Alternate Buffyverse Realities

[fauxindigo]

We all know about the alternate reality of 'The Wish' where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and the Master rose, Willow & Xander were vampires, Cordelia died etc.. and the alternate reality where Jonathan was a "superstar"... the Boom comics alternate reality/ reimagined version went to the extreme and has multiverse Buffys & Scooby gangs, Robin Wood in high school and Buffys love interest, Kendra & Faith, Xander as a vampire, Drusilla as the big bad etc. which is totally off the wall but kind of cool to have older and newer characters in the same story together, reimagined in different, interesting ways... I didn't get drawn into the Boom Buffy comics like I did the Darkhorse canon continuation of Seasons 8-12, but I am interested in delving into it eventually because I love the retro throwbacks & re-invention of characters and plot lines that alternate realities allow. Also the new Slayers audible book gives a new alternate reality storyline where Cordelia is a slayer which is awesome in my opinion because Cordelia Chase (& Charisma Carpenter) deserves more!

So if you had to think of interesting alternate realities in the Buffyverse, what would you come up with? Have you read any of Boom Buffy alternate/multiverse stories? Anything you liked or disliked specifically?

I don't like that they made Cordelia less of a mean girl in the Boom stories, but I do happen to like them bringing Robin Wood into the story while they're younger. I'm not sure how the story goes as to how Kendra fits in but I always wanted more of her too so I'm interested. Willow having a girlfriend (Rose?) in high school is kind of cool but also a total sign of our times and almost makes me appreciate the organic progression of Willow coming out after finding Tara in the original series because that journey has a lot of depth, but at the same time, this new version of Willow doesn't need to be bogged down with all that drama so I can get behind making her out & proud right off the bat. I'm not sure what happens with Xander (other than becoming a vampire?), Drusilla, Spike & Giles...I think I read that ghosts of Ethan & Anya show up.?.. and I believe we get more of Giles & Olivia which is another thing I always wanted (if not more Giles/Jenny or Giles/Joyce!)..

In my alternate reality time/storyline, Angel keeps the gem of Amara, Doyle doesn't die, Cordelia never get's the visions and becomes a successful actress while also still working with Angel Investigations w/Wesley, Fred & Gunn-& they tell Lilah to go back to hell when she offers them Wolfram & Hart. Joyce doesn't die but Hank does when he's sired by Spike. Hank is a big bad and Buffy & Dawn both kill him to save Joyce. Also Willow prevents Taras death by traveling back in time a minute before Tara's shot to move her out of the way. Warren is caught by Buffy & the scoobies and put in jail where he's brutally beaten to death by a demon possessed prison guard. Andrew never exists and Jonathan joins the Scoobies instead. More to come...

 

[Anna Fitzgerald]

An alternate reality where Faith is the good slayer and Buffy is the bad one. Maybe in this reality Willow and Oz stay together or maybe even something crazier. Like Zander and Willow because maybe Anya would still be a demon. (I’m sick with the flu so my Brain isn’t at full creative capacity 😂)

 

[VampireSlayer07]

I would have liked to see more explorations for the Wishverse. The Master still lives and has a slayer's death to his name, Spike and Dru are still around somewhere. Another slayer could come and lead a faltering rebellion in Sunnydale and finish what that world's Buffy started.

Funny you should mention Hank as the big bad, I kind of wish they had made him Twilight in the Dark Horse comics, it would have made more sense than Angel.

The Boom studios stuff is fine on its own merits (I wanted to see them crossover with Power Rangers myself, since Boom has both IP's) but of course has to be taken as a separate entity because it does not mesh with the series proper. I was okay with Cordelia being nicer, as the mean bitcha cheerleader trope is so overused, and I don't want to spoil how Kendra comes in but Boom also had Angel and it was a result of a Hellmouth crossover story.

 

[fauxindigo]

I would have liked to see more explorations for the Wishverse. The Master still lives and has a slayer's death to his name, Spike and Dru are still around somewhere. Another slayer could come and lead a faltering rebellion in Sunnydale and finish what that world's Buffy started.

Funny you should mention Hank as the big bad, I kind of wish they had made him Twilight in the Dark Horse comics, it would have made more sense than Angel.

The Boom studios stuff is fine on its own merits (I wanted to see them crossover with Power Rangers myself, since Boom has both IP's) but of course has to be taken as a separate entity because it does not mesh with the series proper. I was okay with Cordelia being nicer, as the mean bitcha cheerleader trope is so overused, and I don't want to spoil how Kendra comes in but Boom also had Angel and it was a result of a Hellmouth crossover story.

