Template:Infobox Buffyverse Character
Spike (aka William "The Bloody"), is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by James Marsters. He is considered a breakout character.
Biography
Character history
William was born circa 1853 in London to Anne and an (as yet) unnamed husband. In 1880, when William was about 25 to 30 years old, he was a brown-haired, ineffectual gentleman who lived with his mother and wrote poetry. He was called "William the Bloody" behind his back by his peers because his poetry was so "bloody awful". This nickname (with more deadly connotations) would follow him in his future as a vampire. While he traveled in society circles, he found little in common with his peers; he preferred to create things of beauty rather than dwelling on the scandalous and seedy elements of existence. He showed a strong capacity for loyalty and devoted love, which would follow him after his siring. After his romantic overtures were rejected by the aristocratic Cecily, a despondent William accepted comfort in the arms of Drusilla, only to be bitten and transformed into a vampire.
While new vampires in the Buffy universe often delight in killing their families once they become evil, William was a notable exception. He had always been very close to his mother, and turned her into a vampire to prevent her from dying from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, his mother as a soulless vampire proved to be a truly evil creature, taunting William that she had despised him all along, and insinuating that William had always had a sexual fascination with her. He ended up reluctantly staking her because he could not bear to see his mother in such a twisted, unnatural, abusive form. The entire matricidal experience was a terrible trauma for William; he would later write a poem about the experience entitled "The Wanton Folly of Me Mum", the text of which was never presented onscreen.
After staking his mother, William began a new life with Drusilla. Euphoric with his new-found vampiric abilities, and hungry for revenge on his peers, he abandoned the genteel hypocrisy of Victorian life. He became a rebel, adopting a working class North London accent and embracing impulsiveness and violence. He adopted the nom de guerre "Spike" because of a habit of torturing people with railroad spikes, inspired by a detractor from his human days who had exclaimed that he would rather "have a railroad spike driven through [his] head" than listen to William's poetry. In the company of Drusilla, her sire Angelus and Angelus's sire Darla, Spike terrorized Europe and Asia for almost two decades. Utterly devoted to Drusilla, Spike had a strained relationship with Angelus, rather like two rival brothers. Although Angelus did enjoy the company of another male vampire in their travels, he found Spike's eagerness for battle to be an unnecessary risk. Angelus regarded killing as an art, not a sport, and killed for the sheer act of evil; Spike did it for amusement and the rush. Tensions also arose surrounding Angelus's ongoing sexual relationship with Drusilla, which continued despite Spike's strong disapproval. Spike at one point refers to Angel as both his "sire" and his "Yoda". Joss Whedon explained in an interview that a vampire's sire refers to anyone prior to them in their "line". Spike later notes that Drusilla made him a vampire, but Angel(us) made him a monster.
In 1900, in one of his proudest moments, Spike killed a Chinese slayer during the Boxer Rebellion; it was her sword that gave him the scar on his left eyebrow, which remains a century later. Shortly afterward, Spike and Drusilla lost touch with Darla and Angelus (who, unknown to Spike or Drusilla, had recently been cursed with a soul), and the couple wandered the world seeking amusement and mayhem, occasionally separating to pursue separate interests but always reuniting. During World War II, Spike was captured by Nazis for experimentation and transported aboard a submarine which was in turn seized by Americans. After Spike and two other vampires killed most of the crew, Angel made Spike (and another vampire Angel had just sired) leave the sub, forcing them to swim to shore before the submarine reached the United States. While leaving the sub, Spike looked to Angel and proclaimed, "You're still a dick." By the 1950's, Spike had reunited with Drusilla and they traveled to Italy. At some point, Spike spent time in prison for tax evasion.
At some point in a century or so of being his own boss, Spike employed a pair of Fyarl Demons as muscle, which is unusual because Buffyverse vampires and demons rarely get along; Spike continues this diversity in friendships and relationships throughout his unlife. He attended Woodstock, where he drank blood from a flower child and spent the next several hours watching his own hand move, a side effect from the psychoactive drugs in her bloodstream. Spike fought and killed Nikki Wood, a Slayer in New York City in the 1970s.
Spike's story before he appears in Sunnydale unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. They are not presented in chronological order. A guide to finding the flashback(s) to a particular event is at Angel, Darla, Spike and Dru: Before 1997.
