Joss Whedon had a whirlwind panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year, promoting his new upcoming comic ‘Twist’ while also speaking about his myriad fan-beloved franchises, and even taking a minute to explain the meaning of life to a curious fan. Clearly, the man knows what he is talking about, and we should all be paying attention.

During the panel, Whedon was asked about his favorite character creation, with Charlie Jane Anders of i09 reporting the answer as the following:

“…the answer changes daily, but mostly it’s Buffy. She’s the nexus of everything he wants to be and the opposite of who he actually is, and “the beating heart” of everything he has done or will do.”

Continuing his ‘Buffy’ thoughts, and the possibility of a reboot, Whedon had the following to say at the panel:

“I mean, I look at my shows, and part of me is like, wouldn’t it be great if… We always worked in the universe where people could age, so it’s never a worry that, ‘wait a minute. She’s still in high school?!’ And then there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘you are going to do something else at some point, right? You do have a new idea, ever?’ And there’s stuff I’m working on besides Twist as well that I actually can’t talk about, but that is actually very different…My biggest fear about bringing stuff back is the monkey’s paw. Like, what if it’s not as good? Or what if it’s just as good but it’s not new? So it doesn’t give you that feeling you need. That would be the billion dollar pressure of something like that. But I have a knack for assembling sane and wonderful casts, so I think about it. But only I can do it.”

And as for his love of ‘Buffy’ and as well as speaking of her influence as a strong female character, Whedon stated:

“I see some things in the landscape that were not there. But I also see things that had been there before: Xena, and James Cameron movies and all the things I was building off of. I feel like we were part of a wave — we may have actually been the crest of that wave, but I don’t feel like, ‘You’re welcome, world! This is all me!’ I feel like people were ready for it. And they just needed to know it was okay for them to be ready for it…That’s one of the reasons I love Buffy. I think she’s a character that men can identify with in a way that they’re not allowed to with a male character. I’m a little proud, But I’m mostly very grateful that I got to do that.”

Whedon was also asked the intriguing question about the meaning of life, and quite bravely, he answered with his own interpretation:

“You think I’m not going to, but I’m going to answer that. The world is a random and meaningless terrifying place and then we all—spoiler alert—die. Most critters are designed not to know that. We are designed, uniquely, to transcend that, and to understand that—I can quote myself—a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts…the main function of the human brain, the primary instinct, is storytelling. Memory is storytelling. If we all remembered everything, we would be Rain Man, and would not be socially active at all. We learn to forget and to distort, but we [also] learn to tell a story about ourselves….”

“I keep hoping to be the hero of my story, [but] I’m the annoying sidekick. I’m kind of like Rosie O’Donnell in that Tarzan movie.” He keeps hoping to be Tarzan, but finding that he’s that weird monkey that nobody can tell if it’s a girl or a boy…My idea is that stories that we then hear and see and internalize—and wear hats from and come to conventions about… We all come here to celebrate only exactly that: storytelling, and the shared experience of what that gives us. The shared experience of storytelling gives us strength and peace…You understand your story and everyone else’s story, and that it can be controlled by us. This is something we can survive, because unlike me, you all are the hero of your story.”

What do you think of Whedon’s view of life? Would you be excited if he ever decided to reboot ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer?’ Do you think she is the best character he has created so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Source: TheMarySue, io9