Fray in the Buffyverse (*Possible spoilers)

[nerd4hire]

OK, so there's this comic book mini-series. It's called Fray. It takes the story of the slayer line hundreds of years into the future. It is considered Buffyverse canon, because Joss Whedon wrote it.

Melaka Fray is the descendant of the Slayer line. There's a wrinkle though. She has a twin brother. The brother inherits the dreams. Melaka inherits the slayer strength.

Slayers are no longer "Chosen", in that they are not given a Watcher and the specific slayer-related duties of protecting the world from the supernatural. There are still girls with the power, and the power is still passed on, but they are not chosen as the earth's protector. They are not needed. Magic and demons have been banished from earthly realities.

Vampires still exist, but they go unnoticed because they stick to the shadows, and are lost amongst other mutants that have surfaced in the future. They are called lurks.

Here's the thing. Much of Fray can be used to reference questions from the Buffyverse. I'm noticing a lot of people seem to be unaware of this lately, so I'm going to post selected passages from Fray that offer information that pertains to things Buffy.

A note on characters: Fray is Melaka Fray.

Urkonn is the demon who has been sent to the Earthly dimension to prepare Melaka for an upcoming battle that will affect both our world and the world of demons.


HOW HUMANS TOOK OVER THE EARTH

Urkonn:
There was once a thing on this Earth called magic

There were demons, monsters beyond imagination most of them pure evil.. They ruled this dimension as they did so many others.

Fray:
What's a dimension?

Urkonn:
RRRRRR...

Eventually as Mortal animals evolved under the protection of certain Mages and Loranites..

Fray:
What's a...

Urkonn:
They left! All right? The demons, most of them found more hospitable dime...places and left the earth to the mortals for the most part.

Some remained hidden away. Some bred within the human community their power weakened throughout generations. Some assimilated. And some...infected.

It is not known when they first appeared, but the vampires were a plague.

The elders of several villages met, calling for action. They invoked the strongest and most dangerous magiks they could summon, to create a power. A power that could fight the vampires. A power that lived...in the body of a girl.

Fray:
The Slayer! Right?

Urkonn:
Yes. You're actually paying attention.

Fray:
Well I kinda wandered in the middle...

The following occurs shortly after Melaka's first training session with Urkonn. He has been throwing steel girders at her, and he caught her with one.

THE ORIGIN AND THE STORY OF THE SLAYER

Urkonn:
Perhaps we can concentrate on the History.

Good. Good tell me aboud the slayers while I beed to deff. Dey made dat first one.

Urkonn:
She fought and died and was succeeded by another and another throughout time. Always one. Always a woman. A warrior.

Fray:
How did they know.

Urkonn:
They were trained. Sought out and guided by Watchers, descendants of the Shamans who created the first slayer.

Fray:
So are you my Watch...

Urkonn:
No

Fray:
No?

Urkonn:
No

Fray:
Then why...

Urkonn:
My reasons are my own.

Your bleeding has stopped.

Fray:
Cause I'm a slayer, right? All super-strong and that.

Why don't you tell me what happened to the last one?

Urkonn:
Because I don't know.

It was some hundreds of years ago, in the twenty first century.

Urkonn:
What we know is this... There was a battle.

A slayer possibly with some mystical allies faced an apocalyptic army of demons.

And when it was done, they were gone. All demons banished from this earthly dimension.

Fray:
And the slayer? Did she...

Urkonn:
I do not know if she lived. But the demons being gone, she was the last to be called.

The Line continued. There were girls with the power, but they were never trained...

The council of Watchers fell to ruin, held together only by fanatics and fools. Those that believed the demons would return.

You met your watcher yesterday.

Fray:
I did? I didn't!

Urkonn:
Did not one come to you, call you the Chosen One?

Fray:
Nobody ever called me any...Oh My God you mean that guy that set himself on fire.

Urkonn:
As I said Fanatics

Fray:
But he set himself on fire.

Urkonn:
Centuries of useless, obsessive waiting. Makes a human...

Fray:
He set himself on FIRE

Urkonn:
Maybe he was cold.

Fray:
Okay. I'm supposed to fight the coming onslaught of Lurks, and I'm being taught by a sarcastic goat-thing whose idea of training is throwing scrap metal at me, because the actual good guys all went crazy waiting for the monsters to come back.

Urkonn:
Yes.

Fray:
Just checking.

In Fray # 6 Urkonn gives Melaka the scythe.


FRAY GETS THE SCYTHE

Urkon:
I have a gift for you.

It is a weapon forged eons ago, for the slayer alone. Lost for centuries.

Carry it, for it is your sword and your scepter. Let it proclaim you the hero..and the monster..that you need to be.

Urkonn has been sent from the demon dimension by 2 demons that appear to be in charge in some way. They are named Vrill and Boluz. Allycat has this interesting theory that maybe they are the senior partners.

I don't want to spoil you too much, so I'll just tell you they are discussing an evil enemy who is planning to open the gateway between dimensions.

