This article contains spoilers for The Vampire Slayer #3.

After taking over as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's replacement, Willow is being corrupted by her own power. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer has embraced the multiverse, with Boom! Studios telling stories of countless different versions of Buffy. The idea has breathed new life into the franchise, giving writers an opportunity to reinvent the classic series.

The Vampire Slayer, by Sarah Gailey and Michael Shelfer, is the perfect example. This comic is set in a world where Willow has become the Vampire Slayer after a spell went terribly wrong. Willow and Giles became concerned about whether Buffy was able to cope with the constant pressure of being a Slayer, and they came up with a spell they believed would ease her trauma. Unfortunately the spell backfired, transferring all the trauma to Willow - and the magic of the Slayer as well. Willow has been forced to take up the mantle of the Slayer, combining a Slayer's traditional skills with her own magic.

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Unfortunately The Vampire Slayer #3 suggests this is going badly - as the Slayer's magic is clashing with Willow's sorcery. She's becoming increasingly irritable, pulled apart by the conflicting energy within her, and Giles can sense something is wrong with Willow's magic. Worse still, when Willow glances into a magic mirror she sees a twisted version of her own face. Willow and Giles think nothing of it, but the scene is played with far too much importance - suggesting the mirror is giving readers a glimpse of the corruption going on in Willow's spirit.

Willow The Vampire Slayer

At first Willow seems like a successful Vampire Slayer. But the miniseries now appears to be revealing just why no known Slayer has ever been a witch. It's likely this restriction was deliberately set in place by the men who created the first Slayer, because they wanted to avoid giving these women too much power. Willow's spell has circumvented the curse, meaning she has probably become the most powerful Slayer of all time - but it can't possibly last.

The disturbing question, of course, is just how bad the corruption will become. The mirror's image seems to suggest Willow's very soul is being twisted in a horrific manner, and she and Giles will need to find a way to put this right before the Slayer becomes a literal curse for Willow - warping her soul beyond all repair. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has embraced the multiverse, and in doing so it may well have shown the most tragic version of Willow to date, one whose fate is more horrific than anything seen in the original TV series. It remains to be seen whether Buffy the Vampire Slayer's dear friend Willow can be saved.

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