Is Spike, from Buffy, a Super Villain?

[fundude365]

This is my best idea for a Halloween costume but the theme of the party is "Superheroes/Villains".

Now I could point out the fact that the capital letter in front of "Villains" open up the doors to any potential villains but something tells me that in a room full of university graduates a Grammar loophole isn't going to fly so here's my reasoning so far:

Up until season 4 Spike is constantly fighting a hero, Buffy, with superpowers bestowed upon her by some mysterious mystical force and he very nearly wins several times. He conducts heists, he has minions, he has superpowers (Blade's only half vampire and he's considered a superhero), he has a 'costume' (the leather duster is ever-present) and, I have to go into the comics, when he's a hero, for this part of my reasoning, he has his own spin-off comic where he goes into space.

I think this qualifies for 'super' status but what's you guyses take on the issue? Yay or nay?

 

[Thaluikhain]

No.

Like you say in your second paragraph, you could sorta kinda claim he was, but it's obviously pushing it.

Batman is rich, clever, wears a suit and has a silly voice, Bill Gates is rich, clever, wears a (business) suit and has a silly voice. Is Bill Gates a superhero?

 

[Catfood220]

This is my best idea for a Halloween costume but the theme of the party is "Superheroes/Villains".

Now I could point out the fact that the capital letter in front of "Villains" open up the doors to any potential villains but something tells me that in a room full of university graduates a Grammar loophole isn't going to fly so here's my reasoning so far:

Up until season 4 Spike is constantly fighting a hero, Buffy, with superpowers bestowed upon her by some mysterious mystical force and he very nearly wins several times. He conducts heists, he has minions, he has superpowers (Blade's only half vampire and he's considered a superhero), he has a 'costume' (the leather duster is ever-present) and, I have to go into the comics, when he's a hero, for this part of my reasoning, he has his own spin-off comic where he goes into space.

I think this qualifies for 'super' status but what's you guyses take on the issue? Yay or nay?

I would say that Spike is more of a self serving antihero more than a super hero/villain. Yeah, he spent most of Season 2 of Buffy trying to kill her, but at the end of the season he is quick to switch sides when it suits his needs. In seasons 4 - 7 he spends more time helping Buffy rather than trying to kill her, even though his reasons are less than noble, such as in season 4 he gets a chip implanted in his head that stops him killing people, he finds he can kill demons so he does that so that he can fight and kill something again. He is also willing to switch sides if he thinks it will benefit him in some way and then when Buffy inevitably wins, he will switch back again to save his own skin.

Plus, I don't think he is smart enough to be a supervillain, most of his schemes are pretty hairbrained, he lacks the patience to put together a proper plan and most of the time it ends up backfiring on him.

plus hes one of the funniest characters in the show apart from drusila

I used to like Drusilla until a friend pointed out how awful Juliet Landau's English accent was and now I can't unhear it.

 

[fundude365]

No.

Like you say in your second paragraph, you could sorta kinda claim he was, but it's obviously pushing it.

Batman is rich, clever, wears a suit and has a silly voice, Bill Gates is rich, clever, wears a (business) suit and has a silly voice. Is Bill Gates a superhero?

Well remember that Batman's only superpower is: "He's the god-damn Batman!" Every single one of his stories can be summed up this way: "A supervillain has embarked on some nefarious scheme. Batman Batmans them back into Arkham Asylum!" He either punches them into submission or devises some kind of super anti-badness device. Bill Gates pays researchers to create anti-badness formulas and pays his taxes so that the police can 'punch' ne'er-do-wells into submission.

I would say that Spike is more of a self serving antihero more than a super hero/villain. Yeah, he spent most of Season 2 of Buffy trying to kill her, but at the end of the season he is quick to switch sides when it suits his needs. In seasons 4 - 7 he spends more time helping Buffy rather than trying to kill her, even though his reasons are less than noble, such as in season 4 he gets a chip implanted in his head that stops him killing people, he finds he can kill demons so he does that so that he can fight and kill something again. He is also willing to switch sides if he thinks it will benefit him in some way and then when Buffy inevitably wins, he will switch back again to save his own skin.

Plus, I don't think he is smart enough to be a supervillain, most of his schemes are pretty hairbrained, he lacks the patience to put together a proper plan and most of the time it ends up backfiring on him.

Back to what determines a supervillain: We consider people like Captain Boomerang, The Mad Hatter and Stilt-man to be supervillains because they try to exploit their advantages to their personal gain. Their plans are certainly hair-brained, and they're never, ever successful but they are still termed supervillains. Heck Killer Croc is probably the rock-stupidest person in comicdom but he's considered a supervillain because he uses his abilities to exploit and kill people and he nearly killed Batman on several occasions.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Back to what determines a supervillain: We consider people like Captain Boomerang, The Mad Hatter and Stilt-man to be supervillains because they try to exploit their advantages to their personal gain. Their plans are certainly hair-brained, and they're never, ever successful but they are still termed supervillains. Heck Killer Croc is probably the rock-stupidest person in comicdom but he's considered a supervillain because he uses his abilities to exploit and kill people and he nearly killed Batman on several occasions.

They are supervillains because they are villains in a universe in which anyone with a stupid name and outfit is either a supervillain or superhero, and they have those.

That rule doesn't apply in the Buffyverse.

 

[fundude365]

Back to what determines a supervillain: We consider people like Captain Boomerang, The Mad Hatter and Stilt-man to be supervillains because they try to exploit their advantages to their personal gain. Their plans are certainly hair-brained, and they're never, ever successful but they are still termed supervillains. Heck Killer Croc is probably the rock-stupidest person in comicdom but he's considered a supervillain because he uses his abilities to exploit and kill people and he nearly killed Batman on several occasions.

They are supervillains because they are villains in a universe in which anyone with a stupid name and outfit is either a supervillain or superhero, and they have those.

That rule doesn't apply in the Buffyverse.

That's a pretty arbitrary ruling, especially considering that Batman himself declares "It's not who I am on the outside, but what I do that defines me."

Anyhoo this thread's already served its purpose. It might have been fun to debate the super-ness of Spike were that the point of the evening, but its not. The point is for everybody to dress like a fool and have a good time. That'll be hindered, if only slightly, if people are debating the legitimacy of my costume.

 

[Thaluikhain]

That's a pretty arbitrary ruling, especially considering that Batman himself declares "It's not who I am on the outside, but what I do that defines me."

Right, so if he was Rabbitman, and wore a cute bunny outfit, he'd-

Spoiler: Oh, wait, Maidman...nevermind

He's totally Batman, just transvestite, not furry[/img]

...

Hmmm...I bet there's any number of obscure supervillains who are just Spike rip offs around, no problems with legitimacy there.