Warren Mears is one of the main antagonists of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, who made his first appearance in the show’s fifth season. He was originally created by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Adam Busch.
Unlike other seasonal antagonists, (who were often vampires or demons) Warren was a normal person, who was gifted with a natural talent for science and tech.
While the character did very little during his first season, he would go on to form The Trio with Andrew Wells and Jonathan Levinson.
During this time, Warren would reveal his true colors, with his actions leading to the death of Tara Maclay.
While Warren only appeared in two seasons, he is now considered to be one of the show’s most fascinating villains, with even cast members commenting on his character and story arc.
Warren shows that even normal people could commit acts of evil, with his actions resulting in the death of two women and Buffy’s possible murder.
Biography
Little is known about Warren before his time on the show. However, we do know that he was born in Sunnydale and attended the local high school.
During this time, Warren would demonstrate a natural talent for science and tech, which allowed him to transfer to Dutton to study robotics.
At some point during his studies, Warren was able to construct a robot girlfriend called April, who was programmed to love and worship him.
Warren believed that he would be able to love the robot back, but found her predictable nature tiring.
Instead, Warren would meet and fall in love with Katrina Silber, a strong-minded engineering student who he started dating.
However, Warren was unable to tell April of his new romance and decided to leave her until her batteries ran out.
Season 5
Buffy Summers would first encounter Warren during spring break – after April had followed him back to Sunnydale.
During this time, April would question everyone about Warren’s whereabouts, with her strange behavior attracting the attention of the Scoobies.
When April grew more erratic, Buffy turned to Warren for help.
Upon discovering that Warren abandoned April to essentially die, Buffy was horrified and demanded that Warren own up to his mistakes.
Warren also theorized that April was now able to charge her batteries without him. Buffy believed that April could be dangerous and wanted to find her before she killed someone.
During this time, April would encounter Katrina and attack her upon discovering that she was Warren’s girlfriend. Fortunately, Buffy and Warren were able to save Katrina and subdue April.
However, Warren would later set April on Buffy and attempt to flee with Katrina, who was disgusted at his robotic creation.
While battling the slayer, April’s batteries began to drain, and she eventually powered down while Buffy comforted her.
Following this, Spike approached Warren to make a robotic version of the slayer, as he had grown obsessed with Buffy and wanted her to love him. Warren created the sexbot and then left town.
Season 6
Warren would resurface during the show’s sixth season, where he formed The Trio with Jonathan and Andrew.
The group’s main intention was to take over Sunnydale, however, they would spend most of their time committing petty crimes and attempting to neutralize Buffy, who often came in to stop their plans.
It was clear that Warren was the leader of the group, as he regularly asserted his dominance over his friends and was willing to commit more atrocious acts.
This eventually led to the creation of the cerebral dampener – a magical artifact that would allow the trio to control any woman that they wanted.
It was during this time that Warren would use the dampener to control Katrina, with whom he was still in love. However, the dampener’s magic eventually wore off and Katrina awoke from her mindless state.
Horrified by the situation, Katrina would attempt to flee while calling out the trio’s actions as rape.
While Jonathan and Andrew were left shaken by this realization, Warren was able to overpower Katrina and hit her over the head with a bottle.
Warren believed that Katrina was unconscious and that he could use the dampener to control her. However, it soon became apparent that Katrina was dead.
Warren then hatched a plan to blame the crime on Buffy – who he led to believe that she had committed the murder.
However, Buffy was able to identify the victim and deduce that Warren was the real killer.
Following this, the relationship between the trio became strained, as Jonathan disagreed with Warren’s actions.
The trio would eventually steal the orbs of nezzla’khan – magical spheres that bestowed the owner with superhuman powers.
Because of his newfound abilities, Warren was able to rob an armored car with the assistance of Jonathan and Andrew, although Buffy would soon show up to stop the crime.
During the confrontation, Jonathan would reveal to Buffy the source of Warren’s powers, which allowed the slayer to destroy the orbs and weaken her attacker.
Now humiliated, Warren would escape the scene via a jetpack, leaving Jonathan and Andrew behind to take the fall with the police.
Frustrated that his plans had been foiled again, Warren would storm into Buffy’s garden and attempt to murder her with a gun.
Before fleeing the scene, he was able to fire several shots, leaving Buffy wounded and Tara dead. This event pushed Willow further into dark magic, as she wanted to avenge her lover’s death.
