The following contains major spoilers for The Vampire Slayer #2, available now from Boom! Studios.
The story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one that many fans have come to know by heart. No matter how many times it is retold, there are always those parts of it that are indelible to the Slayer's tale. At least, that was the case until The Vampire Slayer came along and seemingly changed everything. However, even the massive shifts to the story's status quo aren't as far removed from the ones fans know best as they at first seemed. In fact, if it weren't for a single tragic mistake, the latest iteration of Buffy's story might not be any different whatsoever.
The Vampire Slayer #2 (by Sarah Gailey, Sonia Liao, Valentina Pinto, Riccardo Giardina, and Ed Dukeshire) finds its titular hero reeling from the constant dread that come with her particular role in the world. Despite her best efforts, she is unable to shake the waking horrors associated with being the Chosen One, leading to devastating bouts of panic. As it turned out, this relatively un-Slayer like reaction is due to the fact that Willow Rosenburg was never the Slayer, having never been she into that legacy like other Potentials. Instead, Willow took Buffy's place as the Slayer with help from the latter's own Watcher, Giles. In the hopes of easing Buffy's trauma, the two cast a spell that took everything Buffy knew away from her, and in the process they may have even killed the Buffy they knew.
Willow's turn as the Slayer was already one which caught many fans off guard, though now that the reason behind that change in the status quo it is far more of a cause for concern than intrigue. Being the Slayer isn't just the task of carrying out supernatural superheroics, but rather a sort of divine curse unto itself. Apart from tackling vampires, demons, and other assorted things that go bump in the night, the Slayer is burdened with an ancient legacy that finds a way to seep into nearly every facet of their life. Without the painful experiences that have come with being the Slayer, Buffy is a shell of her former self at the most.
It isn't just that Buffy's personality has shifted away from her typically confident, commanding self, but that she is no longer the same person at her core. No matter how much Giles and Willow's intervention might have alleviated Buffy's pain, Faith is absolutely correct in her assertion that this isn't the Buffy they knew anymore. Even worse, without the Slayer proper in action, it is only a matter of time before the dark forces plaguing Sunnydale become aware of the situation and take full advantage of it.
Willow may have stepped into Buffy's shoes, yet she is no replacement for the Slayer that should have been. If anything, Willow's uncertainty coupled with her complete lack of awareness in the role she has taken on is only making things worse. This isn't just something that applies to her or Buffy, or even the Scooby Gang, but the entire world as they know it.
If Willow can't come into her own as a proper slayer or undo the effects of the spell that caused all of this, then she could very well end up the shortest lived Slayer of them all. That is, assuming she can keep everyone else safe during her tenure. Luckily, Willow does have Faith and Giles who understand the full scope of things. Hopefully they can find a way to make things right before it's too late for another Slayer to step up and save the world.