Why do people like Spike so much?

I can't say why anyone else loves Spike, but I know why I love him!

IMHO, Spike was the quint-bad-boy who wanted nothing more than to be loved and respected. The character grew & changed more than any other (except maybe Willow) and the many facets that were Spike went from raging evil killer to lover to man who kept his word. I very much enjoyed watching Spike as William the Bloody (human) and as a badass vamp & as a love-sick chipped Spike & then a souled vampire. He was naughty & good in so many ways. Yeah, that's a big turn-on. ::love::

One of my favorite scenes was when Spike was intent on killing Buffy, so he heads to her house with a shotgun, but upon seeing her sitting there with tears streaming down her face, he completely melts at the sight of her. That one scene shows Spike for all his horror & beauty; the monster & the man.

Yup, I sho'do love me some Spike!
 
He's British. He's a bad boy, with a romantic side. He has a sharp wit. And he's hot. What more can you say.
I love Spike.
 
Spikes cool. Funny, badass, does what he wants. see's things how they are.
i wonder why Xander hated spike? becaue spike was everything xander wasnt.
Xander being insecure and unsure of himself couldnt stand to see someone having fun and having no inhabitions.
 
I'm most likely repeating people's points but...

I think Spike is popular because he has elements of character to which many people respond. He's extroverted and most people like that because a) they may be that way themselves (identification) or b) it satifies a wish fulfilment among the more reserved.

Also Spike is representive of the fun rebel which would appeal to a lot of people. He's contemporary, engaging and humorous which tends to be more popular.

Spuffy is liked for a variety of reasons. For one, if Spike is popular character and presumably, so is Buffy, then it perhaps is considered exciting. Although they were enemies a lot of fans noticed or believed there was a vibe between the two, with spectators hanging on words as early as season 2 with Spike's "Hello cutey". The writers then made a retrospective legitimacy to this uncertain claim with Spike and Dru's exchange in Fool For Love. When they finally got together, a lot of fans commented on the sexual chemistry of the pair.

Other fans consider it a romance that defies convention, spreading a light into the darkened halls of the illicit, connecting either through experience or through wish fulfillment, wishing too, to free themselves of the shackles of rigid sexual morality.

We've talked about Spike's personal appeal but what also makes Spike interesting for many is that he is a bigger case of moral ambiguity than most, including Angel. A vampire with a soul is interesting but a vampire voluntarily getting a soul is baffling. Spike indeed promotes many debates about ambiguous intentions and making a case for a moral relativism, furthering interest in the character.

Ok lastly, James Marsters is considered good looking by many people. Is it the hair, the jawline, the abs? I don't know but he seems to do it for a lot of people.

All in all, the reasons for Spike's popularity are numorous and I'm sure there are many reasons I haven't mentioned. For many it's his looks, for some it's his sense of humour. I come across many fans of Spike who simply say, "I love him, he's so sexy" and I've also seen fans who appreciate Spike from an academic and literary perspective.

Does this mean he is a better character? To me that would akin to saying something like "purple is objectively the best colour". People like whoever they like, they have their reasons, I guess.
 
B
Blondie Bear
Heck, earlier than "Hello, cutie!" As early as him watching her dance in the Bronze!
S
Spirit_Of_Fred
[No message]
I think Spike is one of the most interesting characters on the show.
He is all bad boy but still so sensitive. He's so funny, provides great humour to the show and has awesome lines.
He can be a badass but also can love with all his heart and be loyal to friends. And of course, his accent!
 
There's just something about Spike which made me enjoy the series even more. His whole presence was enduring, and his story was very interesting too. Plus he could always make me laugh, his dry wit and humour was the best. I do agree that they made his character into a big wimp by falling in love with Buffy as well as putting that chip in his head. Loved the Spike of Season 2, what a bad ass. But despite that, he has always remained a firm favorite of mine and I always enjoy the episodes that are focused on him to be honest. Not to mention how sexy he is!
 
