Warning: Contains Spoilers from The Vampire Slayer #9!The Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics have officially brought back Dark Willow with a devastating new power. Ever since her debut in the final episodes of Buffy's sixth season, Dark Willow has become a standout antagonist for fans of the franchise. First appearing following the death of her girlfriend, Dark Willow proved to be a massive threat as she began hunting down Tara's killers. The series even showed fans that this wasn't the same Willow they know as she skins one of the murderers alive in front of Buffy. It's a notoriously dark story that showed the darker side of Willow's magic and made for one of the series' best arcs. Recently, her return was hinted with a gorgeous piece of Buffy cover art that made her scarier than ever. Now she's officially back, and she's even more brutal than fans remember.
The Vampire Slayer is a new series of Buffy comics that follow Buffy's friends trying to protect her as she goes about her life forgetting her destiny. Things get difficult though when Buffy is taken by the greatest enemy to the Slayer, Hungrus the Slayer Eater. It's a search that holds great stakes for the Scooby Gang since Buffy could die before they're able to figure out how to restore her memories. With things growing more and more desperate though, Willow finds that she has no choice but to revisit a dark part of her past for the good of Sunnydale's future...but it turns out her evil side has some new tricks up her sleeve.
In The Vampire Slayer #9 by Sarah Gailey and Hannah Templer, Dark Willow has emerged and is taking on Hungrus in an effort to save Buffy's life. However, much to Hungrus' shock, she hasn't come unprepared. Willow is much more powerful than before and is able to take down the Slayer Eater with ease by channeling the suffering of generations of Slayers. It's so strong that Hungrus even mentions that she rarely sees it because it comes from "the darkest reaches of a Slayer's mind." Knowing Dark Willow's strength from her first appearance in the show, this means that her new abilities are absolutely devastating as she frees Buffy and torments Hungrus much to her delight. What's worse though is that while Buffy is safe for now, the reemergence of Dark Willow could put her and the remaining Scooby Gang out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Dark Willow's Return Risks a Permanent Takeover
What's unsettling about this return of the fan-favorite antagonist is that it could end up seeing the end of Willow herself. Dark Willow was already powerful before when she first appeared in the show's sixth season following Tara's controversial death. However, now that she's been revealed to know how to channel some of the darkest abilities in Slayer lore, there's a huge possibility that she could be here to stay. After all, it took all the Scooby Gang to reach their friend underneath her dark exterior to get her back, and even that proved to be difficult as they narrowly avoided an apocalypse. Here, Dark Willow is stronger than ever and given that The Vampire Slayer takes place in an alternate timeline, it's entirely possible that Willow could stay on the dark side for good.
Of course, it's yet to be seen just how far Dark Willow will go. Her fullest potential was just revealed of The Vampire Slayer #9 with a pretty big cliffhanger as she delightfully tortures Hungrus. However, given the upcoming tenth issue is set to change gears and set her up as the next big arc villain for the comic, this new take on one of the strongest big bads with her new devastating power will undoubtedly be one of the greatest and most terrifying returns in Buffy the Vampire Slayer history.
The Vampire Slayer #9 is available now from Boom! Studios!