Glorificus
Encyclopedia
Glory is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also known as "Glorificus," "That Which Cannot Be Named," "The Abomination," and "The Beast," she appeared during the fifth season of the program and was portrayed by Clare Kramer
.
Glory was too powerful to be completely contained within the human vessel and when Ben reached his 20s, Glory began to gain control over Ben for short periods of time, taking the form of a vain, self-centered human female possessing superhuman strength, speed and invulnerability. Glory's strength was greater than that of any Slayer, vampire or demon on Earth, although her powers were greatly diminished compared to those she had in her true form. Dark magicks prevent humans from learning that Glory and Ben are one and the same; even when she transforms right in front of someone, they instantly forget what they saw. However, the spell does not affect supernatural entities like vampires and demons. This becomes a recurring joke in the penultimate episode of Season Five, where Spike finds himself repeatedly having to explain to the Scooby Gang that Ben and Glory are the same person, only for them either to misunderstand him or to instantly forget. However, as Ben and Glory's personalities begin to merge more and more (see below), the magical ruse weakens until, in the finale, the whole gang is able to see through it. This human form is Glory's only weakness; if the human vessel containing her is killed, then Glory perishes with him.
Glory's only goal is to find "The Key", a mystical energy nexus which is the only way for her to return to her original dimension. Unfortunately, using The Key will break down the barriers between all dimensions, causing all worlds to bleed into each other and allowing "Hell to reign on Earth". The Key was safe, guarded by an ancient group of monks known as The Order of Dagon. When they discovered The Beast (Glory) was searching for The Key they chose to hide it. Using ancient magic they transformed The Key into a human girl and placed her under the protection of the Slayer Buffy
, altering the memories of the Slayer and anyone connected to her into believing the girl was Buffy's younger sister Dawn
. The Order of Dagon were eventually destroyed by Glory. The last monk of the order was taken prisoner and interogated by Glory, and later rescued by Buffy. Before the monk died from his wounds he revealed to Glory (under torture) that The Key had been transformed, but not what The Key had become. The monk, after being rescued by Buffy, revealed to Buffy that Dawn was the key, something she already suspected.
Glory was also opposed by a military order
known as the "Knights of Byzantium", composed of knights and clerics. They swore to prevent Glory from using The Key, and they attempted to kill Dawn (The Key) before Glory could find her. In the episode "Spiral
", a large group of knights besiege Buffy and Dawn, but Glory arrives and slaughters nearly all of them, taking The Key with her.
Buffy's first confrontation with Glory came shortly after discovering there was something not right about Dawn. Buffy tried to go up against Glory and failed miserably. Glory beat Buffy severely, destroying an entire building in the process. The only thing Buffy did manage to do was escape during a temper tantrum by Glory which caused the building to collapse, escaping with the last surviving monk who quickly revealed to her the truth about Dawn being The Key and Buffy as her protector.
looking for "The Key", which will allow her to return to her own dimension. The Key would cause damage to all dimensions, including the dimension Buffy
and her friends inhabit, though Glory seems to be unaware or unconcerned of this fact. Glory is not aware of what form The Key has taken, though she knows that Buffy, the Slayer, protects it. She begins the quest to locate The Key, aided by a race of pale, black-eyed demons who are loyal to her almost to a fault, though she does not care for them and viciously abuses them, both verbally and physically, for even the slightest failures. Glory quickly establishes herself as one of Buffy's most dangerous and determined enemies. At one point, she confronts Buffy in her own home, openly threatening to kill Buffy's friends and family and force Buffy herself to watch her do so.
Due to Glory being a god in a human body, the human mind can not control such power and this gradually turns Glory insane. In order to maintain her sanity and power, Glory feeds off the mental energies of humans by a process that Buffy and her friends refer to as "brain-sucking". She inserts her fingers into the victim's head, absorbing the energies that bind the victim's mind. The humans that she "devours" in this way become incoherent and mentally unstable; those affected are also able to see Dawn in her true form. Glory's arrival in Sunnydale is followed by an inexplicable increase in the number of mental patients. One of her unfortunate victims is Willow
's girlfriend, Tara
.
For her part, Buffy is not initially aware of The Key's nature either. It is eventually revealed that Buffy's "new sister", Dawn
, is The Key, in human form. Glory eventually discovers this. Due to Tara's innate magical abilities she is able to see Dawn's true form; after witnessing Tara describe Dawn as a ball of green energy, Glory manages to kidnap Dawn.
The Key can only be used at a certain time, and as that time draws near, the power that separates Glory from Ben dissolves. They still inhabit Ben's body separately, but their memories and personalities begin to blur together.
