The new incarnation of Buffy and the Scoobies just stepped back into the ’90s to see some familiar faces and found a deadly threat.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer #25 by Jeremy Lambert, Valentina Pinti, Raul Angulo, and Ed Dukeshire, on sale now
BOOM! Studios’ incarnation of the Buffyverse has made some serious deviations from the original show’s continuity, far beyond simply updating it for the 2020s. Set in the modern day instead of the late 1990s, this version of the Scoobies has been through a number of more nefarious threats than the original version of Buffy eve had to face, notably including the corruption of her close friend Xander into a vampire. But following a recent battle between him and Dark Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer #24, fellow Slayer Faith was able to deliver a surprise killing blow to Xander, dusting him in front of their friends.
Desperate to see Xander again, Willow threw herself into a dimensional rift, with Buffy, Giles, Kendra, and Rose following after them. Likewise, Wesley and the ghost of Ethan Rayne were also dragged into the portal and seemingly deposited in a version of the Buffy universe going through the events of Season 3’s “Band Candy” from the original show. It turns out this is because they’re actually in the timeline from the original series, with the new version of the cast having to briefly explore the original show’s universe.
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Moving behind the scenes, the modern version of the Scoobies are introduced to their alternate counterparts, who are in the process of picking up the pieces from “Band Candy,” which was the sixth episode of the show’s third season. This means that Xander is still dating Cordelia, Willow is still romantically tied to Oz (and carrying on an illicit romance with Xander behind their backs,) and Faith’s descent into villainy hadn’t started yet, which is supported by the relative peace of the group. The classic Scoobies share tacos and celebrate their victory, even making sure to lightly harass Giles over his brief time returned to his rebellious teen phase as Ripper.
The group gets to explore some notable locations from the original series, including the music club called the Bronze and the original Sunnydale High School. Unfortunately, it turns out there’s a strong rule to dimensional hopping in the Slayerverse — if a human makes their way into a reality they’re not meant to be in, then they are tracked down by Lurkers. These ghost-like hounds hunt down the unwelcome visitors and rip them to pieces, swallowing their memories and destroying them completely. With little choice, Anya sacrifices her last Vengekhi Crystal — a seemingly powerful magical artifact — to follow after the modern-Willow’s trail and find the displaced Scoobies from the modern day.
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After the modern Willow watches her counterpart being friendly with the original Xander and Buffy, she finally comes to terms with the loss of their version of Xander and allows Buffy to lead her back to the rest of their group so Anya can return them to their own reality. While it’s a brief visit and one that doesn’t end in any encounters between Buffy and her pre-established self, it’s still an interesting excursion into the growing Buffy the Vampire Slayer multiverse. With more realities out there — such as the one where Willow was the Slayer instead of Buffy or the mysterious multiversal Hyperion Hotel found by the current BOOM! Studios-continuity version of Angel — this suggests there could be more crossovers in the future.
It’s also the closest connection to the original Buffy canon yet for the new series, teasing a possible return to that world down the line as Buffy and Giles agree to further research this other reality, and what the full ramifications of such a discovery mean for their world. If anything, all these journeys hint that a day may be coming for Buffy where she’ll have to venture back into the universe that made her a household name.
