Buffy Anne Summers is the eponymous fictional character in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the television program of the same name and its numerous spin-offs, such as novels, comic books, and video games. The character was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film, by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series, and by Giselle Loren in the video games and unproduced animated series. In 2005, Bravo TV named her as the 13th greatest television character of all time.

PRE-SUNNYDALE
Buffy was born to Hank and Joyce Summers on January 19, 1981, in Los Angeles, California. In the Season Two episode Killed by Death, it is revealed that, at the age of eight, Buffy was close friends with her cousin Celia, and enjoyed playing superhero with her; Buffy pretended to be Power Girl, a prophetic choice of alter ego. She looked on helplessly as Celia was murdered by a demon that killed sick children and was only visible to those who were ill, an experience which instilled a fear of hospitals in Buffy. Buffy came to idolize Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill as she learned the sport. She became a popular cheerleader at Hemery High School in Los Angeles. During her time at Hemery (1995-1997), Buffy was elected both Prom Princess and Fiesta Queen.

The details of how Buffy learned she was the Slayer were first presented in the 1992 movie. However, as this movie is not considered canon in the Buffyverse, Christopher Golden adapted Joss Whedon's original script into a canonical comic book entitled The Origin. In the comic, a fifteen-year-old Buffy is having violent dreams about women from different period of history slaying monsters. One day, she is approached by Merrick Jamison-Smythe, a mysterious man who reveals her destiny as the Chosen One and becomes her first Watcher (this scene can also be seen in the Season Two episode "Becoming, Part One"). With little training, and help from her friend Oliver Pike, Buffy defeats her first major enemy, a vampire leader named Lothos, but not before the death of Merrick. In a battle with Lothos' vampiric lackeys, Buffy sets fire to the high school gym and is subsequently expelled.

In the Season Six episode "Normal Again", it is revealed that, shortly after her expulsion, Buffy confided in her parents about what really had happened and her destiny as the Slayer. Worried that she was losing her mind, Buffy's parents sent her to a mental institution. While there, Buffy realized that attempts to persuade others of the existence of demonic forces would be futile. She kept quiet and was released after a couple of weeks. Buffy and her parents never spoke of it again. Joyce and Hank, who had been experiencing marital troubles for years, finally divorced, and Buffy moved with her mother to 1630 Revello Drive in Sunnydale, a small town in California.

SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL
In Season One of the series, Buffy begins to accept the responsibilities and dangers of her calling as Slayer. Hoping to be a regular student, Buffy enrolls in the local high school and meets her future best friends, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, as well as her new Watcher, Rupert Giles, together forming the "core four" of the Scooby Gang. She also meets Cordelia Chase, a condescending, arrogant cheerleader, and Angel, a vampire with a soul. Buffy is quickly forced back into the role of Slayer as she and her new friends battle vampires, monsters, and demons. She grows closer to Giles, eventually coming to view him as a father figure. The first season centers on Buffy's battle with a thousand-year-old vampire leader known as The Master, and the Order of Aurelius. On learning that the infallible Pergamum Codex prophesies her death at the hands of the Master, Buffy contemplates leaving town, but accepts her fate after Willow discovers bodies of her friends slaughtered inside the school. She is overpowered and left to drown in a pool of water in the Master's dwellings, but Xander resuscitates her and she manages to defeat the Master.

In the show's second season, Buffy continues to come to terms with her destiny as the Slayer with the help of her friends. Buffy finds forbidden love with Angel and clashes with Spike and Drusilla, the new vampires in town. In the episode "Surprise", Buffy loses her virginity to Angel, unknowingly lifting the Kalderash curse placed on him a century earlier. In a dark twist, he loses his soul and reverts to the evil Angelus. He becomes obsessed with destroying Buffy's life, his pathological abuse taking heavy toll on Buffy and her friends. As Angelus plans to destroy the world, Buffy is forced to reveal her identity as the Slayer to her mother, who demands that Buffy stay home and discuss matters with her, telling her that if she leaves now, not to come back. As Buffy fights with Angelus, trying to prevent him from opening a vortex to a hell dimension, Willow works a spell to re-ensoul Angel. The spell is successful, but it is too late, and Buffy reluctantly stabs Angel with a sword, sending him to a hell dimension. Traumatized by the ordeal of essentially killing her boyfriend and being alienated from her mother, Buffy leaves Sunnydale and escapes to Los Angeles.

