The “Buffy” comic needed to distinguish itself from the original series, and it did so with an immediate twist. Scooby gang stalwart Xander has been turned to a vampire by Mistress Drusilla. Well, not all the way vampirized. This early in the process, there’s still a chance to reverse the transformation. It’s going to be dangerous and involve intense soul magic, but it is doable. And in doing so, the “Buffy” comic is asking a question the original series never got that deep into. And maybe that’s a good thing.
Curing wellness?
There were a number of sort-of-kind-of vampire cures in the original Buffy and Angel TV run. In fact, it was pretty much the main goal of Angel from the first episode. The Shanshu Prophecy said that once a vampire with a soul fulfills his destiny, he will be restored to human form. Vague as hell, but the prophecy is unambiguously what we are talking about.
The thing is, that prophecy was never fulfilled. Here and there for an episode, things might happen. Angel was able to walk in the sun for a bit. Darla got pregnant even though vampires shouldn’t be able to. Spike got a computer chip installed in his head that prevented him from doing violence. But at the end of the day (night), the vampires stayed damned. The prophecy was an aspirational goal, giving Angel additional motivation to do good, but he stayed a vampire. The quest was more interesting than the objective.
The road so far
Let’s turn for a second to another program about the chosen warriors against the darkness. After approximately 600 seasons of Supernatural, the Winchester brothers have fought every monster you can imagine. From living scarecrows to the Wendigo to djinni to every name mentioned in the bible, the Winchesters have faced a bestiary that would leave Giles befuddled. They’ve also faced vampires.
For five seasons the Winchester brothers dealt with vampires in the traditional way: mainly decapitation. The story briefly considers the morality of exterminating vampires. What if they only want to drink the blood of animals? What if they were turned unwillingly? But the moment one of the brothers gets turned into a vampire- in this case Dean- finding a cure is considered almost immediately. Sam loves his big brother and is unwilling to let him die, not like this. That’s what we all love about Supernatural. The two brothers are badass enough to face down any monster or the devil himself. But they love each other enough to rampage across heaven and Earth if that’s what it takes.
It’s lovely, and truly I get it. But it also brings up questions that must be addressed. The cure is not foolproof, or easy to make. It requires the blood of the vampire sire, and for the new victim to have not yet drunk the blood of a living human. But difficult odds are what the Winchesters do best right? They’ve tangled with angels, demons, Lucifer, and God himself. If they were serious about curing newly turned vampires, they could pull it off. And doesn’t that sort of make them murderers?
There are issues to consider about the righteous use of violence, but it seems to me that the Winchesters almost never even pay lip service to saving newly turned victims of vampires. (I know the Supernatural fandom rolls deep and someone will have a contrary example from one of the 9,000 seasons of the show, but in general, this is not a discussion they have). But when it’s one of the brothers, execution is not even considered. If one of them dies, the other will break the barriers of death for each other, but never for anyone else.
A difficult journey
The vampire cure in the “Buffy” comic seems difficult. You’ve got to go to a magical cave, fight some bug monsters, do some soul magic business. It ain’t easy. But when a member of the main cast gets turned, the gang goes right for the cure. As of this time, they haven’t been successful, but supposing they are, this should change everything.
Continued belowI know it says “Slayer” right in her job description, but does Buffy have to kill? Hording soul stones or magical bug guts or whatever sounds difficult, but the gang already has an armory full of stakes and crossbows. Would keeping a cure for vampirism on hand really be so prohibitive? Is there a world where instead of murdering these people cursed into becoming monsters, the hero goes around reverting them? What would be the fallout of someone transforming into a soulless creature, only to be restored? That sounds like a more interesting kind of monster hunting story.
In these sorts of stories, you want to keep the stakes high, and sometimes that means putting the main cast in grave danger. But that danger will only feel effective if there are consequences. And if saving a person is just a matter of collecting some blood or going to a cave, what does it say about our heroes that they are only willing to make an effort for their loved ones? Vampire cures create drama in the short term, but they can do a lot of long term damage to our heroes.
Give me a show about an aggressive monster-curing doctor. That’s what I’m really saying.