Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't a conventional superhero story. Buffy doesn't wear a costume or mask, her villains are supernatural, and she didn't get her start in the pages of a comic book. But she fits all the criteria for a superhero. She has special powers that were granted to her through a mystical, sacred birthright. She has to hide her identity from the rest of the world, except for a small, dedicated group of friends who are affectionately referred to as the Scooby Gang. And she spends most of her time fighting against the forces of darkness. While a lot of superheroes are plucky outsiders when shown in high school (probably due to their writers working out issues about their own adolescence), Joss Whedon takes Buffy in a different direction. She's a beautiful blond cheerleader, who would probably be the most popular girl in school if she didn't keep getting into weird unexplainable hijinks week after week.