'Buffy the Vampire Slayer': 10 Times Buffy Summers Proved She Was A True Hero (original) (raw)

Published Mar 19, 2022, 6:00 PM EDT

Bethany is a writer for Collider. She lives in North Carolina, and loves the small home she's grown up in. When she isn't writing original fiction or watching her current favorite show, she's reading fanfiction or riding her bike along the local trails.

It's a quiet, normal night in Sunnydale, CA., except for the mist gathering along the ground and the multiple cemeteries scattered around the town. Weird stuff happens in Sunnydale; it was built on a Hellmouth, after all. People go missing, students at the local high school show up gruesomely murdered, and vampires stalk potential victims around back alleys.

The only one who stands in the face of all of this terror and destruction is Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a Los Angeles transfer, former cheerleader, and Vampire Slayer. She does more than that, however, in the course of **Buffy the Vampire Slayer**--she fights gods, kills extraterrestrial terrors, and lives her life as normally as possible, which isn't very normal at all. Buffy Summers became known for her sad, noble journey to save the world and stop apocalypses, and viewers can still appreciate her strength even while being aware of some unsavory things happening behind the scenes.

Shooting the Judge with a rocket launcher

Starting with an iconic scene from Season 2, the time Buffy went up against a terrifying ancient being and blew it up with a rocket launcher stolen from an army base is simply memorable. The stakes were high, and Buffy just exploded a potential threat to the planet with a rocket. Nothing could be more simple or more efficient.

Alright, this may not have been one of Buffy's emotional, noble moments, but it was certainly fun to watch, and proved just how determined and resourceful Buffy was when tasked with saving the world.

Facing Dracula

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was no stranger to pop culture references, and it was only a matter of time before Count Dracula himself made an appearance. "Buffy vs. Dracula" is a self-explanatory episode that nevertheless manages to be very fun.

After being awestruck in their first battle and even letting Dracula bite her later in the episode, Buffy eventually comes back to her senses and faces him in his mansion. While Dracula has hypnotizing qualities and can't be defeated by a simple stake to the heart, he's sufficiently cowed by Buffy enough to be convinced that Sunnydale isn't going to be his home. After he tries to reform after being staked, Buffy reminds him coolly that she's still there, and he leaves. It's a great bit that shows that even one of the most infamous vampires of all time can't completely defeat Buffy Summers.

Sacrificing Ford

It might be a bit controversial to put this on a list of heroics, but the early Season 2 episode "Lie to Me" was one of the first times that audiences saw a darker potential for the show. Grey morality is something the show is known for now, but at this point, it was still primarily a teenager fighting the forces of evil and bouncing back with the resilience of a bouncy ball. Now, Buffy showed that she was capable of making difficult choices, which would be important later once difficult choices were all she was making.

The choice Buffy made in "Lie To Me" to let her former friend face the consequence of his decision to betray her and befriend a gang of vampires showed, at any rate, that Buffy wasn't naive and that she had the makings of a leader. It also led to one of the best speeches in the show as she and Giles discuss the realities of life.

Saving Her Mother Even Without Her Slayer Powers

Until "Helpless", much of what made Buffy a Slayer and gave her an edge over her demonic opponents were her Slayer powers. So it was a true test of her strength, resourcefulness, and bravery when her mentor was forced to drug her and remove those powers. While a heartrending betrayal for Buffy, even without her advanced reflexes and instincts, she wouldn't leave someone in danger if she could help it--especially if that person was her mother.

In "Helpless", Buffy is forced to confront an especially vicious vampire without anything more than the basics--holy water and a stake. Her fight to save her kidnapped mother without her powers (and her eventual clever plan that let her do it) was a true moment of heroism.

Taking Care of Her Sister After "The Body"

Buffy faces more than just demons over the course of seven series--one of the toughest things to do, she learns, is to simply live. That's proved in a particularly difficult way after her mother dies in Season 5, leaving 21-year-old Buffy as her sister's guardian. Dawn, a teenager throughout her time on the show, is reckless and impulsive, and Buffy soon learns that as difficult as balancing life as a young woman and a Slayer is, it's made even more so when she can't just think about herself.

Still, she strives on and takes care of Dawn as well as she can under the circumstances, a small, ordinary display of courage among the drastic measures she takes the rest of the time.

Killing Angel

Terrible decisions have to be made when you're a leader, and Season 2 hammers in that concept with one of the most serious decisions that a 17-year old would ever have to make. Buffy's boyfriend, Angel, now the soulless Angelus, threatens to destroy the world...which Buffy, of course, can't let happen.

The duties of a Slayer lead Buffy to the only possible conclusion under the circumstances--she has to kill Angel, and kill Angel she does, in the season finale, with tears in her eyes and a sword in her hand. It was one of the darkest moments of the series at that point, showing just far Buffy feels her duties extend.

Going to her Death in “Prophecy Girl”

buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-1-social-feature

Image via The WB

One of the earliest examples of Buffy's self-sacrificial nature in the Season 1 finale, "Prophecy Girl" saw her learning that there is a prophecy foretelling her death at the hands of the Master, and running away from her destiny.

However, no hero's journey ends with running away, and Buffy embraces her coming death--it pays off, since she ends up only being clinically dead for a few minutes before being revived with CPR. Regardless, it was a brave decision for a 16-year old girl to make, and it offered a new complex look at the character’s resilience.

Refusing to kill anyone else as the Slayer

Season 5 was hard for Buffy, as she was constantly plunged into tons of situations she had no wish to be in and which took a toll on her mental health.

That season also tracked her growing disillusionment with the duties of a Slayer and being someone whose whole life revolved around killing. That fans had seen the lengths she was willing to go to in previous seasons made her decision to solve her problems without killing anyone in the Season 5 finale even more meaningful.

Sacrificing Herself In “The Gift”

Image via The WB

Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended on a bit of a downer note, with the last scene closing on Buffy Summers' grave--and for fans watching as it aired, there was no guarantee that wasn't the end of one of their favorite shows.

After Season 5's arc of Buffy learning that her gift was death, Buffy realizes what that truly means and gives herself up to save the world. Season 6 ends up exploring the true consequences of this choice, which aren’t exactly happy, but are important for the development of the character and themes.

Giving Everyone the Power to Be a Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy standing next to her friends at the end of the episode "Chosen"

Image via Mutant Enemy Productions

After years of being the one Slayer, the front (and only) line of defense against the forces of evil, Buffy showed signs of being burned out and exhausted with her role. As the final season, Season 7 had to do something unprecedented, and it did so by giving every Potential Slayer in the world those powers instantly.

It was a clever decision on Buffy's part to win their battle against the First Evil, and it ended the series on a note that left the world utterly changed.

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