Welcome to the Team, Part Four is the nineteenth 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 March 13, 2013, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
The Siphon is loose and gathering power after a brutal brawl with Buffy, Illyria, and Koh. But there are bigger things. More important things. Real terror greets Buffy as soon as she returns to San Francisco, where friends and family await her with troubling news.
- Executive produced by Joss Whedon!
- Season 9 continues![1]
Summary[]
Buffy and Koh find Illyria unconscious. She has no blue streaks anymore; Severin took her power. The balloon with the little girl from the Council inform them the other members are fleeing and Koh will not get information about his captor because his mission failed. The three remaining warriors discuss the potential dire consequence of Severin now having Illyria's time travel powers. Buffy declares they need the help of the other Scoobies to win this fight.
In his apartment, Andrew prepares to put Dawn's mind into the Buffybot.
Elsewhere, Billy confronts Anaheed about keeping her Slayer identity secret. She explains she is on a mission from the Slayers who remain loyal to Buffy to protect her.
Buffy arrives in her apartment with Koh and Illyria, who sees herself in the mirror and wonders why she isn't dead. Tumble interrupts them with a call from Xander about Dawn.
In the hospital with Dowling, Billy and Anaheed review video-footage of Buffy's disappearance. Anaheed recognizes the strong zompire as Tessa Freer, a Slayer from Simone's outfit. Meanwhile, Simone sacrifices another Slayer to create a Slayer-zompire.
Buffy, Illyria, and Koh met with Xander and Andrew, who explain the mind transfer isn't working. Illyria remarks the mystical energy is leaving Dawn's body, and Buffy and Xander understand it is due to her being the Key. Illyria explains magic holds Dawn's body together and, without it, she will die. Buffy realizes her destroying the Seed is causing Dawn's death.
A blue-haired Severin meets Simone and offers they work together again.
At Andrew's place, Xander stands alone on a balcony. Buffy walks up to him to comfort him, but he lashes out against her. He hits his fist against a concrete wall until it starts bleeding. Buffy tackles him and asked if he blames her, which Xander admits he does. Buffy says breaking the Seed was necessary, but he blames her for having sex with Angel in the first place. Buffy argues she was trying to save the world, but Xander says it gets worse every time she saves it. He declares he will save Dawn without Buffy's help. Drying her tears, Buffy says he can be mad at her, but Dawn is her sister and she won't let him do it alone.
Continuity[]
- Andrew offers to build a "Mecha Dawn," the name of a giant robot Dawn fought in Wolves at the Gate, Part Four.
- Anaheed reveals she purposely found Buffy's weapons in Freefall, Part Four to ease Tumble into accepting her being a Slayer, which he did in On Your Own, Part Two.
- Anaheed recognizes Tessa as a Slayer who left Rona's Chicago squad to follow Simone. Simone was part of the squad when she first joined the Slayer Organization (A Beautiful Sunset).
- Buffy explains Dawn's identity as the Key as she learned in "No Place Like Home."
- Buffy describes Glory as a demon; in "Checkpoint," Quentin Travers explained to Buffy that Glory was not a demon, but a god.
- Xander gets aggressive and punches the wall, which he's already done in "The Body" and Apart (of Me), Part One.
- Buffy talks about the events that led her to destroy the Seed of Wonder in Last Gleaming, Part Four, but Xander blames her for causing the apocalypse when she fulfilled the Twilight prophecy in Twilight, Part Three.
- Buffy mentions Giles could had warned her about Twilight, as it was revealed in Twilight, Part Three he was already expecting her to achieve the prophecy.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Anaheed
- Angel (Only mentioned)
- Buffybot (II)
- Clare (Only mentioned)
- Simone Doffler
- Robert Dowling
- Tessa Freer (Only in video)
- Rupert Giles (Only mentioned)
- Glorificus (Only mentioned)
- Alexander Harris
- Illyria
- Eldre Koh
- Billy Lane
- Rona (Only mentioned)
- Severin
- Buffy Summers
- Dawn Summers
- Tumble
- Twilight (Only mentioned)
- Andrew Wells
Organizations and titles[]
- Key
- Magic Council
- Order of Dagon (Only mentioned)
- Slayer
- Slayer Organization (Only mentioned)
Species[]
Events[]
- Apocalypse (Only mentioned)
- End of magic
Locations[]
- Chicago (Only mentioned)
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
Objects[]
- Seed of Wonder (Only mentioned)
- Stake
- Vampyr
Rituals and spells[]
- Key embodiment ritual (Only mentioned)
Death count[]
- A zompire, staked by Billy Lane.
- A zompire, staked by Anaheed.
- A Slayer, sired by a zompire and staked by Simone Doffler.
Behind the scenes[]
Distribution[]
- Welcome to the Team, Part Four was the 101st best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 22,424 sales in March 2013 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Buffy offers Illyria a hair dye from the brand L'Oréal.
- Tumble says "fifty shades of demon" in reference to the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey.
- Xander expects Andrew to make remarks about Dawn's body switch using the films Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Freaky Friday, or The Change-Up.
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Quotes[]
Xander: "It always starts with you trying to save the world, Buffy. But that doesn't change the fact that every time you save it... somehow the world just keeps getting worse." |
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #19 (Phil Noto cover)." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on March 15, 2024.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--March 2013." ICv2, April 8, 2013.