Sunnydale
Spike first appears in Sunnydale in Buffy's second season, in the episode "School Hard", accompanied by his longtime love Drusilla, who is suffering from the after-effects of being attacked and injured by an angry mob in Prague. Spike is a devoted caretaker to Drusilla in her weakened condition, and he initially hopes that the Hellmouth's energy can help restore her strength. The presence of a Slayer to fight makes the town even more attractive to him. Upon discovering that Angel(us) is also in Sunnydale, Spike initially greets the older vampire as a friend (not realizing that Angel now has a soul). However, Angel's loyalty to Buffy soon ends their camaraderie. When Spike later learns that Drusilla can only be cured by the blood of the vampire who had sired her (Angel), he is more than willing to kill Angel in order to help Dru.
For much of the second season, Spike and Drusilla are major enemies of Buffy, until Spike is so severely injured in a fight with Buffy and Kendra that he spends several months unable to walk. Originally, Whedon had intended to kill Spike, but the character had grown popular with fans and it was decided to injure him instead.[citation needed]. When Angel reverts to Angelus after making love with Buffy, he joins Spike and Drusilla, and eventually plots with Dru to destroy all of humanity. Spike initially celebrates their reunion with Angelus, again demonstrating that genuine affection exists between the two. Their longtime rivalry is soon renewed when Angelus taunts the (temporarily) helpless Spike by pursuing Dru as a lover. Spike continues to use his wheelchair after he recovers, feigning weakness to avoid suspicion while he plots against Angelus. This rivalry eventually motivates Spike to ally himself with Buffy to defeat Angelus. He explains to Buffy that, in addition to wanting Drusilla back, he also wants to "save the world":
- “We like to talk big, vampires do. I’m going to destroy the world. That’s just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You’ve got – the dog racing, Manchester United, and you’ve got people: billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It’s all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision, with a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square."
When Buffy makes her attack, Spike knocks out Drusilla, removing her from the fight. He and an unconscious Dru leave Sunnydale and travel to Brazil.
Spike appears in only one episode of season three ("Lovers Walk"). In Brazil, Drusilla is horrified by his alliance with the Slayer and senses that Spike will develop feelings for Buffy; she rejects him, which sends him into an extended drunken depression. He returns to Sunnydale and attempts to force Willow Rosenberg to cast a love spell on Drusilla. He visits Joyce Summers, who listens sympathetically to his heartache, and recruits Buffy and Angel to help him gather spell ingredients. After reveling in the rush of an intense fight, Spike cheerfully abandons the love spell idea, resolving to win Drusilla back by torturing her until she likes him again. Buffy remarks to Angel that "I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself – or Spike, for some reason," foreshadowing Spike's role as the "truth-seer" of the group.
Spike returns to Sunnydale alone in season four to search for the Gem of Amarra, a talisman that allows a vampire to endure sunlight and even a stake to the heart without ill effect; he later travels to L. A. to retrieve it, torturing Angel in an attempt to discover its ___location before he is thwarted and driven from the city. He becomes involved with Harmony Kendall, a shallow young vampire. Despite her beauty and affection, Spike treats her little more than a nuisance and sexual plaything. His unlife takes a pivotal turn when The Initiative, a secret government demon-fighting army, captures him and implants a microchip in his head, which causes crippling pain whenever he harms or attempts to harm a human being. Unable to hunt for blood, he turns to the Scooby Gang for protection, bartering his knowledge of the Initiative. He helps Rupert Giles out of a tight spot for a price. He and Buffy briefly become engaged through an accidental enchantment by Willow; although the spell only commands them to get married, each mentions being in love, foreshadowing their later bond. He discovers that the chip does not prevent him from fighting demons, and, since he thrives on violence, he fights alongside the Scoobies on occasion. At this point, Spike is still looking out for himself first and foremost however, and does not shy away from letting the Scoobies know it. On learning that Faith is on the loose after coming out of her coma, he proclaims that he will be the one to find Faith, so he can tell her exactly where the Scoobies are, and watch while she tears them all apart. Later in the season Spike allies with Adam, a demon/human/cyborg chimera created by The Initiative, and helps the creature in its quest to destroy the Initiative and the Scoobies. Spike's price is simple: he wants the Initiative's chip out of his head for good. Spike briefly manages to turn the Scoobies against each other by manipulating existing tensions within the group ("The Yoko Factor"), but he changes sides again when he realizes that Adam is double crossing him and helps to save the Scoobies from rampaging demons in the middle of a battle.
