More Buffy Action Figures

In my first Hub about Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figures, I talked just a little about how to begin collecting and a few of my favorite Buffy action figures. Now I want to discuss the whole Scooby Gang. There are action figures of all the cast and they deserve a chance to shine.

You have to start with the Slayer, right. Here's one of my favorite Buffy moments -- beginning of Season Three -- the episode is Anne. Buffy has fled to LA to escape the responsibilities of being Slayer. But as we all know, where ever you go, there you are. Trouble, and demons, find Buffy no matter the city. Working as Anne, the waitress, Buffy befriends a young woman named Lily and ends up saving her from a hell dimension. The battle scene where Buffy wields this axe is sweet. Obviously Joss liked it enough to use the shot in the opening credits.

Angel, the vampire with a soul. Brooding, mysterious, dreamy Angel. From the very beginning we knew he was special, even when we didn't know who he was, exactly. He is at turns, good and evil.

I really enjoyed the "Angel" spin off and this figure is from Season Five -- Destiny is the episode. This a modern Angel, of course, however, the flashbacks are among my favorite moments in the series. Seeing Angel deal with having a soul. The side story of he and Darla fleeing from vampire hunter Daniel Holtz is great fun.

This a lovely figure of David Boreanaz. You can feel the intensity of his gaze. Great work with this figurine, too. His jacket comes off!

I've always had a soft spot for Xander. Yes, he's goofy and a total guy, but he has a heart of gold and he loves Buffy and Willow unconditionally. His role throughout the seven seasons is pivotal. He saves Buffy at the end of Season One. And he saves Willow and the world at the end of Season Six. In Primeval, from Season Four, he is literally the heart of the group, as they join together to defeat Adam.

Xander somehow manages to get all the cute girls in Sunnydale, except one, of course. But talk about luck! He dates Cordelia and Anya. He also gets some of the best lines in the show.

This figure is from The Chosen episode, the final episode. This Xander comes with the Slayer shadow show, for some reason (I would expect that to be with a Buffy action figure). I will not complain because it is really, really cool. He also has a sword and dagger. Xander, the dual wielder.

So Willow is one of my favorite characters on the show. Why would I choose DoppleGangland Willow as the action figure to illustrate this section? Because there is something very cool and scary about evil Willow. And, real Willow's really cute when she's trying to act like the evil version of herself.

One of the hallmarks of BtVS is that every character changes. Good writing allows characters to grow and change in organic ways. Throughout the show Willow grows and changes more than any other character. Going all the way back to Season Two and the episode Halloween, we see Willow go from being an invisible nerd (the shy best friend of the beauty queen) to a proud and sexy young woman. Willow walking across the street after she's solved the puzzle of the Halloween spell is still one of my favorite moments in the whole series.

Cordelia is a great character. She was wonderful in Buffy and even better in Angel. Again, Cordelia's character changes over time. She's a perfect foil for Buffy in the early episodes and provides nice comic relief since she doesn't know about vampires. Once she learns the truth and becomes a reluctant member of the Scoobys, her attitudes begin to shift.

In later episodes, especially Season Three, Cordelia has a lot of meaty scenes. It is her wish that sets the upside down world of The Wish to spinning. Then later we see her in a dress shop only to realize that she's working there. In the same episode we find out she's been accepted to several colleges. Cordelia is beautiful and smart. Having the rich, smart girl brought low shows us another, deeper side of Cordelia.

This picture shows an early Cordelia figurine, posed with Xander in the library backdrop. It actually looks a bit like Charisma Carpenter, unlike this Xander figure which is one of my least favorites. He looks like generic "high school guy."

OK, I love Tara and I hate Warren for killing her. What a schmuck.She brought a nice depth to the Scooby gang and her death just drop kicked Willow over the edge. Totally understandable and it was good story telling -- Willow had perfect motivation to do the dark things she did.

I loved how in Tabula Rasa, Willow and Tara were still attracted to each other even though they had no memory of their former lives. It was sweet and romantic.

Amber Benson's singing in Once More With Feeling was lovely and the song was very suggestive. I don't think they could have gotten away with that on regular TV.

I miss Tara. This figure is from Season Four, episode: New Moon Rising. I'm just a softie at heart I was very happy to see Willow choose Tara. I love the final scene with the candle. This Tara action figure comes with a candle, which is a nice touch.

If you have a hankering to see Tara again, check out the Buffy novel Dark Congress.

Dawn, the ultimate little sister. The end of the first episode of Season Five and I totally freaked out when Dawn showed up. It was brilliant storytelling. Everyone's acting like she's always been there and all of us viewers are like "What?!?!" And then I remembered a certain Season Four episode Superstar and I wondered if it was a spell kind of like Jonathan's spell -- one that could change everyone's reality. I loved how the story unfolded. Glory is my favorite Big Bad.

The chemistry between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg is great. They even look a bit alike. Dawn is the perfect annoying, pouting little sister. No one can scream like Michelle Trachtenberg, of that I am certain.

This figure is from the first episode of Season Seven, Lessons. Dawn's first day of school in the newly rebuilt high school and things don't go so well.

Where would we be without Giles? Watcher, teacher, friend. I liked Giles from the beginning and enjoyed watching his character grow and change in response to Buffy's growth.

His dark past is intriguing. The Rupert of Band Candy is not the man we see every day in the library, that's for sure!

This action figure is from Series One of the Clayburn Moore collection. I think it's a great likeness of Anthony Stewart Head. The accessories are fun. You can still find the full library backdrop out there, if you are a hard core Giles fan.