Upon learning that Willow was searching for him, Warren attempted to flee Sunnydale with the aid of a decoy and protection spells.
However, this proved no match for Willow, and she was able to locate Warren in a forest. While in her capture, Willow slowly tortured Warren and refused to hear his pleas.
When the Scoobies tried to stop Willow, she used her magic to flay Warren alive, before burning his remains and continuing her rampage through the town.
It was later revealed that Warren’s skin was buried in a cemetery in Sunnydale, as these were the only remains his family could find…
Season 7
Warren became a recurring guise for the First Evil, who used his appearance to control Andrew and Jonathan.
Because of this, the entity was able to manipulate Andrew into killing his friend and using his blood to open the seal of danzalthar, which was located under the new school.
When Willow shared a kiss with Kennedy, she was transformed into a double of Warren, which slowly corrupted her character.
However, it was later revealed that the transformation had been the result of a penance malediction spell cast by Amy Madison, who had grown envious of Willow’s power and friends.
Because of his influence, Willow attempted to murder Kennedy with a gun. However, she was able to calm Willow down and break the spell with another kiss.
It was later revealed that the transformation has been aided through Willow’s guilt, as well as her sense of loss for Tara.
Season 8
In the comics, it is discovered that Warren is still alive and that he was resurrected by Amy minutes after his death. Because of this, Warren was left without any skin and traumatized by the events.
Warren and Amy would soon form a romantic connection, with the couple living in the remains of Sunnydale.
However, the pair were eventually discovered by General Vol and his men, who took them to the twilight group.
Due to their shared history with the Scoobies, the General wanted Amy and Warren’s talents in his battle against the slayers, which gave them the opportunity to murder Willow.
During this time, Amy and Warren hatched many plans to destroy the slayer organization, with most failing in their execution.
Upon learning the true identity of the twilight group, Amy and Warren would briefly switch sides and join the Scoobies, only to flee and leave the General behind.
When the seed of wonder was destroyed, the magic holding Warren’s body together was extinguished and this reduced him to a pool of blood and bones.
Amy collected his remains and attempted to resurrect her lover through other means. But her mission was foiled by the intervention of Angel and Faith Lehane.
Personality
In terms of his personality, Warren was cruel, domineering and insecure, as he often tried to control those around him.
Though he was able to aid the Scoobies in their search for April, he later set the robot loose on Buffy and attempted to leave town.
During the formation of the trio, Warren exposed himself and his true intentions.
When compared to Jonathan and Andrew, Warren was the one who wanted to take risks that could hurt other people.
For example, he gave Buffy’s address to a demon and showed little concern about her potential death.
In some cases, Warren even attempted to murder Buffy but was stopped by his friends.
Warren showed his true colors after he murdered Katrina, as he attempted to frame Buffy and drive her insane.
His masculine insecurities were later demonstrated during his attempt to shoot the slayer, which resulted in Tara’s death. He can be described as a misogynist and murderer.
Following his resurrection, Warren was consumed by his hatred of Willow and Buffy, who he blamed for his death and defeat.
Because of this, Warren refused to help the Scoobies during their battle for the seed of wonder, even though the whole world could have been destroyed…
Appearance
Warren was a normal man with dark spiky hair and brown eyes. He could often be found wearing trousers and themed shirts.
However, he was also known to wear expensive suits when wanting to impress someone – whether that be a woman or a vampire.
Following his resurrection, Warren was left without his skin and took on a more gruesome appearance.
Because of this, Warren did not wear as much clothing and could frequently be found with his chest exposed.
When the seed of wonder was destroyed, Warren was wearing a scarf and hat to hide his deformities. This would be his last appearance before his death…
Powers & Abilities
While Warren possessed no supernatural powers, he was blessed with a genius intellect and a natural talent for robotics.
Because of this, he was able to construct advanced automatons that could easily pass as humans. Even vampires, with their enhanced senses, were unable to identify the machines.
However, Warren’s robots were known to exhibit strange mannerisms and speech patterns, which made them easier to identify among humans.
For example, the Buffybot was able to masquerade as Buffy for several weeks without her friend’s detection. She was also used as a decoy when the slayer died.
Warren was able to fuse his inventions with Jonathan’s magic, which resulted in the creation of the freeze ray, the cerebral dampener and a microchip that could manipulate time.
