Fray: How Comics Went to the Future of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – CBR – Comic Book Resources

In the far-future of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV hero's legacy lived on in Fray, who even traveled back to the past for a team-up with Buffy.

While the majority ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer focused on the present day and occasionally ventured into the past, there was only one consistent element from the future of the Slayververse -- the cyberpunk world of Fray, the Slayer of the 23rd century.

Now, we're taking a look back at who Fray was and how her history illuminated the future of the originalBuffy the Vampire Slayer comics continuity.

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Fray's timeline was originally introduced in an eight-issue miniseries of the same name by Joss Whedon, Karl Moline, and Andy Owens. The series focused on Mel Fray and her twin brother, Harth. Centuries in the future, society is full of grimy technological-heavy cityscapes such as Haddyn. At some point in the 21st century,Buffy and her allies successfully defeated an army of demons, albeit at a great cost: the Slayer Army lost their connection to the Slayer lineage and their power, and Buffy was forced to hold the line against an army of demons in a hellish dimension to save the world. Willow sealed the gate, and her guilt and grief pushed her into hiding -- reembracing her Dark Willow side, living into the far future.

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Since then, only a few elements of the old world remain: the Watcher's Council, formerly a major ally in the defense of Earth, has all but fallen apart. Vampires -- now known as Lurks -- roam the cities, killing and turning the citizens. Among them are Harth,who willingly turned himself into a vampire to survive an attack by one. What complicated this was that his sister Mel was actually the newest incarnation of the Slayer, a mystical spiritual connection across the ages that empowers certain young women with enhanced abilities. But no Slayer had been born with a twin, leading to the unexpected complication that Harth received the prophetic visions that previous Slayers had. Mal instead received all the physical traits that come with a Slayer, such as enhanced strength, speed, and endurance.

After realizing her powers, Mel found an unlikely mentor in the "neutral" demon, Urkonn. He argued that Fray would be crucial in the battles to come. It was during this time that Mel took up the Slayer Scythe -- an ancient tool once used by Buffy in the 21st century -- as a weapon, and learned the truth of what happened to her brother. Mel was ultimately able to prevent Harth from unleashing a new gateway to the demonic planes, working with their older sister (and skeptical police officer Erin) to force her brother to abandon his plans and flee. But she also realized that Urkonn had been manipulating her, even murdering one of her friends to spur into combat. In response, Mel attacked and killed Urkonn before becoming the chief protector of her world.

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Fray: How Comics Went to the Future of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero