Webtoon Spotlight

Respect spotlight #04: Massive Gargoyles 25th anniversary

One thousand twenty-five years ago superstition and the sword ruled, it was a time of darkness; it was a world of fear, it was the age of gargoyles! Stone by day, warriors by night. These noble beings were betrayed by the executive decisions we had sworn to protect and frozen in anonymity by a magic spell For 22 years. Now here in my spotlight. The spell is broken. And we live again!

Hello dear reader, and welcome to the respect spotlight to end all spotlights as we finally shine a light and pay tribute to one of the most underrated shows of the modern era and one of my favorite writer's magnum opus: Gargoyles by Greg Wiseman. And for this special review, I will be combining the format of describing each season and the good things about the show all around to give you a proper taste.

How I got in

One time in elementary school, I stumbled across it and quickly watched through the episodes when I faked being sick. I was a fan ever since. And with that out of the way, let's talk about the reasons why this show even a quarter of a century later is still touching hearts and minds.

Overview

For those uninitiated, Gargoyles was an animated series that aired on an old block called the Disney afternoon from 1994-1997 with a total of 78 episodes and one Emmy by the end of it's run. During development, it was intended to be a lighthearted fantasy series, however, through the combined work of Greg Wiseman (who later worked on Spectacular Spider-Man and young justice) and the duo of Micheal reeves and Brynne Chandler Reeves to create something truly magnificent.

The series focuses on a clan of nocturnal creatures called Gargoyles that could turn to stone during the day to rest and heal and come alive during the night as powerful warriors. In 994 A.D., a Scottish clan of the mythical creatures formed a symbiotic relationship with the humans inside the castle. However, due to a tragic betrayal, most of the Gargoyles met a violent end, and the remaining being forced into their stone sleep, with the only way to break such a curse, was for the castle Wyvern were to rise above the cloud themselves.

A thousand years later, the literal best Disney character ever made, a wealthy businessman named David Xanatos, takes every single brick of the castle on top of his giant skyscraper above the clouds just to see if the story was true! Like that is one of the biggest flexes I have ever seen, but that is beside the point. The spell is broken, and the Gargoyles are now trapped in the modern era of 1994 Manhattan.

Season 1 laid much of the groundwork with it's an all-star cast of past Star Trek actors. Some of the mainstays being our main character with a heart of gold and a voice of honey Goliath voiced by Keith David, who constantly displays an aura of nobility and class as he tries to hold on to what little he has left in this new world. Other standouts included the clan's main human ally Elisa Maza, a tough and no-nonsense cop armed with more wit than ammo, and Hudson, an old mentor figure who is the first out of the gargoyles to get names based on their new home ( Goliath notwithstanding ).

Another phenomenal choice was certainly the choice in villains. This series is the first introduction into one of the greatest villains in all of fiction, David motherfucking Xanatos, who unlike lost villains, especially in this area never underestimated his opponents, always had a backup plan or ulterior motivation that benefited him in the end and always sought to grow as a person. This man was so godly he had three villain tropes named after him (Xanatos Gambit, Xanatos Roulette, and Xanatos speed chess). Other villains that were introduced this season were Deomna: a gargoyle driven mad with both immortality and tragedy as she seeks to destroy all of humanity and anyone who gets in her way. Overall a great opener to the series.