After recovering from a mental breakdown caused by Glory's kidnapping of Dawn, Buffy decides to attack Glory with everything she has: Willow's magic spell to restore Tara's sanity stolen by Glory, at the same time weakening Glory's mind; the Dagon Sphere (a weapon created by the monks that causes physical pain to Glory); Buffy's robot double (the "Buffybot") originally Spike's sex toy; Olaf, The Troll God's Hammer (with which Buffy is able beat Glory in battle and severely weaken her albeit temporarily, due to the hammer being a weapon of the gods); and eventually a wrecking ball
, commandeered by Xander
. Meanwhile, Spike, Giles
, and Anya
attack her minions. However, the final spell that opens the rift between dimensions had already started by one of Glory's disciples - Doc - by cutting Dawn with a knife and making her bleed (the act of which opens a portal to the other dimensions). Ultimately, after killing Doc, Buffy realises that because the monks created Dawn from her essence, they share the same blood which means not only Dawn's blood but her own can close the portal, but it would also require her to die (her blood must stop flowing for the gateway to close). After saying goodbye to her sister, Buffy jumps into the portal that is opening, instantly dying and closing the gateway.
Glory is left defeated and significantly weakened, losing her hold on this reality and returning to the form and mind of Ben. Giles knows that Glory will eventually regain her power and return to get her revenge on Buffy unless Ben is killed, so he smothers Ben to death with his bare hands. As Ben dies, so does Glory.
Glory is also referred to as "Glorificus" by her minions and in most textual references, and occasionally as "The Beast" by the monks who created Dawn (although she has nothing to do with The Beast who appeared in Angel
, the spin-off series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
After Glory's defeat, her final appearance in the series is at the end of the episode "Lessons
", as an avatar of the First Evil
along with most of the other major villains from the series.
, and therefore (as its title implies) has no name. When the hell-god came to this dimension, she was dubbed "Glorificus" or sometimes "Glorifius," names which she shortened to "Glory." She was also known as "the Glorious One" (among many other amusing, groveling titles such as "Her Splendiferousness," "Her Sparkling Luminescence" and "Oh Sweaty-Naughty-Feelings-Causing One") by her demon minions, and as "the Beast" or "the Abomination" by the human priesthood and the Knights of Byzantium. The Scoobies and Ben often refer to her by the insulting name of "Hell-Bitch."
The extent of Glory's true powers as a hell-god were never revealed or used, though according to Gregor in "Spiral
", they were beyond what even her compatriot hell-gods could conceive. She later secures Ben's aid in recapturing Dawn by promising him immortality.
; Kramer notes that Glory was unable "to look at more than just herself."
's Irene and her sisters a.k.a. Four nudes. The Polish
art déco/futurist artist is renowned for being strongly feminist
and openly bisexual
/lesbian.
In Buffy & Angel: Official Yearbook 2006, Glory was voted number one by fans as "Best Buffyverse Villain", followed by Angelus and the Mayor respectively.
to release two unique Glory action figures in 2006 and 2007: one figure is modeled on the character wearing her trademark red dress, and the other features the character dressed in black, as seen in "The Gift". The latter action figure was released as part of a set, with the other figure being Dawn from the same episode.
A maquette
of Glory was released as part of Electric Tiki's "Tooned-Up Television" line.
Clare Kramer
Clare Elizabeth Kramer is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Glory, the main villain in Season 5 of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
.
History
Glorificus (also known as "Glory") is a god from a hell dimension in which she ruled alongside two other deities. Glory's power, army and dominion were vast and continued to grow stronger and stronger, as did her lust for misery and destruction, and Glory quickly became the most powerful of the three hell gods. Afraid and fearful that Glory would grow too powerful and seize the dimension for herself, the other two allied together and went to war against Glorificus. The hell gods barely defeated Glory, but despite their victory, Glory was too powerful to destroy, so they banished her into the earthly dimension, where her essence would be imprisoned in a human child named Ben, created solely to "contain" her until he eventually died as a mortal, sealing her.Glory was too powerful to be completely contained within the human vessel and when Ben reached his 20s, Glory began to gain control over Ben for short periods of time, taking the form of a vain, self-centered human female possessing superhuman strength, speed and invulnerability. Glory's strength was greater than that of any Slayer, vampire or demon on Earth, although her powers were greatly diminished compared to those she had in her true form. Dark magicks prevent humans from learning that Glory and Ben are one and the same; even when she transforms right in front of someone, they instantly forget what they saw. However, the spell does not affect supernatural entities like vampires and demons. This becomes a recurring joke in the penultimate episode of Season Five, where Spike finds himself repeatedly having to explain to the Scooby Gang that Ben and Glory are the same person, only for them either to misunderstand him or to instantly forget. However, as Ben and Glory's personalities begin to merge more and more (see below), the magical ruse weakens until, in the finale, the whole gang is able to see through it. This human form is Glory's only weakness; if the human vessel containing her is killed, then Glory perishes with him.
