10 Alternate Universe Characters That Were Better Than The Original
3. Vampire Willow
When Willow was first introduced in the pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer she was a quiet, nerdy girl who didnt really fit in. Her main role in the first three seasons was either as the teams resident researcher or as a damsel in distress for Buffy to save. Despite being a bit of a wet cloth, the character was highly popular with the audience because she was much easier to relate to than Buffy, reflecting what life as a high school student was really like for most of the audience.
The original Willow didn't really come into her own until later in the series when she became the groups resident witch. Her alternate universe vampire counterpart, on the other hand, was a brilliant, devious monster. Vampire Willow first appeared in a parallel world, featured in Season Three, where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and the town was subsequently overrun with vampires. While her mainstream counterpart was quiet and bookish, Vampire Willow was violent, seductive, and sadistic, even by vampire standards.
While the vampire-overrun universe was only featured in one episode, Vampire Willow proved so popular that she returned later in the series. Summoned to the main continuity, Vampire Willow was able to interact with the original Willow, who described her as evil, skanky and kinda gay. This last comment is seen by most fans as an early Easter Egg of Willows undisclosed sexuality, which only further added to Vampire Willows popularity.