Which one do you like better? Spike or Buffy? And why?

Well....  Spike is awfully pretty.....

Oh wait, you wanted an intelligent answer!  Ummmm....

Spike's pretty.  Me like Spike.

Spike - he's so interesting and complicated and crazy and obsessive.  I always liked the Trickster type character and that's Spike all over.   I love Buffy, too, but she's more of a standard hero type.

Spike. He's just so complicated and interesting. In my opinion he was one of the best characters in the show.

Everything, even the flaws, made him what he was. What drew me in was the depth that he loved, even when he was evil.

He's full of contradictions, and nothing about him is really simple. He was more than the standard cardboard cut out of an evil vampire or a souled hero. Plus, as said earlier, he is very pretty.

I would have to say Buffy.  There were times when I wasn't so fond of her, but she was always my favorite character.  It took me until about the 5th season to even like Spike, but I guess his sexiness eventually got to me.

I shall answer your question with another:

Which one do you like better?  Spike or Spuffy?

It seems to me there are a lot of those out there who only like Buffy or Spuffy because Spike likes Buffy and wants to be with her.  I find it...interesting.

I like them both and especially like them as a set.  If I had to choose I'd pick Spike because I project so much on his character....something about him touches me on levels no other fictional character ever has.  I can identify with him far more than with Buffy so I choose Spike.

Kathleen

Well, Spike is more my favorite than Buffy, though I do like her to.

But I like Spuffy for more reasons than Spike just wanting to be with her. So I'd have to go with both as well.

Spike, hands down.  Looks aside, he is the most intriguing character because of his hundred and one layers.  As for Spuffy, well, yeah--I wanted cause Spike wanted it, but honestly, I can watch Spike with almost anyone...I don' t need them as a set.  I think Spike today would do better on his own than Buffy (not talking comics, here).  Buffy, girl power and all that is fabulous, but I just slowly began to find her damn annoying.  Not Dawn annoying, but still.  I think I'd probably enjoy watching Anya more too.  Or Faith.  Angel as well.  The goody-goody hero complex is a turn off for me.  This is why I strongly dislike Clark Kent.  There's only so much self righteousness a girl can take...

SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, 

and...........

SPIKE

Does that answer your question.

Once again, I'm covered by what Scarlet Ibis said. With one addition, for all that girl-power, Buffy was so weak emotionally I wanted to bitch-slap her at times! In the comic series she seems to get a bit more comfortable in her own skin, so I guess she's earned a few points, but I still prefer Spike over her!

I also prefer Spike. I have a thing for "bad boys with difficult childhood". Still, I like Buffy very much and I truly enjoyed watching her grow up during this show. Nearly as much as I loved Spike's change.

Spike, hands down! If I'd known Buffy as a real person, I probably would have strangled her. :D

CM

I used to like Spike more, but now I like them both in the same level. Buffy is clearly interesting in her own way, we've seen so many Spikes out there in different shows, the bad boy turned good for a girl, but a few Buffys. Buffy is a unique character because even though she's the hero, she's still human with human flaws which make her more interesting.

I also have to agree with what Scarlet said, and that includes her dislike of Clark Kent. :P (But this isn't a post for my rants against Smallville.)

Spike, like everyone has said, is a very complex character. He was evil, and then tried to become good, finally succeeding in the end. He is not the standard hero character. Those characters often make me want to slap them, repeatedly.

Now don't get me wrong, I do like Buffy, she just has the tendency to irritate me. So as far as Spuffy goes, I mostly like it because Spike loves her so much. However, I could happily see Spike with almost anyone else as long as he was happy. If he can't have Buffy, I want Spike to find someone who will love him back.

Okay, that last post was from me. I was signed in when I wrote it, but wasn't when it posted.

I love them both equally. Maybe Spike a bit more, but any preference is marginal.

Ok, now that I'm awake and can actually compose an intelligent, well-thought out answer, here goes.

Spike speaks to me on a basic level as a person trying to change for love.  Love tends to bring out the best and the worst in us, which is more than evidenced in the show!  Buffy is a hero, but that tends to be all she is.  Her viewpoint is very black and white.  Spike operates more in the grey areas, making him a more believable character.  His utter devotion to the women in his life makes the closet romantic in me sit up and whine.  And to the critics who say that Spike changing so Buffy will love him isn't really change, or is a selfish form of change, I say most changes are brought about by love in one form or another, either a love for a partner, a child, a parent or a friend.  Changing for love is probably the most unselfish type of change; you're changing for someone else, not for yourself. 

I love Spuffy too; espeically where Buffy wakes up and realizes what she has in front of her; who wouldn't want to be loved with the complete devotion that Spike offers??   To be loved for your faults, instead of despite them; that is a dream that most people have; to be seen for what you are, instead of what you pretend to be.  However, I will read anything with Spike, no matter what pairing it is, as long as Spike ends up happy; love like that deserves to be returned.   So I guess to answer the question, it's Spike that I love, but I like Buffy too.

