Editing First Evil (section)

===Character history===
The First Evil claims to be the source and embodiment of all that is evil. For technical purposes, the First Evil is neither male, female, demon, nor god; it is a "power". The First is older than demons, even the [[Old Ones (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Old Ones]], who themselves existed long before the first humans; it is older than the written word, the Big Bang and transcends all realities and dimensions; it is older than any other evil being and may even be the very first entity ever to have existed. It is said that the First lurked in the darkness long before the [[universe]] was even created and shall remain long after the universe ends. Few have heard of it and even fewer believe in its existence. The entity cannot affect the world on a physical level. Its power lies in its ability to deceive, torment and manipulate others. It can take the form of anyone who has died (or as an enormous, [[Apparitional experience|phantasmic]] demon with large horns and long, talon-shaped fingers), and it can choose to be seen and heard by just one person or by multiple people. The First has a deep understanding of human nature and it uses this knowledge to drive others to madness, murder and/or suicide.

The First makes its initial appearance in the series as a [[villain of the week|monster of the week]] that [[Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Angel]] must face in the episode "[[Amends (Buffy episode)|Amends]]". It tries to drive the vampire to kill [[Buffy Summers|Buffy]] by reminding him of his "true" nature (Angelus) and it sets about accomplishing this by appearing to him as some of his victims: Daniel, Margaret, Travis and [[Jenny Calendar]]. It claims that it is responsible for Angel's return from [[Hell]], and suggests that Angel can end his sufferings by turning evil again and killing Buffy, but instead he chooses to kill himself using the sunrise. His suicide is only averted by a freak snowstorm unheard of in Southern California. Episodes of the spin-off series ''Angel'' later suggest that Angel was returned from hell and his life saved by [[Miracle|divine intervention]] from the heavenly [[Powers That Be (Angel)|Powers That Be]].

Later, the First makes its presence known again in the seventh season by tormenting the vampire [[Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Spike]], who like Angel has come into possession of a soul; tricking the former villain [[Andrew Wells]] into awakening the Hellmouth beneath Sunnydale High; and dispatching its agents, the Bringers, to kill young women around the world with the potential to succeed [[Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Faith]] as the current [[Slayer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Slayer]]. When Buffy's allies [[Rupert Giles|Giles]] and [[Anya Jenkins|Anya]] query the First's sudden rise in activity with a mystical third party, they learn that the First is able to act in this way because of an anomaly in the Slayer line caused by Buffy's recent resurrection, providing an outlet for the First to wipe out all the Slayers. Though incorporeal, the First is effective in prompting suicides, deceiving various members of the Buffy's gang, and releasing evil monsters from the Hellmouth. Later in season 7, the audience is introduced to the First's right-hand-man, the supernaturally strong misogynistic ex-priest [[Caleb (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Caleb]], as well as its army of primordial [[Turok-Han]] vampires living beneath the Hellmouth. In the series finale, Buffy and her allies take the fight to the First by opening the Hellmouth and using magic to activate every potential Slayer in Buffy's army. With additional help from a magical amulet, the gang destroy the First's army, the Sunnydale Hellmouth, and the surrounding town.