Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Spike is a fictional vampire character played by James Marsters in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series and its spinoff Angel. He is arguably the best example of Buffy's theme of redemption, first appearing as a thoroughly evil character, but reforming over several years to become a world-saving champion of good.

Overview

Before there was Spike, there was William, a brown-haired, ineffectual gentleman of approximately 30 years of age, who lived with his mother and wrote poetry in 1880. (William's surname is not revealed in the series, but is widely accepted to be 'Walthrop' in Buffy fandom, though Joss Whedon recently revealed it to be 'Pratt'.) He was called "William the Bloody" behind his back by his peers, because his poetry was so "bloody awful." This nickname (with more deadly connotions) followed him as a vampire. After being rejected by the aristocratic Cecily, a despondent William accepted comfort in the arms of Drusilla only to be killed and transformed into a vampire. Euphoric with his new-found vampiric abilities, and hungry for revenge for his peers' treatment of him as a mortal, he abandoned the genteel hypocrisy of Victorian life (though not before turning his own mother into a vampire) and became a rebel, adopting a working class accent and becoming prone to impulsiveness and mindless violence. He adopted the name "Spike" because of an affinity for torturing people with railroad spikes. Along with other vampires, including the infamous Angelus, he terrorized Britain, Europe and Asia for decades. In one of his proudest moments, he killed a Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion in China. During World War II, he was relocated to the United States via submarine from Europe by covert agents of the U.S. government, where he escaped.

Related Topics:
Poetry - 1880 - Surname - Aristocratic - Cecily - Drusilla - Revenge - Victorian - Working class - Violence - Torturing - Angelus - Britain - Europe - Asia - Slayer - Boxer Rebellion - China - World War II - United States - Submarine

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His mid 20th-century persona featured slicked black hair and had an affinity for leather jackets. His late 20th/early 21st-century look includes platinum blonde hair, Morley cigarettes, and a long black leather coat that is a trophy taken from Nikki Wood, a Slayer he killed in 1977 while in New York City. It is implied that Billy Idol ended up copying his look. His fondness for poetry and literature suggest he studied for an advanced degree in Arts and Letters prior to his transformation to a vampire. He was also accused of being "The Doctor," an international demon arms dealer (or more accurately a demon egg dealer in Episode 115, in Season 6.) This was never sufficiently proven and he himself claimed to be storing the eggs for a friend. (Proof against him being the doctor includes his lack of a phone connection, money, connections in either the human or the demon world and any kind of knowledge in the storage of said earlier mentioned demon eggs.) The moniker of 'the Doctor' might be a reference to Doc, shown earlier in s5 and would be more proof to the unlikelihood of Spike being said 'Doctor'. It's equally, if not more, likely that it was a homage to the long running (and recently resurrected) British TV series Doctor Who. Alternatively, Spike may have chosen the name 'The Doctor' as an alias, inspired by Doc from Season 5.

Related Topics:
20th-century - Leather jacket - Morley cigarettes - Nikki Wood - 1977 - New York City - Billy Idol - Arts and Letters - Doctor Who

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