When Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted as a mid-season replacement on a relatively unknown network back in 1997, viewers didn't know what to expect. Before Buffy, it was rare that a television show portrayed a strong female lead who also had to deal with everyday life. Yet, it was the grounded depiction of female characters on the show that was largely responsible for helping the show gain popularity. Alias, Veronica Mars and The Vampire Diaries are just a few of the heroine-centered shows that followed in Buffy's footsteps, each developing their own cult following.

Critics have gone back and forth on whether or not Joss Whedon's first breakthrough show was indeed an exercise in feminism. However, enough cannot be said about how inspirational the show and its characters were to young viewers, portraying positive role models on a weekly basis, but also had to battle the forces of evil. Buffy's group of close-knit friends, aka the Scooby Gang, were made up of supernatural creatures and humans alike, each with the desire to help protect the people of Sunnydale (and, ultimately, the world). CBR has compiled a list of some of our favorite heroes and ranked them from least to most powerful. Who do you think will come out on top?

20 DAWN SUMMERS

Viewers were thrown for a loop when Buffy's younger sister was retconned into existence at the beginning of the show's fifth season. The origin of Dawn Summers was eventually explained as an extension of Buffy herself combined with energy of an inter-dimensional portal (or key). Dawn was created as a way for Buffy to prevent the evil demigod Glorificus from returning to her dimension while breaking down the walls between realms simultaneously.

For most of seasons five and six, Dawn played the role of the bratty younger sister brilliantly, growing more annoying with every episode. However, at the end of season six, we see Dawn mature slightly and helping Buffy defeat the root demons Dark Willow summoned to kill them. She would go on to help do research in the final season, as well as go on patrol and participate in the final fight against The First Evil.

19 CORDELIA CHASE

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is known for having great character development for its vast roster of heroes and villains, with one of those success stories belonging to Cordelia Chase. Cordelia had started the show out as a vapid cheerleader who cared only about herself, but eventually became a reluctant member of the Scooby Gang and grew to care about helping others.

What Cordelia lacked in fighting ability, she more than made up in attitude and willingness to help. Early on, she felt inconvenienced by helping the Scoobies defeat the latest big bad, but she eventually was a full-fledged member, helping with rescue missions and rallying the students against the Mayor on graduation day. She would go on to become a more proficient fighter following her arrival in Los Angeles and joining up with Angel to assist him in his ongoing road to redemption.

18 XANDER HARRIS

Playing the “average slacker” role in an ongoing series can get pretty old fairly quickly, but Buffy found a way to keep Xander Harris somewhat relevant for the majority of its seven seasons. He was meant to be the platonic other best friend of Buffy Summers (along with Willow) but grew into a decent fighter. He would often be the lone male in the Scooby Gang and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Despite having no supernatural abilities, Xander has gone head to head with several vampires and even stared down Angelus once. He was instrumental in coordinating the student uprising against the Mayor on graduation day and eventually becomes the “heart” of the team. We’re also still recovering from that whole eyeball incident with Caleb.

17 RILEY FINN

Following the departure of Angel at the end of season three, Buffy would need a new, possibly more age-appropriate, love interest. Enter Riley Finn, by day your average college hunk, but by night was a soldier for the Initiative, a government organization created to apprehend and study supernatural creatures. Riley would eventual defect to the Scooby Gang once the unethical practices of the Initiative were discovered.

A soldier trained in hand-to-hand combat, Riley was one of the better fighters on the Scooby Gang. He would help Buffy in defeating such villains as the Gentlemen and Adam but would leave halfway through season five as the rift between himself and Buffy became irreparable. He would later return in season six, married to a fellow government agent.

16 KENNEDY

Willow and Tara had such an epic romance for three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so any potential love interest introduced for Willow following Tara’s death was going to have a lot stacked against them. Many viewers felt like having Willow start another relationship so close after Tara’s death was unrealistic and disrespectful. Others knew that Kennedy was meant to be the anti-Tara and just the rebound girl.

No matter how you feel about the character, there’s no denying that she is a fighter. Even before she gained the powers of a slayer, Kennedy stood out as the best fighter the Potentials had. She would often lead charges against vampires, insane policemen and, probably most impressive, was able to help Willow work through her survivor’s guilt.

15 ROBIN WOOD

Sunnydale High doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to principals. One was eaten by a pack of hyena people, another was eaten by a gigantic demon snake at graduation. So, when Principal Robin Wood was introduced in season seven as Dawn became a freshman at the newly rebuilt school, viewers were skeptical about his longevity (and intentions).

However, Robin would become a valuable ally in the fight against The First, with his knowledge of Sunnydale history and fighting ability. We would eventually learn that Robin is the only known child of a previous slayer, Nikki Wood, and after she was killed by Spike he was raised by her Watcher. After attempting to take revenge out on Spike, Robin helped the Scooby Gang in the series finale battle against The First.

