- “Ooh! Ow! It burns as it passes ineffectually through me! I'm not corporeal, remember?”
- ―First Evil[src]
Intangibility was the ability of incorporeal beings to pass through solid matter without touching it, rendering the user immune to physical harm of any sort. With it, they could pass through walls and objects alike.[1]
Some beings were not intangible as an ability but rather a fixed state, providing them with limited opportunity to interact with the outer world.[2] However, some beings like this demonstrated some ability to affect their surroundings, touching and lifting objects by concentrating hard enough.[3]
In all cases of intangibility, the being with said ability was still able to be supported when standing or sitting on surfaces,[4] despite being able to also pass through them.[3]
Examples
When Willow was briefly turned into a ghost due to a spell, she was able to pass through walls and other people.[1]
The First Evil could assume the appearance of anyone who had died, but it could not be physically touched or touch anything else.[2]
Thesulac demons were mainly incorporeal unless under the influence of spells or empowered by a large presence of insecurity. Wesley performed a ritual to make corporeal the Thesulac haunting the Hyperion Hotel so Angel could kill the demon.[5]
A demon created by thaumogenesis through Buffy's resurrection was invulnerable to her blows, but it was capable of hurting her back. Willow and Tara cast a spell to make the demon corporeal, allowing Buffy to kill it.[6]
On her 21st birthday, Cordelia entered the astral plane after her visions knocked her unconscious. In her astral projection, she was unable to touch anything in the physical plane and had to possess Angel to hold a pen and write a message.[7]
The Granok demon species was rendered incorporeal, forcing Sahjhan to employ the skills of vampire hunter Holtz. To avenge his son, Angel had Sahjhan recorporealized with a spell so he could fight him.[8]
After Faith incapacitated Angelus, the two astral projected into his mind, experiencing the moments in his past but being unable to interact with anything. They were only able to fight each other when Willow released Angel's soul into the ether.[9]
After his death in the Hellmouth, Spike reappeared as an incorporeal ghost. Though initially unable to touch anything,[4] he learned to do so at some degree by concentrating. This allowed him to lift mugs[3] and even punch enemies.[10] Lindsey eventually returned Spike to his physical form.[11]
Anya haunted Xander as an incorporeal ghost, a state in which she could phase through people and objects[12][13] until she became corporeal as a vengeance demon.[14]
Appearances
| 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" Appears |
"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" Absent |
"Innocence" Absent |
"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" Absent |
"Becoming, Part Two" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Anne" Absent |
"Dead Man's Party" Absent |
"Faith, Hope & Trick" Absent |
"Beauty and the Beasts" Absent |
"Homecoming" Absent |
"Band Candy" Absent |
"Revelations" Absent |
"Lovers Walk" Absent |
"The Wish" Absent |
"Amends" Appears |
"Gingerbread" Absent | |
| "Helpless" Absent |
"The Zeppo" Absent |
"Bad Girls" Absent |
"Consequences" Absent |
"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" Absent |
"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" Absent | |
| "A New Man" Absent |
"The I in Team" Absent |
"Goodbye Iowa" Absent |
"This Year's Girl" Absent |
"Who Are You?" Absent |
"Superstar" Absent |
"Where the Wild Things Are" Appears |
"New Moon Rising" Absent |
"The Yoko Factor" Absent |
"Primeval" Absent |
"Restless" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6 | |||||||||||
