- “They want an apocalypse? We'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now, because we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out.”
- ―Buffy Summers[src]
Apocalypse was a specific occurrence which had an exceptionally destructive effect. The final outcomes of doomsday events varied from a major disruption of human civilization,[5] to the extinction of human life,[1][6][7][8][9] to the destruction of Earth,[10][11] to the annihilation of the entire universe.[3][12]
Several events that almost caused an apocalypse were averted thanks to the efforts of the Scooby Gang[13][6][11][14][2][15][3][16] and the Angel Investigations team.[7][17][18] While some inevitably came to pass, such as the fall of Los Angeles[19] and the end of magic,[20] these heroes still fought to undo or prevent further damage from the apocalypses.[18][21]
History
Before 1996
When Acathla came forth to swallow the world, a Virtuous Knight prevented the apocalypse by stabbing and entombing the demon.[10]
When the Judge came forth to incinerate all of humanity, an army fought and dismembered the demon, finally stopping him.[1]
In 1932, the worshipers of Proserpexa attempted to destroy the world using her effigy, only to be stopped and killed by an earthquake that also swallowed her temple in Sunnydale.[8]
In 1936, the Master attempted to open Sunnydale's Hellmouth, but an earthquake interrupted the ritual and imprisoned the vampire.[13]
1996
The Order of Aurelius attempted to free the Master by killing humans in the Harvest, which Buffy prevented by slaying Luke, the ritual's Vessel.[13]
1997
With Moloch the Corruptor's unlimited power over the Internet, Buffy noted he had the power to use nuclear missiles; the Slayer severed his evil influence by killing him.[22]
After a number of portents announced his prophecized freedom, the Master rose and opened the Hellmouth; his death at Buffy's hands closed it again.[23]
1998
Spike and Drusilla reassembled the Judge; in their reunion with Angel, the vampires led the Judge to incinerate humanity, begging with the local Sunnydale Mall. Buffy stopped the Judge's attack by exploding the demon, dismembering him once again.[6]
Angel awoke Acathla to suck the world into hell; with the vortex activated, Buffy killed Angel to deactivate it again.[11]
In the Wishverse, Buffy's absence allowed the Master to rise, and the Order of Aurelius achieved vampire supremacy over Sunnydale.[5]
1999
The apocalypse cult Sisterhood of Jhe opened the Hellmouth, but the Scooby Gang fought back and closed it again.[14]
Mayor Wilkins performed his Ascension and became the Olvikan; the Scooby Gang stopped the Old One's massacre by killing him.[24]
The Scourge constructed the Beacon to annihilate all human life, including half-demons; Doyle sacrificed himself to destroy the artifact.[7]
2000
Three Vahrall demons performed the Sacrifice of Three to open the Hellmouth, but Buffy rescued the third sacrifice and prevented the ritual's conclusion.[2]
Adam freed demons to fight Initiative soldiers for his plan to create an army of bio-mechanical demonoids with the corpses from both sides. The Scooby Gang defeated Adam and fought to lessen the number of casualties.[15]
2001
Freezing of time by Gene Rainey.[17]
Opening of dimensional portals by Glorificus, bleeding all dimensions together in the Big Day.[3]
2002
Willow, corrupted with dark magic, resurfaced the effigy of Proserpexa to eliminate all life on Earth. Xander's unconditional love for Willow reached her humanity and stopped her attempt.[8]
2003
The continuous loss of the sun would cause the death of all living creatures.[9]
The First Evil had as his endgame the possession of mankind en masse and the destruction of the Slayer line.[25] The Scooby Gang and Potential Slayers fought its horde of Turok-Han, closing the Hellmouth and defeating the First Evil.[16]
Having already conquered Los Angeles, Jasmine was in her way to make all humanity lose its free will. The Angel Investigations team fought back when they awoke from her enchantment, and Connor killed Jasmine.[26]
2004
Illyria intended to release the Army of Doom upon humanity, but she discovered her army was nothing more than ashes by that point.[27]
The self-destruction of Illyria would cause the destruction of the North American continent, but Wesley used the Mutari generator to keep her power's levels under control.[28]
Wolfram & Hart had an scheduled apocalypse with the Circle of the Black Thorn[29] since at least 2001.[30] In 2004, the Angel Investigations team killed each of the Circle's members to prevent them from even putting it into action.[31]
Wolfram & Hart brought forth the fall of Los Angeles, sending the entire city to hell.[19] Angel's eventual death made the Senior Partners create a temporal fold and undo this apocalypse.[18]