14 CASSIE NEWTON

Cassie is a fellow student of Dawn’s at Sunnydale High  who we meet in season seven who also happens to have the ability to see the future. She runs into Buffy and predicts her own death, which Buffy and her friends become determined to prevent. A group of boys try to kill Cassie to raise a demon, but Buffy saves her from a lethal booby trap. Despite all this, Cassie immediately dies afterwards of a heart attack caused by a previously unknown hereditary condition.

Among Cassie’s predictions: she tells Buffy she will make a difference in the upcoming battles with The First Evil and tells Spike that Buffy will one day reciprocate his affection for her. The First Evil uses Cassie’s appearance to try and convince Willow she’s speaking for Tara and that she wants Willow to kill herself so they can be together again.

13 ANYA

A popular fan-favorite, Anya essentially took Cordelia’s place as the snarky, blunt person of the group starting in season four. A thousand year-old former vengeance demon now human, she embarks on a romantic relationship with Xander leading up to a disastrous wedding. Anya’s struggle to reconcile her demon life with being human again are some of the most poignant parts of the series, her breakdown following the death of Buffy’s mother being the most notable example.

Anyanka appeared in season three as a vengeance demon, wielding various powers like supernatural strength, telekinesis and rapid healing. Following her de-powering, Anya retained her extensive knowledge of demonology, various dimensions and limited spell-casting abilities. Her experience and practice of combat from her time as a demon allows her to be an effective fighter, as seen in the series finale.

12 AMY MADISON

Amy first appears in season one as a childhood friend of Willow’s with an abusive mother, who turns out to be a very powerful witch, and switches their bodies. Buffy and the Scooby Gang succeed in restoring Amy to her own body. A recurring character, she would also develop magical abilities and help the gang from time to time with protection and transmutation spells.

Amy is a powerful witch with powers inherited from her birth mother. We see her powers grow throughout the years, temporarily becoming more powerful than even Willow when it comes to being a witch. It isn’t until season seven where Amy puts a hex on Willow out of jealousy and spite that we learn that Willow has actually surpassed her and has become more powerful.

11 NIKKI WOOD

A former slayer who was active in New York City during the '70s, Nikki first appears in a flashback scene of season five fighting Spike in a subway. Spike is telling a story to Buffy about how he killed Nikki, showing him snapping her neck and taking her leather duster as a trophy in 1977. Later, in season seven, we also learn that she is the mother of the only known child of a slayer, Robin.

Nikki had the standard powers of a slayer; super strength, stamina, agility and a heightened healing ability. She would make several more appearances before the series finale. The First Evil assumed her identity and informs Robin that Spike is the vampire that killed his mother. She also appears in more flashbacks during the episode in which Robin tries and fails to take revenge on Spike.

10 DANIEL "OZ" OSBOURNE

Halfway into season two, Willow finally gets to have a serious love interest in the form of Oz, a taciturn guitar player and fellow high school student. Oz was the quintessential calm in the eye of the storm character, who was more often than not, the most logical. He learned he was actually a werewolf towards the end of season two, turning only three days out of the month around the full moon.

When Oz was transformed, he possessed heightened speed, strength agility and senses along with the old werewolf standard of claws and fangs. When he was in his human form, he retained some of his heightened senses ability which allowed him to track scents of people he was familiar with. He would also assist Willow with her spell-casting and occasionally fought a vampire.

9 JENNY CALENDAR

For the first couple of seasons, Jenny Calendar is Giles’ love interest and a rare adult female role model for the young women in Buffy’s group. The self-proclaimed “techno-pagan” is the perfect foil for our favorite old-fashioned librarian, despite being a member of the gypsy clan who cursed Angel. After Angel loses his soul and reverts back to torturing and killing as Angelus, he kills Jenny after discovering she has deciphered the lost spell to restore his soul before she could tell anyone.

A skilled expert in computers and a dabbler of the mystic arts, Jenny was the prototype for the type of character Willow would become. She helps the gang do research and casts bones to recognize the portents of an Apocalypse. It is believed that she felt she was powerful enough to perform the Ritual of Restoration to restore Angel’s soul prior to her death.

8 RUPERT GILES

The steadfast mentor and father figure to Buffy as well as the rest of the Scooby Gang, Giles was the experienced adult to guided and trained the Slayer. The former dabbler in the dark arts and rock music, Giles became a fan favorite and was pretty much the rock for the entire series. Though he and Buffy sometimes disagreed, they always worked together in the end.

Giles' encyclopedic knowledge, affinity for magic, and moderate fighting skills make him an asset to Buffy in her fight against the supernatural villains of Sunnydale. He has cast spells with the help of Jenny Calendar and Willow at various points in the series, and was devastated when Jenny was killed by Angelus. Giles would fight alongside Buffy and the Scoobies in the series finale battle with The First Evil and survive.

