After seven seasons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired its last episode in 2003, but the series continued in comic book form until 2018. With five seasons worth of content, the comics were published by Dark Horse and explored Buffy's adult life and the consequences of the show's finale. Sometimes written by showrunner Joss Whedon, this canonical sequel followed a single arc per season, with a varying number of issues and volumes. Unsurprisingly a lot changed for Buffy after she left Sunnydale, but some things remained the same.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a unique show for its time, and in certain ways, helped pave the way for other serialized horror and sci-fi shows such as Supernatural and even The Walking Dead. For seven seasons, Buffy fought vampires, demons, and even humans. She prevented the end of the world, and, along with her friends--known as the Scooby Gang--left high school to face adult life. While the show dealt with plenty of supernatural creatures and offered its dose of silliness, it never stopped treating its characters as complex human (or supernatural) beings. This great balance between camp and depth turned Buffy into a cult classic, with episodes such as "The Body" being one of the best examples of what the show was capable of doing.

The show's final season explored what it meant to be a Slayer and the sacrifices that life demanded. Suddenly potential Slayers were being hunted down all over the world, and the Slayer line was in danger of disappearing. It was a dreary, dark season that made clear Buffy's life as the Slayer took its toll on her. However, as always, she rallied in the end and succeeded in defeating the final villain of the TV series by making every potential into a full-blown Slayer. Although some fans think Buffy the Vampire Slayer peaked in season 5, season 7 offered a satisfying and epic conclusion to the now-iconic television show. This was not the end for Buffy; in 2007, the Slayer's adventures continued in comic form, published by Dark Horse and produced by Whedon. Here's every major event that happened in the Buffyverse after the show ended.

Angel and Spike

The cast of the Angel TV series in season 5

Season 5 of Angel took place after Buffy's finale. During it, Spike was brought back, but Fred and Wesley died. After sacrificing himself to destroy the First Evil, Spike reappeared in Wolfram & Hart, Team Angel's headquarters at the time. At first, he's merely a ghost, but eventually, he regained his physical form and joined the team. As for Fred, contact with a sarcophagus of an Old One led to her body being taken over by Illyria, an ancient god imprisoned in the Deeper Well.

Unlike Buffy, Angel ended in a cliffhanger, as Los Angeles was transported to a hell dimension by Wolfram & Hart's Senior Partners. The resolution to this arc happened in a comic series where, eventually, Angel forces the partners to rewind time before the fall of Los Angeles. Nevertheless, many of the events in the Angel comics would be referenced in Buffy.

Season 8 - The Slayer Army and Twilight

Buffy and friends face Twilight in Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic season 8

A year after the destruction of Sunnydale, Buffy is living in Scotland. Now the leader of an army of almost two thousand Slayers worldwide, she uses a castle as her main base. There, she trains squads and gears up for missions all over the world. Andrew, Giles, Xander, Willow, and Faith are all part of the organization, either leading squads of their own or helping with magic. With an operation this size, Buffy draws the attention of the US government. Convinced she's a terrorist, they recruit the witch Amy and a resurrected Warren Mears to fight her. At the same time, a Slayer named Genevieve plots to dethrone Buffy and take control of the organization.

Both these events are connected to the season's big bad, Twilight, a masked man with super strength and the ability to fly. In the end, the gang discovers Twilight is actually Angel. Convinced the end of the universe was coming by a mysterious higher power, Angel used the Slayer's enemies to push her to accept her destiny as the mother of a new dimension. Compelled by the same higher force, Buffy and Angel have sex while flying in space, breaking the walls of reality. The pair is then transported to a new dimension to act as Adam and Eve. However, once Buffy realizes Earth would be destroyed and everyone she loves would die due to the creation of the Twilight dimension, she returns to Earth to stop it.

This is when Spike finally makes an appearance. He tells the gang about the Seed of Wonder, the source of all magic and a gateway that connects all dimensions. To complete the creation of the Twilight reality, demons are planning to take the Seed out if its resting place: Sunnydale. The gang returns to the ruins of their town to protect the Seed, where they fight hordes of demons and even a resurrected Master. During the battle, Twilight possesses Angel and kills Giles. In a fit of rage, Buffy destroys the Seed, saving the Earth while stripping the universe of all magic. Other notable events of this season are Buffy sleeping with Satsu, a new Slayer character, Dawn and Xander starting to date, Willow breaking up with Kennedy, and Faith decided to move to London with Angel. Meanwhile, Harmony, Spike's vampire ex-girlfriend, exposed the existence of vampires to the entire world.

Season 9 – The End of Magic

Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic season 9

While still performing her Slayer duties, Buffy now lives in San Francisco and no longer leads the Slayer Organization, which scattered after the Twilight crisis. By destroying the Seed of Wonder, Buffy stripped witches of their powers and destroyed Earth's connection to other magical dimensions. Since demons could no longer possess the body of recently turned vampires, people instead became mindless, feral creatures called "zompires." This breaks all the vampire rules from the TV show.