In season five, Spike becomes aware after some erotic dreams that, to his horror, he has fallen in love with Buffy. Unsure how to proceed, he keeps a nightly vigil outside her home, occasionally even breaking in (most notably to sniff and steal Buffy's clothing, and to steal photographs for his secret shrine to her). Spike also becomes a more active participant in the Scooby Gang, jumping into several of Buffy's fights to provide assistance whether she wants it or not. At Buffy's request, he reveals to her how he killed the two Slayers he had fought, offering survival advice, and later comforts her when her mother has to go into the hospital. Buffy's younger sister Dawn, who has a crush on Spike, perceives his feelings for Buffy, and casually mentions it to Buffy. Disgusted, particularly after witnessing the full extent of Spike's obsession, Buffy rejects him, going as far as to uninvite him from her home (something she had not bothered to do in the two years since their alliance against Angelus). They reconcile after Spike refuses to reveal the ___location of the Key to Glory under intense torture, nearly laying down his life to protect Dawn. Buffy is moved by his unexpected sacrifice and kisses him. In the days and hours leading up to the final showdown with Glory, Spike fights by Buffy's side, earning her trust (as well as a re-invite to her home). After Buffy dies in the showdown with Glory, Spike honors her memory by remaining loyal to the Scoobies, fighting at their side and serving the role of baby-sitter/father-figure/protector to Dawn. Blaming himself for Buffy's death, he keeps track of the number of days since she died until she is resurrected in season six.
During season six, Spike and Buffy became lovers, engaging in a violent, sexual, emotionally one-sided relationship in which Buffy does not return Spike's intense, obsessive love. Unable to confide in her friends, Buffy is increasingly drawn to Spike. Their physical relationship starts after a demon's spell makes them share their emotions and Buffy expresses that she "want[s] the fire back", but it is not consummated until Spike finds out that his chip no longer stops him from hurting the resurrected Buffy. Buffy most often initiates both the violence and the sex between them, and threatens to kill Spike if he ever tells anyone about their relationship. This includes a dark moment where Buffy beats Spike severely enough to cause injuries that last at least a week. Both are unsatisfied with the relationship; Buffy is ashamed of her dark desires, while Spike craves the love, trust, and affection that she is unwilling to give. Shortly after Buffy's ex-boyfriend Riley Finn finds Spike in possession of smuggled demon eggs and accuses of him being "The Doctor" ("As You Were"), Buffy ends their relationship. She admits that she is just using him and that it is killing her. Spike at first tries to make her jealous by bringing a date to the wedding of Xander. Later, after Xander leaves Anya at the altar, Spike and Anya get drunk together and seek solace in each other's arms. Buffy and Xander catch them, and her jealousy at seeing Spike with Anya leads him to believe he still had a chance at winning Buffy back.
After a lecture from Dawn, Spike, his obsession out of control, corners an injured Buffy in her bathroom, making aggressive sexual advances. When she refuses him, he attacks her in desperation, apparently intending to rape her; although their sexual history is highly violent, Buffy clearly says no to this encounter. Her original injury is increased when she slips and lands on the shower curtain, making it easier for Spike to force himself on top of her. However, Buffy is able to kick Spike across the room after he fails to respond to her cries. He draws back and tries to reconcile, to which Buffy responds, "Ask me again why I could never love you." Horrified by his own actions and intentions, he leaves town and heads to a remote area of Africa, vowing to "give her what she deserves." He seeks out a legendary Shaman/demon with the power to make him "What he once was." He undergoes a series of grueling physical trials (the Demon Trials) to prove his worthiness before a demon shaman, who promises to give him what he wants if he survives. In the final scene of the season ("Grave"), Spike survives the trials and the shaman grants his request, giving him back what he lost: his soul.