Buffy has always been my favorite character, but I also love Spike.  So they're my top two favorite Buffy characters.

Spike.  I am getting to like Buffy better as time goes by, but I am one of those who ship Spuffy because that is who Spike wants.

I can and do read Spike in other pairings.  The only slash I can tolerate is spangel, but I can read Spike with any other female.

I like them both.  Like TammyDevil, I didn't fall for the Spike charm until season 5.  I watched from the beginning.  I do think that Buffy has some big issues.  She really needed to see a therapist!!  *Checks SD yellow pages for a demonic therapist*

In fact, Buffy bashing is one thing that will turn me off a story very quickly (which is probably why I'm a Spuffy reading purist).  That and making her stupid.  On the other hand, (check out the Spuffy purist thing above) I don't like it when Spike's presense in Buffy's life is dismissed as being trivial

Spike, Spike, Spike!

I only started watching Buffy because I heard about this evil/good/evil vampire called Spike on it.  And found a picture of him.  :)   Don't get me wrong, I love Buffy to death now, as well as most other characters, and the complete depth of the show drew me in, but Spike will always be my favorite.

Although I love both characters, like everyone else, I have to come down on the Spike side of the fence. Spike leaves himself open to experience life at a deep emotional level, which adds a lot of depth to his character.  His self-awareness and the choices he makes because he is an actor in his own destiny (rather than a slave to it) make him intriguing and open a world of possibilities for him to explore. He can be evil, struggling, redeemed, touched, angered, smug, regretful, tender, compassionate, vindictive, humorous, etc. And throughout his many phases, he consistantly remains edgey, sexual, sensitive, and insightful. For anyone who has read my fics, I adore pairing Spike with Buffy, but also love writing him with other women. He brings a uniqueness to his dealings with each character that Buffy IMO fails to achieve. 

My love of Buffy has to do with her inability to connect effectively with her emotions. I'm fascinated by the effects that trauma has had on her life, and how it has colored her actions. So many people call Buffy a bitch, or cruel when I think that's the farthest thing from the truth. So, as a writer, I really enjoy trying to find the motivation behind the hurtful or confusing things that Buffy does and feels. By tucking into that mental process, and the utter tragedy that has colored her life, I've come to have a great appreciation for her character and her strength. There's a reason Slayers die young. If they don't, they turn out like Buffy - emotionally distant, traumatized, and always seeking to regain control of a life that no longer has value. You are disposable. Just think what it must be like to lead an existence where you must struggle every day not to die. That takes incredible inner fortitude. And in that sense, Buffy is a great hero. 

Spike is also great fun to write. He has a very distinct way of speaking, which makes dialogue a hoot. Not to mention there's also a huge array of mannerisms and facial expresses at our disposable to draw on. You have to dig at Buffy to get her to reveal herself, and because they are such opposites, they compliment each other beautifully.     

Spike!

I don't really like Buffy unless it's fanon.

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Spike!

I don't really like Buffy unless it's fanon.

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sorry for the double post

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Spike will always be #1 in my heart no matter what.

I love Buffy too though, but for much different reasons then Spike. I think my Buffy-love peak was in season 5 since I think that's when she was at her best. I tend to think that most of the characters were at their best at some point in S5.

Spike is the most fascinating character on the show in my opinion. Buffy from before Season Six and some Season Seven seemed very real and someone to admire for her flaws and complications and 'how she tried', but sometimes the denial and deliberate blindness got to me. When everything she did wrong was just forgotten so easily, it made me feel like she didn't deserve Spike's love.

One of the amazing things about Spike is the complete and true love he feels. What can I say; I'm a romantic!

Buffy.

Spike is also my favorite character, high above all others – but the Spike that I truly love and admire is the Spike that is connected with Buffy. That connection with Buffy is what resurrected and combined Spike/William. Spike pre Buffy is capable of great devotion, loyalty, generosity, protectiveness, intelligence and love but it is all bound to Dru and perhaps his vamp family. Spike after Buffy eventually becomes the great combination of demon and human with the ultimate manifestation of all his great potential and power. This is the combination that takes him beyond love of One Woman to love of several and then to his beautiful and grand sacrifice of self to the good of the many. But I do not think that Spike would ever have arrived there without his love and need for Buffy and so they will always to connected. I love Spike because he is the metaphor of the world that I would love to see; a world where all people will live to their full potential and have such a capacity for love.

SpikesKatMac post:

"And to the critics who say that Spike changing so Buffy will love him isn't really change, or is a selfish form of change, I say most changes are brought about by love in one form or another, either a love for a partner, a child, a parent or a friend. Changing for love is probably the most unselfish type of change; you're changing for someone else, not for yourself"

I never could understand this argument either – Love is one of the strongest forces for change in peoples – if you truly love someone you will try very hard to make a life possible with that person -