What Happened To Buffy The Vampire Slayer After Season 7 & Why It Shocked Fans
While "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" may have begun as a critically-panned comedy movie before it became an underdog mid-season replacement series, the cult classic horror drama is now remembered as not just one of the best shows of its era, but one that regularly finds itself in the top lists of the best television programs ever made.
Perhaps this is why fans were so shocked by where the series went after its initial seven-season run. Starting in 2007, Dark Horse Comics announced that a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic book series was in the works. What's more, it was a canonical continuation of the show, and series creator Joss Whedon was heavily involved in the comic's initial storylines. But to say that some fans found it a bit disappointing would be an understatement.
Though the series starts off strong enough, the odd and downright goofy choices that the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comics make regarding the show's key characters might have you thinking you're reading bad fan fiction.
One of the prime examples involves Xander (Nicholas Brandon) and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), who are now in a relationship with one another, despite Xander knowing Dawn since she was a child. Oh, and since we're on the subject of Dawn, the series begins with her being turned into a giant before being transformed into a centaur and, finally, a living doll.
At least one aspect of the story has disturbing real life implications
While Dawn's place in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a bit rocky following her pivotal Season 5 arc, these are decidedly bad choices, partially because of the real-life details that came out in 2022 involving behind-the-scenes allegations of inappropriate behavior on the part of Joss Whedon.
Of particular note is that the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator has said many times that Xander is meant to be his avatar in the franchise, sharing his obsession with pop culture and other key aspects of Whedon's personality, including his sense of humor. This is where it starts to get a bit creepy. According to the show's stars, the cast and crew had a secret rule in place stating that Whedon was never allowed to be alone with Michelle Trachtenberg. Read into that whatever you will, but considering that "Buffy" creator co-wrote the comics that followed the show, it could be argued that he found a way to circumvent said rule on the page instead.
This kind of general ickiness aside, things get even weirder for the rest of the characters. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) robs a Swiss bank to start her own Slayer armed forces unit; Willow (Alyson Hannigan) has a secret sexual relationship with a demon and can now fly; and the Big Bad turns out to be Angel, now hiding behind a mask as the villainous Twilight. Oh, also, Spike (James Marsters) has a spaceship, and there's time travel for some reason.
How weird do the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics get?
If your head is already spinning from reading this, you'll want to strap in because it gets even stranger. Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) is murdered and then returns to life in the body of a child. Jonathan (Danny Strong) is also revived, first as a digital recording and later with a new body that was created by a demon.
Though Joss Whedon has long been known for his shocking character deaths, many of them are reversed in the comic, as other characters like Anya (Emma Caulfield) and Wesley (Alexis Denisof) return to the story as ghosts. In general, this is one of the biggest missteps of both the "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comics that followed the end of their respective television series.
All in all, five additional seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were released in comic book form, as well as an ongoing companion series, "Angel and Faith." And to cap it all off, there is "Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer," a story published by BOOM! Studios that involves a fifty-year-old Buffy who is deeply entrenched in an apocalyptic guerrilla war against the forces of darkness.
All in all, despite how some fans feel, the canonical "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic series was popular enough to go on for roughly a decade. Since then, a new story written by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson, who played Tara in the original series, has taken the "Buffyverse" to new places with "Slayers." Despite being created without Whedon's input, the story has generally been well-received by fans. Meanwhile, another Buffy comic from BOOM! launched under Whedon's oversight in 2018 and serves as a complete reboot of the original show for modern times.