Spike, parte IV

Appearance and Personality
William's natural hair color was medium brown; in 1943 he was seen with it dyed black and slicked down; and by 1977 he had begun to bleach it, keeping that look at least until he was last seen in May of 2004. Spike has claimed that Billy Idol stole his look from him, which accounts for his appearance in 'present day' continuity as well as during the flashback to the 1970s (see below). He received an V/Y-shaped scar on his left eyebrow from the sword of Xin Rong, the first Slayer he killed, in 1900; on his first appearance in the series, the wound still looks fresh, but gradually blends in over the course of the series. James Marsters had received the scar in real life during a mugging.

Spike has a taste for long black leather jackets, including one that he took from a Nazi officer and another that he wore as a trophy of Nikki Wood, a Slayer whom he killed in 1977 after coming to New York specifically to find and fight the Slayer of the time. Spike wore Nikki's jacket for over twenty-five years before it was finally destroyed in a firefight in Italy, after which the Italian branch of Wolfram and Hart supplied him with a new, nearly identical coat. His trademark look typically comprises the leather jacket, a black/dark brown t-shirt or v-neck shirt and black denim pants, usually with heavy boots; he also wore a red long-sleeve shirt fairly often, but this item was occasionally omitted, particularly in later seasons of Buffy and Angel. In "Doomed", Spike is forced to wear one of Xander's Hawaiian shirts and a pair of knee-length shorts because his clothes were shrunk due to the basement flooding.

Asides from his appetite for destruction, one of Spike's most prominent characteristics is his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. A polar opposite to his callow and simpering human nature, Spike quickly adopted a swaggering posture and enjoyed living by nobody's rules save his own. Fitting in with this was his habit of making pithy remarks and glib insults, even towards the few he didn't see as antagonists. Among his favorite targets was his grandsire and rival, Angel (often making fun of his large forehead, constantly groomed appearance and his attempts to be a 'big, strapping hero'); others include Xander Harris, Rupert Giles and, to a lesser degree, Buffy Summers. However, Spike also retained something of his literary intellect from his human side, routinely referencing poetry, songs, and literature; he would, on occasion, also wax poetical on the nature of love and life (even unlife) as being about blood, reasoning that it is what separates the living from the dead, and is therefore more powerful than any supernatural force.
Spike enjoys beer, whisky, Weetabix (which he mixes into blood for texture), spices and burba weed (which he mixes into blood for flavor), ate a box of chocolates from a present meant for Buffy, Buffalo wings and onion blossoms, having perhaps the most varied diet of any of the vampires or other demons on the show (another example of Spike defying vampire conventions). He also smokes, (as do many vampires); his preferred brand is Morley cigarettes, which he lights with a trademark silver Zippo lighter.

Powers & Abilities
Spike has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire. On many occasions he has tracked people or demons through the streets (or even sewers) by smelling the air. Like other vampires, Spike's "vampire constitution" provides him with an extremely high tolerance for alcohol. Age has given him strength, speed, stamina and resistance superior to those of most other vampires.

He has acquired a number of skills in his long unlife. One of the factors making Spike so deadly an opponent in battle is his complete disregard for tradition and rules, placing him on equal footing with Buffy - herself not much for rules and traditions. Spike is highly skilled and adaptable in both armed and unarmed combat. Spike has been shown on occasion using firearms and modern weaponry as well as the bladed weapons more often seen in the Buffyverse. He is skilled at using many varieties of weapons, such as a rifle, knife, sword, axe, crossbow, stake, and a staff. His fighting style seems to blend several different disciplines accumulated over his years of fighting others. His style resembles a cross between kung fu, with its free style movements, and various other martial arts blended into one flowing style, shifting from a classic karate stance to a boxer, nearly instantly. In combat, Spike shows great physical strength and adaptibility; for example, he was able to briefly overcome Illyria during a testing of her abilities, when she was at the height of her powers. Illyria criticized his (and others') ability to adapt, calling it "compromising"; however, for a creature with somewhat limited power (unlike the orignial Illyria), it was one of his greatest strengths as a fighter.