PORTALS AND GATEWAYS BETWEEN DIMENSIONS

Vrill:
With power! Power you brainless lake of flesh to open the gateway and bring the human and demon worlds crashing together again. That must not be. Not until we are ready.

Boluz:
Can the girl...

Vrill:
It's unknown his strength is her weakness. It's taken from her.

Boluz:
An incomplete vessel. Should we not send a cadre of demons to..

Vrill:
That portal's been breached twice mustn't risk...

The girl. She will have to do.

It should be mentioned there are discrepancies between the myth of Fray, and the story of the potentials as revealed in Chosen. Joss is aware of these, and has promised to make things clearer in an upcoming Fray he plans to do when time allows.

-----------------------

 

[Caridad's Watch]

I only read the first six comics. How many has he made? Wasn't he supposed to make 9? Did he make all of them? I like having someone around that I can talk with about Fray. There was a Watcher, right? But, he was a loony and set himself on fire. How did Fray's brother come to power, to try to reorganize the lurks that live underground? oh and another question case you know, but I probably have to put spoilers...

Spoiler

Is it true that Fray dies in the 9th comic book? I heard a rumor, and judging by the book description, she does.

Sorry about the over flow of questions, but it's a very confusing series...that or I'm dense.

 

[nerd4hire]

I only read the first six comics. How many has he made?

Eight.

Wasn't he supposed to make 9? Did he make all of them?

The current Fray is an 8 part mini-series. It is complete. It is available as an 8 chapter graphic novel. Digital copies are also out there.

I like having someone around that I can talk with about Fray.

There other Fray-freaks on this board, they just don't talk about it much any more, because it's all been discussed. Try an advanced search from the forum toolbar above on Fray.

There was a Watcher, right? But, he was a loony and set himself on fire.

Yes.

How did Fray's brother come to power, to try to reorganize the lurks that live underground? oh and another question case you know, but I probably have to put spoilers...

Spoiler

Is it true that Fray dies in the 9th comic book? I heard a rumor, and judging by the book description, she does.

Spoiler

Harth has inherited the slayer dreams. When Icarus feeds from him he knows to bite the vampire and taste his blood thus vamping himself. Once a vampire, Harth impresses Icarus with his knowledge of the past and dreams of the future. With Icarus as his subordinate, Harth is able to gain leadership of the vampire hoard, and encourage them to enlarge the herd by vamping others.

Fray lives. I've never heard of a Fray 9. I don't believe it exists as anything other than an urban legend, or fanfic. Here is the final 2 pages of Fray 8:

Fray leaps and bound over the roof-tops of the ruined, city in spidermanesque fashion. As she does she thinks to herself.

They'll be watching...

The demons, Harth, things I don't even know yet. They'll all be waiting...

Waiting for me to fall...

So come on guys...

I'm just One Girl, no protector of justice, not even a bona fide one-hundred-percent Slayer...

So what are you waiting for?...

Take me on...

Hurt my world...

Fray squats on a ledge overlooking the savaged futuristic city. She wears tattered knee-length shorts, and old ankle-high running shoes.

She grasps the scythe in a fingerless, leather glove, and she continues,

I DARE YOU...

 

[Mr. Pointy]

I got my Fray fix from e-bay. They're usually available there or you could check out your local comics emporium.

Urkonn:
What we know is this... There was a battle.

A slayer possibly with some mystical allies faced an apocalyptic army of demons.

And when it was done, they were gone. All demons banished from this earthly dimension.

That last ep of Angel is starting to make sense and fit in with Joss's mythology now...thanks for posting this n4h - it's helped to focus things for me.

 

[Kindred]

where can people buy these comics

You can get them from amazom.com FRAY , or you can look in dexonline.com and find comic book dealers in your area, and even if you can't find one who has it, chances are that one or more can order it for you, but they'll just charge you a little more. My advice is to go through amazon, because they also take money orders so if you don't have a credit card, there's no problem... Also they only charge $13.97 for theirs. I know that I paid significantly more than that.

Good luck with that.

ANd thanks to Nerd4hire for putting all of that together.

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

That last ep of Angel is starting to make sense and fit in with Joss's mythology now...thanks for posting this n4h - it's helped to focus things for me.

I haven't read Fray yet, but I've been reading about it via this site and am very interested. As soon as I finished reading that line about the last apocolyptic battle with the slayer I immediately thought of Angel's final episode as well. As much as I know Joss wanted to separate the two, Chosen was not the last apocolyptic battle, Not Fade Away was. Even though we don't see it on screen, Buffy & Co. will be affected by that battle.

 

[nerd4hire]

Yeah, that is appealing - to think of Angel's crew as being among the mystical allies.

You know what else I find appealing? Allycat's theory that Vrill and Boluz could be what's left of the Senior Partners.

There were 3 senior partners right; The Wolf, The Ram, & The Hart. Angel possibly killed one in what was it? Reprise I think. That makes two - Vrill and Boluz, maybe.

Also Vrill and Boluz behave like the Senior Partners. They don't want to just attack. They have a pre-conceived plan they want to stick to, just like the Senior Partners, and their apocalypse.