2006
With the birth of Twilight, the Earth dimension began to crumble with natural disasters and the invasion of hordes of placenturian demons so the new dimension would take its place.[32][33] Buffy stopped this apocalypse by breaking the Seed of Wonder, severing the connection Earth had with other dimensions and ensuring that the Twilight prophecy would not come to pass.[20]
The destruction of the Seed of Wonder caused the end of magic, a major event that saw all forms of magic inaccessible from the Earth.[20] Magic was eventually restored after Willow created a new Seed in the Deeper Well.[12]
2007
Wolfram & Hart intended to reopen dimensional portals with the TinCan website during the end of magic. However, its founder Theo Daniels contracted Deepscan to protect him from W&F and destroy its server, leaving the website offline.[34]
Severin planned to reverse Twilight, which would tear reality itself apart, but Illyria convinced him to instead redirect all of his powers into the new Seed of Wonder.[12]
Whistler, Pearl, and Nash caused an outbreak of a mystical plague that would kill a third of the world.[35] After seeing the painful effect of the magic plague orb over people around him, Whistler eventually came into his senses and sacrificed himself to use his body to shield the ball's explosion, sacrificing himself in the process.[36]
2008
Hostile extradimensional demons filled the Earth through the Restless Door, in power of the Mistress, the Soul Glutton, and the Sculptor.[37]
Merging of the dimensions of Anharra and the Earth.[38]
D'Hoffryn's growing power with the death of fellow Magic Council members,[39] capture of the Vampyr book,[40] and his attempt to eliminate the power restrictions from vengeance demons.[41]
In Arashmaharr, Vengeance, L.L.C. had a board informing they were 32 days without an apocalypse.[41]
Archaeus's command over a horde of vampires and the new magic from the Magic Town.[42]
2009
The Pandora Project's success in absorbing all magic from all supernatural beings, leaving the power of a ruler to Joanna Wise.[43]
2011
During the Reckoning, the last Slayer and her allies face an army of demons, who were banished to a hell dimension, while vampires were all but wiped up, devolving into lurks. The Slayer herself would also be gone, and no other called until the 23rd century.[44][45]
23rd century
Old Ones unleashed on Earth, beginning with the resurrected Neauth.[46]
Appearances
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1 | |||||||||||
| "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Absent |
"The Harvest" Mention |
"Witch" Absent |
"Teacher's Pet" Absent |
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" Mention |
"The Pack" Absent |
"Angel" Absent |
"I Robot, You Jane" Absent |
"The Puppet Show" Absent |
"Nightmares" Absent |
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Absent |
"Prophecy Girl" Mention |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "When She Was Bad" Absent |
"Some Assembly Required" Absent |
"School Hard" Absent |
"Inca Mummy Girl" Absent |
"Reptile Boy" Absent |
"Halloween" Absent |
"Lie to Me" Absent |
"The Dark Age" Absent |
"What's My Line? Part One" Absent |
"What's My Line? Part Two" Absent |
"Ted" Absent | |
| "Bad Eggs" Absent |
"Surprise" Mention |
"Innocence" Mention |
"Phases" Absent |
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Absent |
"Passion" Absent |
"Killed by Death" Absent |
"I Only Have Eyes for You" Absent |
"Go Fish" Absent |
"Becoming, Part One" Mention |
"Becoming, Part Two" Mention | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Anne" Absent |
"Dead Man's Party" Absent |
"Faith, Hope & Trick" Mention |
"Beauty and the Beasts" Absent |
"Homecoming" Absent |
"Band Candy" Absent |
"Revelations" Absent |
"Lovers Walk" Absent |
"The Wish" Absent |
"Amends" Absent |
"Gingerbread" Absent | |
| "Helpless" Absent |
"The Zeppo" Mention |
"Bad Girls" Absent |
"Consequences" Mention |
"Doppelgängland" Absent |
"Enemies" Absent |
"Earshot" Absent |
"Choices" Absent |
"The Prom" Absent |
"Graduation Day, Part One" Absent |
"Graduation Day, Part Two" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "The Freshman" Absent |
"Living Conditions" Mention |
"The Harsh Light of Day" Absent |
"Fear, Itself" Absent |
"Beer Bad" Absent |
"Wild at Heart" Absent |
"The Initiative" Absent |
"Pangs" Absent |
"Something Blue" Absent |
"Hush" Absent |
"Doomed" Mention | |
| "A New Man" Mention |
"The I in Team" Absent |
"Goodbye Iowa" Mention |
"This Year's Girl" Absent |
"Who Are You?" Absent |
"Superstar" Absent |
"Where the Wild Things Are" Absent |
"New Moon Rising" Absent |
"The Yoko Factor" Mention |
"Primeval" Mention |
