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Canon

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The comic book Spike: Shadow Puppets parodies the concept of canon by showing Spike with a literal "offical cannon".
"Official cannon is so complicated. So many people with so many opinions!"
―Puppet Fred[src]

In terms of works of fiction or fictional universes, Canon describes works that are considered more important/more "real" than others, i.e. "official" works. As with tie-in materials related to Star Trek, Star Wars, and other prolific sci-fi/fantasy franchises, most Buffyverse fans (and the show's creators themselves) acknowledge the Buffy and Angel TV episodes as absolute canon. Other sources which are generally agreed upon to be canon include the scripts and credits (in particular for the spellings of various characters names.) The Season Eight comic series, as well as Angel: After the Fall have been declared canon by the creators.

Other items which have been announced as canon are more in dispute, in particular Faith's full name Faith Lehane. While Joss Whedon came up with the last name for a role playing game it never appeared in any of the episodes.

Contents

Confirmed canon

Television

Both television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are canon, and are the primary sources of canon in the Buffyverse.

Comics

The Origin

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Origin is a four-part comic series written by Christopher Golden and Dan Brereton which details Buffy Summers' calling as the Slayer before she came to Sunnydale. Based on the non-canon film, it brings the story more into line with the continuity of the television series; for example, Buffy burns down her high school gym, an act mentioned in the show which never occurred in the movie. Buffy creator Joss Whedon affirms the story's place in continuity though not without some reservation:

"The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick."[1]

Fray

Fray is an eight-part comic series written by Joss Whedon himself. The story is about a Slayer of the future named Melaka Fray and her discovery of what being a Slayer means. Fray is the first appearance of the Scythe, a significant weapon which later appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season seven. The canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight featured a crossover with Fray in the story "Time of Your Life".

Tales

The comic book anthology series Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires are largely accepted as canon. They were written by writers of the Buffy and Angel television shows. Joss Whedon told a number of tales for these comic series. Other writers include Amber Benson, Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Drew Goddard, Doug Petrie, and Rebecca Rand Kirshner. Stories from the Tales series have been referenced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight; "Wolves at the Gate" is partly a sequel to "Antique" which sees Xander and Dracula reunited, while "Time of Your Life" uses characters and locations introduced in the Melaka Fray story "Tales".

The novels Tales of the Slayer are unrelated to these comics and do not share their canoncity.

Season Eight

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is the official continuation of the television series, plotted and co-written by Joss Whedon. Whedon has confirmed the series' canonicity, stating "we could make it canon. We could make it officially what happened after the end of the show".[2]

After the Fall

Like Season Eight, Angel: After the Fall is the official continuation of Angel, and narrates the aftermath of the events shown in "Not Fade Away". Joss Whedon was involved in plotting the series, while Brian Lynch wrote the scripts. The spin-off series Spike: After the Fall, which is closely interlinked with the events in the Angel title and is also written by Lynch, is largely accepted as canon; however, Spike was not plotted by Whedon in the same way as the main series.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Origin

Fray

Tales of the Slayers

Tales of the Vampires

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight

Angel: After the Fall

Disputed canon

The main trouble with Buffyverse canon arises in tie-in materials where neither the author nor Whedon has taken an official stance. For instance, several of the comics have been written by the scriptwriters of Mutant Enemy Productions. While the stories may not contradict any information from the Buffyverse canon, neither are they contradicted by canon. Some fans argue that any/all of these might also be considered canon. For example:

  • Jane Espenson has written a number of Buffy comics, including the graphic novel Haunted and the one-shots "Jonathan", and "Reunion". "Jonathan" is meant as a prequel to the episode "Superstar", while Reunion is meant to cover the unseen meeting between Buffy and Angel during BTVS's sixth season.
  • Spike: Old Times by Peter David is of debatable canon since it involves Spike in Los Angeles facing off against Halfrek who is dead by the time Spike went to Los Angeles. Spike's heroic actions are also consistent with him having a soul which would contradict the timing of Halfrek's death.
  • Angel: Aftermath a sequel to Angel: After the Fall, dealing with the aftermath of Team Angel's experiences in hell. While it does not enjoy the influence of Whedon's plotting or canonical blessing which After the Fall had, IDW chose to spin After the Fall into an ongoing Angel series. The series continues with new writers but without Whedon's input.

Confirmed Non-canon

There are a select few works have been confirmed as non-canon.

References

  1. ↑ Joss Whedon confirms The Origin as canon
  2. ↑ Buffy the Vampire Slayer Is Back: The Complete Joss Whedon Q&A
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