Even after all the years since "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" premiered in 1997 — even with the recent controversy surrounding creator Joss Whedon — even as dated as some of the content and jokes are, the show endures as the forebearer to so many TV and film heroines. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano), and Bo (Anna Silk) from "Lost Girl" all owe quite a bit to Buffy Summers.
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) herself was influenced by a comic book character —...