Buffy Summers

Buffy Anne Summers is the eponymous character featured in the WB Network/UPN television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was played by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. She appeared in all 145 episodes of the series and has also been presented as the central character in several Buffy the Vampire Slayer video games, comic books and novels. Buffy Summers is based on a character originally played by Kristy Swanson in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film.

Buffy is presented in the series as the Slayer, a supernatural Chosen One who acquires enhanced physical traits in order to fight off the forces of evil, most notably, vampires. Helping her out in her struggle against the agents of darkness is her mentor, the Watcher known as Rupert Giles as well as a group of close-knit friends which have become affectionately known as the "Scoobies".

For the first three seasons of the series, Buffy operated out of Sunnydale High School in Southern California, fighting up against seasonal antagonists (known as the "Big Bad") such as the Master, Spike and Mayor Richard Wilkins III. During this time, she also met and fell in love with a vampire named Angel. A tormented character, constantly struggling with his own inherent evil, Angel was consumed by his vampiric nature and became a central villain in season two. Although the character "died", he was resurrected and became a noble heroic figure once again as well as an unofficial associate of the Scoobies. Following graduation from Sunnydale High, Buffy relocated to UC Sunnydale where she fought up against the government black ops unit the Initiative. In season five, Buffy went up against her most challenging foe yet, a demonic goddess known as Glorificus. At this time, she also discovered the existence of her younger sister Dawn Summers, a character who literally became a "key" figure to Glorificus' rise to power.

Buffy's future became darker in the following days, as she had to deal with not only her own death and resurrection, but also her growing attraction towards foe-turned-friend Spike. Complicating matters even further, Buffy had to deal with the sudden death of her mother Joyce Summers. As new and more dangerous threats loomed over the horizon, Buffy found herself the custodian of a new generation of Slayers. Following a harrowing incident that decimated the entire town of Sunnydale, Buffy and the Scoobies relocated to Scotland where they continued to train and monitor the neophyte Slayers under their care.

The Chosen One
Buffy Summers was the daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers. She grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended school at Hemery High School. When she was fifteen-years-old, Buffy reluctantly found her calling as a vampire Slayer. An occult scholar named Merrick found Buffy and told her that she was the Chosen One - one girl in all the world destined to fight the forces of evil. As a Watcher, it was Merrick's duty to train Buffy. Buffy's role as a Slayer was characterized by enhanced abilities aimed at giving her an advantage over vampire opponents. This included enhanced strength, speed and reflexes as well as the ability to ferret out and identify a vampire on sight. Buffy had no desire other than to be a normal high school teenager, but despite her best efforts, she answered the call of duty when vampires began stalking the grounds of the school. She fought against several in a local cemetery and killed even more when she set the school gymnasium on fire. The faculty of Hemery High, ignorant of the presence of vampires did not look kindly upon Buffy's actions and she was expelled. This incident caused great turmoil with her parents and Joyce and Hank divorced soon after.

The Hellmouth
Seeking to start a new life, Joyce and Buffy left Los Angeles and moved to the town of Sunnydale. Joyce opened an art gallery and Buffy enrolled at Sunnydale High School. Though she was hoping to put her past behind her, including her calling as a Slayer, she found that this was not to be. She met the school's new librarian, Rupert Giles, who introduced himself as her new Watcher. Buffy tried to explain her lack of desire to pursue the Slayer trade, but as before, fate intervened and she found herself battling not only vampires, but other forces of darkness as well including demons, witches and other miscellaneous creatures of the night. Fortunately, Buffy did not have to shoulder the burden alone. She became close friends with two students named Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg. She also became involved in a rivalry with Sunnydale's most popular student, Cordelia Chase.

Buffy learned that her new school was situated over top a Hellmouth, a mystical portal that bridged the gap between the real world and the innumerable dimensions of Hell. The existence of the Hellmouth attracted a strong contingent of vampires to the area and Buffy found herself in battle against the minions of a vampire elder known only as The Master. The Master, who had once tried to tap into the power of the Hellmouth, was now trapped, like a cork in a bottle, in a mystical underground prison. Through the work of his underlings, the Master embarked upon a plan to free himself from his cavernous tomb and walk the Earth once more, but Buffy foiled his efforts by destroying the Master's chosen "vessel", a vampire named Luke.

Notes & Trivia

 * Not to be confused with actress Bunny Summers who appeared in such films as Re-Animator and From Beyond.


 * Giselle Loren provided the voice for Buffy in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds video game and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated series.


 * Buffy once used her middle name, Anne, as an alias in the appropriately-titled episode "Anne".


 * Buffy once beheaded a vampire with a small Xacto knife when she was still a student at Hemery High School.