A new Buffy the Vampire Slayer miniseries will reveal an apocalyptic future in which Buffy Summers is the last Slayer. The story of Buffy Summers may have come to a close on the small screen, but since 2003 it has continued in a series of popular comic books. Joss Whedon gave Buffy her happy ending at last in 2018, in a miniseries that ended on a beautiful, optimistic note, with Buffy and Faith both deciding it was time to live a normal life at last.
The publishing rights moved to Boom! Studios, which rebooted Buffy the Vampire Slayer via the Multiverse - exploring an alternate timeline in which Buffy became a Vampire Slayer in the present day, rather than in the 1990s. The stories eventually overlapped with the original TV series, with that version of the Scooby Gang actually jumping between realities and seeing their classic selves. The Boom! relaunch of the franchise has been a tremendous success, but now it seems it's about to move to a very different approach.
Boom! Studios has announced a new four-issue comic book miniseries, Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, set to launch in December 2020. Written by Casey Gilly and featuring art by Joe Jaro, it will reveal an older Buffy Summers who lives in an apocalyptic wasteland. The series description is tantalizing, and the cover, variants, and even some concept art give a taste of the dark new timeline that is about to be explored.
"In a world ruled by darkness, Buffy Summers is the last Slayer. A magical catastrophe has ended the Slayer line and nearly blotted out the sun, allowing vampires to prey on humanity unimpeded. Now in her 50s, Buffy wages a desperate one-woman fight against the forces of evil. That is, until she stumbles across something she hasn’t seen in a long time – hope, in the form of a prophecy and the young girl who carries it…"
Editor Elizabeth Brei promises a dark take on the iconic Slayer. "The Buffy Summers you meet in this series is a hardened warrior who has reached an age no one ever thought a Slayer would live to see, but it’s cost her too much along the way," she explained in an official statement. "Casey and Joe perfectly capture the iconic hero’s indomitable spirit and reveal a side of Buffy we’ve never seen before in this limited series that changes the future of the Buffyverse forever!"
The variant covers and concept art tease that at least some of Buffy's friends are still with her, with a particularly thrilling design for Xander Harris - who appears to have become Buffy's Watcher, and now looks like an apocalyptic hero in his own right. Meanwhile, writer Gilly assured fans this will be an exciting opportunity to reinvent Buffy; "It’s been such a privilege to tell a story from Buffy’s mid-life years. We so often see women in their 50s being overlooked, but our Slayer refuses to become convenient and invisible," she noted.
The interesting question is just how this fits in with the rest of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. This may well not be any timeline readers have seen before, but rather a new part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Multiverse - a particularly exciting possibility, suggesting Boom! Studios is continuing to develop its overarching narrative, and this could be a crucial tale for the future of the comic book franchise. This is one Buffy the Vampire Slayer miniseries no fan will want to miss.
Source: Boom! Studios