Werewolf (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
| Attributes | |
|---|---|
| Kind | Demonic/Humanoid |
| First appearance | "Phases" |
| Creator | Joss Whedon |
In the Buffyverse, created by Joss Whedon, werewolves are similar to the werewolves of folklore, but rather than being only brutish monsters, they appear as characters who suffer from lycanthropy, and whose animal side either complements or clashes with their human side.
Werewolves in the Buffyverse are usually afflicted with lycanthropy through a bite.
Werewolves turn into wolf form at sunset on the three nights when the moon is nearest full (called "wolf nights" by Willow and Oz), and revert to human form at dawn. In wolf form, they are immensely strong and hungry for human flesh, but tend to fall asleep before dawn, and often do not recall the events of the previous night when they wake (always naked, as their clothes do not survive the transformation). They show some animal characteristics at all times, such as a keen sense of smell and an ability to sense other werewolves. Sometimes their wolf appearance resembles their human appearance (e.g. Veruca is blonde both as a human and as a wolf), and male werewolves may have animal-like qualities to their human appearance, such as excess body hair.
Werewolves may be killed by silver bullets or silver weapons, as well as mauling by other werewolves. If killed in wolf form, most werewolves remain in wolf form; in "Wild At Heart", Veruca remains in wolf form after Oz kills her, and in "Phases", Gib Cain states that he skins dead werewolves for their pelts, pointing out that "it's a little hard to skin 'em when they're alive." However, Wesley explains in "Unleashed" that Nina (in wolf form) must be alive in order for the patrons of Crane's banquet to enjoy her as werewolf meat, implying that, dead, she would be a normal human corpse and of no interest to the gourmets. This is apparently a unique trait of Nina's particular werewolf breed; Nina's attacker in that episode reverted to human form as soon as Angel killed him.
The physical appearance of werewolves is retconned in between "Phases" and "Beauty and the Beasts"; originally, Oz's wolf form was more humanoid, able to walk on two legs with a wolf-like snout, but it was changed to a quadrupedal look with a more humanoid face; the former of these looks is possibly the inspiration for the Lycanthropus Exterus introduced in Angel season five.
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