In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV present, Buffy’s Slayer substitute Kendra will get killed shortly, however her story would not finish there.
It is usually forgotten that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was initially changed within the Slayer line not by Faith, however by Kendra, launched in Season 2. As Buffy briefly dies throughout the first season by the hands of the Master, a brand new Slayer is activated – regardless of Buffy’s resurrection. Audiences fondly bear in mind the rebellious Faith becoming a member of the solid shortly thereafter, however that does not come till the third season.
Kendra, performed by Bianca Lawson, debuts in “What’s My Line, Part 1” earlier than introducing herself within the subsequent episode. Not a lot backstory is given past her Watcher, Sam Zabuto, being talked about in passing, in addition to studying her mother and father despatched her away to coach with him as a baby, depriving her of a traditional life. Her third look within the penultimate episode of the season can be her lastm as she’s killed by Drusilla in “Becoming, Part 1.” She goes all however forgotten, each in-universe and by many followers, by the point Faith replaces her the following season.
Kendra’s inclusion within the franchise was a missed alternative till BOOM! Studios and its revamped run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer determined to breathe new life into her. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #13 by Jordie Bellaire and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell takes a break from the present-day motion to showcase an origin story for the newly launched Kendra. The situation covers her background in her native Jamaica, the place she first begins coaching as a Potential Slayer on the age of two. Readers additionally get a glimpse of her relationship with the strict Sam Zabuto, who softens as much as her, however solely proper earlier than she’s called to Sunnydale following Buffy’s “death.” From there, Robin Wood is named in as her new Watcher as she works side-by-side with Buffy.
Buffy Comics Flesh Out Kendra As A Character
This run manages to fulfill followers who needed to see extra from Kendra. The present not solely treats her as a stepping stone for Faith’s introduction but in addition as an afterthought. If not for Faith’s introduction and the way she’s written alongside Buffy, the thought of two Slayers working collectively would have gone wasted inside three episodes. BOOM! Studios, however, makes use of Kendra to her full potential, treating her as a captivating hero in her personal proper, and exploring every little thing she gave up to become a Slayer.
The comics showcase how coping with multiple Slayers at once weighs on Buffy and the same old Scooby Gang, in addition to helps them. Even higher, Kendra is allowed to have storylines separate from the Scoobies, together with a romance with Rose Martinez. Even although the comics have a look at the Kendra Young from one other actuality, these comics get to point out readers why Kendra remained so dedicated to being a Slayer in methods the present by no means mirrored. Anything that was merely implied or fully brushed apart within the present will get expanded upon in comedian type. BOOM! Studios had been in a position to pull off what Buffy the Vampire Slayer didn’t do by increasing Kendra’s backstory and treating her as a real Slayer, regardless of Buffy’s return.
