Glorificus
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Glorificus, also known as Glory, The Beast, The Abomination, and That Which Cannot Be Named, is a fictional deity in the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Clare Kramer. She appeared during most of the fifth season of the program.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Character history
Glory is a god from a hell dimension, over which she ruled alongside two other deities; she was the most powerful of the three. Afraid that Glory would take full control of their dimension, the other two began a war against her; Glory lost the war and was banished into the earthly dimension, where she was forced to share a body with a child named Ben, who was created solely to hold her.
She soon began to gain control over Ben for short periods of time, taking the form of a vain, self-centered human female who possessed superhuman strength but lacked many of her other powers. A magical "amnesia" spell keeps humans from learning that Glory and Ben are one and the same, even if she transforms right in front of them, although since the spell does not affect non-humans, Spike can know that Glory and Ben are the same entity. This becomes a recurring joke in the penultimate episode of Season Five, where Spike finds himself repeatedly having to explain to the Scooby Gang that Ben and Glory are the same person, only for them either to misunderstand him or to instantly forget. However, as Ben and Glory's personalities begin to merge more and more (see below), the magical ruse weakens until, in the finale, the whole gang is able to see through it.
Glory comes to Sunnydale looking for "the Key," a mystical item that will break down the walls between all dimensions, allowing her to return to reign in her own dimension. Use of the Key will also cause the merging of all other dimensions, including the one Buffy and her friends inhabit. Glory is not aware of what form the Key has taken. She surrounds herself with loyal minions and begins the quest to locate the Key.
In order to maintain her sanity and power, Glory feeds off other humans by a process that Buffy and her friends refer to as "brain-sucking." She inserts her fingers into the victim's head, absorbing the energies that bind the victim's mind. The humans that she "devours" in this way become incoherent and mentally unstable; Glory's arrival in Sunnydale is followed by an inexplicable increase in the number of mental patients. One of her unfortunate victims is Willow's girlfriend, Tara.
For her part, Buffy is not initially aware of the Key's nature either. It is eventually revealed that Buffy's sister, Dawn, is the Key, in human form. Glory soon discovers this fact, and manages to kidnap Dawn.
The Key can only be used at a certain time, and as that time draws near, the power that separates Glory from Ben dissolves. They still inhabit Ben's body separately, but their memories and personalities begin to blur together.
Buffy attacks Glory with everything she has: Willow's magic spell (that draws on the goddess' stamina, giving sanity back to Tara at the same time), the Dagon Sphere (that lowers Glory's strength as well), her identical robot twin (the "Buffybot"), Olaf's Hammer (with which Buffy beats Glory literally to pulp), and eventually a wrecking ball, commandeered by Xander. Meanwhile, Spike, Giles, and Anya attack her minions. However, the final spell that will open the dimensions has already been started by Doc, unsuccessfully confronted by Spike, cutting Dawn with a knife and making her bleed. Ultimately, after killing Doc and saying goodbye to her sister, Buffy jumps into the portal that is opening between dimensions, resulting in its closure and her own death.
Glory is left significantly weakened, losing her hold on this reality, and returning to the form and mind of Ben. Giles knows that Glory will eventually return and get her revenge unless Ben is killed, so he suffocates him. As Ben dies, so does Glory.
Glory is also referred to as "Glorificus" by her minions and in most textual references, and occasionally as "The Beast" by the monks who created Dawn (although she has nothing to do with The Beast who appeared in Angel, the spin-off series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
[edit] Powers & abilities
It is revealed that Glory's powers were reduced when she was imprisoned in human form. However, the powers that remained were:
- Near-invulnerability: Only a troll god's hammer was able to do any lasting damage to Glory when used repeatedly. In her original form, she is immortal. Willow's lightning bolts caused her pain, but caused no visible damage as the hammer did, though she comments that Willow's assault 'slowed her down'.
- Superhuman strength: Glory possesses physical strength far beyond demons or Slayers. At one point, a building collapses on her after she repeatedly stomps her feet in a temper tantrum over a broken shoe; the collapse slows her down, but she is left without a scratch.
- Superhuman speed (as shown when Glory pursues Buffy and Dawn immediately after she learns Dawn is the key)
- The ability to drain the mental energy of humans to maintain her own mental strength. Victims were left in an insane state and appeared to be psychically linked to Glory from that point on.
- Glory mentioned to Ben that she could make him immortal, and his emotions would disappear as well. Whether she had that power or not is unknown.
- A mystical shroud cast to prevent people from learning that she and Ben were the same person, the origins of which are unclear.
The extent of Glory's true powers as a hell god were never revealed, though according to Gregor in "Spiral", they were beyond what even her compatriot hell gods could conceive.
[edit] Servants
[edit] Quotes
- To Buffy during their first fight:You hit me! What, are you crazy? You can't go around hitting people. What, were you born in a barn? Fine. Be that way.
- As Buffy helps a monk escape Glory: Hey! Hands off my holy man!
- Buffy on Glory: Glory is evil. And powerful. And in no way prettier than me.
- Repeated Line before something bad happens to her: Oh sh-.
[edit] Trivia
- The picture in the living room of Glory's mansion is a copy of Tamara de Lempicka's Irene and her sisters a.k.a. Four nudes. The Polish art déco/futurist artist is renowned for being strongly feminist and openly bisexual/lesbian.
