The Initiative - The Initiative (formerly, the Demon Research Initiative) was a secret government project featured on the occult drama BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/WB/1997-2003.

Professor Maggie Walsh, the Director of the Initiative

The Initiative was funded by the military to experiment on demons in an effort to create bio-mechanical, demonoid super soldiers for the US military. It's operatives hunted down demons and caged them in laboratories located under The Lowell House on the campus of UC Sunnydale.

Their members included:

• Professor Maggie Walsh, she taught Psychology at Lowell University by day and ran the secret weapons project beneath the school by night.
• Mr. Ward, member of the Pentagon Overseeing Committee
• Colonel George Haviland
• Colonel McNamara
• Doctor Francis Angleman, Initiative scientist
• Riley Finn, an experienced commando and demon fighter
• Forrest Gates, soldier (he was killed and later reanimated)
• Graham Miller, soldier and Riley's close friend
• Stavros, Dixon, Evan Goodman (Soldiers and Agents)
• Angel (against his will) and Mr. Fury in 1943
• Adam, part human, part demon created in Room 314.

  
  Initiative soldiers: Forrest Gates, Riley Finn & Graham Miller

The Initiative captured Spike the vampire and implanted a behavior modification chip in his brain that prevented him from killing people [but demons were fair game].

The Initiative also captured Oz, because he was a werewolf but Riley helped his friend Buffy Summer rescue him from the project.

Riley rebelled against the Initiative when he discovered that Professor Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) had planted a chip near his heart that was to be used to transform him into a cyber-demon/human like the pseudo Franken-demon called Adam (George Hertzberg).

Professor Walsh wanted to use Adam to kill Buffy Summers, but before she could, Adam impaled Walsh with a retractable skewer located in his arm.

Adam had a uranium-based power source in his chest, could link to computers to download information and even had a mini-gun and grenade launcher incorporated into his right arm.

Adam resurrected Professor Walsh and other dead bodies in a bid for power, but with the help of Riley, and Buffy Summers friends Adam. was defeated and the Initiative project soon met its demise. Adam died when Buffy ripped the green uranium core from his chest.