaken that some of his powers fail him, causing Buffy to finally defeat him.

The Master also held a belief in demonic superiority, living in tribute to the Old Ones and claiming that vampires were undeniably the superior race in the Wishverse (which would be consistent in the original timeline considering the Wishverse Master's more laid-back demeanor). Interestingly, the Master himself claimed that his objectives were for the "common good".

Despite his cold-hearted nature, the Master was fairly charismatic and had a sardonic sense of humor, asking the Anointed One if the earthquake that preceded the oncoming apocalypse was "5.1" on the Richter scale after making an overzealous performance to accompany it, blatantly remarking that Buffy's sarcastic comment about his lair's water leakage as "the feeble banter portion of the fight" (which seemed to be an on-going feature in her slaying) and even taking the time to compliment Buffy's dress as he finally escaped his lair, pitifully remarking "And by the way. I like your dress".

Powers and Abilities

“You're way out of your league, kid. The Master'll kill you before you can breathe—if you're lucky.”

―AngelEnhanced vampire abilities — Because of his extremely advanced age as the oldest vampire ever recorded, the Master possessed superhuman strength, speed, reflexes and endurance far beyond those of any other vampires (though lesser than that of Maloker). He clearly demonstrated this by defeating many Slayers throughout history, including Yuki Makimura and Buffy Summers. Additionally, the Master was seen surviving a powerful punch from Buffy and knocking her down when her powers where massively amplified by Twilight and practically invulnerable (to the point that Faith, a Slayer, couldn't harm Angel by kicking him in the groin who had about the same strength as Buffy during this period). Unlike most vampires, the Master made use of his fingernails in combat were capable of slicing flesh and cloth with ease.

The Master also demonstrated a higher resistance to crosses, when he was able to look at a large cross (though with disgust and anguish) and touch it, the cross emitting visible smoke as it burned his hand but not harming him. The Master explained that this was because fear, like pain, was in the mind, which could be controlled. Because he conquered his fear he could not feel any pain. Additionally, the Master also dreaded the very church he was imprisoned in, though could live in it for over 60 years.

Hypnosis — The Master had adept hypnotic abilities which allowed him to control people's motor functions with the wave of his hand (not even requiring their gaze), and thus taking control of their bodies and rendering them unable to move, but still conscious of what was being done to them. Not even the Slayer was capable of resisting it. He used this on Buffy and the hypnosis was powerful enough that she remained immoble even when he threw her into a pool after biting her, leaving her to drown. The Master later tried to hypnotize her a second time where he managed to draw her towards him only to find out she was now immune to his hypnotic power. Why this is was never explained. 

Skeletal Preservation — The Master had the distinction of being the only known vampire in existence powerful enough to leave his skeleton intact while his flesh and clothing disintegrated into dust upon death. This gave way for him to resurrected by a certain magic ritual until his bones were destroyed, preventing the ritual from being conducted. However, despite the Master leaving skeletal remains during his death in 1997 at the hands of Buffy, this apparently wasn't so after his second death by a possessed Angel.

Sorcery and Occult Aptitude — Numerous times, the Master has demonstrated intimate knowledge of dark rituals and prophesies — such as The Harvest, the rise of The Anointed and The Pergamum Codex's prediction of Buffy's death and his rise despite the text being lost for over five hundred years (though the Master could of easily read the prophecies before it was lost). It's also likely the Master would've had at least some knowledge of sorcery and magic since he tried to open the Hellmouth.

File:The Master Psychic.jpg

Power Detection — The Master appeared to at least possess some psychic ability when he could sense a powerful psychic force caused by the astral projection of Billy Palmer (though it's possible he was sensing the hellmouth having resided so close to it underground, it being the cause of the problem).

Relationships

• 

  The Master only rarely scolds Darla but favors her over his other minions

  Darla — Darla was the Master's most cherished minion out of the whole Order. The Master himself referred to her as his favorite. It was apparent that he didn't just sire her randomly, having allegedly 'sang' to her the night before. As Darla laid hopeless, the Master seemed to see some potential in her and the two cultivated a close bond during the next two centuries. The Master was shocked that Darla abandoned her own sire for a younger vampire, but respected her decision, knowing that their relationship wouldn't last. The Master was once, though, harsh to Darla when she gave him an unacceptable offering before the Harvest, openly threatening her. Though this only seemed to fit his role as 'father' of the Order and wouldn't allow her too much liberties, shown when he allowed her to execute the Three, knowing she would take much joy in the act while believing little was enough. When Darla died, the Master became openly aggressive, smashing one of his candleholders in anger until the Anointed comforted him.

