Todd Jensen writes...

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Gargoyles", I watched "Awakening" (all five episodes) on DVD yesterday, and thought I'd share a few things I hadn't noticed before (or hadn't noticed enough) that struck my fancy.

1. When Goliath sends the trio and Bronx to the rookery, Bronx looks ashamed of himself - in a way that reminds me of times when dogs I'd known looked guilty over something.

2. When Xanatos tells Owen "Make the offer now" at the ruins of Castle Wyvern, I suddenly wondered whom he bought Castle Wyvern from. I won't ask here - it's obviously a "No spoilers" answer - but I was struck by the fact that this was the first time I wondered that.

3. I spotted what looked like a "foliate head" (or "Green Man"-type head) carved over the archway the gargoyles are standing beneath when the Commandos showed up in the courtyard, and a couple of winged figures on one of the tapestries. (I'll have to check for other unusual and remarkable features of the castle in later episodes, as well.)

4. Many of the human characters repeatedly call the gargoyles "beasts", both in the medieval scenes and the modern (Princess Katharine's protest at allowing beasts in the dining hall, Mary calling the gargoyles beasts, Bruno asking "Where's the beast?" while pursuing Goliath and Elisa).

5. Goliath asks Elisa, when they first meet, "What were you doing in my castle?" Despite Xanatos having bought it, he clearly thinks of it as still his - as if laying pipe for the arc about the gargoyles having to leave the castle and Goliath resisting it.

Todd Jensen writes...

I also recently read the "Oral History of Gargoyles" online, and enjoyed it. My favorite part was when you mentioned how "Gargoyles" was initially inspired by "Adventures of the Gummi Bears", only instead of "cute, cuddly multi-colored bears" it would have "cute, cuddly multi-colored gargoyles". I know you were talking about the original comedy development take on the gargoyles, but I laughed aloud at the "cute, cuddly" part - they're definitely not the adjectives I'd use for describing Goliath. "Majestic", yes, "awe-inspiring", yes, but not "cute" or "cuddly".

Derek writes...

Am I missing anyone or adding someone incorrectly? So far Sevarius has the DNA of the following?

Goliath, Brooklyn, Angela, Broadway, Bronx, Lexington, Eliza, Hudson, Yama, Robyn Canmore, Dingo, Talon, Maggie, Fang, Claw, Wolf, Demona, Nessie, Deiliah (Mix)?

Rose writes...

Hi,

My last question was probably already ignored, but if not I apologize for it...after extensive digging through the archives I think it was answered.

But I’m pretty sure this was never addressed....You kind of seemed to suggest that Elisa fell for Goliath spiritually and physically earlier than he fell for her. How is it then that she never seemed to be jealous of Demona? At least she never showed herself to be. Like in vows...I know she didn’t know the details of what transpired there, but wasn’t she ever worried that Goliath May eventually succeed in bringing Demona to the light and reunite with his mate?

Or was her willful desire to avoid the topic of their romantic linking overpowering any other feelings of insecurity or jealousy she may have felt vis a vis Goliath? Or was her guarded nature so tight that these secret fears never showed on her?

I just wanted to also say thank you for bringing us a love story for the ages...I think Goliath and Elisa are the most heart wrenching couple to ever grace the world of fiction. Thinking about these two tears my heart up in the best way possible. Watching Elisa as a little girl made such a huge positive impact on the person I am today...I love her so much that I’m willing to relinquish the hold I wish I had on Goliath (if there’s a straight woman out there who wouldn’t melt all over this guy...I haven’t met her yet).

And I’m sure I’m not the only one. I think you may have saved hundreds, thousands of 90s young women from our lesser selves with this beautiful, positive role model. There hasn’t ever been another like her.

Rose writes...

Hi Greg,

I searched the archives a little and I did not see this answered specifically...(if I’m wrong please link me)

When in the tv series did Goliath realize he had feelings for Elisa? I know he was always gradually falling for her (unbeknownst to him for not) since he first met her...but what do you think?

I always imagined it was well before he realized the physical connection in the mirror...maybe by deadly force when he realized he might lose her and lost his mind about Dracon.

Thanks for this amazing show and for your answer!

Ricky writes...

