Why wasn't Slayer Strength Enough to Defeat Adam?
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Ethan Reigns
Scooby
The slayer is not at the top of the food chain with all types of demons and Adam was part Polgara demon with extensive human and robot (cyborg) parts. Buffy didn't do much against the Judge other than fire a rocket at him. The demon from "Apocalypse, Nowish" 4x07 wasn't stopped by Faith (who was bruised extensively) and Angel and others combined.
If the slayer was at the top of the food chain, there would really be no drama - she would dispatch the monster of the week and the show would get really old really fast. Even the primary enemy, vampires, can kill slayers.
If the slayer was at the top of the food chain, there would really be no drama - she would dispatch the monster of the week and the show would get really old really fast. Even the primary enemy, vampires, can kill slayers.
OutForAWalk
Walk Through The Fire
Adam was a weird hybrid with virtually no weaknesses. He was incredibly strong, didn't feel pain, and had machine parts for insides, so he was practically unstoppable. If the Scoobies were not able to combine their strengths with Buffy to pull out his radioactive core, she would have not beaten him. I feel like this was to show that strength alone is not always enough... I read that the other three (Willow, Xander, and Giles) all represented a different part of the power that inhabited Buffy and allowed her to defeat Adam.
Also (sort of on a tangent), it seems like in all the seasons past Season 2, Buffy definitely had to depend on others to beat the Big Bad at the end of the season. She didn't defeat a season boss alone since she killed Angel in Becoming, Part 2.
Tuppence
Angel of Music
Well Buffy has lived way past the normal life expectancy for a Slayer (admittedly she's briefly died a couple of times, but still) and I think that's the point; if she tried to fight all the Big Bads alone she would have been killed like all the Slayers before her. She's the first one who has had a back-up team. Therefore fighting as a group equals alive (for the most part) Buffy.
white avenger
white avenger
The truth of the matter is, we really don't know just exactly how strong Buffy, or Slayers in general, are. In Season 1, Luke says, "You're strong. I'm stronger," then in Season 1 of "Angel," three years later, Angel says that Buffy is stronger than he is, so apparently Buffy isn't stronger than all vampires, and we know that there are several demons that are considerably stronger than any vampire. And I agree, making Buffy the strongest creature in her universe would have taken all of the drama and excitement out of the fight scenes.
Yeah I'm going to have to agree she couldn't be the strongest in the buffyverse or it would be boring. Buffy's strength seems to be either greater or lesser than even vampires when it is convenient for the story. I mean to quote Luke as someone already did he says to Buffy "You're strong, I'm stronger" and he appears to be in that episode. However in the end of the Harvest she seems to be more on equal ground with him physically and definitely superior to him intellectually. Same goes for spike and Angel at times she is stronger other times they seem to be so I'll say she is stronger than the average vampire but they are still dangerous to her. Then when you get to the more serious vamps it seems to be more even strength wise but Buffy seems just to be a better fighter than them for the most part. Then come some of the demons that are just way stronger than her and she usually ends up beating them either with a weapon or by being faster and more agile or with the help of her friends or in Angelus' case an enemy that later becomes her friend/lover in Spike.
Black Eye Guy
Taking over the World!
For me the show makes it quite clear Buffy and slayers in general are stronger then vampires. Like if she sat down and had to arm wrestle, Buffy would beat them every time. why make a slayer to kill vampires and make them weaker then vampires?
Angel said she was stronger, and she could lift Olafs hammer when Spike couldn't.
But every so often a vampire can get the upper hand in a battle. It's not by strength they win, just the luck of the fight.
I'm not sure how much stock to put into what Luke said, since he said it in the heat of battle. But then again according to him, the last time someone walked away from battle with him alive was 1843, though even then it was a guy, so presumably mortal not even a slayer, so if he thinks he's stronger then Buffy then a mortal, even if he caught Luke sleeping, shouldn't have been a problem at all.
We dont know how old Luke is, if he's older then Darla, it'd make sense he'd be stronger then a regular vampire and he'd have been one of the oldest vampires on the show, but I dont think he's as strong as he thinks he is.
Outside of Vampires though, there are a few demons that have been stronger then the Slayer, so when you think of Adam as a composite of multiple demons and part robot it makes sense that he'd be stronger then her
Angel said she was stronger, and she could lift Olafs hammer when Spike couldn't.
But every so often a vampire can get the upper hand in a battle. It's not by strength they win, just the luck of the fight.
I'm not sure how much stock to put into what Luke said, since he said it in the heat of battle. But then again according to him, the last time someone walked away from battle with him alive was 1843, though even then it was a guy, so presumably mortal not even a slayer, so if he thinks he's stronger then Buffy then a mortal, even if he caught Luke sleeping, shouldn't have been a problem at all.
We dont know how old Luke is, if he's older then Darla, it'd make sense he'd be stronger then a regular vampire and he'd have been one of the oldest vampires on the show, but I dont think he's as strong as he thinks he is.
Outside of Vampires though, there are a few demons that have been stronger then the Slayer, so when you think of Adam as a composite of multiple demons and part robot it makes sense that he'd be stronger then her
EVIL UU
Scooby
- Joined
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- 1,755
Some ideas. Basically, The Slayer and Adam are very similar, they're both hybrids created by humans out of human and demon parts to be used as weapons in a war between demons and humanity. Two things make Adam different and stronger:
1. Technology. Maggie Walsh went one step further than the sorcerers, adding robotic and cybernetic to the mix.
2. Adam doesn't have to look like a human.
This is a big deal. Slightly masturbatory theory time: there's just so much power you can pump into a human body until it stops looking like a human body. Buffy menages to look like a human, Illyria not so much, vampires? Kinda, not at all when they bump out. Even pure humans stop looking like humans when pumped with a lot of power, see: Willow and other witches. Basically, slayer has to blend into human society and this is why her power has to be kept in check in that sweet spot where she still looks like a human. This is why Buffy's weaker than Adam. Sorcerers were smart enough to leave a safety mechanism though, the enjoining spell. This is the slayer's full power mode, magical pedal to the metal. Pumping all her power Buffy menages to mope the floor with Adam but stops resembling a human being as well.
1. Technology. Maggie Walsh went one step further than the sorcerers, adding robotic and cybernetic to the mix.
2. Adam doesn't have to look like a human.
This is a big deal. Slightly masturbatory theory time: there's just so much power you can pump into a human body until it stops looking like a human body. Buffy menages to look like a human, Illyria not so much, vampires? Kinda, not at all when they bump out. Even pure humans stop looking like humans when pumped with a lot of power, see: Willow and other witches. Basically, slayer has to blend into human society and this is why her power has to be kept in check in that sweet spot where she still looks like a human. This is why Buffy's weaker than Adam. Sorcerers were smart enough to leave a safety mechanism though, the enjoining spell. This is the slayer's full power mode, magical pedal to the metal. Pumping all her power Buffy menages to mope the floor with Adam but stops resembling a human being as well.
R
Robb Stark
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