Spike

William Pratt (born 1860 in London, England), better known as Spike, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. more...

The character is portrayed by James Marsters.

Biography

Character History

Spike is arguably the best example of Buffy's theme of redemption, first appearing as a thoroughly evil character, but reforming over several years to become a world-saving champion of good.

Before there was Spike, there was William, a brown-haired, ineffectual gentleman of approximately 30 years of age, who lived with his mother and wrote poetry in 1880. (William's surname is not revealed in the series, but is widely accepted to be 'Walthrop' in Buffy fandom, though Joss Whedon recently revealed it to be 'Pratt'.) He was called "William the Bloody" behind his back by his peers, because his poetry was so "bloody awful." This nickname (with more deadly connotions) followed him as a vampire. After being rejected by the aristocratic Cecily, a despondent William accepted comfort in the arms of Drusilla only to be killed and transformed into a vampire. Euphoric with his new-found vampiric abilities, and hungry for revenge for his peers' treatment of him as a mortal, he abandoned the genteel hypocrisy of Victorian life (though not before turning his own mother into a vampire) and became a rebel, adopting a working class accent and becoming prone to impulsiveness and mindless violence. He adopted the name "Spike" because of an affinity for torturing people with railroad spikes. The idea of torturing people with these spikes came when another peer that said they'd 'rather be tortured with railroad spikes than listen to another poem' Along with other vampires, including the infamous Angelus, he terrorized Britain, Europe and Asia for decades. In one of his proudest moments, he killed a Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion in China. During World War II, he was relocated to the United States via submarine from Europe by covert agents of the U.S. government, where he escaped.

His mid 20th-century persona featured slicked black hair and had an affinity for leather jackets. His late 20th/early 21st-century look includes platinum blonde hair, Morley cigarettes, and a long black leather coat that is a trophy taken from Nikki Wood, a Slayer he killed in 1977 while in New York City. A comment from Buffy in one episode implies that Billy Idol ended up copying his look. His fondness for poetry and literature suggest he studied for an advanced degree in Arts and Letters prior to his transformation to a vampire. He was also accused of being "The Doctor," an international demon arms dealer (or more accurately a demon egg dealer in Episode 115, in Season 6.) This was never sufficiently proven and he himself claimed to be storing the eggs for a friend. (Proof against him being the doctor includes his lack of a phone connection, money, connections in either the human or the demon world and any kind of knowledge in the storage of said earlier mentioned demon eggs.) The moniker of 'the Doctor' might be a reference to Doc, shown earlier in Series 5 and would be more proof to the unlikelihood of Spike being said 'Doctor'. Alternatively, it may be a homage to the lead character from the long running (and recently resurrected) British TV series Doctor Who (from which Buffy has taken more than a little inspiration).

Spike first shows up in Sunnydale in Buffy's second season in the episode "School Hard" with his longtime love Drusilla, who was suffering from a mysterious ailment that could only be cured by the blood of Angel, her "sire" (the vampire who transforms a given human into a vampire by exchange of blood). (Early on, before his past is clearly revealed to viewers, Spike refers to Angel as his "sire," but in later episodes, it is made it clear that Drusilla is the one that sired Spike. However, because Angelus is the one who sired Drusilla, it can be argued that he is also the sire, or at least the "grandsire," of Spike. It can also be said that, because of Drusilla's madness, Angelus was the one who had to act as Spike's sire by teaching him about the vampire world.)

For much of the series' 2nd Season, Spike and Drusilla are major enemies of Buffy. When Angel loses his soul after sleeping with Buffy, he joins the pair, and eventually plots to destroy all of humanity. Drusilla, ecstatic at being reunited with her sire, becomes very affectionate with Angelus (as the soulless Angel is called), causing Spike to become jealous of him. Feeling that Drusilla is lost as long as Angelus is around, as well as a slight problem with the world ending, something that Angelus plans, Spike then forms a surprising alliance: himself with Buffy against Angelus. There is some ambiguity regarding his motivation in doing so; though he claims that he just wants Drusilla back, he also makes a memorable speech in which he announces that "I wanna save the world...I like this world. You've got...people, walking around like Happy Meals with legs". He adds that, while he likes the world, creatures like Angel do not. Angel has, he claims, "a real passion for destruction.... could pull it off. Goodbye Picadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square." Despite Buffy pretending to not care about his desire to steal his girlfriend back from Angelus, they form an alliance; Spike stops Angelus from maiming Giles, and Buffy leaves Drusilla alone. Eventually, Spike breaks the deal, though; when Angelus corners Buffy with a sword in his hand, Spike and an unconscious Drusilla leave Sunnydale.

Spike appears in only one episode of Season 3, during which it was revealed that he and Drusilla had split up due to her continuing infidelity and (as we learn later) because she suspects that his true love is Buffy. One interesting point in this episode is when Buffy admits that "I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason", implying that Spike is not the only one who feels the hinted-at attraction. He also appeared in the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, which takes place during Season 3 just a few days before the aforementioned episode. He is originally sent there, being blackmailed by a demon to bring back The Master, a vampire ruler, or else he would snap Drusilla's already fragile mind in half. However, realising that he'd have a better chance of rescuing Drusilla if he teamed up with Buffy.

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