So in the wishverse continued, the master snaps Buffys neck… does Kendra still get called? Then what? Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia are all dead dead now… wonder where Spike & Dru are. Darla is probably still alive. And would Jesse still meet the same fate? My guess would be yes if Xander & Willow got vamped too. What about Amy, Jonathan, Larry, Harmony & Percy? Would you rather have a continuation of the wishverse to see what happens to Giles, Oz etc.. or a prequel to the wish to see how/when Willow & Xander got sired?

Post automatically merged: Nov 15, 2023

An alternate reality where Faith is the good slayer and Buffy is the bad one. Maybe in this reality Willow and Oz stay together or maybe even something crazier. Like Zander and Willow because maybe Anya would still be a demon. (I’m sick with the flu so my Brain isn’t at full creative capacity 😂)

I like the idea of reverse roles for Buffy/Faith. So would Faith be the main character since she’s the good slayer? Or would Buff be the main character still? How/why would Buffy turn bad?

 

[famicommander]

I always wondered about a universe where instead of Tara dying, the whole gang except Tara dies. Like maybe Tara is the only one who makes it through the final battle with Glory. The apocalypse is averted but now Sunnydale has no Buffy, Giles, Willow, Spike, Xander, Anya, or Dawn. The Hellmouth doesn't go away and we saw that the gang needed to keep up the appearance of Buffy being alive with the Buffybot to maintain order in the town in the mainline universe.

So how does Tara handle it if she's the last woman standing? Unlike Willow she wouldn't have been able to repair or reprogram the Buffybot. And she almost definitely wouldn't have tried to resurrect anyone by herself. So does she try to protect the town on her own? Contact the Watcher's Council or Angel Investigations for help? Does she end up coming up against the Trio or do they even bother with her? Does she take over the Magic Box? Drop out of school and leave town?

I don't have it all mapped out, it's just a concept I'd like to see explored.

 

[NotASlayer]

The Hellmouth doesn't go away and we saw that the gang needed to keep up the appearance of Buffy being alive with the Buffybot to maintain order in the town in the mainline universe.

This made zero sense to me (okay, none of season six makes much sense). They're trying to pretend that Buffy is alive, yet there's this:

If you want to pretend someone is alive, would it not help to not have a grave for them? And, presumably, a funeral. Just how stupid are the demons and vampires supposed to be?

 

[Ethan Reigns]

One concept I thought of was, what if Dawn did jump (or got shot off the tower)? Suppose, like the spell that made her, her memory in other people and institutions started to disappear, a lot like Johnathan in Superstar. She was no longer registered at school. The scoobies started to forget her. She vanished from family pictures just like she had faded in and out in images when she first arrived. But one person retained the memory of who she was. Buffy would be the easy answer, but what if it was another of the scoobies or maybe Spike? Someone would be left with a bunch of memories that no one else would be able to talk about and might think the person who remembered was crazy. Would any physical clue be left behind? If the person who remembered had some physical object of hers, would Buffy say that it was actually her own and not some imaginary sister's?

Lots of possibilities here. Quick, somebody write the fanfic!

 

[VampireSlayer07]

So in the wishverse continued, the master snaps Buffys neck… does Kendra still get called? Then what? Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia are all dead dead now… wonder where Spike & Dru are. Darla is probably still alive. And would Jesse still meet the same fate? My guess would be yes if Xander & Willow got vamped too. What about Amy, Jonathan, Larry, Harmony & Percy? Would you rather have a continuation of the wishverse to see what happens to Giles, Oz etc.. or a prequel to the wish to see how/when Willow & Xander got sired?

Well if it were me writing it wouldn't be Kendra or Faith as the new slayer, probably someone brand new. I assumed Darla was probably killed the night The Master was freed, hence one of the reasons that he was held captive. Jesse I would think was likely killed as well. Amy could be alive, she might even take a role similar to Willow in the main universe. Larry might still be alive, maybe Harmony though I doubt she'd be much help. But definitely a continuation to see what happens after we as the audience are 'cut off' from the wishverse, we already likely know how Willow and Xander got sired but a simple flashback would just as easily answer that question.

Post automatically merged: Nov 15, 2023

I always wondered about a universe where instead of Tara dying, the whole gang except Tara dies. Like maybe Tara is the only one who makes it through the final battle with Glory. The apocalypse is averted but now Sunnydale has no Buffy, Giles, Willow, Spike, Xander, Anya, or Dawn. The Hellmouth doesn't go away and we saw that the gang needed to keep up the appearance of Buffy being alive with the Buffybot to maintain order in the town in the mainline universe.

