Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had an enormous impact on television, but its biggest contribution to pop culture may well be the popularization of “the Big Bad,” the notion of a TV show pitting its heroes against a different villain in each successive season. And, as the progenitor of this now well-worn trope, it’s only fitting that both Buffy and its spin-off Angel delivered some of the best — or worst — Big Bads in television history.
With a character as strong, both physically and metaphorically, as Buffy Summers, Buffy had to ensure its protagonist faced off against villains who the audience could believe would pose a genuine threat. Likewise, Angel‘s expansion of the Buffyverse’s lore meant that it could go even further than its parent series in terms of introducing powerful entities for its main character to battle. There are many metrics to be considered when pitting them against each other, from longevity to physical power to magical prowess to interdimensional influence, but, overall, some Buffyverse Big Bads are just bigger and badder than the rest.
12
The Trio Caused Plenty of Trouble, But They Are Easily Buffy’s Weakest Foes
Season: Buffy Season 6
In a sense, the Trio are placeholder Big Bads. They are there to make trouble for Buffy throughout Season 6 until it is Willow herself, corrupted by dark magic, who becomes the antagonist for the final episodes. Still, Dark Willow’s appearance is so relatively brief that the Trio has to be classified as the season’s Big Bads. In that case, ne’er-do-well nerds Warren, Andrew, and Jonathan are easily the weakest of their kind in Buffyverse history.
To be fair to the Trio, they do have their talents. The deeply misogynistic Warren is genuinely something of an engineering prodigy as he is able to cook up whatever invention he needs for his evil schemes. Likewise, Jonathan and Andrew gained a serviceable knowledge of magic and demonology from living atop a Hellmouth. Still, the latter pair are really just two young men led astray rather than real villains, and Warren, while despicable, is ultimately proven to be an easily overpowered excuse for an enemy.
11
Daniel Holtz Was A Vampire Hunter Who Knew How To Hit Angel Where It Hurt
Season: Angel Season 3
The only other human Big Bad of the Buffyverse is Daniel Holtz, a vampire hunter from the 18th century who finds himself transported to the 21st. Although the case could be made that Sahjhan, the demon who is ultimately revealed to have whisked Holtz through time for his own reasons, is the Big Bad of Angel Season 3, Holtz has to take the crown due to his persistent presence and for earning such a brutal blow against Angel.
Although a mere human, Holtz’s merciless dedication to getting his revenge on Angel is what makes him such a dangerous opponent. Angelus once murdered Holtz’s family and sired his daughter, so Holtz gets his dramatically ironic vengeance when he takes Angel’s own child away from him. Holtz kidnaps baby Conner and raises him as his own for 18 years in a hell dimension, poisoning Conner’s mind against his own father. It’s also notable that Angel never succeeds in killing Holtz himself, as Holtz willingly orders his acolyte, Justine, to kill him once his revenge — and entire purpose in life — is complete.
10
Adam Was An Abomination, & Buffy Needed Arcane Magic To Stop Him
Season: Buffy Season 4
If Buffy fans named their least favorite Big Bad, they will most likely choose Adam. While a Buffyverse twist on Frankenstein’s Monster sounds like a good idea on paper, making Adam a hybrid creation who is part-human, part-demon, and part-cyborg was too goofy a concept for audiences to really take seriously, and the much-hyped Initiative plotline never quite kicked into gear.
That said, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Adam gave Buffy a real run for her money. In fact, she only managed to defeat him by tapping into the ancient powers of the Primeval, the First Slayer, and casting an Enjoining Spell to bond her soul with Giles, Willow, and Xander. Even so, there’s a reason that Adam is the only Buffy Big Bad to be killed off in the penultimate episode of the season.
9
Darla Pushed Angel To The Brink Once She Was Resurrected
Season: Angel Season 2
Darla was something of an underutilized character on Buffy. Despite her important status as Angel’s sire and centuries-long lover, she was swiftly killed off after just three appearances. It’s no surprise that the writers later realized Darla’s potential and had Wolfram & Hart resurrect her in the Angel Season 1 finale, positioning her as one of the most integral characters in the spin-off’s lore.
Before Darla’s redemption and motherhood to Conner in Season 3, however, she served as the major antagonist of Season 2. Due to their age-old connection and history, Darla is able to get under Angel’s skin more than any other foe as she attempts to seduce him into losing his soul and becoming Angelus once more. Darla’s wiles and knack for cheating death multiple times are big pluses, although she loses some points for always serving as someone’s lackey — whether that be the Master or Wolfram & Hart.
8
Angelus Was Buffy’s Most Emotionally Devastating Enemy
Season: Buffy Season 2
Angel’s heel turn in the second half of Season 2 is often cited as one of Buffy‘s best ever plot twists, transforming David Boreanaz’s brooding vamp from love interest to Big Bad. In terms of physical strength, Angelus — as Angel’s dark side came to be known — isn’t any more dangerous than any other vampire, but it is his twisted passion for causing Buffy as much pain as possible that makes him such a potent antagonist.
