I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To me, it was a seminal TV series that fundamentally changed the nature of how we view fantasy characters in fiction. The notion of characters with secret identities and double lives isn’t new. Heroes since Zorro and The Scarlet Pimpernel have used double identities as tools in their battles against evil, but as opposed to most heroes, Buffy’s dual life was difficult, not empowering.
Buffy’s goal wasn’t to be ordinary, but to maintain ordinary moments in a life that kept throwing extraordinary things at her. Buffy isn’t the first or last character to face this struggle, but she is one of the most interesting to do so. Here are five other characters that show how appealing it can be to watch an ordinary person deal with the extraordinary.