• 

  Angel offends the Master

  Angelus/Angel — The Master was shown to have mixed feelings regarding Angel and his soulless counterpart. He was impressed at Darla for bringing Angelus to him, even admiring the name she chose for him, thinking it was marvelous. His good mood then changed when Angelus mocked his appearance and the Order's views, beating him for not showing the 'proper respect'. However, by 1997, the Master's opinion of Angel seemed to have changed, though apparently aware of his ensoulment and name change, the Master claimed Angel was "the most vicious creature" he ever met and even admitted to missing him, possibly suggesting that the two met again after their initial meeting. The Master was even shocked that it was Angel that killed Darla, wanting Angel to be at his right hand come his ascension.
• Zachary — Like Darla, the Master seemed to value his minion Zachary and was upset when hearing that he didn't come back from his hunt the previous night because of the Slayer, considering Zachary to be one of his children. The extent of their relationship was never shown.

• 

  The Master and the Anointed share a Mentor/Student bond

  The Anointed One — The Master quickly developed a close bond with the young vampire, acting as the Anointed's mentor, teaching him how to successfully run the Order in terms of punishing failure and also the power fear has and how a vampire could conquer anything if they conquered their fear. The Master even held stones in his hand that the Anointed would use to throw onto the pools of water in the church and derived solace from the young vampire's hopeful words after Darla's death. The Anointed also seemed to appreciate the Master and his rulings, working to resurrect him despite having inherited the Master's rule and maintaining the Order's traditions until he was usurped by the rebel Spike.

See also

• Order of Aurelius
• The Master's bloodline
• Darla
• Angel
• Wishverse Master
• The Master (clone)

Gallery

The Master article has a Photo Gallery.

Behind the Scenes

• He was portrayed by Mark Metcalf. He was also played by David Boreanaz in a flashback sequence in "When She Was Bad" and voiced by D.C Douglas in 2003 Xbox video game Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• Joss Whedon's notes for "Welcome to the Hellmouth" indicated that The Master's real name was Heinrich Joseph Nest and his age was 600 years. However, the flashback to 1609 in "Darla" shows The Master already with his bat-like demonic visage, meaning he was far older than just 600 years by 1997, as this would have made The Master over 300 by 1609, and he wouldn't look like that, as shown with Darla who is over 400 years old. On the other hand, the Master could have preferred wearing his "game face" (as Xander would've called it) full time, after ostensibly being sired in 1397. Perhaps because, as a mortal, his predilections were even more monstrous than those Angel had demonstrated as Liam of 18th century Galway! 
• If the Master's real name truly is "Heinrich", it's possible he might be of Germanic origin.
• Despite his old world origins, the Master spoke with a modern American accent, even before he came to Sunnydale. In the 2003 video game, however, the Master had an English accent.
• The Master was originally supposed to have a beard and long hair. Mark Metcalf came up with the bald, more demonic look as an homage to Nosferatu.  
• According to Metcalf, the Master's makeup took 5 hours to put on.
• The Master's appearance and the events of "Prophecy Girl" parallel some of themes in the 1922 German horror classic Nosferatu. The fact that it was prophesied that Buffy would have to die fighting the Master is similar to how Ellen Hutter had to let Count Orlock feed off her in order for him to be distracted until the sun came up. The victimization of the young woman to the monstrous male figure symbolizes male dominance and the drinking of blood carries themes of rape (shown by the Master's powerful reaction after biting Buffy). Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in turn, offers a feminist subversion where Buffy, the female victim, defeats her male aggressor. The Master in general is representative of traditional monsters of the horror genre, with Buffy playing as a subversion of the typical "helpless female" victim common among horror films, and the Master's traditionalist, patriarchal disposition going in contrast with Buffy's modern and witty character.