Angelus is recorded in the history books as one of the most vicious Buffy vampires of them all, noted for his penchant for killing for pleasure rather than sustenance. Once he is reborn thanks to Angel experiencing a “moment of pure happiness” with Buffy, thereby undoing the curse, Angelus commits plenty more wanton acts of destruction. Most notably, he murders Jenny Calendar simply for the fun of it, and he comes extremely close to using the demon Acathla to end the world. The less said about his underwhelming return in Angel Season 4, however, the better.
7
The Master Was An Old-School Vampire Lord Possessing Ancient Power
Season: Buffy Season 1
When it comes to Buffyverse Big Bads, the Master walked so that the rest could run. As he set the template for what was to come, fans often overlook the Master as one of the show’s biggest threats, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he is canonically the most feared vampire around. It’s also worth noting that, as dangerous as Angelus was, he never attempted to take on the Master and assume leadership of the Order of Aurelius, indicating just how much Angelus secretly feared his grand-sire.
The Master’s biggest claim to fame, though, has to be the fact that he remains the only one of Buffy’s foes to actually kill her (albeit temporarily). If the Master had thought about making sure she couldn’t be resuscitated, he may well have been truly unstoppable. Fans only have to look at the alternate timeline depicted in Season 3’s “The Wish” to see how dangerous the Master could be if Buffy wasn’t around to stop him.
6
Mayor Wilkins Hid His True Nature As A Power-Hungry, Soulless Sorcerer
Season: Buffy Season 3
Richard Wilkins may talk and act like he’s a dad in a 1950s sitcom, but in truth, he’s a power-hungry would-be despot. A man who sold his soul 100 years ago to maintain his seat of power in Sunnydale, he eventually used his position to achieve his dream of transforming into an all-powerful, world-conquering demon. As political satire goes, the Mayor isn’t exactly subtle, but what he lacks in subtlety he makes up for in terms of sheer threat and power level.
For most of his arc, the Mayor doesn’t present much of a physical threat to Buffy, although his political power shouldn’t be underestimated. However, once he experiences his Ascension on Graduation Day, and becomes reborn as the Old One, Olvikan, he is suddenly much more dangerous. When fans combine his longevity, institutional power, and then the monstrousness of his final form, the Mayor easily ascends up the ranks.
5
The Circle of the Black Thorn Are An Illuminati-Like Council Of Evil
Season: Angel Season 5
In terms of Buffyverse Big Bads, the Circle of the Black Thorn are among the more forgettable, as they don’t factor into Angel‘s final season until the last few episodes. Their insertion was clearly a late-in-the-day attempt to ramp up the stakes following the news that Angel was headed for cancellation. The result is that fans are mostly told rather than shown just how powerful and dangerous the Circle’s members are, but the hefty toll it costs Team Angel to take them down means they earn their stripes.
In essence, the Circle served as the board of directors for Wolfram & Hart, a secret cabal of humans, demons, and warlocks whose power was either political, corporate, or mystical in nature. They were the arbiters of the Senior Partners on Earth, and it was their job to fan the flames of evil across the world. In order to defeat them, Angel had to get his hands dirty, committing several heinous deeds in an effort to win their trust, before he and his friends wiped them out, with Wesley losing his life in the process.
4
Glory Is A Hell Goddess Who Will Stop At Nothing to Get Back Home
Season: Buffy Season 5
“Glory isn’t a demon. She’s a god.” With those words to Buffy in Season 5, Episode 11, Quentin Travers tore up the rulebook when it came to Buffy’s Big Bads. For the first time, the Slayer was facing not just some demon but an entity so monumentally powerful that they were comparable to a deity. Sure enough, Glory — or, to use her full title, Glorificus — is easily the most formidable corporeal foe Buffy ever faced. It’s no surprise that stopping Glory is what cost Buffy her life the second time around.
What’s scary about Glory is that, as tough as she was on-screen, Buffy never had to face her in her true form, as Giles confirms that she is much weaker in her human state. Had she succeeded in returning to her hell dimension, Glorificus would’ve been nigh on unstoppable. As it is, Glory’s increased strength, super-speed, and invulnerability (except when it comes to Troll God hammers and Dagon Spheres) comfortably land her in among the most powerful Big Bads in Buffy.
3
Wolfram & Hart’s Senior Partners are Immortal Demons With Inter-Dimensional Influence
Season: Angel Seasons 1-5
Wolfram & Hart’s Senior Partners stand apart from other Buffyverse Big Bads as they lurk in the background throughout all of Angel, and even by the show’s conclusion, they remain at large. There is a case to be made, then, that the Senior Partners deserve the top spot of this list as they were never actually defeated. At the same time, their relatively limited impact on the Earthly plane knocks them down a couple of spots.
In terms of influence over the entire Buffy multiverse, however, the Senior Partners are unmatched. As Angel discovers in the hell dimension of Pylea, in every dimension but Earth, they are known by their true names — the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart, a trio of immortal demons whose malign influence carries across reality. The Senior Partners might not ever get directly involved in the fight between good and evil, but that’s only because they know the best way to survive a war is to be the ones starting them, not leading them.
