Buffy The Vampire SlayerandSupernaturalare two shows that blended genres and entertained audiences for decades, butSupernaturalhas the edge in a couple of significant ways. BothBuffyandSupernaturalmade big waves for fans of horror, all things supernatural, and comedy. For Buffy, it followed a young woman who was destined to be the Slayer, fighting back the forces of evil and keeping the world safe. The series ran from 1997 to 2003, but it wasn’t long after the series ended that the gap it left behind for fans was filled.
Supernaturalbegan airing in 2005 on The CW, and immediately, the world fell in love with Sam and Dean Winchester. Two brothers who were trained as hunters from a young age, and possessed all the necessary skills and talents to take down monsters and demons. Learning fromBuffy,Supernaturalexpanded the premise of the show to feel much grander, and raised the stakes at every opportunity, and whileBuffymay hold a special place in fans' hearts as the original,Supernaturalperfected the monster hunting genre.
10Supernatural Does Sibling Relationships Better Than Buffy
It’s clear thatSupernaturalhas the advantage when it comes to sibling relationships, considering the show revolves around two brothers. Meanwhile,Buffyonly introduced a sibling for Buffy Summers in season 5. Dawn was cleverly weaved into the story and her presence definitely changed the dynamics inBuffy, but it doesn’t compare to the bond between Sam and Dean.
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Dawn was an invention that made the narrative inBuffyconsiderably more complex, but it took time to get used to the change.Supernaturalleads with Dean returning to get his brother from college to help with an important rescue mission to track down their missing father. Buffy and Dawn have a stereotypical sister relationship where they argue, but ultimately love each other, but Dawn, being a much younger sibling, tends to be left out of most stories. Sam and Dean have their ups and downs, but the brothers are always there for eachother, helping to lift eachother up and literally bring them back from the dead.
WhileBuffy the Vampire Slayerintroduces Buffy as the Chosen Slayer, a being whose responsibility and power means they are supposed to protect the world from monsters, Buffy rarely leaves the small town of Sunnydale. Coincidentally, Sunnydale is positioned at an important intersection between Earth and other realms, but still, it feels odd that the character doesn’t have to deal with threats beyond the borders of their hometown.
On the other hand,Supernaturalsees the Winchesterstraveling to every corner of the continental US, and sometimes further afield. Their work has even taken them to Heaven, alternate dimensions, and Purgatory. But for the most part, Sam and Dean are able to drive from one monster to the next as their work takes them all over America. And since Sam and Dean are just two hunters out of many, it makes sense that they don’t need to travel beyond the USA, but they still rack up plenty of miles in the Impala.
8Supernatural Has Better Monsters
Buffy may have kicked off a monster of the week in a live-action kind of story, butSupernaturalperfected it. Buffy encounters a variety of supernatural beings, from man-sized insects, to demons, but for the most part, the vampire slayer faces off with vampires.Supernaturalsees Sam and Dean battle it out with every conceivable myth and monster from a variety of religions, mythology, and legend.
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Early on, they fight a lot of demons and classic cryptids, but it’s not long before they are fighting angels, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, God himself, and every other threat in existence. The visual effects, practical effects, variety, and level of threat provided bySupernaturalfar exceeds anything fromBuffy, and it’s equally creative in its approach to new supernatural creatures. Overall,Supernatural’smonsters and threats are more impressive and fun thanBuffy’s.
7Supernatural’s Characters Are More Dynamic Than Buffy
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Buffy Summers is an iconic protagonist. A high school kid who has exceptional martial arts skills and spends her nights patrolling the streets for vampires to put down. She also has incredible friends; Willow, who learns witchcraft, and Xander, who is incredibly brave and resilient despite not sharing any mystical gifts. However, many of these characters fall into typical stereotypes, playing up the high school setting. Even Rupert, the school librarian, is a classic trope of a British librarian, with some secret arcana knowledge to beef up the character.
Supernaturalincludes some stereotypes, like Dean being a ladies' man and Sam being a studious brother, but for the most part, the series rejects stereotypes. One of the Winchester’s most valuable assets is an older red neck, named Bobby, who has in-depth knowledge of ghosts and all things supernatural. Angels are tragically flawed, God is a bored drunk, and demons who rule over Hell are deliciously complex with mommy issues to boot. The series dives deep into each character in a way that is both entertaining and satisfying.
6Supernatural’s Villains Are Far More Powerful
While the variety of monsters has already been proven as considerably more broad inSupernatural, the level of the threats also eclipsesBuffy. Buffy deals with threats that occasionally present real danger to the outside world, but more often, the worst trouble is happening in Sunnydale. Big plans to take over the Earth are taken down with little more thanBuffy’s version of the Scooby gang, as a group of kids come together to fight bad guys, and mostly rely on Buffy to do the heavy lifting.
