Gargoyle clan
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In the fictional universe of Disney's animated television series, Gargoyles, a gargoyle clan is the traditional family unit used by the gargoyle species.
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[edit] Biology
Members of the clan are not necessarily related biologically (bloodlines are shown to mean little to most gargoyles during the course of the series). Nevertheless, the gargoyles in a clan will consider themselves members of a single extended family, often referring to others of their generation as "Rookery Brothers" or "Rookery Sisters". This reflects the fact that gargoyles are hatched from eggs, which are stored communally in a rookery. As such, parents are never certain which of the hatchlings is their biological offspring. Rather, hatchlings are "children of the entire clan".
The creator of the series, Greg Weisman, has stated that he considers gargoyles to be naturally attuned to the planet's rhythms. As such, female gargoyles will become fertile on the autumnal equinox every twentieth year, and will lay a single egg on the following spring equinox. All of the eggs will be stored together in the clan's rookery, and the communal hatching occurs ten years later.
[edit] Known clans
Besides the Manhattan Clan which is the focus of the series, several other clans were introduced during the second season of the show. In the show's continuity, gargoyles had once been an abundant species that had dwindled due to the rather antagonistic co-existence with humanity. Only a few clans survive today, each for different reasons.
Each clan has different physiological and cultural differences based upon where in the world were they are located. Despite this, they all share the same attributes: they go into stone sleep during the day, all are fierce and formidable fighters, and they all have a specific area, persons, or concept that they protect. Series creator Greg Weisman has also indicated that despite looking very different, all gargoyles are members of one species, and do not necessarily have all the biological features one would assume from their appearance (for example, though Leo resembles a lion, he is not a mammal, nor is any other gargoyle).
[edit] Manhattan Clan
- Main article: Manhattan Clan
The six gargoyle warriors comprising the Manhattan Clan are the protagonists of the series. They managed to survive through to the modern time with the aid of a magic spell that froze them in stone for a thousand years. Originally members of the Wyvern Clan in Scotland, they now live in New York City. They were once part of a sub-species of Scottish Gargoyles that were all but wiped out long ago by the Hunters.
[edit] Avalon Clan
- Main article: Avalon Clan
Another offshoot of the Wyvern Clan introduced during Season 2, the Avalon Clan consisted of the 36 eggs that were rescued from Castle Wyvern by Princess Katharine, the castle's Magus, and two commoners: Tom and his mother. Katherine, the Magus and Tom (later called The Guardian) transported the eggs to the mythical isle of Avalon, where the eggs hatched and grew to adulthood.
[edit] London Clan
The London Clan resemble creatures of heraldry. Unlike other clans, they appear very much like anthropomorphised animals with wings. In the show, only three members of the clan were introduced, running a magic shop in the Soho area of London for income, but the the actual population of the clan is 196. They manage to fool customers in believing that their bizarre appearances are costumes. Other members of the clan do live on an estate outside the city called Knight's Spur. Although The clan is easily the most prosperous one known in terms of population, it is very much aware of the danger of overcrowding their secure area. To control that problem, stringent precautions are taken to control their population growth with a resulting total number of eggs at present being 25.
[edit] Griff
A warrior during World War II, the griffin-like gargoyle called Griff disappeared during The Blitz and was presumed dead. In fact, he had been transported to the future by Goliath, using the time-traveling Phoenix Gate. Once in his old home again he was reunited with his friends Leo and Una, and encouraged them to once again take up defending the city.
Griff later encountered the wayward and awakened King Arthur Pendragon in Westminster Abbey (the king had broken in to hold vigil there, and Griff assumed he was a vandal before learning the truth). He and the Manhattan clan helped Arthur fight off Macbeth and retrieve the sword Excalibur from New York City, and was later dubbed as the first of Arthur's new knights. He later accompanied Arthur on his quest to find Merlin.
Griff was voiced by Neil Dickson.
