Buffy the Vampire Slayer slayer. Buffy receives guidance from her Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). Giles, rarely referred to by his first name (it is later revealed that in his misspent younger days he went by "Ripper"), is a member of the Watchers' Council, whose job is to train and guide the Slayers. Giles researches the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offers insights into their origins and advice on how to defeat them, and helps her stay in fighting form. Buffy is also helped by friends she meets at Sunnydale High: Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon). Willow is
Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) 2004, Whedon considered creating a "Spike" film spin-off. Canonically, the character appears in issues of the comic books "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight" (2007–11), "" (2007–09), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine", "Angel & Faith" (both 2011–2013) and several "Spike" limited series, spinning off from both "Buffy" and "Angel". Currently the character is in the canonical comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven (2016–2017). Spike's story before he appears in Sunnydale unfolds in flashbacks scattered, out of sequence, among numerous episodes of both "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". The first flashback occurs in "Buffy" Season Five's "Fool for