1. So I get the qualities Thailog inherited from Goliath and Xanatos but what do you think he got from Sevarius? Sorry if this is obvious but I just don't see it, is that why he might hold Sevarius in less regard than he does his other "fathers"?
2. Do you think Thailog holds Brentwood in more regard because he joined him of his own free will? Will he grant him more responsibilities like Xanatos does with Owen or will he get someone else to fulfill that role?
3. What does Thailog think about immortality? On the one hand I could see him being like Xanatos on the other I could see him adopt Nightstone Unlimited as a pseudo clan and achieve immortality that way maybe both? Great villain by the way so much like Xanatos and Goliath and yet so different at the same time.

The_Jezio writes...

Hi Greg,

Thank you for your work and Gargoyles, it gave a mature 13-year old kid a great show to watch and escape with when his world around him was falling apart.

I wanted to ask you about Goliath and his character ARC. he's such a complex character who spends so much time in grief and, carrying burdens from his past balancing good and evil, broken hearts and forbidden romances, an evolution of "Clan" and family.

Season three opened all of these new possibilities with new clans popping up all over the world after Avalon, and so my Question is, What would it take for Goliath to get his happy ending? Was there ever a plan to really wrap up Gargoyles, because the universe really is so deep and expansive everyone could have gotten 10 episodes plus about their own struggles and triumphs.

I even got to read Brooklyn's Comic Arc from "Clan Building" by Greg Weisman, and had even more love for what could have been! Thank you for answering if you get the chance!

Selena writes...

Hi Greg. I just wanted to tell you that I loved your story on the Gargoyles, especially the story between Elisa and Goliah (I have always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast). Probably they are not the first nor the last to ask you this question, but I hope with all my heart that sooner or later the stories, even comic books, continue. You had so many ideas that I wanted to see them realized. I hope a day not far away will happen ...

Zerofighter writes...

Hi Greg big fan, especially of Demona
I remember reading she was basically a military adviser to Macbeth, in your own words Secretary of defense.
So here are my questions
1. Where does her combat skills rank? Example is she more skilled then Goliath, below him etc, or how would she compare to Young Justice Characters in combat training

2. She has taken on Goliath once in awhile. Is she as strong as him, or slightly below.

3. Same question but this time for speed. Is she just as fast or faster?

4. How powerful is the Particle Canon she uses? Like could it Destroy a tank?

Anyways, thanks for this Greg, cant wait to see what you have planned

EXALT writes...

I've recently rewatched Awakening, and the scene where Goliath tells Demona that she can't kill an enemy unless it is "in the heat of battle" sparked a question in me: as of Phoenix, which members of the Manhattan Clan have actually killed someone?

Juan writes...

In "Vows" When Goliath told to the young Demona about doing nothing to prevent The Wyvern Castle Massacre.To not let the petty jealousies that prey upon her heart.To fortify herself with love.Was he really hoping to prevent the future and was it his last attempt to reason her?

Matthew writes...

I had a random question based on a question I saw about the Goliath/Demona/Angela parentage issue in "Sanctuary."
I just thought of this theory that maybe part of the reason why Goliath was resistant to telling Angela about Demona was because he was hurt over the end of his relationship with her, and having seen how she changed. So, he may, at least somewhere in his mind, have wanted to forget about her.
Do you think that may have been the case, not just his "Gargoyle Way" position?

Todd Jensen writes...

I remember your mentioning that in the proposed "Weird Macbeth" story, you'd cast Goliath as Macduff. It recently occurred to me that that would fit the "none of woman born" element (as with Demona earlier) - if in a different manner than the Macduff of the original play.

I don't know if that was one of the reasons you'd cast Goliath for that role, but I thought I'd mention it.

Zeke writes...

Since Goliath and Demona are the same age roughly in 994 what would happen when Goliath became to old to lead the clan and stepped down? Wouldn't Demona also be too old?

Charisma82 writes...

Hi, Greg! It's been several years since I've posted, but these questions came to me while I was getting ready for work this morning and I wasn't sure if you'd ever commented on them before. In Eye of the Beholder, Goliath says that he has no love for Fox. Does this feeling change at all upon him learning that Fox is Halcyon Rendard's daughter? I'm not saying that I think this would make Goliath start liking her more, but I would think there might be a change of feeling/heart since Goliath regards Renard as a close friend (so instead of seeing Fox as someone he doesn't care about at all, he might see her in a different light due to Renard being her father). So this leads me to the following two questions:

1) If there was a change of feeling, what was that change? (How does he feel about her once he learns she is Rendard's daughter?)

