Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Glorificus

Hell goddess Glorificus, better known as Glory, but also referred to as The Beast, The Abomination and That Which Cannot Be Named, was the hilariously insane and vain big bad in season five.

Glory was a goddess from a hell dimension, over which she ruled alongside two other deities. The three gods originally ruled with equal power, but Glory’s strength grew beyond what the other two could have imagined, as did her love for pain and despair, and she quickly became the most dominant and frightening of the three. Afraid that Glory would overpower them and take over, the other two deities joined forces and waged war against her. Glory lost and was banished into the earthly dimension, where she was forced to share a body with a human child named Ben, who was created solely to contain her.

But being the big badass she was, Glory was too powerful to be contained completely within a human vessel, and when Ben turned 20, she begin to gain control over him for short periods of time, taking the form of a gorgeous, yet self-centered woman who possessed superpowers and near-invulnerability. Her powers were severely weakened due to her being imprisoned in human form, but even so her strength was far greater than any Slayer, vampire or demon on earth.

A kind of “amnesia” spell prevented humans from learning that Glory and Ben were one and the same. Even if she transformed right in front of someone, they would instantly forget what they saw. However, this spell did not affect supernatural beasties like vampires and demons. However, as Ben and Glory began to merge more and more, the magical deception weakened until, in the finale, the whole gang is able to see through it.

Glory’s goal in season five was to find the Key, a mystical energy which held the power to send her back home to her hell dimension. That may not seem like a problem, except that using the Key would break down the barriers between all dimensions and all worlds will bleed into each other allowing “hell to reign on Earth”. The Key was guarded by an ancient group of monks known as The Order of Dagon, but when they discovered that Glory was after the Key, they rushed to hide it. Using ancient magic, they transformed the Key into a human girl and placed her under the protection of the Vampire Slayer, Buffy. They altered the memories of the Slayer and anyone connected to her into believing the girl was Buffy’s sister Dawn. The Order of Dagon was eventually destroyed by Glory, who tortured the last of the monks for information. One monk revealed to Glory that the Key had been transformed, but he didn‘t say what form it had taken. So started Glory’s hunt for the key, which she eventually learned was protected by Buffy.

Glory slowly goes insane throughout the season due to the fact that a human mind and body can not control that much godly power. In order to maintain her power and sanity, Glory fed off the mental energies of humans in a manner that Buffy and the Scoobies refer to as “brain-sucking”. She inserts her fingers into the victim’s head and absorbs the energies that bind the victim’s mind. The humans that she feeds from in this way become insane and incoherent. Her arrival in Sunnydale was followed by a huge increase in the number of mental patients in the hospital. These victims were also able to see Dawn in her true form.

After Glory brain-sucked Tara, she learned that Dawn was the key and quickly kidnapped her. But, the Key could only be used at certain times, so Dawn was stuck with crazy Glory for a whole. As the time to use the Key came closer and closer, the power that separated Glory and Bed dissolved – they still shared the same body, but their memories and personalities began to blur.

Buffy eventually went after Glory with absolutely every power she had to save Dawn, and the world, but Glory had already started the ritual to break open the dimensions. To stop Glory and to save her sister Buffy sacrificed herself and closed the portal. After this, Glory was left beaten and significantly weakened. She soon lost her hold on reality and returned to the form and mind of Ben. But Giles knew that Glory would return eventually and wreak even more chaos, so he kills Ben. When Ben died, Glory died with him.

Favorite Glory Quotes!

“Did anybody order an apocalypse?”

“Funny. ‘Cause I look around at this world you’re so eager to be a part of, and all I see is six-billion lunatics looking for the fastest ride out. Who’s not crazy? Look around. Everyone’s drinking, smoking, shooting up, shooting each other, or just plain screwing their brains out ’cause they don’t want ’em anymore. *I’m* crazy? Honey, I’m the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind. ‘Cause at least I admit the world makes me nuts.”

“Okay. First thought, just totally spontaneous, unfiltered, off the top of my head: Ow!”

“Shh! I kinda wanna hear me talking right now! Me talking!”

[after Glory “killed” the Buffy-bot]
Glory: “Wow… the Slayer’s a robot. Did everybody else know the Slayer was a robot?”
Buffy: [standing behind her] “Glory.”
[attacks her with Olaf’s hammer]
Buffy: “You’re not the brightest god in the heavens, are you?”

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

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