Richard Wilkins, III

"Anybody miss the mayor? He just wanted to be a big snake."

- Xander Harris

Mayor Richard Wilkins III was a fictional warlock and the "Big Bad" of season three of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was played by actor Harry Groener and appeared in fourteen episodes of the series. His first appearance was in the fifth episode of season three, "Homecoming" and his final appearance as a living character was in the season finale "Graduation Day (Part 2)". Alternate incarnations of the mayor also appeared in "This Year's Girl", where he appeared on a videotape addressed to Faith as well as the season seven episodes "Lessons" and "Touched", where he appeared as an incarnation of the First Evil.

Biography
Richard Wilkins III was a warlock who operated out of the town of Sunnydale for many years, using its proximity to the Hellmouth as a means of consolidating his power. Wilkins primarily kept a low profile, but in 1999, he took several major steps towards acquiring ultimate power; a process that he referred to as "Ascension". Wilkins aligned himself with a vampire named Mister Trick whom he used as an instrument towards accomplishing his goals.

In one of his steps towards gaining power, Mayor Wilkins attempted to offer tribute to a demonic serpent known as Lurconis. This required the sacrifice of human infants. Knowing that abducting babies would be a high-profile endeavor, he sought to distract the adult population of Sunnydale, by having them consume tainted candy bars. Although Wilkins' cronies succeeded in kidnapping the babies he required for the tribute, the plot still failed when Buffy Summers - the Slayer, found Lurconis and destroyed him.

Notes & Trivia



 * Mayor Wilkins often came across as a very aloof and somewhat friendly individual. Many who worked close to him found his cavalier demeanor somewhat disarming in lieu of the man's true motivations.


 * Wilkins' final transformation into a giant serpent is physically similar in appearance to the demon Lurconis.