Oh, and here's another possibility from Fray that I find kind of cool. In Fray there is this giant worm thing that can open the gateway between dimensions. Could that be The Key?

 

[Mr. Pointy]

N4H - I don't think Angel was meant to have killed a Senior Partner, just the demon he was using to manifest himself in this dimension (that's how I saw it anyway - haven't seen that ep for a long time, so I may be recalling it incorrectly...)

I like Ally's Senior Partner theory tho'. Was it ever stated that there were only three senior partners (Wolf, Ram and Hart)? I thought there were a lot of them and that W, H and R were the original founders and most senior...

 

[nerd4hire]

N4H - I don't think Angel was meant to have killed a Senior Partner, just the demon he was using to manifest himself in this dimension (that's how I saw it anyway - haven't seen that ep for a long time, so I may be recalling it incorrectly...)

It's interesting, you know. I had a...umm...discussion on that subject on another thread, and I was coming out on your side of the arguement. My conclusion was you can't conclusively prove either side of the arguement. Either Angel killed a Senior Partner, or he didn't, who knows. It's as open-ended as the ending of Not Fade away. He could have though, which means if there were 3 Senior Partners, there could now be 2.

I like Ally's Senior Partner theory tho'. Was it ever stated that there were only three senior partners (Wolf, Ram and Hart)? I thought there were a lot of them and that W, H and R were the original founders and most senior...

Again, it seems possible to take either stand. By my estimation Joss could either come out and say Wolf, Ram, and Hart were 3 separate entities, or it was simply a name representing something larger, although the way Illyria talks about them in the old days, I get the impression they are a finite number, so 3 sounds likely to me at this time.

Now were those 3 in charge? Possibly. Would it surprise you if they were? And if they were, would you damn Joss as a Drew Z Greenberg for not making sense, if he suggested the 2 remaining of Wolf Ram and Hart were Vrill and Boluz?

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Now were those 3 in charge? Possibly. Would it surprise you if they were? And if they were, would you damn Joss as a Drew Z Greenberg for not making sense, if he suggested the 2 remaining of Wolf Ram and Hart were Vrill and Boluz?

Much as I hate open endings for their lack of closure, I don't think I would damn Joss for anything short of making off with my wife or child molesting 😉
But what you're saying does make perfect sense, especially if you've seen or read everything that is supposed to be canonical...and, anyway, it's Joss's universe - he can do just what he wants with it 🙂...I guess it's just the part of me that needs closure looking for explanations...

 

[Faith/willowfan]

you know if you buy tales of the slayer there is a part of it involving Fray post the last comic, i bought Fray the other day and read it, i thought it was great and amazon asked me to buy tales of the slayer so i thought yeah i will and then when i read it i was surprised to find a comic in it about Fray

oh yeah and i realised something how come in the future there is only one slayer

 

[nerd4hire]

You remember where I was saying above how Joss has promised to do something about the discrepencies between Chosen and Fray in an upcoming Fray he has planned?

The multiple slayers in Chosen to the single slayer in Fray is what I was talking about.

 

[Faith/willowfan]

i have a theory on how how he could fix it, when buffy sees the ahdowmen they talk about the well of her power, well a well gets empty, what if the power isnt passed on it just dies with the slayer and new power is used for the next one, for example if a god like illyria was the demon used then her power could go on for ages, so if it is a well then maybe its running out of power because of all the slayers so they reverse willows spell

 

[XxSlayerxX]

Fray

Can you guys tell me about the slayer Fray, and what happens in her comics?I didn't really read any of her comics.I just read information on the internet, like she's from an alternate reality.nd stuff like dat.

 

[Xander]

https://www.buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=13348&highlight=fray

That has a fair amount of info, and I'm sure nerd4hire wouldn't mind answering any Qs.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

https://www.buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=13348&highlight=fray

That has a fair amount of info, and I'm sure nerd4hire wouldn't mind answering any Qs.

I'm quite happy to try to answer any Fray questions as well - it's a good excuse to re-read 🙂 N4H's answers will probably be better tho' 😉 There is a collected graphic novel version of the series out now if I'm not mistaken...

 

[Xander]

There is, I saw it for the first time the other day but it was £15 and im low on money. :cry:

 

[XxSlayerxX]

thanks for the fray link!!!im readin it rite now.im sorry if i made a mistake.i never knew there was a post on this already.

 

[WatcherWes]

Fray shows that doing drugs can be a powerful weapon in the war on terror

 

[Jill_Valentine]

Any word on whether we'll see any more of Fray? I know Joss was muttering about clearing up the post-Chosen confusion, but I haven't heard much else...
I love Fray. For one thing, its nice to see a heroine who just happens to have a large scar. (An exaggerated version of Wish-Buffy's scar, if I'm not mistaken...) And the art rocks. Made me remember why I love comics all over again. Nice plot twists too. But I really think it may have been a mistake to retrofit her axe as it appearred in the comics into Buffy's world ... it makes sense in the comics, its okay to have a big red axe, but in the show, it stood out like a sore thumb. They should have made it look a bit grimier, I think...