TheBuffyversecanon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine (or "official") and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within thefictional universe established by the television seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayer. TheBuffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the samefictional continuity as theBuffy episodes andAngel episodes.Star Trek,Star Wars,Stargate and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.[1]
Using the religious analogy of a canon ofscripture (seeBiblical canon), things that are not canon are considered "apocryphal." When a body of work is not specifically accepted or rejected by an authority, "canon" can be a fluid term that is interpreted differently by different people. This is the case with "Buffyverse canon", which has yet to be publicly defined by an authority to the satisfaction and consensus of all observers (see:links to canon debates). The creator of theBuffyverse,Joss Whedon, has implied that additional materials he was not heavily involved in creating were separate from canon.[2] When asked in an interview about canon, Whedon stated:
Canon is key, as is continuity. If you are massive nerd. Which I am. I believe there's a demarcation between the creation and ancillary creations by different people. I'm all for that stuff, just like fanfic, but I like to know what's there's an absolutely official story-so-far, especially when something changes mediums, which my stuff seems to do a lot.[3]
This is an overview of what has been dubbed officialBuffyverse canon by the series creator Joss Whedon:
Outside of the TV series, theBuffyverse has been expanded and elaborated on by various authors and artists in the so-called "BuffyverseExpanded Universe". TheBuffyverse novels andBuffyverse comics are licensed by20th Century Fox, but are generally considered 'less real' within theBuffyverse (apocryphal).[4]
Despite this, they have been licensed as officialBuffy the Vampire Slayer orAngel merchandise. Furthermore, many authors have said that Whedon or his office have had to approve their overall outline for their novel or comic if not the final product. This was to prevent the stories venturing too far from the original intentions ofBuffy/Angel stories (see below). These works are commonly considered non-canon.Jeff Mariotte, author ofBuffyverse novels and comics has said:
The rule in licensed fiction is that what's on the screen is canon, and the rest is not.[4]
Work created with Joss Whedon's involvement has been described as canon by commentators,[5] and by Whedon himself. For example, he announced in 2005:
Darkhorse Comics are starting a newBuffy comic, and as I understand it, it will take place after the end ofBuffy andAngel and be canon in theBuffy world. And I understand it that way 'cause I'm writing it![6]
In a separate interview, Whedon spoke of the planning process for the series:
I basically said, "We could do something and for once we could make it canon. We could make it officially what happened after the end of the show."[7]
Whedon has also written the comic mini-seriesLong Night's Journey, as well as short stories forTales of the Slayers andTales of the Vampires.
Fray is an eight-part comic series written by Whedon, about a Vampire Slayer of the future named Melaka Fray. In theBuffyverse, a powerful scythe used by Buffy is found in centuries to come by Melaka Fray. In 2001, whilst Whedon was still producingBuffy, he spoke about his concern of implications of information established byFray (andBuffy comics generally) affecting the canonBuffyverse:
When it comes toBuffy, I do the show and that's it. Anything I do in a comic might interfere with the canon, or interfere with what I'm doing on the show. With Fray, I thought, okay, I'll do something new, that's in theBuffy universe so that I don't have to create a whole new universe for my first foray into comics. It can therefore be of interest to the fans, yet not interfere with anything.[8]
However, theBuffy series finale did not match continuity set byFray. InFray no mention is made of theSlayer's essence being split amongst multiple women.[9] When asked about the apparent contradictions betweenBuffy andFray, Whedon responded:
No, that's actually something I hope to deal with, either in the Spike format or in another series ofFray. There's a discrepancy there that I plan to explain. I have a vision for it.[2]
In an interview withTV Guide, Whedon revealed that he considered TV tie-in comics to be "ancillary" unless written by the script-writers:
"TVGuide.com: Have you seen theBattlestar Galactica comic?
Whedon: No, I don't think I can do it. I loveBattlestar too hard. I couldn't look at any ancillary work.
TVGuide.com: I loveBuffy "hard," so are you saying we fans shouldn't read the [Buffy the Vampire Slayer season eight (by Whedon)]?
Whedon: No, because if they stopped doingBattlestar Galactica, and then two or three years laterRon Moore andDavid Eick said, "We ourselves are going to continue the story in comic-book form—as opposed to something ancillary to the show done by other people," then I would be all over it. That's not to say theBattlestar comic isn't great, but I love that show the way other people loveBuffy. I love it unreasonably."[7]
Several of the comics have been written by the scriptwriters ofMutant Enemy Productions. Doug Petrie wrote comicsRing of Fire,Double Cross, andBad Dog.Jane Espenson has written comics (Haunted,Jonathan, andReunion), as well as twoTales of the Slayer prose shorts ("Again, Sunnydale" and "Two Teenage Girls at the Mall"). Rebecca Rand Kirshner also wrote a prose short story forTales of the Slayer, "The War Between the States".
Two actors have co-authored comics withChristopher Golden.James Marsters, who portrayedSpike, co-authored "Paint the Town Red", whilstAmber Benson co-authoredWillow & Tara. Benson also wrote the comic short story "The Innocent".
All otherBuffyversecomics andnovels were written by authors that were not involved with any level of production of the television seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayer orAngel. The creators of these works are generally free to tell their own stories set in theBuffyverse,[citation needed] and may or may not keep to established continuity. Similarly, writers for the TV series were under no obligation to use continuity which has been established by the Expanded Universe,[citation needed] and sometimes contradicted it.
