Buffy’s most important allies have just turned against her, and they have also destroyed an iconic legacy in the process.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer #2, available now from Boom! Studios.
For as long as Buffy Summers has been the Slayer, she has worked under the care and tutelage of the aptly named Watchers. While Buffy’s own Watcher, Rupert Giles, was easily the most well known of these advisors in the supernatural, he is sadly not a part of the world of Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer. Of course, even in this dimly lit future, the Watchers as a whole are still going strong. Unfortunately, they are no longer on the same side of the fight as the Slayers they were sworn to protect.
When the young Thessaly first stepped into her life, she couldn’t believe that there might still be another Slayer out there, let alone that they would be the daughter of her old friends Willow and Tara. As remarkable as this revelation was, it was soured both by the fact that Thessaly’s parents had recently been killed as well as Buffy’s own unwillingness to take the budding young hero under her wing. Thankfully, even in the vampire ruled future of Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer #2 by Casey Gilly, Joe Jaro, Joana Lafuente, and Ed Dukeshire, the dutiful Watchers are still very much active despite not having very much to do. At least, that was Buffy’s assumption when she brought Thessaly to the Council’s door, although that thought was quickly dashed once they were greeted with open arms and bared fangs.
The Watchers have been an integral part of the Buffy-Verse ever since the original 1992 film. Starring Kristy Swanson in the titular role, Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured the iconic Donald Sutherland as Merrick Jamison-Smythe, Buffy’s first Watcher. For centuries, the Watchers Council has aided Slayers by providing them with the training, tools, and knowledge necessary to win the never ending war against supernatural forces of evil. Merrick himself, no matter the appearance, was the perfect example of what the Watchers should be, up until his untimely demise during the course of Buffy’s first real mission. It wasn’t long after Merrick’s death that Rupert Giles, portrayed on the tv series by Anthony Stewart Head, stepped in to take on all of Buffy’s challenges alongside her, or at least from the sidelines. Giles’ impact was so great that even in the vampiric post apocalypse Buffy still keeps his picture as one of the few objects in her life, ensuring that his wise, caring gaze will always be close.
While Giles may have been the most important Watcher in Buffy’s life, he was far from the only one. In fact, if it weren’t for the Council, the shaky treaty between vampires and humans in the world of Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer likely wouldn’t exist. On the other hand, now that the Watchers have officially been outed as vampire agents, that treaty probably doesn’t mean a whole lot for much longer. All of this on top of the few allies Buffy had left now counting themselves among the ranks of the undead makes the Watchers’ betrayal hurt all the more.
There isn’t any doubt that Buffy will escape this latest trap, though that hardly begins to help the situation overall. It isn’t just that Buffy has lost some of her most valuable allies, but rather it
is tainting one of the most important legacies that the Slayer has ever known. If nothing else, at least Buffy now knows just how deep the forces she is up against run. Hopefully she can find actual help before they catch back up with her.
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