In the fictional universe of Disney's animated television series, Gargoyles, a gargoyle clan is the traditional family unit used by the gargoyle species. Several Gargoyles Listed on this page never appear in the Television series. All profiles on this page are written with the SLG Gargoyles Comics consider canonical.
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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.
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).
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.
The addition of Angela,[1] Katana, Fu-Dog, Nashville, Egwardo (who will hatch in 1998) Coldstone and Coldfire[2] has brought the clan's number up to thirteen, as well as diversifying the clan (Angela from Avalon, Katana from Feudal Japan, Nashville who is a mix between Scottish & Japanese and Fu-Dog from China).
The Avalon Clan is a clan that resides on the mythical Isle of Avalon, where an hour spent on the island equates to a day in the "real" world. This means that for the island's inhabitants, that while a thousand years passed since their arrival on the island, the inhabitants have only experienced just over forty-one years. Unusually among many clans in the Gargoyles universe, the clan includes three human members who protected the clan while still unhatched.
Much like the Manhattan Clan around which the show revolves, the Avalon Clan is an offshoot of a gargoyle clan from Wyvern Castle in Scotland. When the majority of the clan was destroyed by Vikings, the 36 gargoyle eggs in the rookery were taken away by four humans - Princess Katharine, the Magus, and the peasant woman Mary and her son Tom. The eggs remained protected by these humans and brought to Avalon (only Mary remained behind), where they remained and grew to adulthood. They were raised by the humans that had protected them as eggs, and were largely untouched by the outside world. Angela later stated that she had "fifteen rookery sisters" on Avalon, and Greg Weisman has stated there were three gargoyle beasts in the clan, meaning that the remaining seventeen gargoyles were male.
The Avalon Clan was introduced to the show when Tom (now the elderly Guardian of the Eggs) arrived in Manhattan searching for Goliath, to see if he had been woken from his stone slumber. Goliath, along with the human Elisa Maza and the gargoyle beast Bronx, traveled to Avalon and helped save the clan from attack by the Archmage.
Unlike traditional gargoyle clans, the Avalon Clan was raised by humans. Series creator Greg Weisman has indicated that because of this, the gargoyles on Avalon tend to have a more "human" nature than most of their species; perhaps most notable is the fact that each member was given a name at birth (such as Angela or Gabriel) rather than the usual gargoyle tradition. Similarly, Angela developed a human-like expectation of being acknowledged by Goliath as a daughter, which he was initially uncomfortable with on cultural grounds.
The London Clan resemble creatures of heraldry. Unlike other clans, they appear very much like anthropomorphised animals (mostly mammals) 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 actual population of the clan is 196. While easily one of the more successful gargoyle clans in that they were able to elude near-extinction, this clan of gargoyles, have, until recently, neglected their brethren's ways as protectors of humanity and not just their own kind. They manage to fool customers into believing that their bizarre appearances are costumes as part of fetish within the Magic Shop they run; and at least one member, Una, even being knowledgeable in the magical arts. 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.
A brave and noble warrior during World War II who opted to covertly assist the soldiers of London fight off the Nazis rather than simply safeguarding his clan's territory, 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 after the latter decided to go back in time to find what happened to Griff (and possibly save him in the process). When Goliath learns that it is impossible to change the past (after several consecutive incidents that nearly killed Griff), he instead brought Griff along to the present-time London. 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.[3]
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.
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.[4]
Their daughter Lunette (relation was specified by Greg Weisman in Ask Greg) was shown in Gargoyles #8. She was a winged unicorn.
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. Greg Weisman mentioned that he would have cast Alan Cumming for the voice of the character.[5]
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. According to a post on Ask Greg (from Greg Weisman), Constance is Una's Second In Command. Greg Weisman vaguely considered Zoë Wanamaker as the voice for the character.[6]
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 humansamurai 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 as a sign of trust, whereas gargoyles like Goliath traditionally face outwards to face potential threats. It also seems to be for this reason why they assume less threatening poses before entering stone form.
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. The Ishimura Clan then decided to teach bushido once again.
Yama was banished as a result of his actions in Bushido and has to determine when he regains his honor. Robyn Canmore, Dingo and Matrix arrive in Tokyo to recruit him. Robyn mentions the chance for him to find Redemption, as well as threatening to reveal his clan to the world. He reluctantly joins, but doesn't approve of being blackmailed and the idea of working with a gargoyle hunter. Yama also doesn't like the idea of Fang joining (as he made a joke at the expense of a suicide).[7]
Sometime during the Feudal era of Japan, a time traveling Brooklyn would arrive because of The Phoenix that came from the Phoenix Gate. He meets his future mate Katana. Though it is unknown if she joins him at first by choice or by accident.[2]
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 poachers, 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:
After their encounter with Goliath, Elisa, Bronx, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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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