2) If his new feelings were more positive towards Fox (if his feelings did change), then did those positive feelings have anything to do with Goliath's decision to stay at the Eyrie Building? Of course when Xanatos offered Goliath and his clan a ride back to the Eyrie Building to get away from the police, he took the ride to save the clan. But when they got to the Eyrie Building he had to make the decision of whether to stay there or not. I'm sure there were several reasons for them to stay, but was Fox having Renard as her father one of those reasons?

Thank you for your answer and your time, I know it's precious.

-Charisma82

safminako writes...

Do you think Keith David could voice any other of your characters? If so, which ones?

P.S
I am still a fan of the show and totally used jump off of an ironing board trying to fly when I watched Gargoyles as a kid.

Phill writes...

Hi Greg!
I suppose this is a bit of a nitpick about 20 years too late, but while rewatching the pilot of Gargoyles for the millionth time, I couldn't help but question how Goliath managed to carry all of the Gargoyles from the battle to Castle Wyvern.

Paul writes...

What was Xanatos' contingency plan in case Goliath threw him off the edge of the Eyrie Building at the end of "Awakening, Part Five"?

Coby writes...

How do you feel about the next DEATH BATTLE episode with X-Men's Beast and Goliath? Who do you think would win?

Allen Tomsovic writes...

1a) Would The Eye of Odin have eventually killed Goliath? (It appeared to have been killing Fox.)

1b) (It seems that Avatars to Death Gods tend to die, like The Emir.) Would Jackal have eventually died as a result of being an Avatar?

Jamey Dean writes...

Hey, did you take note that in a recent episode of Once Upon A Time, the Chernabog appeared, and actually looked quite a bit like Goliath?

Todd Jensen writes...

I've read the synopsis of the radio play crossover you made for "Gargoyles", "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and "Young Justice" (it'd be neat if you could put up the script for it at "Ask Greg" as you did for "Religious Studies 101", and noted that, near the end, you had Batman asking Goliath to join the Justice League. Now, the obvious reason why you had Batman be the one approaching Goliath was for the joke about Xanatos trying to get both Batman and Iron Man to join his club for rich guys with fancy equipment. But I remember how, back when you were making "Gargoyles", you were concerned that people might see it as a rip-off of "Batman: TAS" (to the point where you even drew up a list of differences between the two series); did you choose Batman for that role as a sort of callback to that?

Paul writes...

In "Revelations," Martin Hacker told Matt "Your job was to get him (Goliath) there (to the Hotel Cabal). It's not your fault if old Mace couldn't hold him." In fact, since Matt gave Goliath the key and physically stopped Mace from shooting Goliath, it was indeed Matt's fault that old Mace couldn't hold him.

Was Martin unaware of Matt's involvement in Goliath's breakout, or was he deliberately lying to Matt?

Tyler Reznik writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. Back again.

Something that bugged me a little when I was watching "High Noon" and "The Price"; in both episodes, Goliath wonders how Macbeth could have escaped from the Weird Sisters (of course, Macbeth didn't actually escape, but that's neither here nor there with regards to my point).

Anyway, my question is this: did it never occur to Goliath that the Weird Sisters might have just let Macbeth go? After all, he doesn't really know anything about the Sisters at this point; they're almost entirely an unknown quantity. Did he think that they'd keep Macbeth and Demona prisoner indefinitely (that isn't rhetorical; I really do want to know)?

Thank you for your time, sir. Have a nice day.

Heelmondragon writes...

Hello Greg, Big fan of your work. Met you at last week's Long Beach Comic Con. I have all the Gargoyles dvds and I still have a question about Demona. Hopefully you havent already answered this question.

But what is it specifically that causes Demona to betray her clan? Did Xanatos already influence that decision prior to her being revealed to the clan or was it the fact that Goliath didnt wish to kill anyone on Reinard's ship during their mission together? It would seem that Demona was taken back by Goliath's change in behavior. He wasnt the same gargoyle she knew in 994. Thank you for your time.