[edit] Leo and Una
Leo and Una, who resemble a lion and a unicorn respectively (see the Lion and the Unicorn), run the magic shop that provides income for the clan. Una, voiced by Sarah Douglas, is also the leader of the clan, and a powerful magic user. She shares a number of features with Demona, particularly in her tendency to "rewrite" history to eliminate her own culpability, though she is diverted from Demona's path by the end of the episode and spared her lonely fate. Leo is her mate, voiced by Gregg Berger, although it is suggested on the show that Una was romantically involved with Griff before his disappearance.
The two of them had refused to join Griff when he went out to fight in the Battle of Britain and they were devastated when he did not return. They funded a memorial statue of Griff and Goliath, as in a predestination paradox Goliath had appeared at the shop before the battle and left with Griff. Believing that both had died, Leo and Una became cynical and insular, no longer protecting the people around them. When Goliath arrived in the modern day (before he had traveled back in time), they blamed him for Griff's disappearance though he did not yet know them. They managed to forgive Goliath when he brought Griff forward in time (thus causing the disappearance in the first place) and reunited the trio.
[edit] Staghart
Staghart (or "Amp" to his friends), who resembles a handsome stag, is introduced in the Slave Labor Graphics series in issue #7 who meet the Manhattan gargoyles Hudson and Lexington while they are on a mission in London. There is some suggestion for now that he is homosexual and forming a mutual bond with Lexington, who is slowly realizing he is of the same sexual orientation.
[edit] Constance
Constance (or "Coco" to her friends), who resembles a stocky warthog sow, is a good friend to Staghart, although it is hinted that she is well aware of his sexual orientation which precludes being his mate. She is also very aggressive in battle and disdains weapons in battle in favor of her own abilities. Coco is loosely based on Greg Weisman's original concept for Broadway.
[edit] Ishimura Clan
Ishimura Clan are the gargoyle residents of a small village in Japan. Unlike most other clans, the Ishimura gargoyles co-exist peacefully with humans. Their ancestors fought many battles alongside humans before settling in Ishimura. They live by the code of bushido, which they teach to humans. But by the late 20th century, they had run out of students. While they protect the village and its human residents during the night, a group of humans protects the clan's home during the day - to honor this association, gargoyles from this clan enter stone sleep facing inwards from their battlements, to their human protectorate, whereas gargoyles like Goliath traditionally face outwards to face potential threats.
The leader of the clan is Kai (voiced by Clyde Kusatsu), and his second was Yama (voiced by Bruce Locke). Yama was known to have a mate called Sora (voiced by Haunani Minn). He betrayed the clan by aligning himself with a human named Taro, a former student of theirs' who wanted to capture and imprison the clan in a Gargoyle-themed amusement park and then reveal them to the public. He tricked them into thinking their protectorate wanted them gone and he helped them escape so they could teach children. Unfortunately, the "children" were actually reporters Taro had invited.. Yama realized the error of his ways and, along with his clanmates and Goliath, helped defeat Taro. They soon fled just as the media arrived. Ishimura Clan then decided to teach bushido once again.
Yama was recently seen as a part of the Redemption Squad in Gargoyles Bad Guys #1. How he ended up joining the group is to be revealed in #2.
[edit] Guatemala Clan
The Guatemala Clan are the protectors of the rainforest of Guatemala. This clan possessed four amulets, powered by a larger Sun Amulet, forged by their previous human protectorate the Mayans that allowed the wearers to stay awake during the daytime for 24 hour protection. Shortly before their appearance on the show, the clan was attacked by humans, and all but the four gargoyles wearing the amulets (who were out at the time of the attack) were killed (the clan's eggs were also spared) and the Sun Amulet was stolen. The amulet later sat in the American Museum of Natural History in New York and was almost destroyed by Hyena who was to destroy it in a coordinated attack with Jackal in Guatemala. Broadway and Lexington from the Manhattan Clan foiled that attempt and now hold the Sun Amulet.
The four members of the clan are:
- Zafiro - voiced by Hector Elizondo, wore the sapphire amulet. Unlike other gargoyles, Zafiro resembled a winged snake (a possible inspiration for Quetzalcoatl myths in the universe of the show) or nāga, with a snake-like face and tail instead of legs.
- Obsidiana - voiced by Elisa Pensler Gabrielli, wore the obsidian amulet.
- Jade - (pronounced Ha-day), voiced by Jesse Corti, wore the jade amulet.
- Turquesa - voiced by Marabina Jaimes, wore the turquoise amulet.
After their encounter with Goliath, Elisa, and Angela, Jade and Turquesa went to Avalon, to plant and raise several valuable plants and herbs threatened by the development of the rainforest. Had the series continued, Zafiro would have traveled to Manhattan to recover the Sun Amulet.
[edit] Labyrinth Clan
Residing in an underground research facility beneath the streets of New York City, once run by Cyberbiotics, now home to many transient humans, as well as two groups who are firm allies of the Manhattan Clan: The Mutates and the Clones.
[edit] Mutates
Humans, spliced with animal genes by Anton Sevarius to resemble gargoyles. They have cat-like bodies, bat wings, and can discharge electrical pulses like electric eels.
[edit] Clones
Created by Anton Sevarius, with funding from Demona and Thailog, the five clones are true biological gargoyles, with simple minds, who are genetically identical to the Manhattan clan. Talon gave them sanctuary in the Labyrinth. They were artificially aged, which altered their colorations (in general, their colours are photo-negatives of their originals).They were named after places in Los Angeles, in parody of the Manhattan Clan who are named after places in New York City. In the non-canonical season 3, the clones had a genetic defect that eventually "killed" them by permanently freezing them in stone hibernation. This defect also had happened to Thailog as well.
- Malibu - Clone of Brooklyn.
- Brentwood - Clone of Lexington. Brentwood is no longer a member of the Labyrinth Clan, having left it to join Thailog as of "Bash"
- Hollywood - Clone of Broadway.
- Burbank - Clone of Hudson.
- Delilah - A hybrid of Demona and Elisa's DNA. Secretly cloned by Thailog to be his perfect servile mate.
[edit] Unknown clans
As well as these clans, four clans have been mentioned by the show's creators, though they were never seen during the series. These clans are:
- New Olympus Clan, who live on Mount Thanatos on the hidden island of New Olympus. An isolationist clan.
- Loch Ness Clan, from Loch Ness in Scotland. The only semi-aquatic clan remaining, they protect the Loch Ness Monster species.
- Xanadu Clan, from Xanadu in China. They protect the waning gargoyle beast population.
- Korean Clan, from Pukhan, South Korea. They protect their concept of justice.
These four clans, together with the clans detailed in the animated series, make up the entire remaining gargoyle population on earth. Series creator Greg Weisman once estimated that the total population worldwide is only about 400.
Further, Greg Weisman has stated that more clans would have been created in the future had he had a chance to continue the series. These clans include:[citation needed]
- New Wyvern Clan, formed on the former location of Wyvern Castle in Scotland
- Camelot Clan, residing on the continent of Antarctica, in the location of New Camelot
- Liberty Clan, founded on an island off the west coast of Canada
- Notre Dame Clan, in Paris, France (a version of this clan appeared as a "Gargoyles" spoof in a Weisman-penned issue of Captain Atom)
In addition, other clans are shown to have existed in the past, which were wiped out by humans. In the multi-part "City of Stone," for example, Demona is shown to have led a clan of gargoyles several years after the destruction of the Wyvern clan, which Weisman indicates was created from remnants of several other destroyed Scottish clans. These gargoyles were later killed by the first and second Hunters. He once indicated that one of those clans was a "colony" created when the Wyvern clan was too large (though he admits to making that up to explain why a certain gargoyle model was used for a member of the original Wyvern and of Demona's clan).
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