Internal conflicts start to wear down the Scooby gang. Willow leaves the city in search of a way to restore magic, while Xander isn't adjusting well to life as a civilian. When Buffy is accused of maiming bodies all over the city, the only person who sides with her is Spike. While hunted by the police, Buffy meets Severin, a human capable of siphoning magic from Slayers and vampires. Severin eventually allies himself with Simone, a rogue Slayer who hates Buffy and has no qualms with killing or using guns. They join forces to steal enough magic to go back in time and stop the destruction of the Seed. Meanwhile, Angel and Faith are on a quest to bring back Giles. While they eventually succeed in resurrecting him, he ends up stuck in the body of a 12-year-old.

At some point, Buffy allies with Illyria to stop Severin, but he manages to syphon the ancient god and gains her ability to travel back in time. However, he still needs more power before he can perform the ritual. Meanwhile, Dawn, a magical being, is slowly dying because of the destruction of the Seed. Desperate to help her, Xander betrays Buffy and reveals the location of the Deeper Well to Severin and Simone. As Buffy races to save Dawn and stop Severin, Willow shows up with a plan to create a new Seed and restore magic. After another epic battle, the gang succeeds, and the world regains its connection to magic.

Season 10 – The New Rules of Magic

Buffy and Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic season 10

The gang realizes the creation of the new Seed wiped out all the rules of magic. Most importantly, anything written on Giles' Vampyr book now becomes a rule, and this means Buffy has the responsibility of ensuring magic abilities stay balanced. Reluctantly, Buffy agrees to work with a demon council to discuss and negotiate the new rules, but things are never that easy. A group of ancient beings decides to try and take over the world. Their relentless attacks force Buffy to give the demon council more powers. Thanks to Dawn's Key abilities, the gang manages to defeat most of them, but in the process, Dawn and Xander are stuck in another dimension for a few issues.

Meanwhile, D'Hoffryn, Anya's former boss and a member of the council, betrays Buffy. He kills the rest of the council, stealing their powers and the Vampyr book. D'Hoffryn is assisted by the ghost of Anya, who haunted Xander for most of the season. Buffy's plan to defeat him involves making the entire magical community ignore the rules in the Vampyr book, wanting to strip the vengeance demon of his newly-acquired powers. However, he uses the same tactic against the Scoobies, broadcasting to the entire world their battle and causing everyone to believe in his powers again. It is Anya who saves the day by granting Buffy's wish to remove D'Hoffryn's abilities. Unfortunately, this also ends her existence once again.

The gang decides to take full responsibility for the Vampyr book, forming a new Magic Council and trying to keep the balance. Also, Buffy finally realizes she's in love with Spike, and the two start a relationship that remains stable across the season. Despite their extremely toxic past, Spike ends up being Buffy's best boyfriend yet. Their relationship is probably the most supportive and healthy she had in canon. Also, Andrew realizes he is gay.

Season 11 – Safe Zones and Dragons

Buffy fights Vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic season 11

Season 11 was a shorter comic book series, consisting of only 12 issues. Once again, Buffy faces the government as they create laws to regulate and control supernatural and magical beings. After a major dragon attack in San Francisco, Buffy, Willow, and Spike are sent to live in a "Safe Zone," where other supernatural creatures and people are forcibly relocated by the American government to keep the peace. There, they struggle to survive and fit in. Wanting to help other witches, Willow offers to take their powers away so they can leave the camp and rejoin society. Eventually, they enact a prison break and escape the Safe Zone.

Outside, they discover the government was responsible for the dragon attack, and it also staged other events to gain popular support for the new laws. Their true goal is to absorb magic and use it as a weapon. Of course, Buffy and the gang can't allow this to happen. They manage to defeat the corrupt government forces behind the attacks and the camps. All ends well, with Buffy confessing her love for Spike at last.

Season 12 – The End

Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic season 12

Whedon returns to finish Buffy's story for good. But with only four issues, season 12 doesn't have the most well-paced plot. However, it does unite the entire cast and has a happy ending. Fittingly, the big bad of the season is a man who wants to steal the powers of all Slayers; he is the twin brother of a future Slayer, Fray. She was the main character of a previous Whedon's Buffyverse comic--he finally got to combine the two stories.

Buffy eventually defeats Harth, and retires as a Slayer. Instead, she and Faith are training to join the police force. Dawn and Xander have a baby daughter named Joyce. Although Spike and Buffy mutually break up at the start of the season, they talk about getting back together eventually. Angel also sticks around, so that classic pairing is still possible. The entire Scooby Gang reunites, and the last issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics shows them eating together, at peace.

More: Every Failed Buffy The Vampire Slayer Spin-Off (& Why They Didn't Happen)