Superhero physical powers allow the Slayer to fight vampires and demons on equal terms. We're so used to seeing Buffy throw large monsters overhead, catch arrows in mid-air and leap tall buildings ( or at least tall monsters ), that we forget how remarkable these powers are, until she goes against real world human warriors. When she joins the commandos of the Initiative in a combat drill, she cleans them up in less than a minute.

The Slayer can thank her supernatural healing abilities for letting her take many blows before she shows so much as a bruise - and a good thing, too: how would Buffy explain a never-ending succession of black eyes and fat lips? Wounds that would cripple or kill an ordinary human will only slow her down a bit. A stake-wound in the belly just needs a little combat first aide. A bullet to the chest is more serious, but even without Willow's healing spell, it probably would have only kept her in the hospital for awhile.

The blood of a Slayer has special powers, both magical and medical. The Master needs a drink of Buffy's blood to release him into the world; and when Faith poisons Angel in "Graduation Day", only the blood of a Slayer can save his life. Spike claims that the blood of a Slayer is a potent vampire aphrodisiac, but since any sort of violence seems to be a vampire aphrodisiac, especially to Spike, we can't take this claim as fact.