The Core, Part Five is the twenty-fifth and final issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine comic book series. Written by Andrew Chambliss and illustrated by Georges Jeanty, it was originally published on September 11, 2013, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
Buffy can't ever just be a vampire Slayer, can she? Always, the world seems to want more, and as the lives of her loved ones are threatened, Buffy shows why she is the Chosen One. Whatever is thrust upon her, she can handle it! Er... sometimes with a little help from her friends.[1]
Summary[]
While Severin struggles to contain his power, Illyria urges him to keep going so everyone will get out. Meanwhile, Simone roughly tosses an unconscious Buffy off the Scythe down to her friends. Despite her injuries, Buffy is determined to fight on and get all of them out alive. Koh and D'Hoffryn attack Simone, while Maloker suddenly grabs a weakened Buffy. Koh quickly comes to free her, and the two fight Maloker together. Willow, Xander, and D'Hoffryn also fight, talking about a way to get out. Willow notices the staff the Magic Council wizard left and goes after it. Maloker begins to weaken.
Severin finally lets go of control, incinerating both himself and Illyria by the transfer of his magic to the new Seed. IIlyria accepts the outcome knowing it means bringing magic back to the world. As the light burst upward, Maloker is also incinerated, while Willow uses the staff to levitate herself, Buffy, Xander, Koh, and D'Hoffryn ahead of the blast. Simone appears from above and grabs Buffy as the team goes past. Willow panics, but Buffy, as she falls, ordered her not to stop. Buffy and Simone fall on a crevice together. Simone is determined to kill Buffy and nearly reaches her head with the Scythe, which cuts off most of Buffy's hair. Buffy recovers, and, claiming Simone became everything a Slayer shouldn't be, she stakes Simone.
The entrance to the Deeper Well explodes, though Willow's team flies out and lands safely on the grass. They see a hand and the Scythe at the edge, causing the group to assume Simone had survived. Buffy climbs out, albeit badly bruised and bloodied up. Willow informs her of Illyria's and Severin's sacrifices to get magic back the world, and Buffy declares their deaths won't be in vain. The new Seed has successfully been formed. The group then uses Willow's teleportation spell to return to San Francisco.
Back in Andrew's apartment, Willow quickly uses her magic to give Dawn form. Buffy, Xander, Koh, Spike, and Andrew wonder why she hadn't materialized yet. Spike frustratingly asks where the "bloody magic" was, and Willow figures out that Buffy's blood is needed since Dawn was originally made from it. After cutting her hand to get a few drops, the second try yields a blast and a silhouette of Dawn's face. The group sees it as a sign of failure and began grieving. To their surprise, Dawn appears fully materialized behind them.
In their reunions, Buffy and Dawn thank Spike for being there to watch out for her. Dawn also thanks Xander, who lists other people who saved her while he just watched, but Dawn insists he saved her because of what he said on the phone. She kisses his cheek, but Xander is confused. Asking her how did she know about it, he then leaves the room, causing Dawn to be the confused one.
Buffy goes to meet Xander at the roof, and he admits he can tell somehow that Dawn knew he worked with Simone, expressing his guilt and shame over what he did. Buffy says Dawn will understand and, in the end, he still got her sister back. Xander asks Buffy if she has forgiven him; she confirms she did and declares that so will Dawn, but he will also have to forgive himself. After Buffy leaves, Dawn comes out and asks Xander what is wrong, but he does not want to talk about it. He hugs Dawn and tells her it can wait until tomorrow.
Inside, Buffy asks for the Vampyr book, wanting to reference it now they've planted a new seed. However, she and Willow are shocked to realize the book's pages are now blank. Buffy wonders what they did down there.
In a zompire nest in Santa Rosita, a red-haired girl awakens as a vampire, capable of thought and speech. She fights the zompires around her, but she survives the sunlight and escapes in the form of a giant bat.
Continuity[]
- Buffy declares she's sorry for using the Scythe to make Simone a Slayer, which she did with her plan to have multiple Slayers in "Chosen."
- The end of magic, which began in Last Gleaming, Part Four, is successfully undone.
- Willow uses the spell for Dawn's creation from the Order of Dagon, as seen in "No Place Like Home."
- Buffy's blood is used a second time to save Dawn's life. She had earlier sacrificed herself by closing a portal in the "The Gift."
- Dawn considers being a giant in reference to her time as such (The Long Way Home, Part One to Time of Your Life, Part One).
- Spike tells Buffy his bug ship "has been scuttled," as it exploded in A Dark Place, Part Five.
- Dawn thanks Xander for his phone call in The Core, Part Three.
- Buffy forgives Xander for his betrayal, which happened in The Watcher.
- Illyria will return to life (United, Part One) and sacrifice herself to save the world again in Finale.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- D'Hoffryn
- Simone Doffler
- Alexander Harris
- Illyria
- Eldre Koh
- Maloker
- Willow Rosenberg
- Severin
- Spike
- Buffy Summers
- Dawn Summers
- Vicki
- Twilight (Only mentioned)
- Andrew Wells
- Magic Council wizard (Only mentioned)
Organizations and titles[]
- Key
- Magic Council (Only mentioned)
- Order of Dagon (Only mentioned)
- Scooby Gang
- Slayer
- Slaypire
- Witch
- Wizard (Only mentioned)
Species[]
Events[]
Locations[]
Objects[]
- Blood
- mʔ
- Seed of Wonder
- Spike's ship (Only mentioned)
- Stake
- Vampyr
Rituals and spells[]
Death count[]
- Severin, incinerated by the power transfer to the Seed.
- Illyria, incinerated by the power transfer to the Seed.
- Maloker, incinerated by the power transfer to the Seed.
- Simone Doffler, staked by Buffy.
- Two zompires, dusted in the sunlight.
Behind the scenes[]
Distribution[]
- The Core, Part Five was the 151st best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 20,392 sales in September 2013 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Simone likens Severin to Little Boy Blue.
- Xander compares the Council's wizard to Gandalf.
- Vicki wears a Ghost of the Robot shirt, a band of which James Marsters is a member.
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
| Willow: "You're dead, Simone." |
| Xander: "What she said, Vamp face." |
| Simone: "Don't think so. You're the ones who are gonna die in this hellhole." |
| Maloker: "Slayer blood." |
| Buffy: "Demon breath." |
| Buffy: "I let you steal my Slayers. I let you twist what we were al about. I let you terrorize too many people. But now... Now you've turned yourself into everything I'm not. And I'm going to stop you." |
| Simone: "Good luck. The Scythe is mine." |
| Buffy: "No. It's mine." |
| Buffy: "You gave me my sister back." |
| Xander: "You're really forgiving me?" |
| Buffy: "And so will Dawn. But you have to forgive yourself first." |
| Buffy: "You were right. Really should have spent more time with the book when I could." |
| Xander: "Why? What's wrong?" |
| Buffy: "It's blank. What did we do down there?" |
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #25 (Phil Noto cover)." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on September 30, 2017.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--September 2013." ICv2, October 7, 2013.