In Pieces on the Ground, Part One is the twenty-first issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten comic book series. Joss Whedon is the executive producer.
Synopsis[]
Demon invasions are becoming a worldwide threat, and Buffy is tasked with convincing the vampire community that they should help fight the invasions. But to win them over, Buffy and Spike have to triumph in one-on-one battles with the finest vampires around – and Harmony is organizing the event![1]
Continuity[]
- Graham Miller is seen for the very first time since "Into the Woods". It is revealed that he became a supernatural analyst for the government.
- Buffy blames herself for letting the Mistress, the Sculptor, and the Soul Glutton get the Restless Door, which happened in Old Demons, Part Three.
- Spike explains the D'Hoffryn, as a demon, doesn't sleep.
- Spike recollects meeting Satsu while dealing with the Seed of Wonder, they were both in his ship in Twilight, Part Four and Last Gleaming, Part One.
- Buffy acts awkward by Satsu's presence due to their brief relationship in "Wolves at the Gate".
- Spike expresses interest in listening to Buffy and Satsu's past sexual encounters, which he revealed knowing about from Xander in Love Dares You, Part Two.
- Satsu reappears for the first time since Last Gleaming, Part One. She reveals that she's involved with someone and has been working to the United States Armed Forces.
- Buffy recollects the military declaring Slayers as terrorists ("The Long Way Home"), eventually directly attacking the Slayer Organization (Retreat, Part Four).
- Satsu mentions Angel's role in Slayers' deaths during the Twilight crisis, and reveals she is aware that Buffy have forgiven him and of his most recent visit to the United States (Old Demons, Part Three).
- Satsu mentions Riley's work as a double agent for Buffy against the Twilight Group, as revealed in Retreat, Part Five.
- Satsu recollects the deaths of Slayers and soldiers in the Tibet battle (Retreat, Part Four to Turbulence).
- Satsu calls Giles's appearance as a teenage "adorable;" she had met him working for the Slayer Organization but haven't seen him after his resurrection.
- Harmony, Vicki, and Clem appear, being last seen in Day Off (or Harmony in My Head).
- Spike and Harmony discuss the events from Day Off (or Harmony in My Head), when she bashed him on the head to rob the Vampyr book and made unicorns real.
- Harmony's pair of dogs from Harmonic Divergence make an appearance.
- Harmony recalls the time Spike made her role-play as Buffy, in "Crush".
- Harmony points out his two past love interests, Drusilla and Cecily.
- Harmony reveals that Spike kept a portrait of Cecily, probably at least up until the time she had access to his things in Buffy Season 4.
- Vicki suggests to Buffy that what happened to Angel, becoming evil ("Surprise"), stabbing him and send him to hell ("Becoming"), may happen again with Spike.
- Spike is reunited with Dylan after the events from "Spike: Into the Light". She was last seen in I Wish, Part Two.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Buffy Summers
- Spike
- Satsu
- Rupert Giles
- Harmony Kendall
- Vicki
- Clem
- Golgotha
- Dylan Turner
- Angel (Only mentioned)
- Cecily (Only mentioned)
- D'Hoffryn (Only mentioned)
- Drusilla (Only mentioned)
- Riley Finn (Only mentioned)
- The Mistress (Only mentioned)
- The Sculptor (Only mentioned)
- The Soul Glutton (Only mentioned)
Organization and Titles[]
- Xander and Spike's cats
- United States Armed Forces
- Harmony's dogs
- Magic Council (Only mentioned)
Species[]
Events[]
Locations[]
- San Francisco, USA
- Las Vegas, USA
- Argentina (Only mentioned)
- Rome, Italy (Only mentioned)
- Ontario, USA (Only mentioned)
- Sunnydale, California, USA (Only mentioned)
Weapons and Objects[]
- Scythe
- Spear
- Restless Door (Only mentioned)
Death Count[]
- Giant Horned Gorilla demon, by U.S./Argentinian Air Force.
- Golgotha, by Buffy Summers.
Behind the Scenes[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first issue by new editor Freddye Miller.
- According to Christos Gage, the Giant Horned Gorilla was a homage to the movie The Cabin in the Woods, directed by Joss Whedon, in which features a deceased creature with same appearance also in Buenos Aires[2].
- Harmony's portrait for the VampCon is based on Jo Chen's cover for Harmonic Divergence.
- Clem introduces Buffy as from Sunnydale, but she was born in Los Angeles and lives in San Francisco. Understandably, her formative years and events as a Slayer were in Sunnydale, justifying the allusion to the city.
Collections[]
Pop Culture References[]
- Vicki calls Satsu's helicopter "Airwolf" in reference to the 80s TV series.
- Buffy the trial by combat compares the trial by combat Game of Thrones.
- Spike refers to George R. R. Martin's "slow writing" due to his long interval between his A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
- Vicki quotes "blood and circuses" in reference to the famous Roman phrase "bread and circuses."
- Buffy wears a top from Rag & Bone fashion label.