He also used these talents to create the invisibility ray, which could be used as a weapon to blast people.
For a brief time, Warren gained supernatural abilities from the orbs of nezzla’khan, which granted him superhuman strength and resilience.
In this state, he was an equal match for Buffy and was even able to overpower her. However, he did not possess any martial arts and used brute force instead.
Relationships
During his time on the show, Warren formed many relationships with the other characters, whether good or bad.
In the section below, we have decided to outline these relationships and explain their importance to Warren’s arc.
Romance
- April
April was a robot constructed by Warren to be his girlfriend, who he programmed to love and worship him.
Warren believed that he would love April back, but found her predictable nature to be boring.
Instead, Warren fell in love with Katrina Silbar and decided to abandon April until her batteries ran out.
However, April was able to follow Warren to Sunnydale, where she would spend her time searching for him.
April could be seen as a prime example of Warren’s insecurities around women, as his ideal partner was nothing more than a toy. It also gives insight into Warren’s character, as he had to make someone to love him.
- Katrina Silbar
Katrina Silbar was a strong-minded student at Dutton, who first met Warren during a seminar.
The two started dating and Warren soon fell in love, as Katrina was a total contrast to the predictable robot.
While visiting Sunnydale, Katrina would become suspicious of Buffy and Warren’s relationship, as she believed that he was cheating.
When she encountered April, Katrina revealed her romance with Warren, which angered the robot and prompted an attack.
Fortunately, Katrina survived the experience and dumped Warren upon discovering that April was a sexbot.
It was not until the next year that she would encounter him again – when he tried to use the cerebral dampener to make her his mindless sex slave.
When the magic started to wear off, Katrina confronted Warren about his actions and accused the trio of raping her.
Sadly, Warren killed Katrina during her escape and tried to blame the murder on Buffy.
- Amy Madison
In the comics, it is revealed that Amy and Warren were in a relationship before he killed Tara.
Upon Warren’s death, the witch used her magic to resurrect him, leaving him a skinless zombie.
Following this, Warren developed a strong hatred for Buffy and Willow, as he blamed them for his death and demise.
Warren and Amy would take up residence in the ruins of Sunnydale, with the latter often referring to Warren as sweetie.
Despite his skinless state, the couple would often share kisses, with Amy describing Warren as her boyfriend.
When the seed of power was destroyed, the magic holding Warren’s body together diminished, leaving him a pool of blood and bones on the floor.
While Amy tried to resurrect her lost lover, her attempts failed.
Friends
- Andrew Wells
Andrew Wells was a fellow Sunnydale resident and the brother of Tucker Wells, who famously summoned hellhounds on prom night.
Despite living in his brother’s shadow, Andrew became friends with Warren and Jonathan Levinson, who shared in his love of science fiction and comics.
Upon forming the trio, Andrew used his skills to summon demons, which he would often use to distract the Scoobies.
During this time, he would create a subservient relationship with Warren, who regularly took the leadership role.
While nothing was confirmed in the show, many have theorized that Andrew was in love with Warren, as the character’s homosexuality was confirmed in the comic continuation.
- Jonathan Levinson
Jonathan Levinson was the third member of the trio, who used his magical know-how to construct weapons for Warren.
While the two had a comfortable relationship, Warren frequently spoke down to Jonathan and would call him out on his size and moral compass.
In contrast to Warren, Jonathan demonstrated a deeper understanding of the trio’s actions, which accumulated in Katrina’s death.
Following this, Jonathan became distant from the trio, as he did not forgive Warren for the murder.
In the end, Jonathan betrayed Warren and revealed the source of his power to Buffy, which led to his defeat.
However, Warren was able to escape the scene, leaving Jonathan and Andrew to take the blame.
Photos
Warren Mears
Willow Rosenberg As Warren
Resurrected Warren
Appearances
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 5)
- I was made to love you
- Intervention
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 6)
- Flooded
- Life serial
- Smashed
- Wrecked
- Gone
- Dead things
- Normal again
- Entropy
- Seeing red
- Villains
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 7)
- Lessons (vision)
- Conversations with dead people (vision)
- Never leave me (vision)
- The killer in me (vision)
- Storyteller (flashback)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 8)
- The long way home
- Time of your life
- Retreat
- Twilight
- Last gleaming
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