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One of Buffy’s most complicated allies has just returned with his very own vampire-slaying army.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer #2 by Casey Gilly, Joe Jaro, Joana Lafuente, and Ed Dukeshire, available now from Boom! Studios.
Buffy Summers has been a pop culture icon for nearly thirty years, and in that time she has made some incredible allies. Unfortunately, in the world of Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, Buffy herself is the only member of the Scooby Gang left. This on top of being one of the only Slayers left alive in a world ruled by vampires has made life even harder in this dimly lit living nightmare, but Buffy has just discovered that she isn’t nearly alone as she thought. Not only has Spike just made yet another triumphant return, but he’s also brought the next generation of Watchers along with him.
Buffy Summers has found herself in an even worse situation than what daily life in this vampire-controlled future provides. After learning about the deaths of her old friends Willow and Tara from their daughter Thessaly, Buffy can’t bring herself to take the young woman on as a Potential Slayer in training. To make matters worse, bringing Thessaly to the Watchers Council for help ended in utter betrayal. Thankfully, the Watchers that Buffy thought she knew aren’t the only ones keeping an eye out for her, and the Slayer’s newest allies are closer than she could have ever imagined.
Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer #2 introduced an all-new kind of Watcher in the form of three young women under the tutelage of the most unlikely hero. Spike, Buffy’s former vampire nemesis-turned-ally, has been a part of the Slayer’s story from all the way back in the second season of the original television series. 1997’s “School Hard” marked Spike’s first appearance as a dangerous, brooding antagonist. Eventually, Spike would become an uneasy ally of the Scooby Gang, and through that relationship, he realized a love for Buffy so pure that it was able to help him restore his very soul. It was that same love that led Spike to sacrifice himself during the final battle of the tv series, though the ongoing comics that have carried on that story have also seen Spike reclaim his physical form.
Now it looks like Spike might be trying to retake the entire world on behalf of humankind. The young Watchers in training under his tutelage make quick work of Buffy and Thessaly’s vampire assailants, employing magic that replicated the rays of the sun itself. This near-instantly reduced the attacking vampires to ash, all while Spike waited for the coast to clear so that he could emerge unscathed. Even if he was skipping out of the action, the training he had put his Watchers through was shockingly effective. They might not be Slayers, but Spike’s Watchers could easily be mistaken as such.
The return of Spike in Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer is a striking development that is sure to have thrilled longtime fans. It is also one that cements just how far Spike has come over the years. He isn’t just a reformed villain or monster with a heart of gold, but a complex character who is genuinely dedicated to undoing the same kind of harm he used to wreak for fun. Considering the talent he has cultivated at his side, Spike shouldn’t have any problem helping Buffy save the world all over again.
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