In Season Three, Buffy must reconnect to her calling, her friends, and her family after her departure, as well as make difficult life decisions regarding her relationship with Angel. Returning to Sunnydale after several months, she reunites with her loved ones and tries to find closure to her relationship with Angel. However, Angel returns mysteriously and Buffy is still drawn to him. Meanwhile, she must also try to help rebellious new Slayer Faith, who becomes increasingly destructive and disloyal as she indulges her dark side. The writers stated that they created Faith as a way of exploring Buffy's dark side without ruining her character; Faith shows what Buffy could have been without friends or family. Alienated from "the Scoobies", Faith finds a friend in the affable yet sinister Mayor of Sunnydale, who is preparing to become a pure-blood demon on Sunnydale High's Graduation Day. When Buffy learns that Angel, who is on the verge of death after being poisoned by Faith, must drink the blood of a Slayer in order to survive, Buffy attempts to sacrifice Faith to save him. Their battle leaves Faith in a coma, and Buffy ultimately saves Angel with her own blood. In the episode "Graduation Day, Part Two, Buffy leads her classmates in a climactic battle against the transformed Mayor and his minions, culminating in an explosion that destroys the Mayor as well as Sunnydale High. After the smoke clears, Angel leaves for Los Angeles so that Buffy can try to have a more normal life without him.

THE COLLEGE YEARS
In Season Four, Buffy must balance her Slayer duties with her new life as a college student at UC Sunnydale. Her difficulty adjusting to college life is further complicated by mystical threats (including, among other things, a demonic roommate, campus werewolves, enchanted beer), the return of Spike (now unable to harm humans), and a disastrous one-night stand with Parker Abrams, a charming playboy. Buffy also experiences some disconnection from her friends, who all seem to be moving in different directions. She attracts the sincere attention of Riley Finn, who is (as she soon discovers) a member of the Initiative, a U.S. government task force created to research mystical and demonic creatures, led by Buffy's psychology professor, Maggie Walsh. Buffy briefly joins forces with Riley's team. However, Riley and Buffy become disillusioned with the Initiative after Professor Walsh betrays Buffy, and they discover that she is creating a race of super-warriors from the fruits of the Initiative's demon research, including the cyber-demonoid Adam. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles literally unite to defeat Adam in the season finale "Primeval", by invoking the power of the First Slayer.

In Season Five, Buffy faces her greatest dangers yet, while finally fully embracing her destiny. A younger sister, Dawn, mysteriously appears in Buffy's household, her existence having been seamlessly integrated with the memories of Buffy, her friends, and her mother. Buffy discovers that Dawn is not her sister and soon learns that a group of monks "created" a human body in order to hide "The Key," cosmic energy that can open interdimensional portals, from a mentally unstable and dangerous hell-god known as Glory. In the meantime, Spike realizes that he has fallen in love with Buffy, and he becomes a more regular and reliable presence in her Slayer life, assisting in the fight against demons. Buffy suffers much emotional turmoil throughout this season, such as the deterioation of her relationship with Riley and her mother's unexpected death from a brain aneurysm. While on a vision quest, the spirit of the original Slayer tells her that "death is her gift", a message she has difficulty understanding. In the season finale "The Gift", Buffy finally realises what the meaning of the message means and sacrifices her own life in order to save Dawn's. She dives into an interdimensional portal, closing it and saving the world. She is buried on the outskirts of Sunnydale with the epitaph, "She saved the world. A lot." Finally able to rest, Buffy ascends to heaven and finds peace.

"Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." Buffy to Dawn in "The Gift"

THE RESURRECTION AND LIVING AGAIN
In Season Six, Buffy must deal with depression and loss. She is resurrected by her friends who believe that she may have been in hell due to the mystical circumstances of her death. Buffy's transition back to her life is difficult; she experiences the pain of having been ripped from heaven, as well as the added responsibilities of raising Dawn and paying bills. Buffy is also forced to deal with the villainous Trio, whose comically nerdy crimes grow darker as the season progresses. Taking a mundane and degrading job slinging burgers at the Doublemeat Palace, she falls into a deep depression and begins a violent sexual relationship with Spike which leaves neither of them satisfied. Buffy later admits to Spike that she is just using him, and breaks things off because it is killing her. Spike later corners her in her bathroom and tries to rape her; Buffy fights him off, and Spike, horrified by his actions, leaves Sunnydale in search of his soul. When Warren Mears kills Willow's girlfriend Tara Maclay, Willow becomes psychotic with dark magics, exacting revenge against Warren and planning to destroy the world. After Xander comes through for Willow in the end, Buffy promises to change her self-destructive behavior in order to be there for her sister.

In the seventh season, Buffy develops a new perspective on her destiny, power, and womanhood, when she is confronted with the threat of the First Evil. The Bringers, agents of the First, are tracking down and killing potential Slayers all over the world in an attempt to wipe out the Slayer line. Buffy's home quickly becomes filled with teenage Potentials, who come to Sunnydale for protection. Buffy is the natural leader for the girls, who initially look up to her with respect. She works to train the Potentials into an army to stand against the First; however, her methods, tactics, and decisions soon begin to alienate the terrified girls. The Potentials continue to lose faith in Buffy's leadership as the dangers around them increase, leading to a mutiny; the Scooby Gang all choose a reformed Faith as their new leader, and Dawn asks Buffy to leave the house. Only Spike remains loyal to Buffy, and Buffy spends two nights of emotional closeness with him before the final battle against the armies of the First. Buffy eventually wins back the Scoobies' trust and informs them of her plan to share her power with every Potential in the world. In the show's final episode "Chosen", a huge battle is waged between an army of Slayers and the Turok-Han vampires; Spike sacrifices himself to close the Hellmouth, and the Scoobies escape as Sunnydale crumbles into a huge crater.

POST SUNNYDALE
Aside from mentions in Angel, and an appearance in the 2004 comic Antique, Buffy did not make her next canonical appearance until 2007, when the series was resurrected as a comic. In Season Eight, the Scooby Gang have scattered around the world to train activated Potentials. Encompassing mystics and a wide technological armory, the Scoobies expand to keep on top of demonic threats on a more global level. For Buffy's protection, decoy Slayers are set up to distract enemies. Buffy and her organisation are posited against an American Initiative-like cell run by General Voll as well as returning characters Amy and Warren who serve as Big Bads in the first arc. Buffy is set to appear in the next season 8 arc: No Future For You.

Buffy is a Slayer and has the normal powers that other slayers do, including superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and accelerated healing. Buffy also possesses a type of precognition that warns her of impending danger through her dreams. For example, her dreams warned her of both her and Angel's deaths; soon after, Angel lost his soul and reverted to Angelus, holding true to her vision. In addition, Buffy exhibits a strong ability to lead others in battle campaigns.

Slayers are also supposed to be able to sense vampires which Buffy, Kendra, and Faith all seemed to lack, although Buffy had on occasion appeared to have sensed the presence of demons, if only by observing their archaic sartorial choices. Like all Slayers, within Buffy's "dreamspace" are a collective of inherited slayer memories and prophecies.

In Season Eight, Xander comments that Buffy has some degree of mystical protection over her now, at least while she sleeps. To that end, her protection means even daggers split apart so as not to pierce her skin.[7] Buffy's connection to Willow is now so strong, that even when unconscious, Willow's consciousness can (at will) channel an amount of her power through Buffy[8] in a similar way to "Primeval".

TEMPORARY ABILITIES

In the episode "Earshot", Buffy gets an aspect of a demon that she killed, and gains the ability to hear the thoughts of others (although not vampires, which leave no reflection in the mind). She becomes unable to control all of the thoughts in her head, so Angel kills a second demon of this type (which had gotten away) and feeds her a potion containing the demon's heart, stopping the ability altogether.

