fear of rejection held him back from taking risks; as such, most of his contemporaries regarded him as a timid object of ridicule. Upon becoming a vampire, his newfound romance with Drusilla, acceptance into a new peer group with Angel and Darla, mixed with the radical changes to his physiology (particularly physical strength), completely dissolved his fears in an experience he considered to be "profound." The sudden erosion of his societal and emotional barriers created dramatic shifts in his attitude and behaviors, allowing him to craft an entirely new persona that was enthusiastic to the point of recklessness, fearless in confrontation, and which reveled in having the power to flaunt laws and traditional morality. William so embraced this lifestyle that he no longer felt his name was appropriate, instead adopting the name, "Spike", as his infamy grew for torturing victims with railroad spikes; in his words, he "had to die before [he] really felt alive". Spike is also rare among vampires because he does not fear Slayers; he seeks them out and has killed two by the time he arrives in Sunnydale. Spike is a highly perceptive and emotionally intelligent vampire, which starkly contrasts his raucous "devil-may-care" attitude. As a soulless vampire, his core personality remained intact but less inhibited, exhibiting the capacity for passion and deep affection, loyalty, and aesthetic appreciation. Later, after securing the return of his soul, his conscience returned without his old inhibitions, leaving his love of "a good brawl" unapologetically intact. Similarly, Spike's intense zest for life (a passion for art, love of life, devotion to specific people) remains consistent. Quick wit is one of the character's hallmarks, as Spike enjoys verbal sparring as much as physical fighting; in all his appearances, he has a habit of pithy remarks and glib insults, even toward the few he does not view as antagonists. Among his favorite targets are Angel, Xander, Giles, and (to a lesser extent) Buffy – in season 5's episode The Gift as he and Giles are leaving to fight Glory, he wryly paraphrases Giles' quotation of Shakespeare's Henry V 'we band of brothers' speech to 'we band of buggered'. Joss Whedon credits this antipathy as what convinced him in the episode "Lovers Walk" to bring Spike back as a cast regular. As James Marsters put it, "I was supposed to be the one who stood at the side and said, 'Buffy, you're stupid,