With the returning of his soul comes a conscience filled with guilt. In the early episodes of season seven, Spike resides in the basement of recently reconstructed Sunnydale High School, close to the Hellmouth's opening. Tormented by The First Evil as well as by his newfound conscience, Spike appears to be going insane (he notes at one point that he is "bug-shagging crazy"). When Buffy asks him why he had fought for his soul, he explains: "For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev-... To be a kind of man." After Buffy learns that Spike is in the basement, she enlists his assistance in several situations, although it is not until well after she learns that he is ensouled that she decides to bring him out of the basement. Spike becomes reluctant roommates with Xander, because he has nowhere else to go. However, this arrangement backfires as Spike, under influence of the First Evil's hypnotic trigger, unknowingly kills innocent people. Spike initially has no memory of his actions; after he discovers what he has done, he begs Buffy to stake him. Buffy refuses and takes him into her house and tells him she has seen him change. He suffers severe withdrawals after his extended feeding on human blood, and is still vulnerable to the (as yet unidentified) hypnotic trigger, so he is willingly confined with ropes or chains. Buffy guards and cares for Spike throughout his recovery, telling Spike that she believes in him, a statement which later sustains him throughout his imprisonment and torture at the hands of the First Evil.
Spike assists Buffy in her efforts to train the Potentials that are gathering in Sunnydale. In the meantime, his chip begins to malfunction, causing him intense pain and threatening to end his unlife. To the dismay of Giles and her friends, Buffy trusts Spike enough to order Initiative agents to remove it from his head. She also takes Spike's side when Principal Robin Wood attempts to kill him in retribution for the murder of his mother, Nikki Wood, the slayer Spike killed in 1977. Ironically, by attempting to kill Spike when he is under the First's influence, Wood frees Spike from his hypnotic trigger: a song called "Early One Morning" that Spike's mother often sang to him before he became a vampire. The song evokes Spike's traumatic memories of his mother's abusive behavior toward him after she turned; after Spike is able to address these issues, he realizes that his mother had always loved him, knowledge which frees him from the First's control. Late in the season, Spike and Buffy achieve an emotional closeness; he, alone, remains selflessly loyal to her when the other Scoobies, Giles, and the Potentials abandon her. Spike contemptously tells the rest of the Scoobies, "You sorry sods, she died for you, and you betrayed her!" After Spike tracks Buffy to an abandoned house, they spend two nights together. After the first night, Spike tells Buffy that it was the best night of his life, just holding her. It is unclear whether they resume their sexual intimacy the second night; creator Joss Whedon said on the DVD commentary for "Chosen" that he intentionally left it to the viewers to decide how they felt the relationship progressed, though Whedon had earlier stated on the commentary that he personally felt having them resume a sexual relationship would send the wrong message.
In the final battle inside the Hellmouth, Spike, wearing a mystical amulet, sacrifices himself to destroy the First's army of Turok-Han (pure demon übervampires) and close the Hellmouth. The amulet mystically channels sunlight that turns the Turok-Han to dust and collapses the cavern containing the Hellmouth, sealing the Hellmouth and creating a crater which swallows the entire town of Sunnydale. Spike is incinerated in the process, but not before Buffy says "I love you." He replies, "No, you don't — but thanks for saying it." Even as he burns and crumbles to dust he laughs and revels in the destruction before him, glad to be there for the end. He dies at the Hellmouth to save the world, becoming a Champion.
Los Angeles
Despite his apparent death at the end of Buffy's final season, Spike returns as a regular on Angel in its fifth and final season, having been brought back by the same amulet that was initially given to Angel by Wolfram and Hart. The amulet is mysteriously returned to the offices by mail; Spike materializes from a whirlwind after Angel opens the envelope. Spike initially intends to leave Wolfram and Hart and find Buffy, who is now in Europe; however, he discovers that he is mystically bound to Los Angeles and unable to leave. For the first seven episodes of the season, Spike is an incorporeal being akin to a ghost with a connection to the human world that is unstable, causing him to disappear at random (but increasingly frequent) intervals. As his disappearances become more frequent and intense, Spike, terrified, confides only to Fred that every time he disappears he is being transported to Hell. He asks her to help save him, and she promises to find a way to make him corporeal again. Later, it is discovered that Spike's disappearances are being caused by another ghost, the Reaper, who toys with the many souls trapped at Wolfram and Hart in order to delay his own sentence to Hell. Fred successfully creates a machine to recorporealize Spike. However, when the Reaper threatens Fred's life, Spike chooses to use the machine to save her, throwing away his opportunity to become corporeal but successfully stopping the other ghost. His actions prove to her, at least, that he is "worth saving." He finds himself able to affect the world around him if he wants to badly enough, so he is able to assist in fighting before he is actually recorporalized.