• The Master was indirectly responsible for The Whirlwind: The Master sired Darla, who sired Angelus, who sired Drusilla, who sired Spike. On an interesting note, that indirect action brought forth two of the most infamous vampires in history (Angelus and Spike), who had an even darker reputation than The Master. It also left the Master responsible for his own demise and the end of the Order of Aurelius, due to Angel's pivotal role in his death, and Spike's murder of the Anointed One. 
• The Master is, and remains, the only Big Bad or enemy in general that killed Buffy through his own devices.
• The Master is also responsible for the activation of Kendra Young after Buffy's temporary death, causing two Slayers to exist simultaneously for the first time ever.
• The Master is one of the only two Big Bads in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though there are others in Angel) to appear in the first episode of his respective season, the other being the final antagonist The First.
• Russell Edgington in "True Blood" is very similar. Like the Master, he was considered to be the oldest and most powerful vampire in existence into his own universe. He had also racial hatred fiercely extremist against humanity and believe that only the supernatural beings hold the law on the world similar to the allegiance of the Master for the Old Ones. Similar to the Master, he wants also to drink the blood of the main female character Buffy/Sookie because of their mystical Slayer/Faerie property.
• He is the only known vampire of the old breed with red eyes (like the new vampires) and not with yellow eyes.

Expanded Universe

• In the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, the Master is resurrected as a ghost by the necromancer Matereani as part of the plan of the Old One Laibach of the Abyss to build a bridge between his hell dimension and Earth. Spike states that the Master was resurrected as Laibach needed his expertise in opening dimensional portals and the Dreamers to warp reality and actually create the bridge. The Master acts as the primary antagonist of the game, possessing Angel and working to complete Laibach's plot. The Master is eventually exorcised from Angel by Buffy and Willow and prevented from possessing Spike or Drusilla. In his spiritual form, the Master continues the plot using the remaining two Dreamers and a Deglon Sphere, but the Dreamers are killed by Buffy, foiling the plan. The Scooby Gang performs a corporealization spell upon the Master's spirit, restoring him to a body temporarily and allowing Buffy to destroy him once more by impaling him on a large piece of wood which acts as a makeshift giant stake. According to a voiceover by Giles, the Master's destruction in this manner destroyed his spirit completely. In the game the Master also possesses other abilities such as teleportation, telekinesis and switching between corporeal and incorporeal form for a limited time although the latter is while the corporealization spell is being performed and Giles predicted such an occurrence could happen due to wavering concentration during the spell. Its indicated by Angel that the Master's actions, along with being to complete Laibach's plot are also to get revenge upon Buffy for his death.

  File:Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Xbox) - The Master.jpg

  The Master in the 2003 Xbox video game

• In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comics Issue #38 False Memories, we learn moments before his final death, the Master was able to move his essence to the astral plane, where he would remain until he could return into a new body. An attempt to bring him back to the land of the living by his congregation, the Eidu, was nearly successful. Using the Eidu Amulet, which is a bridge to the spirit world, the Eidu kidnapped Xander and planned to use his body as the vessel for the Master's astral essence to inhabit. Before the Master could enter the body, Willow and Tara cast a spell to temporarily keep the Master's spirit from possessing Xander. During the ritual, the Master's essence was destroyed after he was struck with a vapor blade by Buffy's sister, Dawn.

Appearances

The Master was the primary villain in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He appeared in 10 episodes all together (6 living, 1 in a dream, 1 in the Wishverse, 1 in archive footage and 1 as a disguise of the First Evil). He also appeared in one episode in the second season of Angel in flashbacks. He appeared in 11 Buffyverse episodes altogether, 9 of which featured the acting talent of Mark Metcalf.  

The Master would later return in Buffy Season Eight in the first four issues of the final story arc Last Gleaming. He previously made cameo appearances during Buffy's astral dream in Part 3 of The Long Way Home and during one of her decoy's activivations in The Chain. He later appeared in the Angel comic Auld Lang Syne as a clone in the first and fourth parts. He appeared in 8 Buffyverse comic issues overall.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" Appears	"The Harvest" Appears	"Witch" Absent	"Teacher's Pet" Mention	"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" Appears	"The Pack" Absent	"Angel" Appears	"I Robot, You Jane" Absent	"The Puppet Show" Absent	"Nightmares" Appears	"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Mention	"Prophecy Girl" Appears

