In ancient times, a group known as the Shadow Men used magic to infuse a captive girl with the essence of a demon, thereby creating the First Slayer, whom they use to fight demonic forces. The descendants of the Shadow Men go on to form the Watchers' Council.
In 2003, Slayer Buffy Anne Summers uses a strange mystical device to meet with the Shadow Men about the threat she faces from the First Evil. She learns how the Slayers were created and is shown a vision which reveals the First's massive army of Turok-Han Vampires in the Hellmouth. They attempt to repeat history by infusing an unwilling Buffy with the same demonic essence that they used on the First Slayer to increase her power; however, Buffy refused, as she had come to seek only knowledge, not power, especially if that power meant that she would lose her humanity. After Buffy defeats them, one of the Shadow Men gives Buffy what she wants: knowledge of what's coming. He shows her a vision of the First's army of Turok-Han in the Hellmouth, causing her to start to reconsider her decision, but she's brought back by her friends before she can do anything else.
The Shadow Men first appeared in Fray issue #3, and were later shown onscreen in the episode "Get It Done".
Read more about this topic: Watcher (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
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