Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers (January 1981 - 2001; 2001 - ?) was one of the greatest of the Slayers, Buffy saved the world many times. Buffy Anne Summers was born in Los Angeles, California, to Joyce and Hank Summers. She lived a fairly normal life- unlike many other potential Slayers, she was never found or trained for the possibility of becoming the Slayer. All that changed, however, in 1996. Inheriting the mantle of the Slayer, she was found and trained by the Watcher Merrick, and soon battled the vampire lord Lothos. Although she was victorious with the help of a boy named Pike, Merrick died and the school gymnasium was burned down to destroy Lothos' legions.
Expelled from her high school, Buffy's parents divorced soon afterwards. Given to Joyce's custody, the pair moved to Sunnydale, California, in 1997. Soon, it appeared destiny was at play- Buffy's new high school, Sunnydale High School, was built atop the Hellmouth, and Buffy soon had plenty of vampires and other demons to battle. She found allies in her new Watcher, Rupert Giles, and her new friends and confidants Xander and Willow. She also found a love interest in the mysterious Angel, who was later revealed to be a vampire with a soul. Even so, she struggled with the conflict between her life as a Slayer- secret from even her mother- and her desire to live a normal life.
Near the end of the 1997 school year, Buffy took on the Master, who nearly drowned her. She was saved by Xander using CPR, but as she was technically dead for a few moments, another Slayer- Kendra- was activated. Buffy slew the Master, then spent the summer with her father in L.A. Upon her return, she was still dealing with her near-death, and treated her friends and loved ones with disdain. However, after permanently destroying the Master's remains, she came to terms with her troubles. Buffy's romance with Angel deepened, until on her birthday in 1998, the two consummated their relationship. Unfortunately, that moment of pure happiness resulted in Angel losing his soul, restoring the evil Angelus. Angelus was obsessed with making Buffy's life a misery, frightening her, torturing and killing her friends and allies. Eventually, Angelus tried to use the demon Acathla to destroy the world, forcing Buffy to slay her only love- sending him to a Hell Dimension- just as Willow restored his soul. This, combined with her recent expulsion from Sunnydale High and Joyce learning she was the Slayer, led her to run away from home.
Buffy wandered during the summer of 1998, eventually settling in a town under the alias "Anne." After a battle with demons preying on the derelicts of the town, Buffy found the resolve to return home. Her return was met with a mixture of relief and pain by her family and friends, who felt abandoned by her all summer. She eventually reconciled with them after a battle against Ovu Mobani. Buffy also encountered difficulties re-entering Sunnydale High until Giles intervened. Not long afterward, Angel returned; Buffy hid him for a time, as he was insane from his experiences, but his presence was eventually revealed. Buffy and Angel sort of started their relationship up again, while Buffy found a new ally- and later enemy- in the Slayer Faith. Eventually, on her graduation day in AD 1999, Buffy defeated the Mayor; destroying Sunnydale High in the process. However, Angel left Buffy, believing the relationship was unfair to her, and moved to Los Angeles.
In the fall of 1999, Buffy went to the University of California - Sunnydale, eventually finding a new love- Riley Finn- and becoming involved with the monster-hunting agency known as the Initiative. The Initiative eventually collapsed as a result of the plans of its leader Maggie Walsh, and Buffy tapped into the power of the First Slayer to defeat Walsh's creation, Adam.
From 2000 to 2001, Buffy experienced some the worst parts of her life. A sister, Dawn Summers, suddenly appeared, and she learned she was really the Key, a being given human form and retroactively inserted into Buffy's history. Riley and Buffy's relationship soured, and Riley left town. Joyce developed a brain tumor, seemingly got better after surgery, then suddenly died, leaving Buffy to assume responsibility for herself and Dawn. In the meantime, Buffy and her friends had to face the threat of the Hell God Glorificus. In the final battle with Glory in 2001, Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn and seal an interdimensional rift. Buffy went on to her just reward.
However, months later, Willow led Buffy's other allies in resurrecting her, not realizing that they had taken her from a realm of pure happiness in doing so. Traumatized, Buffy clung to Giles for support, prompting him to leave her so she could become independent. Buffy also used Spike for a relationship, breaking it off when she realized it was unhealthy for both of them. Buffy had to endure the initially annoying but eventually dangerous threat of Warren, Jonathan and Andrew. In the end, however, Buffy found herself battling an angry and corrupt Willow, after Warren killed her love Tara.
As 2002 progressed, Buffy returned to the rebuilt Sunnydale High, becoming a school counselor there. She was pitted against the First, a formless being embodying the essence of evil. Unexpectedly, Buffy found herself the teacher, leader and protector of the other potential Slayers after the Council of Watchers was destroyed. In 2003, Buffy also learned the true nature of the Slayers' origins- that they were created by African wizards known as the Shadowmen by infusing a young girl with demonic power. Although the potentials had their doubts about Buffy's style of leadership- temporarily exacerbated by Faith's arrival- they eventually fully followed her.
Buffy also discovered a powerful scythe, an ultimate weapon hidden from the Shadowmen which would enable her to destroy the First. After Willow used the scythe to turn all the potentials into full-fledged Slayers, she led an assault on the Hellmouth, destroying the First's legions, while Spike sacrificed himself to seal the Hellmouth permanently. In the process, the entire city of Sunnydale- evacuated some time earlier- was destroyed.
Buffy remained leader of the Slayers, becoming a world traveler. She also worked with the restored Council of Watchers to find and recruit all of the other, now-activated Slayers. When last heard of, Buffy was in Rome, having struck up a relationship with the Immortal.