"Restless" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5 | |||||||||||
| "Buffy vs. Dracula" Absent |
"Real Me" Absent |
"The Replacement" Absent |
"Out of My Mind" Absent |
"No Place Like Home" Absent |
"Family" Absent |
"Fool for Love" Absent |
"Shadow" Absent |
"Listening to Fear" Absent |
"Into the Woods" Absent |
"Triangle" Absent | |
| "Checkpoint" Absent |
"Blood Ties" Absent |
"Crush" Absent |
"I Was Made to Love You" Absent |
"The Body" Absent |
"Forever" Absent |
"Intervention" Absent |
"Tough Love" Mention |
"Spiral" Absent |
"The Weight of the World" Absent |
"The Gift" Mention | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6 | |||||||||||
| "Bargaining, Part One" Absent |
"Bargaining, Part Two" Absent |
"After Life" Absent |
"Flooded" Absent |
"Life Serial" Absent |
"All the Way" Absent |
"Once More, with Feeling" Mention |
"Tabula Rasa" Absent |
"Smashed" Absent |
"Wrecked" Absent |
"Gone" Absent | |
| "Doublemeat Palace" Absent |
"Dead Things" Absent |
"Older and Far Away" Absent |
"As You Were" Absent |
"Hell's Bells" Absent |
"Normal Again" Absent |
"Entropy" Absent |
"Seeing Red" Mention |
"Villains" Absent |
"Two to Go" Absent |
"Grave" Mention | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 | |||||||||||
| "Lessons" Absent |
"Beneath You" Absent |
"Same Time, Same Place" Mention |
"Help" Absent |
"Selfless" Absent |
"Him" Absent |
"Conversations with Dead People" Absent |
"Sleeper" Absent |
"Never Leave Me" Absent |
"Bring on the Night" Mention |
"Showtime" Absent | |
| "Potential" Absent |
"The Killer in Me" Absent |
"First Date" Absent |
"Get It Done" Absent |
"Storyteller" Mention |
"Lies My Parents Told Me" Mention |
"Dirty Girls" Absent |
"Empty Places" Mention |
"Touched" Mention |
"End of Days" Mention |
"Chosen" Mention | |
| Angel: Season 1 | |||||||||||
| "City Of" Absent |
"Lonely Heart" Absent |
"In the Dark" Absent |
"I Fall to Pieces" Absent |
"Rm w/a Vu" Absent |
"Sense & Sensitivity" Absent |
"The Bachelor Party" Absent |
"I Will Remember You" Mention |
"Hero" Mention |
"Parting Gifts" Absent |
"Somnambulist" Absent | |
| "Expecting" Absent |
"She" Absent |
"I've Got You Under My Skin" Absent |
"The Prodigal" Absent |
"The Ring" Absent |
"Eternity" Absent |
"Five by Five" Absent |
"Sanctuary" Absent |
"War Zone" Absent |
"Blind Date" Absent |
"To Shanshu in L.A." Mention | |
| Angel: Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "Judgment" Absent |
"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" Absent |
"First Impressions" Absent |
"Untouched" Absent |
"Dear Boy" Absent |
"Guise Will Be Guise" Mention |
"Darla" Absent |
"The Shroud of Rahmon" Absent |
"The Trial" Absent |
"Reunion" Absent |
"Redefinition" Absent | |
| "Blood Money" Mention |
"Happy Anniversary" Absent |
"The Thin Dead Line" Mention |
"Reprise" Mention |
"Epiphany" Absent |
"Disharmony" Absent |
"Dead End" Absent |
"Belonging" Absent |
"Over the Rainbow" Absent |
"Through the Looking Glass" Absent |
"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" Absent | |
| Angel: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Heartthrob" Absent |
"That Vision- Thing" Absent |
"That Old Gang of Mine" Absent |
"Carpe Noctem" Absent |
"Fredless" Absent |
"Billy" Absent |
"Offspring" Absent |
"Quickening" Mention |
"Lullaby" Absent |
"Dad" Absent |
"Birthday" Absent | |
| "Provider" Absent |
"Waiting in the Wings" Absent |
"Couplet" Absent |
"Loyalty" Absent |
"Sleep Tight" Absent |
"Forgiving" Absent |
"Double or Nothing" Absent |
"The Price" Absent |
"A New World" Absent |
"Benediction" Absent |
"Tomorrow" Absent | |
| Angel: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "Deep Down" Mention |
"Ground State" Absent |
"The House Always Wins" Mention |
"Slouching Toward Bethlehem" Absent |
"Supersymmetry" Absent |
"Spin the Bottle" Absent |
"Apocalypse, Nowish" Mention |
"Habeas Corpses" Mention |
"Long Day's Journey" Mention |
"Awakening" Absent |
"Soulless" Mention | |
| "Calvary" Mention |
"Salvage" Absent |
"Release" Mention |
"Orpheus" Absent |
"Players" Mention |
"Inside Out" Absent |
"Shiny Happy People" Mention |
"The Magic Bullet" Absent |
"Sacrifice" Absent |
"Peace Out" Mention |
"Home" Absent | |
| Angel: Season 5 | |||||||||||
| "Conviction" Absent |
"Just Rewards" Absent |
"Unleashed" Absent |
"Hell Bound" Absent |
"Life of the Party" Absent |
"The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" Mention |
"Lineage" Absent |
"Destiny" Mention |
"Harm's Way" Absent |
"Soul Purpose" Vision |
"Damage" Absent | |
| "You're Welcome" Absent |
"Why We Fight" Absent |
"Smile Time" Absent |
"A Hole in the World" Absent |
"Shells" Absent |
"Underneath" Mention |
"Origin" Absent |
"Time Bomb" Mention |
"The Girl in Question" Absent |
"Power Play" Mention |
"Not Fade Away" Mention | |