In the episode "Primeval", Buffy was the focus of a complex spell that briefly gave her the abilities of Xander, Willow, and Giles; the spell also drew on the pure source of the Slayer's power. She became faster, stronger and had magical abilities. for example she stopped Adam's bullets in the air and turned a missile into a dove. She was able to punch through Adam's armored hide and rip out his radioactive uranium power core without ill effects. Immediately after Buffy defeated the nearly invincible Adam, the spell faded.

ORIGINS
The character of Buffy Summers was initially created as a way of subverting the clichι of the typical horror movie girl who gets killed by the monster. Ironically, Sarah Michelle Gellar herself has played such characters in horror movies I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, before parodying the typical damsel-in-distress as Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo. Inspired by his own mother's strength, Joss Whedon stated that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was the first incarnation of Buffy in his head; a seemingly insignificant female who in fact turns out to be extraordinary. Although Whedon's vision of female empowerment was not as apparent as he would have liked in the 1992 movie, he was given a second chance when Gail Berman approached him with the idea of re-creating it as a television series.

Adapting the concept of the movie into a television series, Whedon decided to reinvent the character of Buffy slightly. The shallow cheerleader of the original film had grown more mature and open-minded, identifying with social outcasts such as Willow and Xander, and instead, the character of Cordelia was created to embody what Buffy once was. Ironically, the actress who played Cordelia, Charisma Carpenter, had originally auditioned for the role of Buffy, but the part eventually went to Sarah Michelle Gellar instead. Whedon has admitted that Buffy's personality was largely based on that of Kitty Pryde, a character from the superhero comic X-Men, whose leader Scott Summers shares Buffy's surname. Whedon would later write both characters in his run on Astonishing X-Men. Describing the tone of the show, as shown by the opening credits, Whedon said, "Here's a girl who has no patience for a horror movie. Who is not going to be the victim, is not going to be in the scary organ horror movie. She's gonna bring her own sort of youth and rockin' attitute to it."

PERSONALITY
Buffy's personality changes significantly over the series, as audiences watch her evolve from self-centred high school student, to a grown-up mentor to Dawn and the activated Slayers. She frequently defies the rules of the Watcher's Council and other Slayer conventions.

APPEARANCE
Early in the television series, make-up supervisor Todd McIntosh was instructed to make Buffy "a soft and sort of earthy character." He gave Gellar a soft, muted green make-up and kept her look very natural. However, it was later decided that this was innappropiate for the character, and that Buffy needed to look more like a valley girl. McIntosh switched her make-up around, giving her frosted eyeshadow and lip colours, bright turqoise and aqua marines, bubblegum coloured nails, and bleach-blonde hair, causing the character to "blossom."

Buffy's distinguishing features include a bite-mark scar on the left side of her neck. She originally received this scar from the Master, but has been bitten by other vampires Angel ("Graduation Day, Part Two") and Dracula ("Buffy vs. Dracula"). In "The Dark Age", Buffy received a tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon from Ethan Rayne, but later spent her allowance on having it removed.

SLAYER DEATHS
Buffy's first death (in the episode "Prophecy Girl") was a clinical death, in which the heart stops beating, but there is still brain activity. People who experience clinical death have often been revived. This death activated Kendra Young as the Slayer, and Kendra's death activated Faith. This is why no new Slayer was called when Buffy died at the end of the episode "The Gift". The line runs through Faith (or did until all potential future Slayers became actual Slayers in the final episode).

Buffy's second real death happened at the climax of the episode "The Gift", where she sacrificed herself to save Dawn and the world by hurling herself off a tower and using her own body to close a mystical portal. Her body rested for 147 days until Willow, Xander, Tara, and Anya resurrected her in the episode "Bargaining". No new Slayer was chosen in this instance because the Slayer lineage now continued through Faith, not Buffy; Buffy had already "died" and activated her successor, and could not do so again.

Buffy also "died" in a magical nightmare (in the episode "Nightmares") and in an alternate reality (in the episode "The Wish").

