William "Spike" Pratt is the tritagonist in the Buffyverse appearing as the tritagonist in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and one of the two deuteragonists (alongside Cordelia Chase) in Angel.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer he is the false main antagonist of season two, a minor antagonist in season three, the secondary antagonist of season four, the tritagonist of season five and six and the deuteragonist of season seven. In Angel he appears as a minor antagonist in Season 1 and the deuteragonist of Season 5. He also returns prominently in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel comics as well as being the titular protagonist of the Spike comics.
He was portrayed by James Marsters.
Biography[]
Spike was a widely feared vampire, infamous for having killed two Slayers and his penchant for torturing his victims with railroad spikes. In his human life, William was an unsuccessful romantic poet known as "William the Bloody" for his "bloody awful poetry". Once being sired by Drusilla, he reinvented himself and terrorized Europe alongside her and fellow notorious vampires, Angelus and Darla, throughout the nineteenth century.
Prior his reign of terror with Drusilla, he had a notable difference between him and Angel during their first acts as vampires; Angel spitefully murdered his own family, whereas Spike sired his mother in a desperate bid to prevent her death from a terminal illness - however, he was forced to kill her as the loss of her soul turned her into a monster.
Spike first traveled to Sunnydale in 1997, accompanied by Drusilla. Though he quickly established himself as one of Buffy Summers' more dangerous foes, he was forced into multiple uneasy alliances with her and the Scooby Gang. He was eventually captured by the Initiative and implanted with a cerebral microchip that rendered him incapable of harming humans. When Spike realized that he had developed feelings for Buffy, he became motivated by his love for her to aid the Scooby Gang and regain his soul.
Spike sacrificed himself during the battle against the First Evil, permanently closing the Sunnydale Hellmouth. However, bound to an ancient amulet, Spike became an incorporeal entity, haunting the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart, then under the management of Team Angel. After becoming corporeal again, Spike joined Angel in his battle against the Senior Partners and became a Champion in the process.
Skills & Abilities[]
Genius Level Intellect/Master Strategist & Tactician/Master Investigator: A well educated man, Spike has an immense knowledge of literature and philosophy as an upper-class Victorian gentleman. After being mentored by Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla, Spike became an exceptional strategist and tactician, becoming a methodical and careful planner who very rarely made mistakes in his tactics. He had successfully freed himself from Nazi imprisonment during WW2, and had established a respected reputation as a formidable vampire Master by 1998. He planned a nearly successful raid on Sunnydale High with the intention of killing Buffy Summers, only failing due to underestimating Buffy's resourcefulness and not expecting her to have allies, which was uncharacteristic of most Slayers. He effectively reorganized the ancient Order of Aurelius into an even more competent adversary to the Scooby Gang, and successfully fooled Angelus and Drusilla for several months into thinking that he had been weakened by his fight with Buffy, while secretly healing, despite Drusilla possessing precognitive and psychic abilities that should have revealed his intentions to her. He successfully found the Gem of Amara, which no Vampire in centuries had been able to do, and was able to escape the Initiative, which was run by U.S. special forces and intelligence operatives. He later helped Buffy learn how to refine her combat skills and overcome the weaknesses in her fighting style and tactics, and proved to be a capable teacher to the Slayer potentials.
Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: In a contradiction to Darla, Angelus and Drusilla, Spike proved himself early on to have a warrior's nature, enjoying the rush of the fight and preferring direct tactics over the psychological warfare of his compatriots. Spike spent years mastering and refining multiple martial arts, establishing himself as one of the most skilled vampire warriors alive, allowing him to defeat Vampire masters with centuries of age and experience on him, such as Angel, and to kill two Slayers in 1-on-1 combat outright, and consistently match a third, Buffy Summers, across their relationship. He was able to briefly match the Demon Goddess Illyria in a practice fight, though she acknowledged that she was greatly holding back, held his own against the the Turok Han Ubervamps. who had proven to be able to overpower Buffy, and easily wiped out an entire clan of demons during the strike against the Circle of the Black Thorn.
- Weapon Mastery: Spike shows himself to be a master of multiple weapons, especially swords and knives, but is also proficient with axes and staves as well, and is skilled using firearms.
List of Appearances[]
Television[]
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003, 96 episodes)
- Angel (1999-2000, 2003-2004, 24 episodes)
Comics[]
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic (1999-2002, 29 appearances)
- Tales (2003, 1 appearance)
- Angel (2005-2011, 36 appearances)
- The Ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2005, 1 appearance)
- Spike (2006-2014, 58 appearances)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2007, 2009-2018, 72 appearances)
- Angel (2007-2009, 2012-2014, 27 appearances)
Novels[]
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1998-2008, 27 novels)
Video games[]
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds (2003)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice (2009)
External Links[]
- Spike on the Villains Wiki
- Spike on the Buffyverse Wiki
- Spike on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Spike on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
[]
 uffyverse Heroes
| ||
|
Scooby Gang Founding Members:Buffy Summers |
Willow Rosenberg |
Xander Harris |
Rupert Giles Later Additions: Cordelia Chase | Angel | Daniel Osbourne | Anya Jenkins | Spike | Riley Finn | Tara Maclay | Dawn Summers | Andrew Wells | Robin Wood | Faith Lehane | Jenny Calendar Angel Investigations Later Additions: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce | Charles Gunn | Lorne | Winifred Burkle | Connor | Harmony Kendall | Spike | Illyria | Other Slayers Other Allies | ||