Glory's only goal is to find "The Key", a mystical energy nexus which is the only way for her to return to her original dimension. Unfortunately, using The Key will break down the barriers between all dimensions, causing all worlds to bleed into each other and allowing "Hell to reign on Earth". The Key was safe, guarded by an ancient group of monks known as The Order of Dagon. When they discovered The Beast (Glory) was searching for The Key they chose to hide it. Using ancient magic they transformed The Key into a human girl and placed her under the protection of the Slayer Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
, altering the memories of the Slayer and anyone connected to her into believing the girl was Buffy's younger sister Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
. The Order of Dagon were eventually destroyed by Glory. The last monk of the order was taken prisoner and interogated by Glory, and later rescued by Buffy. Before the monk died from his wounds he revealed to Glory (under torture) that The Key had been transformed, but not what The Key had become. The monk, after being rescued by Buffy, revealed to Buffy that Dawn was the key, something she already suspected.
Glory was also opposed by a military order
Military order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
known as the "Knights of Byzantium", composed of knights and clerics. They swore to prevent Glory from using The Key, and they attempted to kill Dawn (The Key) before Glory could find her. In the episode "Spiral
Spiral (Buffy episode)
"Spiral" is the 20th episode of season 5 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:With Glory now possessing knowledge that Dawn is the Key, Buffy and Dawn run for their lives, escaping thanks to Willow's magic and a large semi-truck slamming into Glory out on the street...
", a large group of knights besiege Buffy and Dawn, but Glory arrives and slaughters nearly all of them, taking The Key with her.
The Key
The Key is an ancient power, an ancient green mystical energy that according to Glory "is almost as old as she is". The Key needs to draw on powers from the dimension it's in before being used, which is why it can only be used at a certain time and certain place. Who or what created The Key or how is unknown, even its true purpose is never fully revealed. The Key seems to work by destroying the barriers that separate one dimension from another. The longer The Key is in use, the more the walls of reality begin to break down. When The Key is activated, a small portal opens and begins to grow, in which demons, creatures and entire dimensions begin immediately bleeding through.Buffy's first confrontation with Glory came shortly after discovering there was something not right about Dawn. Buffy tried to go up against Glory and failed miserably. Glory beat Buffy severely, destroying an entire building in the process. The only thing Buffy did manage to do was escape during a temper tantrum by Glory which caused the building to collapse, escaping with the last surviving monk who quickly revealed to her the truth about Dawn being The Key and Buffy as her protector.
Sunnydale
Although Glory enters early on in Season 5, the Scooby gang knows very little about her, only discovering her name from one of Glory's minions. Glory's god-like status, her extreme power level, her origins, the Key's true nature and history are not known until later episodes, Glory comes to SunnydaleSunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
looking for "The Key", which will allow her to return to her own dimension. The Key would cause damage to all dimensions, including the dimension Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
and her friends inhabit, though Glory seems to be unaware or unconcerned of this fact. Glory is not aware of what form The Key has taken, though she knows that Buffy, the Slayer, protects it. She begins the quest to locate The Key, aided by a race of pale, black-eyed demons who are loyal to her almost to a fault, though she does not care for them and viciously abuses them, both verbally and physically, for even the slightest failures. Glory quickly establishes herself as one of Buffy's most dangerous and determined enemies. At one point, she confronts Buffy in her own home, openly threatening to kill Buffy's friends and family and force Buffy herself to watch her do so.
Due to Glory being a god in a human body, the human mind can not control such power and this gradually turns Glory insane. In order to maintain her sanity and power, Glory feeds off the mental energies of humans by a process that Buffy and her friends refer to as "brain-sucking". She inserts her fingers into the victim's head, absorbing the energies that bind the victim's mind. The humans that she "devours" in this way become incoherent and mentally unstable; those affected are also able to see Dawn in her true form. Glory's arrival in Sunnydale is followed by an inexplicable increase in the number of mental patients. One of her unfortunate victims is Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
's girlfriend, Tara
Tara Maclay
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson from the fourth to the sixth season until the character's death. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love...
.
For her part, Buffy is not initially aware of The Key's nature either. It is eventually revealed that Buffy's "new sister", Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
, is The Key, in human form. Glory eventually discovers this. Due to Tara's innate magical abilities she is able to see Dawn's true form; after witnessing Tara describe Dawn as a ball of green energy, Glory manages to kidnap Dawn.