What gives Spike an added edge in both combat and personal matters are his skills in perception and observation, especially with regard to relationships and personalities. His strong connection with his own emotions also provides him with useful insight, giving him the previously mentioned "truth-seer" status. His ability to take a "Big Picture" approach, analyzing complicated interpersonal dynamics with ease, allows him to wield powerful psychological weapons as well as physical ones. For example, when he wants to create disharmony among the Scoobies, he divides-and-conquers with the "Yoko Factor", exploiting tensions that exist under the surface to alienate the group members against each other. When he and Angel compete for the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike's verbal taunts, insights, and insults are as crucial (in that they further demoralized an already insecure Angel) to his success as his physical blows. He explains to Buffy that he was able to defeat two Slayers because he sensed and exploited their "death wish." His skills of analysis also have many positive effects. For example, his perceptiveness and insight makes him a natural father-figure for Dawn, who needed protection, attention, and guidance. He is the first to see through Tara's abusive and controlling family, and reveals their sinister intentions before any of the Scoobies even suspect it. He has a solid sense of the state of relationships, identifying with startling accuracy when and why relationships, such as that between Buffy and Riley, are not meant to last. He also clearly identifies Buffy and Angel's continuing love at a time when both of them are trying to say that they are "just friends", forcing the two of them to finally face the truth to each other.

Spike's most distinctive trait is his love of combat for the sheer joy and adrenaline rush; up until the point when he falls in love with Buffy (about a year and a half before he regained his soul) he does not much care if he fought for good or evil; he is driven by the desire to do violence, and he particularly appreciates fights that pose a challenge, which has resulted in him taking on angry mobs and multiple Slayers (Spike has a special place in vampire lore for the rare feat of killing two Slayers in single combat). However, after falling in love with Buffy, Spike consistently fights on the side of "good". His love for battle continues after his re-ensoulment, which is ironic because, as a human, he had been quite meek, mild-mannered, and gentle. Even as a ghost, Spike tries to be useful and join in the fray. When he first arrives at Wolfram and Hart, he and Angel are confronted by a Droxlar Beast, whom Angel attacks. Spike immediately moves to fight the Droxlar (although, being immaterial at the time, this proved impossible), despite being in the course of a bitter argument with Angel and having no particular reason to help him. He eventually finds himself able to affect the world around him if he wants to badly enough, so he is able to assist in fighting before he is actually recorporalized.

Spike can also withstand excessive amounts of pain for extended periods of time, particularly when properly motivated. He withstands terrible torture at the hands of Glory, refusing to tell her that Dawn was the Key she sought, sustained only by his unrequited love for Buffy. He later withstands extensive torture while imprisoned by the First Evil; he refuses to give in to despair, taking strength from Buffy's declaration that she believes in him. While not as skilled or as cruel as Angelus, Spike also proves himself to be an effective torturer when he tortures Doctor Sparrow. Although capable of developing sound battle strategies, Spike (particularly in the days before the chip and the soul) often loses patience with anything more complicated than outright attack:

Spike: I had a plan.
Angel: You, a plan?
Spike: Yeah, a good plan. Smart. Carefully laid out. But I got bored.

He also is impatient to fight the Slayer upon his initial arrival in Sunnydale; while the attack is supposed to coincide with the Night of St. Vigeous (when vampire powers are enhanced), he "couldn't wait" to go after the Slayer and attacks the night before. However, he is somewhat masterful with strategy, and has exercised patience in many ways. For example, in Sunnydale, when Angelus joins Spike and Dru after Spike's injury, Spike patiently plays the role of the weakened cripple, listening, learning, and enduring tortuous weeks watching Angelus sexually pursue a very willing Dru as he waits for the right time to strike.

Spike is also seen: picking locks; driving a car, a motorcycle, and a motor home; using video game systems and a computer; treating injuries; pickpocketing; and playing poker and pool. He is fluent in Latin, Luganda (a language of Uganda, where he meets the demon shaman), and the language of Fyarl demons. It is implied that he has some minimal familiarity with Italian (he can at least say "ciao" and "strada").