Oz

Real Name: Daniel Osbourne

Identity/Class: Werewolf

Occupation: formerly College Student, Guitarist

Affiliations: Buffy Summers, Angel, Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, Xander Harris,Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (deceased), Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins/Anyanka (deceased), Cordelia Chase (deceased), Master Shantou, Dingoes Ate My Baby, Devon

Enemies: Cain, Veruca, Spike

Known Relatives: Unnamed parents, Ken (uncle), Maureen (aunt), Geordie (cousin, the werewolf who bit him)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: formerly Sunnydale; currently unknown, probably mobile

First Appearance: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #16 "Inca Mummy Girl" (Fox for Warner Bros, 6th October 1997)

Powers/Abilities: Turns into a werewolf on the three nights of the full moon; however, in recent times he has mastered the ability to transform into the werewolf at will, as well as suppress it during the full moon, although he can sometimes lose control and transform. Also, even before he mastered the ability to control his transformations, he was sometimes capable of subconsciously tapping into his wolf side and using its strength in certain situations where he would die otherwise.

History: Daniel Osbourne, known to all his friends as "Oz", was the lead guitarist in the Sunnydale band Dingoes Ate My Baby. A genius intellect hid behind his slacker demeanour, with High School taking second place to perfecting his playing, and his long term goals seemed to consist of mastering the especially tricky chords. However life in a town sitting atop a Hellmouth meant his life was never going to be so simple, and things began to change for Oz when Dingoes played the Bronze when it had been booked for Sunnydale High's Cultural Dance. While playing Oz spotted a girl dressed in an Eskimo costume, and was immediately smitten. A few weeks later, at Halloween, he nearly ran the same girl over, when she walked out in front of his van. She remained oblivious to him, but he definitely noticed her. He finally got a chance to learn the girl's name (Willow Rosenberg) and speak to her when both of them were headhunted during careers week by one of the U.S.' top software companies, and the pair met properly for the first time; there was an instant attraction, and they were soon dating.

This led to Oz discovering the supernatural underbelly of Sunnydale, when he attended the surprise birthday party of Willow's friend, Buffy Summers, only to witness Buffy (who was the mystically chosen Vampire Slayer) kill one of the undead with a stake. Rather than being shocked, the unflappable Oz merely noted that this explained a few things about his home town. It's probably just as well that he took the existence of supernatural creatures in his stride, as a few weeks later, he became one himself. Bitten on the finger by his infant cousin, Oz learned at the next full moon that both his cousin and now himself were werewolves. Targeted by Cain, a werewolf hunter, who was unconcerned that his prey were innocent humans most of the time, it was Oz' friendship with the Slayer which saved him from becoming a trophy pelt. Willow, for her part, was very understanding about his condition, and their relationship went from strength to strength, even when Oz, who had been in the year above Willow, was kept back a year due to his poor school attendance.

Unable to control his animalistic side when transformed, Oz continued in human form to work as part of the "Scooby Gang" who assisted Buffy, while spending three nights a month locked securely in a cage in the school library (where the gang based themselves). A couple of times he got loose, though luckily no innocents were ever hurt; the first time he was attacked by a deranged, jealous, and superhumanly strong boyfriend of a girl Oz knew, only to wolf out on the surprised bully; another time he got loose during an apocalypse and ended up eating a murderous zombie. His relationship with Willow, despite a brief break-up when she cheated on him with her friend Xander Harris, remained strong, with them dating through high school and into college. The end began when he met another werewolf, Veruca, a member of a travelling band, who attempted to convince Oz that he was a beast twenty-four/seven, and that he should be her mate. As a human he resisted her, but in wolf form the two consumated an animal attraction, only to be found sleeping naked together (back in human forms) the next morning by Willow. When Oz rejected Veruca after this, the female werewolf tried to kill her rival, only for werewolf Oz to slay her in Willow's defence.

Trying to deal with the worries Veruca had raised in him, Oz left Sunnydale to find a way to control the wolf within him, eventually travelling all the way to Tibet. There he met another werewolf, Shantou, who taught him a means of controlling the werewolf that allowed him to suppress it during the full moon and release it whenever he wanted. Despite a problem involving the returned Cain and an army of demons, Oz managed to return to Sunnydale, only to discover that Willow had begun to fall in love with Tara Maclay. It's not clear who Willow would eventually have chosen, as her love for Oz remained strong, challenging her new feelings for Tara; but fate took a hand in making the decision. Uncharacteristic jealousy triggered Oz' transformation, and he attacked Tara, only to be stopped and captured by soldiers working for the Initiative, a government project investigating the supernatural in Sunnydale. Oz was treated by the Initiative's scientists as an experimental animal, until he was rescued by his friends in the Scooby Gang. Realising the one person who would always be able to trigger his emotions and break his control on his inner beast, Oz said a tearful farewell to Willow and departed Sunnydale for parts unknown.

Comments: Created by Joss Whedon, played by Seth Green.

Thanks to Dave Spence for some of the above information.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

Back to US Independents Page

Home

All images and characters depicted on this site are copyright their respective holders, and are used for informational purposes only. No infringement is intended and copyrights remain at source.