T
TheChosenTwo
[No message]
I enjoyed Spike so much because he was, as David Fury put it: "an enigma in the vampire world," capable of love, jealousy, fidelity . . . and yet also capable of killing for giggles. Even before he got his soul back Spike often seemed to very much have a foot in both worlds. Which often caused him buckets of frustration, and that was big fun to watch. And the fact that he actually traveled to the edge of Nowhere and endured trials to get his soul back? That never stops being interesting to me. Bugs. Dude with fire-hands. For a being who has no conscience or moral compass to be willing to go to all this trouble in order to re-gain something that will cause him to suffer??? It makes for a lot of interesting discussion. Was it nobility? Or is he addicted to suffering? Hmmmmm . . .
 
What makes him so interesting is despite not having a soul (until 6) he does exibit human tendencies and modivations. He is a multi-layered character with a great arc. He goes though an intense transformation throughout the show. Sure, he is sort of de-masculinized (due to his love for Buffy) and is kind of pathetic at time...but all and all, I think he is very witty and a loveable character 🙂
 
S
Spirit_Of_Fred
i love your username :)
he kinda cool for me...
The way he get his soul back and also how he handle his promises after Buffy was gone
I dont like him when his gone crazy but still even if he;s crazy i love him...
When he goes for speech It has a point and really cool
When Buffy's friend turned their back. Spike speech made me cry....
 
To me, Spike is just such a fascinating character, there are so many layers to him. The journey he makes from School Hard to Not Fade Away 6-7 years later is just amazing to watch and, if I'm honest, a huge part of what I love about the Buffyverse and keeps me coming back to it. And James Marsters is such an awsome actor, I have nothing but praise for the man. He does a great job at playing the different sides to Spike - the tender, caring man and the evil, despicable vampire - and making them both believable and part of the same character.

And it doesn't hurt him one bit either that James is a little easy on the eye. :biggrin2:
 
X
xgirlanachronism245x
James Marsters is beautiful! Dude and he can SING!!!
He's hilarious, has a British accent, he's a total BAMF but he has a sensitive side. He got a soul for the woman he loved. How many men would do that? XD
 
because he's gorgeous (and i identify as queer so that's saying something), he's funny, he's so COMPLEX.
he's completely out of the definition of normal vampires and even normal humans when he was human. when he became a vampire, he brought with him his feelings and, arguably, his humanity--he is passionate, jealous, emotional, cruel, but incredibly loyal. his character did a complete, soul-searching (and soul-getting), heartbreaking, psychosis-inducing turn-around. he's marvelously deep as a character and is a solid presence. for me, he steals the show in whatever scene he's in.
 
I liked him when he was an unapologetic trouble-maker who loved Dru with all of his dead unbeating heart. When they took that away from me, I was quite depressed and didn't want to watch him with Buffy at all (Spike & Dru - I still believe there's a chance!). I was really quite pleased when he went over to Angel, because once we got over the initial Ghost & Fred phase, he started being the character I liked again. No love interests needed. Just good old fashioned conflict.
 
For me it's the complexity of Spike that I like. He is mysterious, funny, evil, good, lovable, hateful,... All at the same time. He has a rich character.
 
H
hazzard
[No message]
I love spike, but he gets slightly annoying when he starts to fall in love with buffy. I always liked it when he tryed to go up against buffy when he was evil as his reactions were so funny. It was fun to see him get involved with the scoobies when he got the chip cos i loved the fact he was tryin to make sure everyone still knew he was evil.

I think i actually loved him more in Angel S5 as he just came back and was hilarious going around as a ghost i think that was a great idea and plus he wasnt always going on about buffy. I loved his relationship between angel its like they argue all the time but really deep down they like eachother but dont like to show it. He was just a funny and great looking😉 addition to the shows, i actually think he livened them up 😀
 
Aiysha said:
I love spike, but he gets slightly annoying when he starts to fall in love with buffy. I always liked it when he tryed to go up against buffy when he was evil as his reactions were so funny. It was fun to see him get involved with the scoobies when he got the chip cos i loved the fact he was tryin to make sure everyone still knew he was evil.
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see, i think that him falling in love with buffy makes him more interesting, not annoying. because, even though he loved her, he still hated her--he still fought with her and wanted to kill her and just got more and more confused as time went on until he finally sorted it out in season 7. spike is great because of his complexity, because he could love her and hate her (what a thin line, anyway), because it made him way more paradoxical than just simply a badass.
 
U
Ulrikke
See next post ;)
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