“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will always be my favorite televisions how of all time. It was the show that raised me, the show that started my love of horror and I even have it tattooed on my body. I, like millions of other people, was gutted when the show ended its seven season run in 2003. Luckily, Joss Whedon started an official comic book continuation – Buffy Season 8 – in 2007, which spawned the comic book spin-off “Angel and Faith.” Currently, the series published by Dark Horse is nearing the end of Buffy Season 10 and we’ve met a whole bunch of new and interesting characters since then.
The Slayer line has always been a hot topic within the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” community. There is still so much we don’t know and so many unanswered fan theories. During “Buffy,” we were lucky enough to meet Ms. Summers, Kendra and Faith Lehane, while seeing a few other Slayers through the use of flashbacks. In the last television episode of “Buffy,” Willow Rosenberg performed a spell that activated all of the potential Slayers in the world and in doing so made sure that the one girl in all the world rule no longer applies. When we pick up in Buffy Season 8, we learn that 1,500 Slayers were activated on that day.
Here’s just a few of them, the most important ones, that we have met since “Chosen.” Obviously, massive spoilers for the comic books and some of the TV show will follow…
Dana
First Seen: “Angel” Season 5, Episode 11 – Damaged
– As a child, Dana’s entire family was massacred by serial killer Walter Kindel. Instead of murdering Dana, he abducts her and keeps her locked in a basement for years while he mercilessly tortured her. Somehow she escapes and is found naked, bleeding and almost comatose and is admitted to a mental hospital. When all of the Slayers in the world are activated by Willow’s spell, Dana is activated and starts having psychotic outbursts and speaks in foreign tongues following her dreams – which turn out to be the prophetic dreams all Slayers have. She eventually escapes the mental hospital and goes on a murder spree of her own, fueled by delusion, until she meets Spike – who she recognizes from her dreams in which he killed two Slayers. They fight, Spike loses, Dana cuts off his hands and Angel saves the day before she can finish Spike off.
“Oh, No You Don’t” Slayers
First Seen: “Angel” Season 5, Episode 11 – Damaged
– We find out that Andrew Wells is a high ranking official in the squad of protectors formed by Buffy Summers. Since Angel is now the leader of Wolfram & Heart, an evil organization, Andrew doesn’t want to let Dana become their prisoner, although Angel claims its to try and help her. Angel, armed with about a dozen armed guards, tries to take Dana from Andrew by force, but not before a dozen young women show up to back him up – Slayers. When Angel realizes he and his guards are about to go up against a dozen Slayers, he wisely calls off the guards and Dana is taken to the Slayer headquarters without incident.
Rome Decoy Slayer
First Seen: “Angel” Season 5, Episode 20 – The Girl in Question
– Being that Buffy is now the leader of 1,500 Slayers across the world, Andrew figured that she has a pretty big target on her forehead – more than usual. He and Rona (a season seven potential turned Slayer) develop a special Slayer squad called “The Chain,” where various blonde headed Slayers are given the false identity of Buffy Summers to act as a decoy in case an attempt was ever made on the real Buffy’s life. The Decoy Slayer in Rome made sure to make very public appearances in clubs and even dated a demon, The Immortal, who was formerly linked to Angel and Spike. This character was also written for Sarah Michelle Gellar to make a guest appearance on “Angel,” but she was unavailable to return.
Leah, Rowena & Renee
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 8, Issue 1 – “The Long Way Home, Part 1”
– These are the first Slayers we meet during Buffy’s official comic book continuation. Ms. Summers herself is training them in the courtyard outside her castle, where she mans the Slayer organization, and all three women aren’t capable enough yet of beating Buffy while fighting her all at once. While Leah and Rowena become background characters for the rest of the season, Renee ends up developing feelings for Xander Harris. The pair eventually get into some sort of a relationship, but Renee dies when she is staked through the heart with the Scythe by a Tokyo vampire trying to undo the “Chosen” spell.
Satsu
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 8, Issue 1 – “The Long Way Home, Part 1”
– Satsu is introduced with Leah, Rowena and Renee, but becomes a more important character in the series. Buffy is lonely and feeling unwanted and eventually has a sexual relationship with Satsu. She breaks the other Slayer’s heart when she tells her that she just wanted a connection with someone for a moment and that she’s not a lesbian. Due to her capability, not out of feeling regretful, Buffy promotes Satsu to the leader of the Japanese Slayer squad. She even returns to the comic later during one of the climatic final battles.
Simone Doffler
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 8, Issue 2 – “The Long Way Home, Part 2”
– The pink mohawk’ed troublemaker of Rona’s squad, Simone is eventually sent to Andrew’s squad in hopes of making her less rough around the edges. Simone doesn’t like working as a group and often complains about having to use medieval weapons over high powered riffles. Eventually, Simone and a small group of other Slayers go rogue and are briefly seen terrorizing the public by stealing whatever they need by force – whether it be food, money or weapons. Later on in the series, Simone returns completely insane and wants to make hybrids of vampires and Slayers – hoping that they’ll be stronger than any being at their level. Simone allows herself to be bitten by an Old One, the one that created the first vampire, and becomes the first successful hybrid. Still, she wasn’t a match for Buffy Summers and is killed with the Scythe.
Genevieve Savidge
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 8, Issue 6 – “No Place For You, Part 1”
– Rupert Giles hears that a Slayer is campaigning to dethrone Buffy Summers as the leader of the Slayer squad and sends Faith on a covert mission to check it out. Faith meets Genevieve Savidge, who is being trained by an evil Warlock, to hone her abilities as a Slayer. They’re doing so by abducting Slayers and having Genevieve hunt them in the woods like a foxhound. Faith is able to trick her into becoming friends, but when Buffy shows up to end Genevieve’s hunts on Slayers, a scuffle happens between Faith and Genevieve resulting in the daughter of a Duke accidentally getting killed. Her death inspired Faith to go out on her and find other Dark Slayers in hopes of turning them back onto the path of good.
Soledad
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 8, Issue 21 – “Harmonic Divergence”
– Later into the season eight, the United States government has classified the Slayer organization as a terrorist group due to their strength, numbers, weapons and strongholds. At the same time, Harmony (from “Buffy” the television series) has gained massive popularity around the world as a reality television star. Soledad attempts to stake Harmony on television and dies in the process, and her attack on the beloved personality really ignites the Slayer hating flame around the world.
Anaheed
First Seen: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Season 9, Issue 1 – “Freefall, Part 1”
– Following the battle at the end of season 8, the Slayer organization is no more and Buffy returns to normal life. She works as a waitress and lives in an apartment with her roommates, one being Anaheed. Unbeknownst to Buffy, Anaheed is a Rona trained Slayer. Anaheed is tasked by Kennedy with keeping an eye on Buffy as she starts her life over again. When Buffy finds herself in trouble, Anaheed finally reveals her status and helps the group in battle. In the season ten opener, she helps the group again as they rescue an entire town from zombie-vampire hybrids.
Nadira
First Seen: “Angel and Faith” Season 1, Issue 1 – “Live Through This, Part 1”
– A member of the Slayer organization before it crumbled, Nadira is burdened with being the only Slayer from her squad to survive a massacre by villains Pearl & Nash and Angel while possessed by the demon Twilight. She becomes self destructive due to her need for revenge and Faith sees a lot of herself in the young Slayer so they become friends, though Faith hides the fact that she is working with Angel and knows where he is. Eventually, the women come to blows when Nadira finds out that Faith is harboring Angel, but they’re able to work it out just before the final battle of that season. Nadira finally gets her revenge by killing Nash but is affected a plague bomb (read the comics) shortly thereafter.