Later another mysterious package comes in the mail, addressed to Spike but with no return address. Upon opening the package he sees a flash of light. Directly after this odd event, his inability to walk through a closed door leads to the discovery that he has become corporeal once more. Chaos concurrently erupts in Wolfram & Hart, and Eve arrives with information that the existence of two ensouled vampire Champions in the world is affecting the fabric of reality. A new translation of the Shanshu Prophecy reveals that in order to restore the balance, Spike and Angel must compete to drink from the Cup of Perpetual Torment. Ego clashes and personal hostility (often involving women) that had been building up for more than a century lead to an extended battle between the two adversaries; each believes that the Cup would bestow upon him great responsibilities and pain before ultimately washing his past clean and allowing him to live as human again. Angel asks Spike whether he wants the destiny, or just to take something away from Angel, and Spike replies: "a bit of both." Although Angel tells Spike that Spike is a monster just like him, Spike denies any similarities: "You had a soul forced on you. As a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul, went through the demon trials, almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny." Their battle culminates with Angel unable to touch a giant cross, which Spike, contemptously ignoring the pain, holds and wields with ease. For the first time in over a century of friendship and rivalry, Spike clearly defeats Angel and drinks from the Cup. The prophecy turns out to be a sham (the liquid in the Cup was merely Mountain Dew), rendering the whole exercise seemingly useless. Spike regains much self-confidence with his defeat of Angel.
Even though he is now corporeal (and therefore no longer bound to L.A.), he decides not to go to Europe in search of Buffy; he wants her to remember him as the hero who died to save the world. Beginning in "Soul Purpose", Lindsey McDonald, using the name of the late half-demon Doyle with a connection to The Powers That Be, persuades Spike that he is destined to "help the helpless," in much the same way as the real Doyle persuaded Angel of the same thing at the start of Angel. Alienated by Angel's corporate, bureaucratic approach to fighting evil, Spike steps into his role as hero. He takes on a psychotic Slayer, who had until recently been locked in a mental institution, but she captures him, drugs him, ties him up, and cuts off his hands. This experience causes Spike to more deeply examine the nature of the evil inside him. He tells Angel that the girl thought that he had killed her whole family, and asks: "What am I supposed to do, complain, because hers wasn't one of the hundreds of families I did kill?" He believes that the girl has become a monster like them; Angel responds that the girl is an innocent victim, and Spike points out that he and Angel were innocent victims at one point. His hands are reattached at Wolfram & Hart, and he is instructed to play video games for physical therapy, including Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot.
Eventually, Spike learns that "Doyle" is actually Lindsay, who has been manipulating him the whole time. His relationship with Angel becomes increasingly acrimonious, and they contemplate the possibility of Spike leaving L.A. after a particularly bitter argument over whether cavemen or astronauts would win in a fight. When Fred becomes infected with the essence of an ancient demon named Illyria, Spike works alongside Angel and the team to find a cure, and mourns for her when they fail. He abandons the idea of leaving L.A. after Fred's death, deciding to stay because that is what she would have wanted. He is put in charge of "testing" the newly-awakened Illyria's abilities, which generally involves fighting with her and recording details on his clipboard. Because of the drastic changes in the circumstances of his own life, he can relate to her situation, offering her conversation, company, and advice. By the end of the season, Spike is a trusted member of the team, and he is the first to vote for Angel's plan to wound the Senior Partners by taking out the Circle of the Black Thorn (although it should be noted that he volunteered for the job of betraying Angel first as well, showing that there's always some tension between the two of them). In this endeavor, he is entrusted to rescue an infant and destroy a demon cult (the final episode "Not Fade Away"). Before Angel's team of demon killers enter what may be their final battle, Angel gives them the day off, to spend as though it was going to be their last day. Spike, returning to his mortal roots as a frustrated poet, triumphantly knocks them dead (figuratively) in an open mic poetry slam, reciting his completed version of a poem he had begun over a century earlier (before being sired by Drusilla).
After succeeding in his mission, Spike joins Angel, Illyria, and a badly-wounded Charles Gunn in the alley as the series draws to an end, preparing to suicidally incur the apocalyptic wrath of the Senior Partners, as a way of going out in a blaze of glory. Whether Spike survived this battle has yet to be confirmed, although he does appear in (non-canon) material set after it.