The Key can only be used at a certain time, and as that time draws near, the power that separates Glory from Ben dissolves. They still inhabit Ben's body separately, but their memories and personalities begin to blur together.
After recovering from a mental breakdown caused by Glory's kidnapping of Dawn, Buffy decides to attack Glory with everything she has: Willow's magic spell to restore Tara's sanity stolen by Glory, at the same time weakening Glory's mind; the Dagon Sphere (a weapon created by the monks that causes physical pain to Glory); Buffy's robot double (the "Buffybot") originally Spike's sex toy; Olaf, The Troll God's Hammer (with which Buffy is able beat Glory in battle and severely weaken her albeit temporarily, due to the hammer being a weapon of the gods); and eventually a wrecking ball
Wrecking ball
A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most common during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball...
, commandeered by Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
. Meanwhile, Spike, Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
, and Anya
Anya Jenkins
Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...
attack her minions. However, the final spell that opens the rift between dimensions had already started by one of Glory's disciples - Doc - by cutting Dawn with a knife and making her bleed (the act of which opens a portal to the other dimensions). Ultimately, after killing Doc, Buffy realises that because the monks created Dawn from her essence, they share the same blood which means not only Dawn's blood but her own can close the portal, but it would also require her to die (her blood must stop flowing for the gateway to close). After saying goodbye to her sister, Buffy jumps into the portal that is opening, instantly dying and closing the gateway.
Glory is left defeated and significantly weakened, losing her hold on this reality and returning to the form and mind of Ben. Giles knows that Glory will eventually regain her power and return to get her revenge on Buffy unless Ben is killed, so he smothers Ben to death with his bare hands. As Ben dies, so does Glory.
Glory is also referred to as "Glorificus" by her minions and in most textual references, and occasionally as "The Beast" by the monks who created Dawn (although she has nothing to do with The Beast who appeared in Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, the spin-off series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
After Glory's defeat, her final appearance in the series is at the end of the episode "Lessons
Lessons (Buffy episode)
"Lessons" is the first episode of the seventh season of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dawn finds vengeful spirits in the new Sunnydale High while Giles is rehabilitating Willow in England.- Plot :...
", as an avatar of the First Evil
First Evil
The First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
along with most of the other major villains from the series.
Name
"That Which Cannot Be Named" came into existence before written wordPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, and therefore (as its title implies) has no name. When the hell-god came to this dimension, she was dubbed "Glorificus" or sometimes "Glorifius," names which she shortened to "Glory." She was also known as "the Glorious One" (among many other amusing, groveling titles such as "Her Splendiferousness," "Her Sparkling Luminescence" and "Oh Sweaty-Naughty-Feelings-Causing One") by her demon minions, and as "the Beast" or "the Abomination" by the human priesthood and the Knights of Byzantium. The Scoobies and Ben often refer to her by the insulting name of "Hell-Bitch."
Powers and abilities
It is revealed that Glory's powers were reduced when she was imprisoned in human form. However, the powers that remained were:- Near-invulnerability: Only a Troll God's hammer was able to do any lasting damage to Glory when used repeatedly. Willow's lightning bolts caused her pain, but caused no visible damage as the hammer did, though she comments that Willow's assault "slowed her down"; by the time of the season finale, Buffy mentions that Willow was the only one of the Scoobies who was ever successful in actually hurting Glory up to that point. When a building collapses on top of her (see below), she was slowed down, but was unharmed. Similarly, she was unharmed after being hit by a truck. Presumably, she was either unharmed or left with minor injuries after Willow's teleportationTeleportationTeleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
spell during the hospital attack, during which she easily outmatched the entire Scooby Gang. - Superhuman strength: Glory possesses enormous physical strengthPhysical strengthPhysical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training.-Overview:...
far beyond that of most, if not all, vampires, demons, or Slayers; in fact, she is considered to be the most physically powerful Big BadBig BadBig Bad is a term originally used by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief villain or antagonist in a particular broadcast season...
in the series, shown to be able to inflict massive damage on her opponents through pure brute force and physical strength alone. At one point, a building collapses on her after she repeatedly stomps her foot in a temper tantrum over a broken shoe. In "InterventionIntervention (Buffy episode)"Intervention" is the eighteenth episode in the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :At the Summers's home after dinner, Buffy confesses to Giles that she's worried about her ability to love. Giles suggests he and Buffy go to a sacred location in the desert so that she can...
