Is Xander a hero (too?)
- Thread starter Chosen Enemy
- Start date
Thamior
Townie
I agree with you that Xander's character could have been developed well, and I think that it was a wasted opportunity by the writers of Buffy. I do not, however agree that he was never a hero.
In The Harvest, when Xander has to kill his best friend because he's become a vampire. There's nothing that gives someone heroic status like having to sacrifice a loved one for the good of others (Gunn, anyone?)
In Innocence, Xander uses his knowledge to come up with a plan that in the end kills The Judge, one of the most feared demons throughout history. It's too bad they had Buffy using the rocket launcher, I thought it would have been better if Xander did that while Buffy fought Angelus.
As you mentioned, the Zeppo. In the beginning of the episode, it is made clear that Xander has no innate fighting ability (and he is told to stay "Fray adjacent," lol). Still, throughout that episode, his bravery shines through. He doesn't care that he doesn't have world-saving talent, he's gonna save the world anyway. And he's not going to kiss and tell, because he has a hero's sense of honour.
Also, as much of an ***hole as he was to Cordy in Season 3, buying her that prom dress was a pretty hero-like way to apologize.
Unfortunately, the writers got lazy as the show went on. His courage does resurface in Grave, but after what he did to Anya in the same season, he still feels weak. It's too bad - he was my favorite character up to season 3. He's pretty much the only reason season 1 was tolerable for me.
kittenpoker
Raising penguins in Guam
Enemies
*insert user title here*
I think all of the Scoobies are heros, purely because they weren't called to do a job, they chose to stick by Buffy and help out. Thats a big thing to do and in my eyes makes them heroes
Whirlwind
Faith's Boy Toy
Xander is definitely a hero. He risked his life to help his friends and battle evil, and he was the most vulnerable among them.
Yes he is a hero because he's the one who can talk to the scoobie gang like no other. If someone needs help because he's down, he can trust that Xander gonna listen to him. Of course he hasn't got any superpowers but that just shows that he's even stronger than most of them thought. Anyway he tries to help wherever he can just have all his "superheroes" friends around him. Although he never gives up even if he can just archeive something small. He is like a small cogwheel in the great machine. Without him nothing goes
AmazingMrCross
The one who sees
When I first started watching, I didn't like Xander. In the first couple of seasons I frequently wished I could hit him for all those out of place puns and jokes (even though my namesake comes from one of them, heh). He chastised Buffy on a few occasions, where I thought he was being very unfair. "Dead Man's Party" is the worst case of this. I thought he was an absolute ass to Buffy in that episode, but then again, so was everyone else!
After "The Zeppo" he began to evolve. After that ordeal is when a man emerged from the boy. I think it was then that he realized there was more to them than the (now ex) virgin nerd boy whom bad things always happened to. His frequent pep talks were good morale boosters. He managed to work his way up from basically nothing to a decent paying job and a nice apartment (with a little help from a clone!) He talked Dark Willow out of destroying the world. He gave Dawn a few mood boosts (I already addressed the dating thing in another thread, so not going there here) and after that refused to walk away after getting his eye crushed.
Remember, Buffy(?) and later Caleb said, "You're the one who sees" which I think was a great description of his character.
So yes, in his own unique way, Xander is a hero. Or at least he became one after he grew up.
After "The Zeppo" he began to evolve. After that ordeal is when a man emerged from the boy. I think it was then that he realized there was more to them than the (now ex) virgin nerd boy whom bad things always happened to. His frequent pep talks were good morale boosters. He managed to work his way up from basically nothing to a decent paying job and a nice apartment (with a little help from a clone!) He talked Dark Willow out of destroying the world. He gave Dawn a few mood boosts (I already addressed the dating thing in another thread, so not going there here) and after that refused to walk away after getting his eye crushed.
Remember, Buffy(?) and later Caleb said, "You're the one who sees" which I think was a great description of his character.
So yes, in his own unique way, Xander is a hero. Or at least he became one after he grew up.