The First Evil

In the fictional world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The First Evil, commonly referred to as The First, is the "Big Bad" (major villain) in the series' seventh season.

Related Topics:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Big Bad

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The First is the embodiment of all of the evil in the world, something akin to Satan. It possesses the ability to take on the form of anyone who has passed away (including Buffy Summers and vampires, though they are still alive in a sense). Its servants consist mostly of the Bringers who are assumed to be former humans. The First's true appearance - when it is not in the form of a dead person - is as a huge crab-like demon with two horns, although this too could just be a borrowed form, the persona of a deceased demon that the First takes on when it needs a more frightening form. This can be seen on a handful of occasions in the series. It first appears in the third-season episode "Amends", where it tries to make Angel kill Buffy by appearing in the forms of his past victims. Angel does not want to kill Buffy and attempts suicide by standing outside awaiting the sunrise. However, his attempt is foiled due to the efforts of other higher powers who block the sun and make it snow.

Related Topics:
Satan - Buffy Summers - Vampire - Bringers - Amends - Angel

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It reappears in season 7 with its servants (called Bringers) in an attempt to wipe out the Slayer lineage by destroying the Watcher's Council and killing all the Potential Slayers, an opportunity opened up by Buffy's resurrection in season 6. It takes control of Spike through a subconscious trigger, inducing him to behave as though he were unsouled, leading him to sire new vampires. In its guise as Warren, the First manages to pursuade Andrew to kill Jonathan and use his blood in order to open the Seal of Danzalthar and release a Turok Han - which the First is only able to do after capturing and bleeding Spike due to the fact that there wasn't enough blood in Jonathan.

Related Topics:
Bringers - Spike - Warren - Andrew - Jonathan

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Using various forms of psychological warfare, it attempts to break many of Buffy's friends and relatives by appearing as Drusilla to Spike, Mayor Wilkins to Faith, Nikki Wood to her son Robin, Cassie Newton (pretending to speak on behalf of Tara) to Willow, and Joyce to Dawn.

Related Topics:
Drusilla - Mayor Wilkins - Faith - Robin - Cassie Newton - Willow - Joyce - Dawn

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Later the First summons its warrior Caleb - a misogynistic defrocked priest who can gain superhuman strength by "merging" with the First - in order to deal with Buffy's team and to prevent her from taking the Scythe, a mystical weapon once used by a Slayer to defeat the last pure demon on Earth. Arriving in Sunnydale, Caleb is able to kill several Potential slayers and wound several others, along with Xander. However, he fails in his task of stopping Buffy from obtaining the Scythe and winds up being killed by it.

Related Topics:
Caleb - Xander

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In the series finale, Buffy is able to defeat the First's newly summoned Turok Han army by (with the help of Willow) turning all the Potential slayers in the world into full-fledged Slayers, and this gives them sufficient strength to defeat the First's forces.

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The First is the only "Big Bad" that is not killed off in the series (Besides Spike and Drusilla, who escaped Sunnydale because of an unlikely teamup with Buffy) because, as the essence of evil, it is an incorporeal being that cannot be physically harmed or destroyed.

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In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game "Chaos Bleeds" that is supposed to take place in a section of season five after the death of Buffy's mom, Joyce Summers, The First and Ethan Rayne, play a twisted game with Buffy's gang. It is revealed that it was an enemy of Sid the Dummy and possessed its own dimension. It is weak in the face of a weapon called Hope's Dagger, belonging to Cassandra Rayne, a predecessor of Ethan. At the end, Buffy believes she diffused the First's molecules across multiple dimensions, believing it would be centuries before The First returned. It is stated, that The First could not be defeated as long as evil itself existed.

Related Topics:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Joyce Summers - Ethan Rayne

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