Vengeance demon
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Vengeance demons are a group of beings that appear in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They are immortal women who travel the world exacting grisly vengeance on behalf of victims, such as scorned women or neglected children. Their typical method is to appear to a wronged person in the form of a human female, and encourage them to vent their spleen about those who have hurt them. The moment the object of the demon's attention expresses their preferred method of punishment in the form of a wish, the vengeance demon can cause his or her wish to come true, whether it requires gruesome dismemberment or even the creation of a new alternate universe.
Two vengeance demons have appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anyanka (also known as Anya) and Halfrek (sometimes known as Cecily). Anya, the more important of the two, is a vengeance demon who exacts retribution on behalf of scorned women. She lost her powers and became human, eventually falling in love with Xander and becoming a member of the Scooby Gang. Halfrek is another vengeance demon who works on behalf of children. She has appeared periodically, often to encourage Anya back into her demonic ways.
The vengeance demons are led, perhaps surprisingly, by a male demon, D'Hoffryn. D'Hoffryn creates vengeance demons by appearing to human women who have exacted notable revenge on their loved ones, and transforming them into demons. In Buffy, we see the creation of Anyanka by this process, and also D'Hoffryn's failed attempt at converting Willow.
Marti Noxon, who introduced vengeance demons to the Buffyverse in the season three episode "The Wish", has revealed that she was inspired by Bettina Aptheker's discussion of goddesses in the Introduction to Feminisms (sic) course that Aptheker teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz. [1]:)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Vengeance Demons (Buffy Trivia Guide)
