David Xanatos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| David Xanatos | |
 David Xanatos |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Disney |
| First appearance | Gargoyles 1x02 Awakening Part 2 |
| Created by | Greg Weisman |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | David Xanatos |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Xanatos Enterprises, Illuminati |
| Abilities | Advanced Martial Arts skills, Weapons Handling Techniques, Extremely Sharp Intellect, Mechanical Exo-suit which enhances his physical abilities to that of a Gargoyle, & Guile. |
David Xanatos is one of the primary characters of the animated series Gargoyles. In the series, he is the founder,owner and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises and a member of the Illuminati (He ranks at 36, which is the lowest of the society). Xanatos was voiced by (and his design inspired by) Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes. His schemes have given rise to the term "Xanatos Gambit".
Xanatos' behavior is often ruthless and amoral, although his personality is slightly softened later in the series by his affection for his wife Fox and their son Alex. His plans are often intricate and Machiavellian. However, he is notably not vindictive as he sees revenge as foolish and even tends to try and see the positive side of his defeats. In fact, his plans often work out beneficially to him in one way or another, despite the frequent intervention of Goliath, Xanatos' arch-rival, and his clan of Gargoyles. He is obsessed with obtaining immortality for himself and his family. His loyal right-hand man is Owen Burnett, a stoic man with extraordinary hidden talents Xanatos gained through equally remarkable circumstances.
Xanatos is a formidable fighter in his own right. In addition to advanced Karate and Judo skills, he also has a specialized red armored suit that he modeled on his Steel Clan that he wears frequently. He also has a highly advanced AI and cyborg clone modeled after himself, designed to do his bidding; it impersonates and represents him whenever he needs it to. This robot became the leader of the criminal group The Pack under the name of Coyote and there was a time where he actually used it to try to capture the actual Coyote spirit.
[edit] Biography
David Xanatos started life as the son of Petros Xanatos, a fisherman from Bar Harbor, Maine. Young Xanatos received an anonymous letter which contained a set of priceless 10th century coins. He sold the coins for 20 grand, investing the money in a series of successful ventures and eventually building his corporation. Xanatos's holdings include Xanatos Enterprises, a genetics company Gen-U-Tech, the Scarab Corporation robotics firm, and the television franchise Pack Media Studios. Despite his father's belief that Xanatos did not deserve the gift that had launched his career, Xanatos continued to claim that he would one day prove himself a self-made man.
During this time, Xanatos gained a former employee of his business rival, Halcyon Renard, Owen Burnett. Eventually, Burnett revealed that he was actually the Child of Oberon, Puck and offered his entertaining employer a tempting choice: a single wish or a lifetime of service as the mortal Owen Burnett. Against the magical being's expectations, Xanatos choose Owen's service and the decision deeply impressed Puck to keep his end of the bargain.
Xanatos learned of Castle Wyvern from Demona, the only remaining Gargoyle from the Wyvern Clan, and proceeded to purchase the castle and transport it, brick by brick, and reconstruct it atop his New York skyscraper, the Eyrie Building. With the castle "above the clouds," Xanatos successfully released the Manhattan Clan from their frozen sleep.
Xanatos initially posed as the Gargoyles' friend, convincing them to "acquire" technology from his rival Cyberbiotics for him and ultimately attempting to destroy the gargoyles once their replacements, the Steel Clan, came online. The Steel Clan was defeated, however, and Xanatos was convicted for receiving stolen property ("Awakening, Part V"). Xanatos continued to plot against the Gargoyles from prison, testing them and attempting to remove them from the castle. Upon his release, he became one of their greatest enemies, engaging in a particularly fierce rivalry with their leader, Goliath.
Xanatos also committed himself to getting his own clan of gargoyles that would be loyal and obedient to him. To that end, he tried several attempts throughout the series to do that such as resurrecting Goliath's brother Coldstone and some of the other dead Gargoyles from the Scottish clan; genetically creating his own clan of mutant gargoyles, one of whom was Elisa Maza's brother, Derek; creating a clone of Goliath, and perfecting the Steel Clan. When these attempts failed, he changed focus to continuing his quest for immortality but by using sorcery, magic, and even involving himself with children of Oberon, the King of the mystical island Avalon, instead.
Xanatos would meet an equal in Fox and marry her. It was on this occasion that, by inviting Goliath to the wedding and luring him into seeking reconciliation with Demona, Xanatos was able to reconstruct the Phoenix Gate. The wedding party was brought back in time to the 10th century, where Xanatos arranged for the ancient coins to be delivered to himself a thousand years in the future, via Illuminati, as well as a message to himself detailing the instructions how to do it that he had received a week before. In this way, Xanatos fulfilled his own history through a predestination paradox, at the same time proving himself to his father as a "self-made man" ("Vows").
When Demona finally betrayed Xanatos to advance her own goals of destroying the human race, Xanatos was forced to call a truce with Goliath to stop her ("City of Stone, Part II"). Goliath was later instrumental in saving Xanatos's newborn son Alexander, at which time Xanatos pledged to pay the debt back to him ("The Gathering, Part II"). He soon created new robotic bodies for Coldstone's other personalities, which he names Coldfire and Coldsteel. But the cyborg Gargoyles he put together was also created by magic, so it was impossible for mind transfer. While he and Fox were out to dinner, Puck and Alexander did the soul transfer for him. When the existence of the Gargoyles is revealed to the public, Xanatos ultimately calls an end to the feud and restores the Gargoyles to their ancestral home in the castle ("Hunter's Moon, Part III").
[edit] SLG Comic
Soon after, Owen received a call from Mr. Duval from The Illuminati for Xanatos. Xanatos refused as he spent some time with his son that night. On Halloween Night, he's later visited by Martin Hacker (who ranks 32 in The Illuminati) who gives him an invitation to the White House. From there he meets another Illuminati member, Quincy Hemmings (Chief Stewart at the White House who ranks 2 in The Illuminati). He hands Xanatos a mission from The Illuminati.
The mission is for him to obtain The Stone Of Destiny which is being sent back to Scotland. To ensure success, he recruits Coldsteel and activates Coyote 5.0. He sends some Steel and Iron Clan robots to assist them.
[edit] The Goliath Chronicles
Xanatos was portrayed as a benefactor to the Gargoyles. Greg Weisman has stated that while the feud with the clan ended, he still seeks to achieve his own goals (As according to Greg will be demonstrated in #4 or 5 of the comic). This is acknowledged by Brooklyn and Goliath in #1 of the Slave Labor Graphics comic book series continuation that while he isn't 100% trust worthy, they trust him not to smash them during the day. Also, Xanatos has to deal with pressure from The Illuminati in terms of turning the clan over to them.
|
||||||||||||||