Usually the authors and editors of these licensed materials try not to contradict information that has been established by canon. However, many of the materials do directly contradict it. Jeff Mariotte has said:
Sometimes stuff shows up on screen that contradicts what you wrote, and sometimes the timing is such that a book comes out after the episode that contradicts it airs.[4]
For example, according toMonster Island, Spike andGunn meet in the Hyperion Hotel in Angel Season 3;[10] however, the canonicalAngel TV series later established that Spike and Gunn meet in the Wolfram and Hart L.A. offices in Angel Season 5.[11]
Some of the licensed materials successfully avoid contradicting any information given in episodes. For example,How I Survived My Summer Vacation features short stories that take place afterBuffy season 1 but before season 2.
A number of comments byBuffyverse writers have indicated that although they know they are not writingBuffyverse canon, overviews for their stories may still have been checked over by Whedon.
Referring to Whedon, Christopher Golden said:
He has to approve everything. I should say, his office has to approve everything, so sometimes he gets more involved than others in doing those approvals.[12]
In a separate interview, Golden said:
There are times in both books and comics when I know he has gotten involved because the word, sort of, comes down from him.[13]
Similarly,Peter David was asked about his comic,Spike: Old Times, and said:
Ostensibly comments came from Whedon, although for all I know, it was from an associate.[14]
Jeff Mariotte has revealed more detail of the approval process:
I come up with a proposal that's eight or ten pages long and I submit that to Pocket Books. They read it and if they like it then they submit it to 20th Century Fox and theBuffy office. If everybody approves it then I can get to work ... if I proposed doing something that was counter to what they wanted the direction of the character to be, they would tell me.[15]
Mariotte implies that little input is given, only acceptance or rejection of general ideas:
In the world of licensing there is a difference between 'approval' and 'input', and I'm not sure what the legal relationship between Fox and Mutant Enemy is. My impression is that Fox is doing everything in its power to make sure Joss is happy with what we do, and I know that Joss is looking at everything and making comments or thumbs-up, thumbs-down on stuff.[4]
When asked how much attention he pays to licensed works, Whedon said:
Not very much. I just don’t have time. I give them a few guidelines of things they should stay away from, things that we’re going to be dealing with or things that would disrupt the canon or things that are just antithetical to what I believe in.[2]
Elsewhere, Whedon has pointed out that he has never entirely read a singleBuffy novel, and has little time to devote to such material. He therefore knows little of the final product, or of their quality control.
In one instance, Whedon has endorsed a comic neither written nor supervised by him,The Origin by Christopher Golden andDan Brereton, as canonical. An adaptation of the 1992Buffy film which was reworked to fit the television series' continuity, Whedon said this of the comic:
The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick.[16]
Brian Lynch, writer ofSpike: Asylum andSpike: Shadow Puppets, had no involvement in the production of theBuffy orAngel television series, but was charged by Joss Whedon with producing the canonical comic seriesAngel: After The Fall. Betta George, a character created by Lynch, has since been brought into the official canon.[17]Angel: After the Fall also makes explicit reference toSpike: Asylum within its pages. WhenAfter the Fall became an ongoing series penned by various writers, the canonicity of later stories became somewhat nebulous without the explicit say-so of those involved or Whedon himself.
Excluding theBuffy andAngel television episodes, novels, and comics, there have been a variety of other official productions in theBuffy franchise. They are largely regarded as apocryphal, and some are contradicted by other canonical works.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 1992 comedy film starringKristy Swanson as Buffy, was written by Joss Whedon and directed byFran Rubel Kuzui. In 2001, Whedon described his experience watching the film:
I finally sat down and had written it and somebody had made it into a movie, and I felt like – well, that's not quite her. It's a start, but it's not quite the girl.[18]
The film contradicts continuity established by theBuffy television series; for example, the nature of vampires differs in significant ways: in the film, vampires do not have "vamp" faces whilst feeding, and can fly. They also do not turn into dust when killed. As noted above, the canonicity of this film is superseded byThe Origin.
Whedon wrote and partly funded a 25-minuteunairedBuffy pilot[19] to help sell the series concept, but he was not happy with the final product (he has been quoted in an interview about the pilot, "It sucks on ass"[20]). The story is nearly identical to the plot of the firstBuffy episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", which supersedes it in canon; there are minor canonical changes, including the recasting of some roles and slight personality changes for some characters.
The unairedAngel pitch tape was produced prior to that series. It features Angel speaking toward the camera (possibly breaking theFourth wall) and narrating action seen in clips.
TheBuffy the Vampire Slayer video games do not contradict continuity established by the series. Furthermore, many of the actors from the shows have provided their voices for the games. Joss Whedon was involved inChaos Bleeds, and appears in the game's special features.
Mutant Enemy Productions have at various times gone into the early stages of development with potentialBuffyverse spinoffs that were ultimately unproduced.Faith the Vampire Slayer,Ripper,Slayer School, and theSpike movie would have taken place within the same fictional continuity.[citation needed]Buffy the Animated Series might have followed a slightly alternative continuity since promotional artwork has shown that the Sunnydale High library would have looked dramatically different from in theBuffy episodes.[21]
The David Fury-written script "Corrupt" establishes an alternative continuity after the premiereAngel episode, "City of". Events that take place in the story are instead superseded by the continuity of the secondAngel episode, "Lonely Hearts", the episode which was written to replace "Corrupt".
Various works are not licensed by 20th Century Fox asBuffy/Angel merchandise, and do not have any involvement from anyBuffyverse cast and crew. These include adult (pornographic) parodies and fan films.
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