7 TARA MACLAY

A shy young woman with natural magical abilities, Tara first appeared in season four as Willow joins a Wicca group on campus. They performed powerful spells together to aid Buffy in her fight against the dark forces of Sunnydale and eventually fell in love. Following Buffy's death at the end of season five, season six saw Tara and Willow moving in with Dawn and taking care of her as if she were their own. Unfortunately, Tara herself would be killed at the end of season six by a stray bullet meant for Buffy.

An adept witch, Tara could perform powerful spells and rituals alone or with others. Additionally, she would be able to access abilities such as telekinesis, levitation and aura-reading. Tara and Willow's powers seemed to grow exponentially while they were together, ironically giving Willow the strength to seek revenge against Tara's killer.

6 KENDRA YOUNG

The Jamaican slayer Kendra was called following Buffy's (albeit brief) death at the hands of the Master at the end of the first season. She is well-versed in the Slayer Handbook and fighting techniques. Initially, Buffy and Kendra's methods clash, but the two eventually put their differences aside to stop Spike and save Angel. Unfortunately, she would be killed by Drusilla when she returned to help prevent the awakening of Acathla in the season two finale.

Kendra is one of the best fighters to have been part of the extended Scooby Gang. It has been stated that she is the "practically perfect Slayer: solemn, respectful, and efficient." She has mastered the use of every weapon reliant on muscle power, such as swords, knives, and axes, and although she has less field experience than Buffy, she possesses more textbook knowledge about slaying.

5 SPIKE

A villain during the third and fourth seasons, Spike would eventually fall in love with Buffy throughout season five and aided her in her fight against demons and vampires. While Buffy initially shot down his advances, she later engaged in a somewhat toxic physical relationship that did not end well at all. In his effort to seek redemption, Spike also got his soul back at the beginning of season seven.

In addition to possessing the common powers of vampires featured in Buffy, Spike's age and experience makes him a highly effective, skilled, and versatile fighter in both armed and unarmed combat. He is highly proficient in various forms of martial arts, and his typical fighting style blends karate with kung fu. Spike often displays insight and skills in perception and observation that allow him to wield powerful psychological weapons as easily and effectively as physical ones.

4 ANGEL

The other half of our star-crossed couple, Angel is the original vampire with a soul and pretty much Buffy's first love. After spontaneously appearing to offer warnings or advice, he would go on to become a permanent part of the Scooby Gang, helping them fight demons and solve mysteries alike. He would briefly turn evil after sleeping with Buffy, but was restored to his brooding, non-serial killer self thanks to Willow (and Jenny).

As a vampire, Angel possesses supernatural strength, speed, agility, stamina and reflexes. Given his age, he has also acquired an accelerated healing factor and is practically immortal. He is skilled in various forms of combat, including martial arts and the use of any weaponry. He was instrumental in a number of fights throughout the series, including against the Judge and the Mayor.

3 FAITH LEHANE

Faith is the slayer from the wrong side of the tracks who is called following Kendra's death at the end of season two. After years spend as the rogue slayer gone real bad, Faith ultimately redeems herself with the help of Angel. She reappears in season seven to help train the Potentials and aid Buffy and the gang in their fight against The First Evil. While things were still somewhat strained between herself and Buffy, Faith rose to the occasion and learned to work with others for the greater good. Everybody loves an underdog.

As a slayer, Faith possesses various abilities such as supernatural strength, stamina, speed, agility and reflexes. She also has a heightened ability to heal herself, though it's not as powerful as Buffy's. Faith would also experience prophetic dreams which come along with her mantle.

2 BUFFY SUMMERS

Buffy is the protagonist of the series, which depicts her life and adventures as she grows up fighting the forces of darkness. Although all the previous slayers have been depicted as loners, Buffy has garnered a rather loyal group of powerful friends to help in her fight against evil. Along the way, she would become a cultural icon and role model for women and young girls everywhere.

Along with a sharp wit and great fashion sense, Buffy's other abilities as a slayer were supernatural strength, stamina, speed, agility and reflexes. She also possessed a heightened healing factor and would occasionally have prophetic dreams, warning her of events to come. While fighting the Big Bads over several years, Buffy has died twice in battle, but that hasn't stopped her from fulfilling her destiny and helping others.

1 WILLOW ROSENBERG

With her name right in the title of the show, you would think Buffy would be #1, but if you've watched all seven seasons, you know that there is one person more powerful that the Slayer; Willow. Starting out as a shy and awkward computer nerd, Willow would grow to become a powerful, self-assured witch. Following the death of her girlfriend Tara, Willow gave into her dark side and accessed the blackest of magics to exact revenge on Tara's killer, with Xander being the one to bring her back.

As the most powerful wiccan in the Western Hemisphere, Willow is able to perform all manner of spells, rituals and transmogrification ceremonies both by herself as well as with others. Throughout the series, she's exhibited a variety of abilities including telepathy, telekinesis, flight, force-field generation, astral projection and teleportation.