", she kicked Spike clear across her living room, through a solid wooden door, and to the other end of the room behind said door after losing her patience with him. In "Spiral", she punches a hole through the barrier that Willow had previously generated. - Superhuman speed: Glory's super-speed is depicted as a fast-moving blur that is apparently invisible to the naked eye. This is seen when she pursues Buffy and Dawn immediately after Tara, in her insane state, accidentally reveals that Dawn is The Key.
- Brain Sucking: The ability to drain the mental energy of humans. This was primarily to maintain her own mental strength, but would also prevent Ben's form from resuming control. Not only does the drain draw out all energy leaving the victims in an insane state, they are also able to visually see The Key's true energy and ultimately become psychically linked to Glory and The Key.
- Shroud of Illusion: A mystical shroud cast to prevent people from learning that she and Ben were the same person, the origins of which are unclear. It only works on humans; vampires, demons, and other non-humans are immune. She loses this capability in the penultimate episode of Season Five.
- Vampire Identification: The ability to differentiate between vampires and humans, as seen in "InterventionIntervention (Buffy episode)"Intervention" is the eighteenth episode in the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :At the Summers's home after dinner, Buffy confesses to Giles that she's worried about her ability to love. Giles suggests he and Buffy go to a sacred location in the desert so that she can...
", when her minions capture Spike under the mistaken impression that he is The Key. - Omnilingualism: Able to speak and understand any human or demon language. This is known when humans and demons would talk to her in other languages and she would easily be able to interpret and understand.
- Magic In "ShadowShadow (Buffy episode)"Shadow" is the eighth episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Joyce gets a CAT scan at the hospital while Buffy and Dawn wait impatiently for news. Dawn asks Buffy why it is called a "CAT Scan"...
", Glory cast an ancient spell that caused an ordinary snake to grow to a massive size and granted it the ability to see the true form of The Key, in addition to making it completely loyal to her. According to Giles, a spell such as that would need enormous levels of magic to perform, and Glory cast it rather easily.
The extent of Glory's true powers as a hell-god were never revealed or used, though according to Gregor in "Spiral
Spiral (Buffy episode)
"Spiral" is the 20th episode of season 5 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:With Glory now possessing knowledge that Dawn is the Key, Buffy and Dawn run for their lives, escaping thanks to Willow's magic and a large semi-truck slamming into Glory out on the street...
", they were beyond what even her compatriot hell-gods could conceive. She later secures Ben's aid in recapturing Dawn by promising him immortality.
Personality
Clare Kramer, in an interview with the BBC, says Glory's strength was her lack of self-doubt: "She was completely secure in herself, focused on what she wanted and dedicated to her cause." However, her strength was also her downfallHubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
; Kramer notes that Glory was unable "to look at more than just herself."
Servants
- Dreg
- Jinx
- Murk
- Slook
- Gronx
- The High Priest Minion
- Doc
Art links
The picture in the living room of Glory's mansion is a copy of Tamara de LempickaTamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lempicka , born Maria Górska in Moscow, in the Russian Empire, was a Polish Art Deco painter and "the first woman artist to be a glamour star."- Early life :...
's Irene and her sisters a.k.a. Four nudes. The Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
art déco/futurist artist is renowned for being strongly feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and openly bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
/lesbian.
In Buffy & Angel: Official Yearbook 2006, Glory was voted number one by fans as "Best Buffyverse Villain", followed by Angelus and the Mayor respectively.
Canonical appearances
Glory has appeared in 13 canonical Buffyverse episodes:- Season 5: "No Place Like Home" (first appearance); "Family"; "Shadow"; "Checkpoint"; "Blood Ties"; "I Was Made to Love You"; "Forever"; "Intervention"; "Tough Love"; "Spiral; "The Weight of the World"; "The Gift" (killed)
- Season 7: "Lessons" (as an incarnation of The First EvilFirst EvilThe First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
)
Merchandise
The character's popularity prompted Diamond Select ToysDiamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
to release two unique Glory action figures in 2006 and 2007: one figure is modeled on the character wearing her trademark red dress, and the other features the character dressed in black, as seen in "The Gift". The latter action figure was released as part of a set, with the other figure being Dawn from the same episode.
A maquette
Maquette
A maquette is a small scale model or rough draft of an unfinished architectural work or a sculpture...
of Glory was released as part of Electric Tiki's "Tooned-Up Television" line.
See also
- List of Buffyverse Villains and Supernatural Beings
- Woman warriorWoman warriorThe portrayal of women warriors in literature and popular culture is a subject of study in history, literary studies, film studies, folklore and mythology, gender studies, and cultural studies.-Archaeology:...
- List of women warriors in folklore