Wolves at the Gate, Part Two is the thirteenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series. It was written by Drew Goddard and illustrated by Georges Jeanty. Joss Whedon is the executive producer.
Synopsis[]
Drew Goddard (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Lost, and the writer of Cloverfield), continues his story arc "Wolves at the Gate," which has Buffy and the gang fighting a team of über vamps in Tokyo. In order to better understand their mysterious new foes, Xander must recruit an old ally to join in their cause to defeat this new danger.[1]
Summary[]
Fifteen minutes prior to Xander and Renee's visit, Dracula reflects on his solitude. He now appears as a bearded old man in a soiled bathrobe. His demonic butler Butterfield walks in and encourages him to get out of his depressive state. Their conversation reveals that Dracula has been drinking heavily and rarely leaves his room, not having killed 'so much as a peasant' in months. He worries that people are beginning to wonder what has become of the mighty Dracula. He suddenly musters his energy, however, when he notices Xander landing his helicopter outside of his castle. He orders Butterfield to get him a razor. Clean shaven and seemingly young again, Dracula greets Xander at the door by calling him "manservant," to which Xander reciprocates by calling him "master." Dracula offends Renee and appalls Xander by referring to Renee as a moor. Nevertheless, he welcomes the pair inside, despite initially seeming to try to convince them to leave.
In Scotland, Andrew informs young Slayers of Dracula's known powers, which included transmogrification, a piercing hypnotic stare, and imperviousness to stakes — though staking him reduces him to dust, as it does any vampire, the dust can transform into fog and allow him to reform. He concludes his lecture by stating that following Anya Jenkins's death, Xander took a leave of absence and went to live with Dracula in Transylvania for a few months. Inside the castle, a Slayer reports to Buffy that another fellow Slayer, Aiko, has discovered the Japanese vampire gang's leader's name: Toru. Buffy speaks to Aiko through video transmission and orders her to keep surveillance on the vampires until she and other Slayers join her. Buffy orders Satsu to prep the others, sending all the Slayers from headquarters to Tokyo. When Satsu suggests leaving a few as rearguard, Buffy snaps at her and demands to have her orders followed.
At Dracula's castle, he, Xander, and Renee sit and discuss how the vampires possess the exact same powers as his. Dracula, at first, claims this is impossible, as his powers are ancient magics under his guardianship, then bursts in fury when he realizes that they have stolen his secrets. Apparently they got him drunk and convinced him to gamble his secrets for a motorcycle. He also realizes he had probably been cheated, for they had a witch dealing. He enters his armory and grabs hold of a his sword, agreeing to help fight these vampires, despite his hatred of Buffy.
On their flight to Tokyo, Willow approaches Satsu and comforts her about the tension between she and Buffy following their one-night stand. She discusses Buffy's difficult position as a general and reminds Satsu that Buffy is not a lesbian and that she shouldn't get her hopes up. Satsu says she knew, and the serious part of the conversation is over. Willow then jokingly interrogates Satsu as to how Buffy was in bed.
In downtown Tokyo, Aiko keeps a close eye on Toru and Raidon in the streets. However, unbeknownst to her they have spotted her tailing them. Tracking them, she finds herself alone in an alley where Toru has strategically left a mysterious, glowing red ring on the ground for her to pick up. Aiko reaches for it, when suddenly Kumiko flies overhead behind her with the mʔ. For a few seconds, the Scythe, the device, and Aiko conduct a red energy, before Toru appears in front of Aiko and breaks her jaw with a single punch, asking her how it feels to be a regular girl again. Before she can answer, Toru takes a horrific bite in her neck and kills her. Toru looks over at Raidon and claims the beta-test is successful and they should now make this technology global. Kumiko triumphantly flies into the sky, revealing a far larger ring device on the roof of a building.
Continuity[]
- Andrew refers to Xander's time with Dracula after Anya's death ("Chosen"), in which he taught the vampire to ride a motorcycle (Antique).
- Willow talks to Satsu about the previous night, in which she saw that the Slayer had sex with Buffy (Wolves at the Gate, Part One).
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Aiko
- Beverly
- Butterfield
- Dracula
- Alexander Harris
- Kumiko Ishihara
- Anya Jenkins (Only mentioned)
- Raidon
- Renee
- Willow Rosenberg
- Satsu
- Buffy Summers
- Toru
- Andrew Wells
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Locations[]
Objects[]
Death count[]
- Four Kabuki demons, slayed by Aiko.
- Aiko, drained by Toru.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- Casting a spell, Kumiko Ishihara shouts in Japanese "逃げろ!", which translates in English as "Run away!".
Distribution[]
- Wolves at the Gate, Part Two was the eleventh best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 83,580 sales in April 2008 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- During his lecture, a Slayer notes Andrew is sporting a replica of George Hamilton's outfit from Love at First Bite. He assures her that it not a replica but the actual outfit he bought at an auction.
- A Slayer mentions a previous lecture of Andrew which was about the Glaive, a weapon from the 1983 film Krull.
- Dracula has a painting of Vlad the Impaler in his castle.
- Dracula mentions gambling his magic secrets for a Kawasaki Z1000 motorcycle.
- The red "muscle suit" armor worn by Gary Oldman in the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula can be seen in Dracula's weapons chamber.
International titles[]
- French: Les Loups Sont à Nos Portes, partie 2 (The Wolves Are at Our Doors, Part 2)
- German:
- Italian: Lupi alle porte parte 2 (Wolves at the Doors, Part 2)
- Russian: Волки у ворот, Часть 2 (Wolves at the Gate, Part 2)
- Spanish: Lobos a las Puertas, Parte II (Wolves at the Doors, Part II)
- Turkish: Kapıdaki Kurtlar, Kısım İki (Wolves at the Gate, Part Two)
Other[]
- This issue was adapted into a Season Eight Motion Comic episode.
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
| Andrew Wells: "Dracula is fond of Xander. They have a… unique relationship. Xander taught him to ride a motorbike." |
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #13 Wolves at the Gate." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on February 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--April 2008". ICv2, May 19, 2008. Retrieved February 07, 2018.