Supernatural: Every Season Ranked
Supernatural had a historic 15-season run on TV, and the show’s length saw many ups and downs in quality. Here are the Supernatural seasons ranked.
InSupernatural, angels threaten to turn the Earth into little more than rubble and debris in a holy war, the results of which are seen in an alternate dimension. The entire universe is at risk of being turned off by the almighty creator, and Hell is on the brink of being unleashed on Earth multiple times in imaginative new ways. Pound for pound,Supernaturalhits harder, with the more impressive monsters ready to destroy life on Earth, and often beyond.
5Supernatural Has Spectacular Overarching Stories
Buffy the Vampire Slayerfeatured some truly great multi-season storylines, and brought characters back again and again in fun ways. New Slayers being activated, Angel’s romance with Buffy, and Spike’s slow road to reformation. These stories are pivotal to making the show what it is, but they rarely felt thought out or as if they were planned from the start.
Meanwhile, Supernatural had huge moments early in the series that only paid off a decade or more later. When Chuck was first introduced in season 4, the seeds that he was actually God were already being laid, despite this reveal only coming in season 11. Castiel grew from a simple angel to an integral member of the team, theMen of Letters mystery unfoldedover several seasons, and the Winchester parents, John and Mary, were slowly developed throughout the show’s 15 season run.
4Supernatural Balances Drama And Humor Better Than Buffy
Both shows are undeniable examples of how to blend genres and balance humor and drama.Buffyleans heavily into the lighter aspect early on, with the premise of a teenage girl who could be crowned homecoming queen leading a double life as a monster hunter. But as the show continued, Buffy Summers' life gets exceedingly more complicated, and the drama grows naturally. This balance is fun and adds to the show, but some episodes were over the top goofy, while others felt incredibly dark.
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Supernatural, however, set this blended tone from the start. UnlikeBuffy, where episodes tended to lean more heavily into one note or the other,Supernaturalexplored drama and humor side by side. One moment, people were screaming in agony, with the boys rushing to the rescue, and the next, it would see Dean getting a phone number while Sam shakes his head. This duality allowed both emotions to diffuse together, and create something complex and gratifying. The show rarely goes too heavily in either direction, and when it does, it does so with a lot of purpose.
3Supernatural’s Meta Episodes Are Incredibly Creative
There are undeniably great episodes whereBuffybreaks the mold and does something extremely creative. From their episode with zero dialogue, to introducing a new central character and acting like they were always there,Buffy’screative prowess is clear. But with that being said, these episodes occasionally felt more like experiments, rather than important additions to the show.
Supernaturalalso had a lot of episodes that got highly creative, and it’s fair to say that not all of them were quite as pivotal or important as each other. However, the meta episodes were a stroke of genius. Particularly in episodes like when Sam and Dean are transported to the real world, where they find themselves playing the roles of themselves. Or episodes that were framed as being a story from Chuck’s novel, or found footage horror shows like Ghostfacers,Supernaturalnailed the meta humor, and these episodes helped drive the narrative forward, with characters returning later on.
2Supernatural Is More Modern
An obvious distinction, but one worth mentioning,Buffycame out in the 1990s. The show was shaped by the period it was set in, and while it remains a favorite for many, it’s easy to see how dated the show has become in just a few decades. The high school setting doesn’t help this, as it meant the show followed popular tropes for the period that quickly went out of style. Meanwhile,Supernaturalstarted just a couple of years afterBuffyfinished, but remains more modern and timeless.
Supernatural’s Multiverse Fully Explained
Supernatural’s multiverse has expanded over the years and includes many alternate worlds such as The Winchesters, Scoobynatural, and many others.
While major innovations like smartphones, tablets, and personal laptops have become increasingly more common, Sam and Dean reject these innovations for more reliable, time-tested methods. Yes, Sam will use a laptop for research, but just as frequently, he is seen in a library scrolling through archived newspapers. The brothers also sport brick phones, and their method of dealing with monsters is very hands-on. As a result, the show feels more contemporary and easier to connect with.
1Supernatural’s Special Effects Far Outshine Buffy’s
And going on from that point,Supernaturalalso benefitted from the new wave of CGI innovation and advances that came throughout the 2000s and 2010s.Buffy’spractical effects are great, but when it attempts to use CGI, the show’s age shines through even more clearly than from the dated content. Today, anyone with a smartphone, which pretty much means everyone, is capable of creating special effects that exceed anything inBuffy’sentire run.
Supernatural,on the other hand, does some clever things with CGI, and while these elements will still age the series, there’s no denying that it is better and more effective thanBuffy. Whether it comes to having an angel spread their wings, or a black goo monster come through another dimension, the special effects inSupernaturalknockBuffy the Vampire Slayerout of the race. But that doesn’t mean both shows don’t have strengths and are worth watching.
