This February, Midnight Social Distortion will be celebrating Black History Month by honoring Black horror characters, in particular Black horror survivors, throughout the twenty-eight day period. Each day will feature one black male and one black female survivor in horror and sci-fi to bring light to the positive, albeit still problematic, black champions of representation in horror. Some disclaimers first: obvious spoilers ahead, and not all horror survivors will be featured this go round, but will appear in later posts down the line.
Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside)
Character Arc:
Appearing charming and a potential love interest for Buffy, Principal Robin Wood was a welcomed addition to the newly restored Sunnydale High School, making him the first likable principal in the school’s history. At first Robin downplays noticing the weirdness surrounding Buffy, but on their first official date, he reveals himself as the son of a former Slayer named Nikki. Later it is discovered that Robin has tracked down Spike, whose signature coat was his prize/trophy after killing Nikki. The First, disguised as his deceased mother, almost drove Robin to dispatch of Spike, but Buffy intervened and he was exiled from her circle for a minute. But when the end of the world reared its head again, and with the help of Faith, Robin returned to fight the First in a battle to end all battles (at that point in time). Afterwards, Robin took off and became a squad leader for a group of Slayers in Cleveland, Ohio.
Final Thoughts
Robin, alongside Rona and few Slayers, were the only black people to survive the series. I wished we had of gotten more of Robin, because he had history with the Slayers and could’ve became a de facto Watcher. He’s one of the few prominent black characters in Buffy that not only survived, but added a layer of back story to the entire mythology of the show.