a Spike film spin-off. Canonically, the character appears in issues of the comic books Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (2007–11), Angel: After the Fall (2007–09), Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, Angel & Faith (both 2011–2013) and several Spike limited series, spinning off from both Buffy and Angel. Currently the character is in the canonical comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven (2016–2017) and in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve (2018). Appearances Television Early history Spike's story before he appears in Sunnydale unfolds in flashbacks scattered, out of sequence, among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The first flashback occurs in Buffy season 5's "Fool for Love", and reveals William as in fact a meek, effete young man of aristocratic background (and an aspiring poet) who lived in London with his mother, Anne. Anne would often sing the folksong "Early One Morning" to her son, right up until the time he was turned into a vampire. William's surname is given as "Pratt" in the non-canon comic Old Times and is written on the label of his jar of blood in the comic Spike: Asylum #002. This surname became official with the publication of the canon comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 11 #7, in which Buffy calls him by it. The name William Pratt may allude to horror actor Boris Karloff, whose birth name was William Henry Pratt, and can also be understood as the British slang term "prat", describing a person of arrogant stupidity. Spike is one of the youngest recurring vampires on the show, though the evidence of his age is contradictory, as the concept of the character evolved over time. When he was introduced in "School Hard" (season 2), Giles read that he was "barely 200," implying that he was either born or sired in 1797 or slightly earlier. In "The Initiative" (season 4) he said he was 126, thus born or sired in 1874. Flashbacks in "Fool for Love" (season 5) show that Spike was sired as an adult in 1880. Assuming he was in his early to mid 20s when he was sired, Spike would be in his 140s during the series. In the comic Spike: Asylum #002, Spike's jar of blood has a label giving his assumed human birth date in 1853, about 27 years before he was sired. In 1880, William was a struggling poet, often mocked