So how does Tara handle it if she's the last woman standing? Unlike Willow she wouldn't have been able to repair or reprogram the Buffybot. And she almost definitely wouldn't have tried to resurrect anyone by herself. So does she try to protect the town on her own? Contact the Watcher's Council or Angel Investigations for help? Does she end up coming up against the Trio or do they even bother with her? Does she take over the Magic Box? Drop out of school and leave town?

I don't have it all mapped out, it's just a concept I'd like to see explored.

I certainly expect she would turn to Angel and his team for help at least on the short term. Possibly find a way to break Faith out of jail and have her come back to Sunnydale to work with Tara. Maybe try to get into contact with Riley (and unknowingly Sam). I can't imagine she could find a way to contact the council, or how much they would really care. I also wouldn't think the Trio would bother with her. Maybe try to balance both school and taking over at the Magic Box, getting help from Fred to run the store.

 

[famicommander]

I certainly expect she would turn to Angel and his team for help at least on the short term. Possibly find a way to break Faith out of jail and have her come back to Sunnydale to work with Tara. Maybe try to get into contact with Riley (and unknowingly Sam). I can't imagine she could find a way to contact the council, or how much they would really care. I also wouldn't think the Trio would bother with her. Maybe try to balance both school and taking over at the Magic Box, getting help from Fred to run the store.

Does Tara ever even interact with Angel on screen, though? She certainly knows he exists and I guess she'd probably be able to figure out how to get in touch with him, but I don't think she has an established relationship with anybody on his team. Cordelia and Wes left Sunnydale before Tara met the gang.

 

[fauxindigo]

This made zero sense to me (okay, none of season six makes much sense). They're trying to pretend that Buffy is alive, yet there's this:

If you want to pretend someone is alive, would it not help to not have a grave for them? And, presumably, a funeral. Just how stupid are the demons and vampires supposed to be?

Could they just have had a private, low-key funeral without telling much of anyone & getting a death certificate?

Post automatically merged: Nov 16, 2023

Well if it were me writing it wouldn't be Kendra or Faith as the new slayer, probably someone brand new. I assumed Darla was probably killed the night The Master was freed, hence one of the reasons that he was held captive. Jesse I would think was likely killed as well. Amy could be alive, she might even take a role similar to Willow in the main universe. Larry might still be alive, maybe Harmony though I doubt she'd be much help. But definitely a continuation to see what happens after we as the audience are 'cut off' from the wishverse, we already likely know how Willow and Xander got sired but a simple flashback would just as easily answer that question.

Post automatically merged: Nov 15, 2023

I certainly expect she would turn to Angel and his team for help at least on the short term. Possibly find a way to break Faith out of jail and have her come back to Sunnydale to work with Tara. Maybe try to get into contact with Riley (and unknowingly Sam). I can't imagine she could find a way to contact the council, or how much they would really care. I also wouldn't think the Trio would bother with her. Maybe try to balance both school and taking over at the Magic Box, getting help from Fred to run the store.

I like to think if Xander got vamped in the wishverse, Jesse survived in that reality and was somehow still part of the "white hats" (pseudo-Scoobies Giles,Oz,Larry,Nancy) along with Amy too- like Jesse & Amy would be this realities "Xander & Willow". I'd still want Jenny there too since Angel was in Sunnydale, presumably she would've still been sent to keep an eye on him. And in this reality, most likely Jenny wouldn't get her neck snapped by Angelus, so she & Giles could actually end up together in a happy relationship! Perks of alternate realities.

 

[famicommander]

Buffy's grave is deep in the woods, I don't think they were too worried about anyone discovering it. And even Buffy's dad didn't know she was dead so obviously they didn't contact the authorities.

 

[VampireSlayer07]

Could they just have had a private, low-key funeral without telling much of anyone & getting a death certificate?

Post automatically merged: Nov 16, 2023

I like to think if Xander got vamped in the wishverse, Jesse survived in that reality and was somehow still part of the "white hats" (pseudo-Scoobies Giles,Oz,Larry,Nancy) along with Amy too- like Jesse & Amy would be this realities "Xander & Willow". I'd still want Jenny there too since Angel was in Sunnydale, presumably she would've still been sent to keep an eye on him. And in this reality, most likely Jenny wouldn't get her neck snapped by Angelus, so she & Giles could actually end up together in a happy relationship! Perks of alternate realities.

Assuming Amy still didn't get body swapped by her mother she may have still been alive. I kind of expect that Jesse would have been killed by Xander or Willow, assuming he wasn't the sire from the successful assault on the Bronze. Jenny meanwhile may not have been killed by Angelus but there are plenty of other vamps who could have killed her.

