Wolves at the Gate, Part Three is the fourteenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series. It was written by Drew Goddard and illustrated by Georges Jeanty. Joss Whedon is the executive producer.
Synopsis[]
The Scoobies’ mysterious new foes have obtained a powerful instrument that may destroy everything that Buffy has worked so hard to build. Acclaimed screenwriter, Drew Goddard (Lost, Cloverfield) continues his fun-filled romp through Tokyo with Wolves at the Gate part 3.[1]
Summary[]
Buffy and the Slayers finally arrive in Tokyo to find Aiko’s body strung up against a skyscraper. Beneath the corpse reads a message written with Aiko’s blood, “welcoming” them to Tokyo. Buffy orders her body to be cut down and carries it to the Tokyo Slayer headquarters. She lays the body in a Buddhist temple and sits in the corner of the room for the remainder of the day in despair. At night, Willow approaches her and proposes conjuring a blanket for her. Just then, Dracula and Xander arrive. Dracula mocks Buffy for not considering performing the rudimentary containment spell called Carolina's Grasp to defeat Toru, despite her and Willow’s unawareness of it.
Toru waits in his luxurious flat with the lens established on the roof. He discusses Buffy’s arrival with his minion and orders him to gather all of his vampires. Elsewhere, a man smokes a cigarette outside when Renee suddenly approaches him in tears. She claims that she wandered off from her schoolmates accidentally and is now lost. The man suggests walking her to her hotel by going through the park. There, he reveals his vampire visage. Before he can attack, Buffy, Willow, and Xander appear. Willow performs Carolina’s Grasp. The vampire finds himself boxed in a magical prison where he can not turn into fog. Willow then pours gasoline on the vampire. Buffy says that he’s going to tell her everything he knows, pressing the vampire into divulging the Mʔ’s whereabouts. The vampire confesses everything, including the plan to use the lens to magnify Kumiko’s spell and take away the Slayers’ powers. Satisfied with the information, Buffy lights him on fire, pointing out that she made no promise to spare him if he talked.
At the Japanese Slayer headquarters, Buffy orders Satsu to stay there with other Slayers while she and others attack Toru and his vampires. Satsu defies her orders, saying that Buffy is either trying to avoid her or protect her and she won’t put up with it. She storms off, claiming that she’ll see her on the battlefield. In a training room, Xander teaches the unfortunate patterns that proceed during a first date and says they should count this as their first date to avoid all the mess. Renee doesn’t agree that their night together could be considered a date, given they used her as bait, dressed her as a schoolgirl, and spent time with Dracula. But Renee does agree to get the confusion surrounding first dates out of the way. She reaches over to Xander and kisses him. They keep kissing despite Dracula’s presence, much to his discomfort.
Outside of Toru’s flat, Buffy, Renee, Xander, Dracula, Satsu, Andrew and Leah are ready to attack the army of about a thousand vampires. But first, Willow floats above them and summons Dawn. The vampires look up at the giantess in fear as Dawn begins to attack them. Buffy and the group storm Toru’s flat to find him staring out the window with the Scythe. Buffy reaches over to grab the Scythe from his grasp but goes right through it. She realizes that it is a trap, and, before she can alert anyone, Renee is skewered in the heart with the Scythe by the real Toru.
Continuity[]
- Dracula teaches Willow how to reverse Toru's pack spell, which she’ll eventually attempt to use again in New Rules, Part One against new vampires.
- Raidon and Toru talk about the robotics division’s efforts, their final product to be revealed as Mecha Dawn (Wolves at the Gate, Part Four).
- The Scooby gang discovers Toru's intention in absorbing the Slayer powers using the scythe; the weapon had been used to give the power in the first place ("Chosen"), and will eventually be used to absorb it back in Revelations.
- Satsu recalls Buffy telling she’s her best fighter (A Beautiful Sunset).
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Aiko (Only deceased body)
- Dracula
- Rupert Giles (Only mentioned)
- Alexander Harris
- Kumiko Ishihara
- Leah
- Raidon
- Renee
- Willow Rosenberg
- Satsu
- Buffy Summers
- Dawn Summers
- Toru
- Andrew Wells
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Locations[]
Weapons and objects[]
Rituals and spells[]
- Carolina's Grasp
- “Constrixi deficio”
- Teleportation spell
Death count[]
- One vampire, burned by Buffy Summers.
- Unknown number of vampires, smashed by Dawn Summers.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- Georges Jeanty’s variant cover features an illustration of Godzilla in one of the buildings, a reference to Dawn’s role in both the comic and the story. The Dark Horse logo is also included in a building’s facade, as well as Mutant Enemy’s “Grrr, argh” in kanji.
Distribution[]
- Wolves at the Gate, Part Three was the fifteenth best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 82,069 sales in May 2008 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Buffy refers to Dawn smashing vampires in Tokyo as a “Godzilla woman”.
- An image of Godzilla also appears in the building’s facade to which Aiko’s body was being tied.
Awards[]
- Jon Foster’s cover for this issue was awarded as “Gold” in the comics division at the 16th Annual Spectrum Awards.[3]
International titles[]
- French: Les Loups Sont à Nos Portes, Partie 3 (The Wolves Are at Our Doors, Part 3)
- German:
- Italian: Lupi alle Porte, Parte 3 (Wolves at the Doors, Part 3)
- Russian: Волки у ворот, Часть 3 (Wolves at the Gate, Part 3)
- Spanish: Lobos a las Puertas, Parte III (Wolves at the Doors, Part III)
- Turkish: Kapıdaki Kurtlar, Kısım Üç (Wolves at the Gate, Part Three)
Other[]
- This issue was adapted into a Season Eight Motion Comic episode.
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
Satsu: “You said I’m your best fighter…” |
Buffy: “That’s not what this is about.” |
Satsu: “You know I’m your best fighter… So you’re either leaving me behind to avoid me or protect me.” |
Buffy: “Satsu—” |
Satsu: “I don’t know if I should be hurt or touched, but either way… I’m not following your orders. Not this time. I’ll see you on the battlefield. Ma’am.” |
Buffy: “I can’t believe I find it sexy when she calls me ‘ma’am’.” |
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #14 Wolves at the Gate". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 08, 2018.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--May 2008". ICv2, June 17, 2008. Retrieved February 08, 2018.
- ↑ "Spectrum 16 Awards". Locus Online, March 07, 2009. Retrieved February 08, 2018.