That troll hammer...

[deird1]

I've seen a few comments recently on Buffy picking up Olaf's hammer - and how the fact that she could so easily when Spike couldn't lift it shows just how much stronger Buffy is than the average vampire.

Which I'm finding odd, because I always assumed it was because the hammer is a mystical item. So Buffy, as the Slayer, has special picking-up-hammer powers that are denied to Spike.

...am I completely alone in this assumption? Does everyone else in the whole world take it as Buffy being ridiculously strong compared to Spike?



(Yes, she's stronger than him. But not by that much...)

Comments

[diamondtook]

I've never thought Buffy could pick it up because it was mystical, but I never thought it meant she was very much stronger than Spike either. I do think it was played for laughs, but that doesn't discount it. I like Stormwreath's meta on the subject, and his conclusion that Buffy's strength changes based on what is needed for a given situation. With a vampire, she is stronger, so that she can defeat him, but not much stronger. With five vampires, she is much stronger so she can handle that. With the troll hammer, she had enough strength to lift it, but in actuality this was much more strength than Spike actually has, because vampire strength doesn't fluctuate. In all honestly, I think this is probably just an explanation for the writers' inconsistencies in storytelling, but I like it.

I also like the idea that vampires are faster and Slayers are stronger.

(I haven't responded yet to the post you are referring to, I may copy this response and reuse it).