 

[hoponlilmama]

This made zero sense to me (okay, none of season six makes much sense). They're trying to pretend that Buffy is alive, yet there's this:

If you want to pretend someone is alive, would it not help to not have a grave for them? And, presumably, a funeral. Just how stupid are the demons and vampires supposed to be?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't her grave out in the middle of the woods?

Willow may have magically cloaked it from the demon population.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Mine would be as follows.

1. The Master rises. "Wish" got that right.
2. Buffy defeats Angel at the Mall, and finishes him. She may go to see "Quest For Camelot." This leads to Dru... Doing something, but may create a world where Jenny lives, Kendra lives, Scott Hope becomes the second evil ex, and Joyce never learns about Buffy. Willow may never learn magic.
3. Choices. The Group destroys the box. The Mayor keeps Willow, and seduces her to the dark side. Wil eventually repents, but is never the same.
4. Lot of stuff here, but I'm going with a minor one. Buffy makes Parker her rebound sex pal. No Briley, no initiative, at least without the interpersonal drama.
5. Buffy sends Dawn to Spain. That's it.
6. The revival fails. The characters have to make their way without her.
7. Everyone is reactionary in season 7. There are no Jonbar points.

 

[famicommander]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't her grave out in the middle of the woods?

Willow may have magically cloaked it from the demon population.

Yes, Buffy's grave is out in the middle of nowhere and nobody except the gang and Angel Investigations knows she's dead.

 

[NotASlayer]

No genuine funeral and no-one knowing Buffy is dead seems rather implausible, given what would need to be done.

Decide that Buffy is dead and beyond medical help, even with a Slayer's healing ability, so no need to take her to a hospital. Thank you, so-called friends with zero medical training.
Find a way to keep the body... fresh until burial.
Acquire a coffin.
Decide they need a grave marker that would instantly tell anyone other than them that Buffy is dead.
Commission a grave marker.
Make sure there's no trail from either of those.
Find somewhere in Sunnydale's woods, popular haunt of demons and vampires, suitable to hide a grave. Get the, now full, coffin and marker to somewhere likely nowhere near a road.
Dig a grave and plant a headstone in a rather professional-looking manner with zero experience.
Come up with a spell that may or may not work to hide the grave from demons and vampires - and if they had one already, it would be useful whilst patrolling.
Work out how to cover for Buffy's absence whilst the Buffybot is repaired.
Work out if it can be repaired; it was decapitated this time and therefore in poorer shape. Repairs could easily take weeks.
Decide they need to pretend that Buffy is around to stop demons and vampires overrunning the town. Which their experience does not match; before Buffy arrived, when she went to LA between seasons 1 and 2 and when she completely dropped off the map between 2 and 3 with no-one knowing if she'd be back, nothing like what happened at the beginning of season 6 occurred.

And at least the rough plan of this they would effectively need to come up with whilst standing over Buffy's body. Hardly the best frame of mind to be doing this.

 

[Anna Fitzgerald]

So in the wishverse continued, the master snaps Buffys neck… does Kendra still get called? Then what? Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia are all dead dead now… wonder where Spike & Dru are. Darla is probably still alive. And would Jesse still meet the same fate? My guess would be yes if Xander & Willow got vamped too. What about Amy, Jonathan, Larry, Harmony & Percy? Would you rather have a continuation of the wishverse to see what happens to Giles, Oz etc.. or a prequel to the wish to see how/when Willow & Xander got sired?

Post automatically merged: Nov 15, 2023

I like the idea of reverse roles for Buffy/Faith. So would Faith be the main character since she’s the good slayer? Or would Buff be the main character still? How/why would Buffy turn bad?

So in the wishverse continued, the master snaps Buffys neck… does Kendra still get called? Then what? Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia are all dead dead now… wonder where Spike & Dru are. Darla is probably still alive. And would Jesse still meet the same fate? My guess would be yes if Xander & Willow got vamped too. What about Amy, Jonathan, Larry, Harmony & Percy? Would you rather have a continuation of the wishverse to see what happens to Giles, Oz etc.. or a prequel to the wish to see how/when Willow & Xander got sired?

Post automatically merged: Nov 15, 2023

I like the idea of reverse roles for Buffy/Faith. So would Faith be the main character since she’s the good slayer? Or would Buff be the main character still? How/why would Buffy turn bad?

