Posted at 1:10 p.m. Sunday, July 27, Cali time

All these years and Buffy the Vampire Slayer still surprises her creator, Joss Whedon.

“You know, I can’t believe she took out the Bat,” Whedon told me Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con when he learned Buffy won RedEye’s Best Superhero tournament. “That freaks me out. Although in my Buffy-Batman crossover that I dream of writing one day in the comics, she could take him. I’m just saying—she’s got powers.”

After a panel discussion about Whedon’s upcoming new series “Dollhouse,” which stars “Buffy” series alum Eliza Dushku, I got a minute with Whedon to talk about Buffy’s win. By the time the tourney ended Friday, Buffy had beaten Thor, Batman, Silver Surfer and Superman to reach the final—where she trounced Spider-Man.

“Spidey never had a chance,” said Whedon, who writes the Buffy comic books. “He would just feel weird about fighting her and she would just pummel him before he’d have a chance to get his [crap] together. That’s my feeling.”

Buffy’s first-round win over Silver Surfer didn’t surprise Whedon either. “I mean I could take out the Silver Surfer,” he said. “He’d be all like, 'Shalla-Bal,' and I’d just whack him with a two-by-four.”

Along with her win against Batman, Buffy’s victory over Superman surprised Whedon—even though he says Buffy does have superpowers.

“Yeah she does,” he said when I suggested she didn’t. “She’s superhumanly strong. She is not just a girl with a stake in her hand. She can leap—not tall buildings—but smaller buildings. She lives in Southern California where the buildings are smaller and easily lept.

“I have to say I’m really kind of shocked. But Buffy doesn’t just have superpowers, she has super fans, and they can take out a Man of Steel. I’m just saying.”

More from Comic-Con 2008.

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The reality is that the reason Buffy won is because compared to Thor and Silver Surfer, and yes even Batman and Superman and Spider-Man, Buffy is the character with immediacy and relevance to people.
The other characters have been around so long they aren't particularly real anymore. When they're revamped or rebooted to make them more "relevant", it's always forced and never more than artifice.
Buffy, as a character and as a "franchise" (sorry for the word, Joss), has grown organically, and continues to carry with her and it a very real immediacy and relevance for people.
The entire reason that Buffy has such an energetic fanbase is because she MEANS something to people in a very profound way.
Like it or not, that's simply not the case for the characters she beat.
Curt's reply: B!X gives Buffy the love! I don't think Joss would mind the use of "franchise." Thanks for writing in.

I voted for Buffy because of all of them, she is the one I can most relate to. I loved Spidey and Batman as a kid, but they were always a bit removed. Grown men battling the odd and insane. Where as I was just a goofy 10 year old that just wanted Princess Leia to pick up a lightsaber and show the fellas how it's done.

Curt's reply: I believe I saw more than a few Princess Leia's wielding light sabers over the weekend, NY. Thanks for commenting.

Buffy won this particular contest for the same reason Richard Armitage's Sir Guy won the Best TV Character contest. Very Serious Fans. Now, I wonder who would win a fan-base death match -- the Armitage Army vs. Buffyverse. Now THAT I'd like to see.

Curt's reply: Hmmm, thanks for the idea Laura. And keep reading.

Just to be clear, the contest was not "Which superhero would win in a fight?" It was "Which is the better superhero?" That could mean anything, like "Which superhero is the more interesting character?" or "Which superhero creates the better narrative possibilities?" or "Which superhero would you rather have a beer with?" I think a lot of people who picked Buffy as the better superhero would nevertheless concede that Spidey or Superman or Batman would beat her in a fight.
Curt's reply: Although Joss Whedon thinks Buffy would kick the butts of Spidey, but not necessarily Supes and the Bat. Thanks for commenting Joe.

Are you guys kidding me? You voted cause you guys can relate to her? In all truth I did it by super strength, talents, etc. If Buffy were placed up in a fight against all of these heroes/gods she would own all of them!!! All she needs is to merge her essence with Willow and she can OWN all of them, even Thor and Superman. Yes i do realize that she may get severely injured and beat up fighting the god and the alien but she would still win. With the merged essence she can summon kryptonite to her and shove it down Superman's throat and for Thor what is the big deal she owned Glorificus - with troll hammer attacks mind you - of course she can own Thor. Plus she has some slayer hand puppets she can use as a shield, not that she would.
Curt's reply: Wow MS, you've just given Joss some excellent plot points for crossovers! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Joss! Super-fans unite! I voted for Buffy in all the rounds, confident she could find a way to defeat them. Even though Joss says Sups would beat the Buffster, all she'd need was a little Kryptonite and bam - EPIC FAIL. The only round that surprised me was Buffy beating Batman and that's the round where I was so torn I ended up voting for both of them. But that's just in terms of an actual Superhero battle. Who do I think is the best superhero? Buffy...closely followed by Batman. In many ways, I see those two mirroring each other in a yin/yang dynamic. Buffy's in LA, the sunny and quipping superhero who reluctantly fights in the night, relying more on instincts and her physical prowess than book smarts. Batman's in Gotham, the dark and serious brooding superhero who chooses to cloak himself in darkness, not can we forget the man has a genius IQ and often wins impossible fights due to brains over brawn. Oh yes, I'm dreaming of a DC/DH universe crossover. Sigh.
Curt's reply: From your fingertips to, um, someone's ears. Thanks for writing Emmie.

Buffy won because her fanbase has a much higher percentage of online presence than the others. And they're better organized.
Curt's reply: And they are SUPER, right? Thanks for reading.

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