Appearance and Personality
William's natural hair color was medium brown; in 1943 he was seen with it dyed black and slicked down; and by 1977 he had begun to bleach it, keeping that look at least until he was last seen in May of 2004. Spike has claimed that Billy Idol stole his look from him. He received an V/Y-shaped scar on his left eyebrow from the sword of the first slayer he killed, in 1900; on his first appearance in the series, the wound still looks fresh, but gradually blends in over the course of the series. James Marsters received the scar in real life during a mugging [1].
Spike has a taste for long black leather coats, including one that he took from a Nazi officer and another that he took as a trophy from Nikki Wood (the second Slayer he killed); this was the black duster he wore for over twenty-five years. It was incinerated along with Spike when the Hellmouth collapsed and rematerialized at Wolfram and Hart when Spike did. When the jacket was destroyed in a firefight in Italy, Spike declared it to be irreplacable. However, the Italian branch of Wolfram and Hart supplied him with a new, nearly identical one. His trademark look is typically composed of the leather jacket, a black/dark brown t-shirt or v-neck shirt and black denim pants, usually with heavy boots; he also wore a red long-sleeve shirt fairly often. In "Doomed", Spike is forced to wear one of Xander's Hawaiian shirts and a pair of knee-length shorts because his clothes were shrunk due to the basement flooding.
Aside from his appetite for destruction, one of Spike's most prominent characteristics is his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. A polar opposite to his callow and simpering human nature, Spike quickly adopted a swaggering posture and enjoyed living by nobody's rules save his own. Fitting in with this was his habit of making pithy remarks and glib insults, even towards the few he did not view as antagonists. Among his favorite targets was his grandsire and rival, Angel (often making fun of his large forehead, constantly groomed appearance and his attempts to be a 'big, strapping hero'); others include Xander Harris, Rupert Giles and, to a lesser degree, Buffy Summers. However, Spike also retained something of his literary intellect from his human side, routinely referencing poetry, songs, and literature; he would, on occasion, also wax poetical on the nature of love and life (and unlife) as being driven by blood, reasoning that blood is more powerful than any supernatural force because it is what separates the living from the dead. ("Lovers Walk"/"The Gift")
Spike frequently challenges vampire conventions and limitations. For example, Spike often treats his vulnerability to the sun as an inconvenience, rather than a limitation; he drives in broad daylight in vehicles with blacked-out windows, and he regularly travels outside during the day, using a blanket for cover. Spike also embraces certain elements of humanity, such as love and loyalty, that would be considered too human (and therefore offensive or impure) by other vampires. Spike enjoys beer, whiskey, Weetabix (which he mixes into blood for texture), and spices and burba weed (which he mixes into blood for flavor). He is also seen eating a box of chocolates (a present originially intended for Buffy), Buffalo wings, and onion blossoms, constituting the most varied diet of any vampire on the show (another example of Spike defying vampire conventions). He also smokes cigarettes (as do many vampires); his preferred brand is Morley cigarettes, which he lights with a trademark silver Zippo lighter.
Powers & Abilities
Spike has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire. On many occasions he has tracked people or demons through the streets (or even sewers) by smelling the air. He can also smell fear, and was able at one point to sense Buffy from the other side of a door. He can identify and track someone by scent alone, though it is easier for him to track blood. Like other vampires, Spike's "vampire constitution" provides him with an extremely high tolerance for alcohol. Age and other factors have given him strength, speed, stamina and resistance superior to those of most other vampires. Like Angel, he can endure sunlight for a few seconds longer than average vampires.
One of the factors making Spike so deadly an opponent in battle is his complete disregard for tradition and rules. He loves combat for the sheer joy and adrenaline rush. He particularly appreciates fights that pose a challenge, which has resulted in him taking on angry mobs and multiple Slayers (Spike has a special place in vampire lore for the rare feat of killing two Slayers in single combat). His love for battle continues even after his re-ensoulment, which is ironic because, as a human, he had been quite meek, mild-mannered, and gentle. He is highly skilled and adaptable in both armed and unarmed combat. Spike has been shown on occasion using firearms and modern weaponry as well as the bladed weapons more often seen in the Buffyverse. He is skilled at using many varieties of weapons, such as a rifle, knife, sword, axe, crossbow, stake, and a staff. His fighting style blends kung fu, karate, and various other martial arts.
