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The Origin, Part Two

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The Origin, Part Two is the second issue of The Origin comic book miniseries. Written by Dan Brereton with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Joe Bennett, it was originally published on February 10, 1999, by Dark Horse Comics.

Summary[]

Buffy wakes from a nightmare and rushes to Hemery High School, running late. Her boyfriend, Jeffrey, expresses concern that she didn't answer his calls the previous night, but Buffy claims she was sick.

In the locker room, Jennifer informs Buffy that she is late for cheerleading practice. After Jennifer leaves, Buffy's Watcher, Merrick, appears and reminds her that she was supposed to meet him at the warehouse. Buffy admits she feels unprepared for her Slayer duties. Merrick acknowledges her inexperience but tests her reflexes by suddenly throwing a knife at her, which she effortlessly catches. When Buffy reacts angrily, Merrick explains that only a Slayer could have caught it, prompting her to punch him in the face.

At the warehouse, Merrick commends Buffy's natural abilities and apologizes for the abrupt training methods he has used, emphasizing that time is limited. Merrick explains that, while there are other Potential Slayers around the world, only one is chosen. Buffy inquires about famous vampires, and Merrick explains that Jack the Ripper and the Roman emperor Caligula were the same vampire. He then describes Lothos, a vampire born in the eleventh or twelfth century who has grown increasingly powerful but remains vulnerable to sunlight and stakes. Buffy becomes distracted and begins doodling in her notebook, prompting Merrick to slam a stake onto the page to remind her to focus.

The next morning, Buffy arrives late to school. Meanwhile, Merrick studies a newspaper, circling names in the obituary section, noting that Buffy "must be ready soon." Later that day, Buffy visits a church and asks a priest to bless several bottles of Perrier mineral water.

At school, Buffy meets with guidance counselor Gary Murray, who tries to connect with her by reminiscing about his past drug experiences. As he rambles about a bad trip at a Doobie Brothers concert, Buffy becomes distracted by a fly buzzing around his office. She takes a ball head pin from his desk, places it in her mouth, and spits it across the room, impaling the fly with perfect precision.

Pike is at home listening to music when his friend Benny, now a vampire, appears at his window. When Benny demands to be let in, Pike tells him to get some rest and come back in the morning, but Benny insists that he is hungry.

Later that evening, Buffy walks through a dark alley and is attacked by a large vampire. She stakes the demon with ease, proudly celebrating her victory. In the shadows, Merrick observes her performance with a stopwatch, warning that not all vampires will be so slow. As they drive away together, Buffy complains about Merrick's lack of encouragement, teasing him about his constant brown wardrobe. Merrick insists that she must remain cautious and disciplined, revealing that he has trained five Slayers before her — all of whom were killed. He warns Buffy not to think of him as a friend, explaining that emotional attachment interferes with work. Buffy understands that he means it would only make it harder for him if she dies. Confidently, she tells him she doesn't plan on dying easily and boasts about having advantages the other Slayers lacked — namely her "keen fashion sense."

At school, Kimberly and Jennifer discuss the discovery of Cassandra's body near the railway tunnels, speculating that she may have been involved in illegal activities. After Buffy arrives, Andy tries to grope her, but she quickly slams him against the lockers and warns him not to grab her. When Jeffrey tells Andy to keep his hands off his "thang," Buffy asserts that she can handle herself.

At Zeph's auto shop, Pike prepares to leave town due to increasing danger. Benny appears and bites Zeph, while Pike narrowly escapes the group of vampires by driving away. Unable to see because Amilyn is clinging to the roof, Pike crashes into a tree. Buffy arrives, stakes one of the vampires, and helps Pike back to the shop. As the other vampires approach, Buffy gives Pike a stake and begins fighting them. She recognizes Grueller as one of the vampires, and he declares that Lothos now rules the city. He attempts to seduce Buffy, but Pike intervenes, staking Grueller from behind and remarking that Buffy already has a boyfriend, so Grueller will have to lust from afar like the rest of them.

As Merrick finds Pike's crashed car, Lothos appears, declaring that Merrick cannot hide the Slayer from him. Merrick tells him that Buffy is unlike the others and unaware of her own strength. Lothos remains skeptical that she poses a significant threat, especially having been raised in Los Angeles.

At the shop, Pike tells Buffy he is leaving town, and he thanks her before driving off. Buffy sees Lothos and rushes toward him, wielding a stake. Merrick tells her to get away, insisting she is not ready, and opens fire on Lothos to create a distraction. Pike returns and urges Buffy to get on his motorcycle so they can escape. As they flee, Lothos vows to turn Merrick into a vampire and use him to find Buffy. Merrick responds, "Not in this lifetime," and shoots himself. Buffy, riding on the back of Pike's bike, closes her eyes and begins to cry.

Continuity[]

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Death count[]

  • Unidentified man, drained by vampires at a clothes store.
  • Two unidentified vampires, staked by Buffy.
  • Grueller, staked by Pike.
  • Zeph, bit by Benny.
  • Merrick, who shot himself.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • According to editor Scott Allie, "established Buffy novelist Christopher Golden pitched an adaptation of Joss [Whedon]'s original screenplay, minus the camp of the film, and done in the style of the TV show."[1]
  • Unlike the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film, the comic's story is canon. About this, Joss Whedon has stated: "The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick and not a certain OTHER thespian [referring to Donald Sutherland] who shall remain hated."[2]
  • The illustrated cover features graves with the names of the creators involved in this comic: [Rick] Ketcham, Christopher Golden, and [Dan] Brereton. The exception was J[oe] Bennett, who has his name carved into a tree, as he "didn't want his name on a tombstone for fear it would bring bad luck."[1]
  • The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1.
  • Differently from other representations, at this point the comic issues had vampires able to transform into green creatures with red eyes, pointy ears, a wide mouth, and long teeth. Although, this seems more like an artistic choice, not having direct consequence to the stories.

Distribution[]

  • The Origin, Part Two was the 45th best-selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 40,797 sales in February 1999 at comic specialty stores.[3]

Collections[]

Pop culture references[]

International titles[]

  • Spanish (Mexico): El Origen, Segunda Parte

Gallery[]

Covers[]

Cover artwork[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scott Allie, Panel to Panel. Dark Horse Comics, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Bronze VIP Archive for January 17, 1999." Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved on January 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ "February 1999 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops." Comichron. Retrieved on August 24, 2018.
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