Buffy's primary romantic interests in the series are Angel and Spike. The two characters have both their parallels and rivalries. When Angel and Spike search for Buffy, Andrew Wells tells the two vampires that Buffy loves them both, but she has to live her life. In the season eight comics, Buffy is shown dreaming a scenario where both lovers are naked and holding her. The three of them are wrapped in chains and surrounded by cupids or putti, and Buffy wears a nurse outfit. In the Buffy series finale, "Chosen", Buffy both indicates to Angel and to Spike that she loves them, although they react with varying degrees of belief.

Other love interests in the series have been relatively more short-lived, including Pike from the movie and "The Origin" adaptation as well as Riley Finn, an antithesis to Angel and Spike who was her third longest running relationship.

Billy "Ford" Fordham ("Lie to Me") — Buffy developed a crush on Ford in the fifth grade, but he was a "manly sixth-grader" who had no time for younger girls. The previously popular student came to Sunnydale and lied to Buffy, saying his father had been transferred and that he would be attending the local high school. In fact, Ford had months to live and was there only to find a vampire leader to arrange a deal: the blood of Buffy and his followers in exchange for eternal life. Buffy is devastated by Ford's betrayal, though moved by his cancer. When he rises as a vampire, she stakes him without reaction; the Ford she knew and loved had already died.

Tyler ("Becoming, Part One") — In a flashback to Buffy's pre-Slayer days, Buffy briefly mentioned the presumably popular student at Hemery High just before she was called. "...Tyler would have to crawl on his hands and knees to get me to go to the dance with him. Which, actually, he's supposed to do after practice, so I'm gonna wait."

Jeffrey Kramer — Buffy's vain and popular freshman boyfriend at Hemery High. Buffy and Jeffrey begin to grow distant as she takes on the responsibility as the Slayer and he breaks up with her by leaving a message on her answering machine. He goes to the dance with Buffy's vapid friend, Jennifer.

Oliver Pike — A sarcastic slacker and Buffy's main romantic interest pre-Sunnydale. Although they initially hated each other as Buffy's superficial valley girl perspective was at odds with Pike's ethics, the two grew closer when they lost friends to Lothos' minions. Pike helped Buffy in killing the vampire king and burning down the school gym full of his minions. The two presumably broke up when Buffy moved to Sunnydale; however, he is never mentioned in the series. Pike was mentioned and appeared in The Origin, a story detailing Buffy's old High School pre-Sunnydale, filling the same role as the movie.

Angel — Angel initially loves Buffy from afar, watching her as she is called to her destiny as the Slayer; this experience inspires him to move to Sunnydale and become a useful ally in the fight against evil. Buffy loses her virginity to Angel (in the episode "Surprise"), an experience which triggers the loss of his soul. As Angelus, he attempts to destroy her life, as well as the world, until his re-ensoulment; because of his actions, Buffy is forced to send him to a hell dimension to save the world. When Angel returns, Buffy takes care of him and they try to be friends, but they continue to be drawn to each other. Angel eventually moves to Los Angeles to give Buffy a chance at a more normal life, although they keep in contact. Sparks again fly when Angel comes into contact with demon blood that makes him human again; however, Angel decides that he cannot abandon his fight against evil and prevails upon the Powers That Be to rewind time, leaving Buffy with no memory of their recent happiness together and restoring him to his vampire form. In the Buffy series finale, Buffy admits to Angel that she does still look into the future and leaves him with hope that they can be together at some point in that future. However, Buffy apparently loses trust in Angel after he takes control of Wolfram & Hart. Angel and Spike seek her out in Italy, but never catch up to her.

Owen Thurman ("Never Kill a Boy on the First Date") — A sensitive and shy Sunnydale High student, whose date with Buffy became a vampire-hunting adventure that made him feel alive. Fearing that such an attitude would get him killed, Buffy broke up with Owen, unable to tell him the real reason why; nor to say that she still cares for him just as much.

Xander Harris — Although Buffy does not return Xander's romantic feelings for her, she flirts and dances seductively with him in the episode "When She Was Bad". Later, under a love spell, Buffy attempts to seduce Xander in the school library. When the love spell is broken, she is grateful that Xander did not take advantage of the situation.[15] While just close friends for the majority of the series' run, in Season Eight, there are comments made in a dream of Buffy's referring to a sexual relationship between them, with Buffy going as far as to proposition and kiss him before the dream wackiness escalates.