In combat, Spike shows great physical strength and adaptibility; for example, he is able to briefly overcome Illyria during a testing of her abilities when she is at the height of her powers. Illyria criticizes his (and others') ability to adapt, calling it "compromising"; however, for a creature with somewhat limited power (unlike the original Illyria), it is one of his greatest strengths as a fighter. Spike can also withstand excessive amounts of pain for extended periods of time, particularly when properly motivated. He withstands terrible torture at the hands of Glory, refusing to tell her that Dawn was the Key she sought, sustained only by his unrequited love for Buffy. He later withstands extensive torture while imprisoned by the First Evil; he refuses to give in to despair, taking strength from Buffy's declaration that she believes in him. On one occassion he even had his hands cut off by the slayer Dana, though they are soon reattached by medics at Wolfram and Hart. While not as skilled or as cruel in torture as Angelus, Spike also proves himself to be effective at it when he tortures Doctor Sparrow (noting that the torture session had resulted in "screams, various fluids, and a name").
What gives Spike an added edge in both combat and personal matters are his skills in perception and observation, especially with regard to relationships and personalities. His strong connection with his own emotions also provides him with useful insight, giving him the previously mentioned "truth-seer" status. His ability to take a "Big Picture" approach, analyzing complicated interpersonal dynamics with ease, allows him to wield powerful psychological weapons as well as physical ones. For example, when he wants to create disharmony among the Scoobies, he divides-and-conquers with the "Yoko Factor", exploiting tensions that exist under the surface to alienate the group members against each other. When he and Angel compete for the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike's verbal taunts, insights, and insults are as crucial (in that they further demoralized an already insecure Angel) to his success as his physical blows. He explains to Buffy that he was able to defeat two Slayers because he sensed and exploited their "death wish." His skills of analysis also have many positive effects. For example, his perceptiveness and insight makes him a natural father-figure for Dawn, who needed protection, attention, and guidance. He is the first to see through Tara's abusive and controlling family, and reveals their sinister intentions before any of the Scoobies suspect it. He has a solid sense of the state of relationships, accurately identifying when and why some relationships, such as that between Buffy and Riley, are not meant to last. He also clearly identifies Buffy and Angel's continuing love at a time when both of them are trying to say that they are "just friends", forcing the two of them to finally face the truth to each other.
Although capable of developing sound battle strategies, Spike (particularly in the days before the chip and the soul) often loses patience with anything more complicated than outright attack:
- Spike: I had a plan.
- Angel: You, a plan?
- Spike: Yeah, a good plan. Smart. Carefully laid out. But I got bored.
He also is impatient to fight the Slayer upon his initial arrival in Sunnydale; the attack is supposed to coincide with the Night of St. Vigeous (when vampire powers are enhanced), but he "couldn't wait" to go after the Slayer and attacks the night before. However, he is somewhat masterful with strategy, and has exercised patience in many ways. For example, in Sunnydale, when Angelus joins Spike and Dru after Spike's injury, Spike patiently builds up his strength and, even after regaining his abililty to walk, hides this from the others. Instead he listens, learns and endures tortuous weeks watching Angelus sexually pursue a very willing Dru as he waits for the right time to strike out at Angelus and reclaim Dru.
Spike is also seen: picking locks; driving a car, a motorcycle, and a motor home; using video game systems and a computer; treating injuries; pickpocketing; and playing poker and pool. He is also seen speaking Latin, Luganda (a language of Uganda, where he meets the demon shaman), and the language of Fyarl demons. It is implied that he has some minimal familiarity with Italian (he can at least say "ciao" and "strada").
Romantic Interests / Intimate Liaisons
- Cecily Addams/Cecily Underwood: the object of William's affections and poetic efforts in life; her rejection made him open to seduction and siring by Drusilla.
- Drusilla: Spike and Drusilla were a devoted couple for over a century. While vampires do not usually experience love for one another, Spike and Drusilla did, as was noted by the Judge (who found their relationship to reek of humanity). They shared more than a century travelling around the world, keeping each other company and enjoying themselves. While Spike was single-mindedly devoted to her, Dru was never consistently faithful (maintaining a sexual relationship with Angelus despite Spike's obvious jealousy and discomfort, and, along with Darla, fornicating with The Immortal). She became disillusioned with Spike after he betrayed Angelus and allied himself with the Slayer; she also perceived Spike's growing feelings for Buffy. She cheated on him with a chaos demon ("All slime and antlers!") in South America before breaking up with him, sending him into an extended drunken depression.
- Angel: Spike mentioned in "Power Play" that "Angel and me have never been intimate. Except that one--" Whedon has confirmed in numerous interviews and forum posts the possibility of at least a one-night stand between the pair.
