Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers is the eponymous heroine of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
==Canon==
Created as an anti-archetype, the small, seemingly defenseless blonde who turns out have superpowers, Buffy is forever juggling life as the Slayer on whose petite shoulders rests the weight of the world with the normal business of being a teenage girl... friends, schoolwork, dating. Early seasons were focused on her High School years, and her doomed romance with the souled vampire Angel. She dies for the first time at the end of season one at the hands of The Master, and is brought back to life when Xander performs CPR. 
Later seasons focus on the trials of growing up, her time in college and her relationships with her friends and family. She becomes the primary guardian to her sister Dawn following the passing of their mother Joyce. In the season 5 finale, "The Gift", Buffy dies for the second time, sacrificing herself to save Dawn and the world. Later, Buffy struggles to return to her normal life after her time in the afterlife.
In season 7 and the commics, Buffy is shown as a capable Slayer who has accepted her duty and taken responsibility for training a new generation of Slayers. 
==Fandom==
Despite her status as eponymous heroine, Buffy came in for a lot of criticism, particularly for her treatment of Spike in season 6. 
===Buffy Bashing===
Buffy's characterization in fanfiction, from season 5 onwards, sometimes veered towards character bashing. She was often portrayed as rude, self centered, uncaring for her friends and/or abusive towards the chipped or souled Spike. Her behavior was sometimes the result of ignorance, that her friends or a Mary Sue OC corrected, but other times Buffy was essentially the mean girl villain of the fic.LusciousXander livejournal post 22 September 2006, accessed 3 June 2019.
Buffy bashing in fanfics often served to get together a pairing, often Spander but sometimes Spangel. However fics featuring Buffy as one half of the main (usually het) pairing also featured their fair share of Buffy bashing. See St. Spike vs. Buffy the Bitch for more information. 
Fans of Buffy often distinguished between sometimes writing Buffy as a bitchy character, which she can be in canon, and writing Buffy OOC in order to bash the character. In fanfiction there are many fics which portray Buffy as a multi faceted and flawed character. There are also many fics which portray her as St. Buffy, a perfect character who has never done anything wrong and is not responsible for any of her poor choices. 
===Ships===
The major ships are Buffy/Angel (Bangel), which was popular early in the series, and Buffy/Spike (Spuffy), which later overtook the pairing with Angel. (See the Bangel vs Spuffy article for details of attendant fireworks.) Buffy is also paired with numerous other characters including Giles in het, and Faith and Willow in femslash.
==Fannish Opinion==
Fannish reaction to Buffy's actions in Season 6 varied considerably. There were some who viewed her treatment of Spike in this season as abusive. 
Others defended Buffy. 
==Notable Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
*Into the Blue by Ascian. AU for the episode 'Normal Again'
*Ketchup Blood by Kalima. Spuffy vignette with spot-on Buffy characterisation
*Phoenix Burning by Yahtzee. An AU futurefic novel often praised for its characterisation of Buffy; Buffy/Angel
*The Waiting Room by Nestra. Buffy's first death; vignette
*My Immortal by Elisi. Torchwood crossover (Buffy/Jack Harkness)
*Things Present - Things Past by Estepheia. Magic gone awry, Buffy ends up in 1800 and meets a human William.
===Fanvids===
* Coin-Operated Boy by sdwolfpup
* Are We The Lucky Ones? External Link
* Boulevard of Broken Songs
* Buffy Summers Tribute (Empowering) - Indestructible Master of War
* Buffy Summers || Nobody's Home
* "She's a hero, you see" ~ a tribute to Buffy Summers
* Buffy Summers | The Way
* Buffy vs Edward: Twilight Remixed,Youtube Link
===Meta===
*Essay on Idol Reflections by Juleskicks
* Buffy - Struggling to Be the Hero in A Dark World by shadowkat
* Buffy Character Essays at with_character by multiple authors (2004)
* There Goes My Hero... by femmenerd (2006)
* Buffy Goes to Work by aycheb, looks at the Slayer and slaying a women's work (2006)
* Dream a Little Dream: Buffy's Dream in Restless by superplin (2006)
===Fanart===
== Example Art Gallery ==
File:Monicabuffy.jpg|Art from Her Dark Soul by Monica M. (unknown date)
File:Slayer3.jpg|Cover art by The Slayer #2 by Sophia Kelly Schultz (1999)
==Archives & Fannish Links==
* Buffy Summers works on Ao3
* Buffy Summers works on ff.net 
* Blood and Honey (archived link), buffy summers fanfiction archive
* Secrets of the Slayer ( archived link), a Buffy-centric fic archive
* Slightly Over The Edge (archived link), A site for the life and many loves of Buffy Anne Summers, Vampire Slayer
* What Handbook? (archived link), an archive for stories written from or including Buffy's perspective.
==Resources & Links==
* Buffy's Biography on A Slayer is Born
* Buffy Summers at Buffyverse Wiki
* Character Biography for Buffy, Buffy Cross & Stake
* Buffy Summers on Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Buffyverse Characters