Hmm, maybe Angel would have stalked and fallen in love with Faiths goodness and Buffy would have stayed Cordy-like and been a jealous bitch constantly doing things to undermine Faith as if they were both running for prom queen. If Faith were called first maybe she wouldn’t have had as much tragedy befall her before she came to Sunnydale, and if it did she would have had the strength to stop it. Giles would have been her watcher, she definitely would have atleast met Zander because he thinks she’s hot, and he would have introduced himself. With Xander comes willow. Buffy would have stayed in LA atleast until Faith faced the Master. Where Buffy would most likely be getting crowned prom queen and possibly being called as the(a) new slayer. Joyce and Hank wouldn’t have had anything to fight about… until prom night. Then if Buffy is the outsider if things go in that order.

 

[NotASlayer]

No genuine funeral and no-one knowing Buffy is dead seems rather implausible, given what would need to be done.

Decide that Buffy is dead and beyond medical help, even with a Slayer's healing ability, so no need to take her to a hospital. Thank you, so-called friends with zero medical training.
Find a way to keep the body... fresh until burial.
Acquire a coffin.
Decide they need a grave marker that would instantly tell anyone other than them that Buffy is dead.
Commission a grave marker.
Make sure there's no trail from either of those.
Find somewhere in Sunnydale's woods, popular haunt of demons and vampires, suitable to hide a grave. Get the, now full, coffin and marker to somewhere likely nowhere near a road.
Dig a grave and plant a headstone in a rather professional-looking manner with zero experience.
Come up with a spell that may or may not work to hide the grave from demons and vampires - and if they had one already, it would be useful whilst patrolling.
Work out how to cover for Buffy's absence whilst the Buffybot is repaired.
Work out if it can be repaired; it was decapitated this time and therefore in poorer shape. Repairs could easily take weeks.
Decide they need to pretend that Buffy is around to stop demons and vampires overrunning the town. Which their experience does not match; before Buffy arrived, when she went to LA between seasons 1 and 2 and when she completely dropped off the map between 2 and 3 with no-one knowing if she'd be back, nothing like what happened at the beginning of season 6 occurred.

And at least the rough plan of this they would effectively need to come up with whilst standing over Buffy's body. Hardly the best frame of mind to be doing this.

A couple of addenda.

@Stake fodder mentioned in this thread that Buffy had accurately been depicted as if she'd been treated at a funeral home.

Also, what about Giles? Either he knew the plan about having the Buffybot pretending Buffy was alive so everyone could defend the Hellmouth and still went back to the UK after the funeral (was funeral explicitly stated?), which would be another way season six paints him as a total monster, or he didn't, in which case there would have had to be a proper funeral.

 

[famicommander]

Where is all this ambiguity coming from?

They flat out tell you that nobody else knows Buffy is dead. Not even her father. They flat out show you that her grave is way out in the woods.

 

[hoponlilmama]

No genuine funeral and no-one knowing Buffy is dead seems rather implausible, given what would need to be done.

Decide that Buffy is dead and beyond medical help, even with a Slayer's healing ability, so no need to take her to a hospital. Thank you, so-called friends with zero medical training.
Find a way to keep the body... fresh until burial.
Acquire a coffin.
Decide they need a grave marker that would instantly tell anyone other than them that Buffy is dead.
Commission a grave marker.
Make sure there's no trail from either of those.
Find somewhere in Sunnydale's woods, popular haunt of demons and vampires, suitable to hide a grave. Get the, now full, coffin and marker to somewhere likely nowhere near a road.
Dig a grave and plant a headstone in a rather professional-looking manner with zero experience.
Come up with a spell that may or may not work to hide the grave from demons and vampires - and if they had one already, it would be useful whilst patrolling.
Work out how to cover for Buffy's absence whilst the Buffybot is repaired.
Work out if it can be repaired; it was decapitated this time and therefore in poorer shape. Repairs could easily take weeks.
Decide they need to pretend that Buffy is around to stop demons and vampires overrunning the town. Which their experience does not match; before Buffy arrived, when she went to LA between seasons 1 and 2 and when she completely dropped off the map between 2 and 3 with no-one knowing if she'd be back, nothing like what happened at the beginning of season 6 occurred.

And at least the rough plan of this they would effectively need to come up with whilst standing over Buffy's body. Hardly the best frame of mind to be doing this.

I think a good chunk of the above could be explained away - Giles probably had his own contacts to help out (like with the headstone). Xander, given his field of work probably constructed Buffy's coffin, magic I've no doubt helped to sort out some issues. She probably had a quick burial, given the circumstances and the Scoobies had to move fast to get things in order.

In the meantime the gang patrolled until Willow repaired Buffybot.

As for any inconsistencies...best not to overthink it, considering it wasn't the first time they messed up with their own storylines. 😉