- Harmony Kendall: Spike was involved with this newly made vampire from season 4 through early season 5.
- Buffy Summers: Spike reluctantly became Buffy's ally during seasons 2 and 4, and fell in love with her just as reluctantly in early season 5. During season 6 they started a sexual relationship which ended badly, largely because Spike sought love and intimacy while Buffy merely sought physical comfort. After they broke up, Spike made aggressive sexual advances and Buffy had to fight him off, an event that inspired Spike to leave Sunnydale to seek his soul. During season 7 they became closer emotionally. His championing her, when all others abandoned her, showed his absolute loyalty to Buffy. Buffy eventually told Spike she loved him, which Spike stated that he did not believe. In Angel, Spike decided not to contact Buffy to let her know he had been resurrected because he wanted her to remember him as a hero who died to save the world. He did intend to meet up with her in Rome, while he and Angel were attempting to prevent a demon war, but their paths never quite crossed.
- Buffybot: After being rejected by Buffy in season 5, Spike commissioned Warren Mears, a young mad scientist, to build him a robotic replica of her to be single-mindedly devoted to him. Although he initially enjoyed the toy, it was damaged in a fight with Glory. After Buffy's death, Willow reprogrammed the robot. It became a useful and important tool in the fight against evil until Buffy's resurrection, although bits of the original programming occasionally resurfaced, causing Spike, who was deep in mourning, significant pain.
- Anya Jenkins: Spike and Anya bonded over their mutual loss of demonic powers in "Where the Wild Things Are". Later, each drunk and on the rebound, they sought solace in one another in a brief encounter at the Magic Box ("Entropy").
- Winifred Burkle: Technically not a romantic relationship per se. Spike initially flirted with her, and his feelings later evolved into affection and esteem. She was the first person in Los Angeles who believed that he was "worth saving" and she worked tirelessly to find a way to recorporalize him (while denying being taken in by his charm). He sacrificed a chance at becoming corporeal to save her life, and he later chose to remain at Wolfram & Hart in tribute to her sacrifice. Spike said in "A Hole in the World" that he loved her, albeit in a platonic way.
- Illyria: Though not a romantic relationship per se, Illyria and Spike share an emerging bond; each is on a path from demon to hero, and they share a love of violence. Their sparring sessions are mutually satisfactory; Spike hones his fighting techniques and Illyria is able to regularly inflict pain and dominate in combat. She, at one point, expresses a desire to keep Spike as a pet. After Illyria's powers are diminished, Spike helps her regain confidence and venture into the world again. Their relationship remains non-romantic, but develops into mutual respect.
Appearances
Spike has appeared in:
Buffy
Buffy the Vampire Slayer : Spike was a series regular in the show's fourth (starting with "The Initiative"), fifth, sixth and seventh seasons, although he did not appear in "The Body". He appeared in 96 episodes, including guest appearances in:
- Season 2 (1997, 1998) - "School Hard"; "Halloween"; "Lie to Me"; "What's My Line, Part One" and "Part Two"; "Surprise"; "Innocence"; "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"; "Passion"; "I Only Have Eyes for You"; "Becoming, Part One" and "Part Two"
- Season 3 (1998, 1999) - "Lovers Walk"
- Season 4 (1999, 2000) - "The Harsh Light of Day", "Something Blue" and "Wild at Heart"
Angel
- Angel
- Spike became a series regular in the show's fifth season. He appeared in 24 episodes, including guest appearances in:
- Season 1 (1999, 2000) - "In the Dark"
- Season 2 (2000, 2001) - "Darla" (flashbacks)
Whedon has proposed making a Spike movie starring James Marsters and Amy Acker and written and directed by Tim Minear. While the project is currently on hold, Whedon has said that he would love to make this movie, and would as soon as he found funding and a network to pick it up.
Books and comics
- Books & comics
- Spike has appeared in numerous extensions of the Buffyverse, his biggest appearances are in the following stories:
- Published - Tales of the Vampires, Spike & Dru, Pretty Maids All in a Row, These Our Actors, Spark and Burn, Old Times, Spike vs Dracula, Old Wounds, Lost and Found, The Lost Slayer, 'Asylum,
- Upcoming - Blackout.
See also
References
- ^ "The Official James Marsters Site FAQ". Retrieved 2006-11-24.