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2
"When She Was Bad" Vision	"Some Assembly Required" Absent	"School Hard" Mention	"Inca Mummy Girl" Absent	"Reptile Boy" Absent	"Halloween" Absent	"Lie to Me" Absent	"The Dark Age" Absent	"What's My Line? Part One" Absent	"What's My Line? Part Two" Absent	"Ted" Absent
"Bad Eggs" Absent	"Surprise" Mention	"Innocence" Absent	"Phases" Absent	"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Absent	"Passion" Absent	"Killed by Death" Absent	"I Only Have Eyes for You" Absent	"Go Fish" Absent	"Becoming, Part One" Absent	"Becoming, Part Two" Absent

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3
"Anne" Absent	"Dead Man's Party" Absent	"Faith, Hope & Trick" Absent	"Beauty and the Beasts" Absent	"Homecoming" Absent	"Band Candy" Absent	"Revelations" Absent	"Lovers Walk" Absent	"The Wish" Appears	"Amends" Absent	"Gingerbread" Absent
"Helpless" Absent	"The Zeppo" Absent	"Bad Girls" Absent	"Consequences" Absent	"Doppelgängland" Archive	"Enemies" Absent	"Earshot" Absent	"Choices" Absent	"The Prom" Absent	"Graduation Day, Part One" Absent	"Graduation Day, Part Two" Absent

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4
"The Freshman" Absent	"Living Conditions" Absent	"The Harsh Light of Day" Absent	"Fear, Itself" Absent	"Beer Bad" Absent	"Wild at Heart" Absent	"The Initiative" Absent	"Pangs" Mention	"Something Blue" Absent	"Hush" Absent	"Doomed" Absent
"A New Man" Absent	"The I in Team" Absent	"Goodbye Iowa" Absent	"This Year's Girl" Absent	"Who Are You?" Absent	"Superstar" Mention	"Where the Wild Things Are" Absent	"New Moon Rising" Absent	"The Yoko Factor" Absent	"Primeval" Absent	"Restless" Absent

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7
"Lessons" Appears	"Beneath You" Absent	"Same Time, Same Place" Absent	"Help" Absent	"Selfless" Absent	"Him" Absent	"Conversations with Dead People" Absent	"Sleeper" Absent	"Never Leave Me" Absent	"Bring on the Night" Absent	"Showtime" Absent
"Potential" Absent	"The Killer in Me" Absent	"First Date" Absent	"Get It Done" Absent	"Storyteller" Absent	"Lies My Parents Told Me" Absent	"Dirty Girls" Absent	"Empty Places" Absent	"Touched" Absent	"End of Days" Absent	"Chosen" Absent

Angel

Angel: Season 2
"Judgment" Absent	"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" Absent	"First Impressions" Absent	"Untouched" Absent	"Dear Boy" Absent	"Guise Will Be Guise" Absent	"Darla" Flashback	"The Shroud of Rahmon" Absent	"The Trial" Absent	"Reunion" Absent	"Redefinition" Absent
"Blood Money" Absent	"Happy Anniversary" Absent	"The Thin Dead Line" Absent	"Reprise" Absent	"Epiphany" Absent	"Disharmony" Absent	"Dead End" Absent	"Belonging" Absent	"Over the Rainbow" Absent	"Through the Looking Glass" Absent	"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" Absent

Angel: Season 5
"Conviction" Absent	"Just Rewards" Absent	"Unleashed" Absent	"Hell Bound" Absent	"Life of the Party" Absent	"The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" Absent	"Lineage" Absent	"Destiny" Mention	"Harm's Way" Absent	"Soul Purpose" Absent	"Damage" Absent
"You're Welcome" Absent	"Why We Fight" Absent	"Smile Time" Absent	"A Hole in the World" Absent	"Shells" Absent	"Underneath" Absent	"Origin" Absent	"Time Bomb" Absent	"The Girl in Question" Absent	"Power Play" Absent	"Not Fade Away" Absent

Spike

• "Alone Together Now" (cameo)

Buffy Season Eight

• The Long Way Home, Part Three (cameo)
• The Chain (cameo)
• Last Gleaming (Parts 1-4) 

Buffy Season Ten

• Day Off (or Harmony In My Head) (cameo)
• Relationship Status: Complicated (cameo)

Angel & Faith Season Ten

• Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part Two (Only mentioned)

References

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