| "Bargaining, Part One" Absent |
"Bargaining, Part Two" Absent |
"After Life" Appears |
"Flooded" Absent |
"Life Serial" Absent |
"All the Way" Absent |
"Once More, with Feeling" Absent |
"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" Absent |
"Villains" Absent |
"Two to Go" Absent |
"Grave" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 | |||||||||||
| "Lessons" Appears |
"Beneath You" Absent |
"Same Time, Same Place" Appears |
"Help" Absent |
"Selfless" Appears |
"Him" Absent |
"Conversations with Dead People" Appears |
"Sleeper" Appears |
"Never Leave Me" Appears |
"Bring on the Night" Appears |
"Showtime" Appears | |
| "Potential" Absent |
"The Killer in Me" Absent |
"First Date" Appears |
"Get It Done" Appears |
"Storyteller" Appears |
"Lies My Parents Told Me" Absent |
"Dirty Girls" Appears |
"Empty Places" Appears |
"Touched" Appears |
"End of Days" Appears |
"Chosen" Appears | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 | |||||||||||
| New Rules, Part 1 Appears |
New Rules, Part 2 Appears |
New Rules, Part 3 Absent |
New Rules, Part 4 Absent |
New Rules, Part 5 Appears |
I Wish, Part 1 Absent |
I Wish, Part 2 Appears |
Return to Sunnydale, Part 1 Absent |
Return to Sunnydale, Part 2 Absent |
Day Off (or Harmony in My Head) Absent | ||
| Love Dares You, Part 1 Appears |
Love Dares You, Part 2 Absent |
Love Dares You, Part 3 Absent |
Relationship Status: Complicated, Part 1 Absent |
Relationship Status: Complicated, Part 2 Absent |
Old Demons, Part 1 Absent |
Old Demons, Part 2 Absent |
Old Demons, Part 3 Absent |
Freaky Giles Day Absent |
Triggers Appears | ||
| In Pieces on the Ground, Part 1 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 2 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 3 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 4 Appears |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 5 Appears |
Own It, Part 1 Absent |
Own It, Part 2 Absent |
Own It, Part 3 Absent |
Own It, Part 4 Absent |
Own It, Part 5 Absent | ||
| "Where Are They Now?" Absent | |||||||||||
| Angel: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Heartthrob" Absent |
"That Vision- Thing" Absent |
"That Old Gang of Mine" Absent |
"Carpe Noctem" Absent |
"Fredless" Absent |
"Billy" Absent |
"Offspring" Appears |
"Quickening" Appears |
"Lullaby" Appears |
"Dad" Appears |
"Birthday" Appears | |
| "Provider" Absent |
"Waiting in the Wings" Absent |
"Couplet" Absent |
"Loyalty" Appears |
"Sleep Tight" Appears |
"Forgiving" Flashback |
"Double or Nothing" Absent |
"The Price" Absent |
"A New World" Absent |
"Benediction" Absent |
"Tomorrow" Absent | |
| Angel: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "Deep Down" Absent |
"Ground State" Absent |
"The House Always Wins" Absent |
"Slouching Toward Bethlehem" Absent |
"Supersymmetry" Absent |
"Spin the Bottle" Absent |
"Apocalypse, Nowish" Absent |
"Habeas Corpses" Absent |
"Long Day's Journey" Absent |
"Awakening" Absent |
"Soulless" Absent | |
| "Calvary" Absent |
"Salvage" Absent |
"Release" Absent |
"Orpheus" Appears |
"Players" Absent |
"Inside Out" Absent |
"Shiny Happy People" Absent |
"The Magic Bullet" Absent |
"Sacrifice" Absent |
"Peace Out" Absent |
"Home" Absent | |
| Angel: Season 5 | |||||||||||
| "Conviction" Appears |
"Just Rewards" Appears |
"Unleashed" Appears |
"Hell Bound" Appears |
"Life of the Party" Appears |
"The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" Appears |
"Lineage" Appears |
"Destiny" Appears |
"Harm's Way" Absent |
"Soul Purpose" Absent |
"Damage" Absent | |
| "You're Welcome" Absent |
"Why We Fight" Absent |
"Smile Time" Absent |
"A Hole in the World" Absent |
"Shells" Absent |
"Underneath" Absent |
"Origin" Absent |
"Time Bomb" Absent |
"The Girl in Question" Absent |
"Power Play" Absent |
"Not Fade Away" Absent | |