Tom Warner ("Reptile Boy") — A rich member of Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity, a cult that sacrifices beautiful young high school girls to their demon lord Machida in exchange for worldly success. Tom lures Buffy to a party, pretending to be nicer and less materialistic than his vain fraternity brothers. The leader of the cult, Tom attempts to offer Buffy and Cordelia as sacrifices.

Cameron Walker ("Go Fish") — A self-absorbed and arrogant swimming athlete at Sunnydale High. Initially, Buffy is interested in the good-looking Cameron, who waxes poetic about the ocean. However, by the end of their first date, he won't take no for an answer and Buffy breaks his nose and gets blamed for leading him on.

Scott Hope — A fellow Sunnydale High student who had a crush on Buffy. Scott asks Buffy out several times during Season 3. Although Buffy is interested in Scott, she is still overwhelmed by her heartbreak over Angel and repeatedly turns him down. Eventually, Buffy decides to date Scott ("Faith, Hope & Trick"), but Angel's return from Hell distracts her. Buffy and Scott are only together a few weeks; Scott breaks up with her because he is tired with dealing with her ongoing preoccupations. Years later, Buffy learns that Scott had told classmates that they had broken up because she was a lesbian, and has ironically come out as gay himself in college.

Parker Abrams — An attractive, older student whom Buffy met in college. Parker was the second person Buffy had sex with. However, he was only interested in having "a good time" and, not wanting a romantic commitment, ignored Buffy after they slept together ("The Harsh Light of Day"). Buffy is devastated by his behavior, and maintains a brief hope that they can reconcile. While under the influence of enchanted beer, Buffy saves Parker's life when he is trapped in a burning building. In the aftermath of the rescue, Parker apologizes to Buffy for his actions, and she responds by bashing him on the head with a wooden club.

Riley Finn — Buffy met Riley when she started at college in the episode "The Freshman". They begin a serious relationship after discovering each others' demon-fighting secret identities. Riley sacrifices his career and friends to be with Buffy, but is continually disappointed by her unwillingness to be truly open and vulnerable with him. Also Riley felt that he wasn't strong or aggressive enough to satisfy Buffy the way that dangerous vampires did. He begins drifting away, and Buffy is repulsed to discover that he has been visiting vampire prostitutes and allowing them to drink his blood to get a rush from the intoxication of the blood loss. Although Buffy ultimately tries to stop him, Riley rejoins the military, where he is able to continue demon slaying, and leaves the country, returning to Sunnydale only briefly to track down a dangerous demon, with his new wife.

Ben — Buffy met Ben in Season Five when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. They flirted but never dated, because Buffy didn't want to define herself by her lack of a relationship.

Spike — Originally enemies, Spike and Buffy become reluctant allies. Spike falls in love with Buffy in Season Five; she does not return his feelings, and is unsettled to discover his growing obsession. Buffy is moved when Spike withstands significant torture to protect her and her sister, and they reconcile and fight side-by-side until her death. After her resurrection in Season Six, Buffy begins a violent sexual relationship with Spike. She breaks things off, admitting that she is only using Spike and the relationship is "killing her". Spike later attempts to rape an injured and weakened Buffy (she fights him off), and then leaves town to get ridd of his chip, instead he finds his soul. Spike's loyalty to Buffy continues after his ensoulment, and she eventually tells Spike she loves him (in the episode "Chosen") as he is about to sacrifice himself to save the world (to which Spike replies: "No, you don't. But thanks for saying it."). Spike chooses not to contact Buffy after he is resurrected in L.A., wanting her to remember him as a self-sacrificing hero.

RJ Brooks — Buffy, under the influence of a love spell (in the episode "Him") develops a brief, powerful obsession with this high school quarterback, along with Dawn, Willow, and Anya. She betrays her sister's trust by seducing RJ in an empty classroom, and almost kills Principal Wood to prove her love to him. The spell is broken when Spike and Xander destroy the enchanted letterman's jacket.

Principal Robin Wood — Buffy and Wood went on one date, but their relationship never went beyond friendship after he revealed that he was the son of an earlier Slayer.