Gilford writes...

Hi Greg,

I am just writing to say the gargoyles was and still is one of my favourite childhood shows. The twists with fox being part magic and owen was puck the whole time?!! I was utterly surprised!! Now i get how Xanatos knows some things that are unnatural.

Another thing, in the episode upgrade, i noticed that fox and Xanatos were playing a game of chess with the pack and the gargoyles as pieces whilst the pack and the gargoyles were fighting each other at the same time. That cannot be a coincidence. i believe they were playing their lives as if it was a game to them and chess seems to be a perfect way to illustrate the point.

Genius

Anonymous writes...

What is David Xanatos's favorite literary genre?

Tyler Reznik writes...

Hello yet again, Mr. Weisman. Today, I'd like to talk about Gargoyles, particularly David Xanatos.

In relation to Xanatos' desire for immortality, I've noticed that, on two seperate occasions, an older, wiser man managed to pierce David's figurative armour through fairly simple methods (the methods themselves being simple, rather than the effect, meaning, or characters being so).

First, Petros, David's father, succeeded in giving his son pause through a few well-chosen words and "a simple American penny". Then, in "The Price", Hudson is able to discern and point out Xanatos' fear of growing old and dying (here, he cracks Xanatos' cool demeanor, but doesn't quite break it), and by the end of the episode, he had managed to escape Xanatos alive, simultaneously posing a question that, like Petros with the penny, gave David pause, and, I think, something to ponder.

Now, my point is that both of the aforementioned characters were, as I said, older and wiser than Xanatos, which makes me think (perhaps incorrectly; you'd know better than I would) that one of Xanatos' flaws is his inability to truly appreciate the values of age and experience, which ties in to his desire to be immortal.

However much he denied it to Hudson, Xanatos IS terrified of growing old and dying. It's something unknowable, uncontrollable, to a point, unpredictable (who knows when and how they're going to die?), and, barring a means of becoming immortal, it's unavoidable. The value of age and experience, as well as the wisdom that comes from it, is something that he, quite simply, does NOT want to learn firsthand. In fact, he even brushes off Hudson's descriptions of the downside to immortality, remarking that death and old age have a price, one too steep for him to pay. It is this unwillingness to accept his own mortality that makes Xanatos vulnerable to the metaphorical defeats he received from Petros and Hudson. The fear of mortality he possesses makes him blind to the wisdom that only comes from the passage, and indeed, the ravages (of which Hudson is all too aware) of time.

1) Do you agree with my assessment of this aspect of Xanatos' personality?

2) Is it possible that as he grows older, Xanatos will learn to appreciate the wisdom that accompanies age?

Whether you agree with my perspective or not, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post, and have a good day, sir.

Luna writes...

I have some questios regarding Lex Luthor.

Do you think he would get along with Xanatos?
Is He as smart as Xanatos?
Would David Xanatos be a member of the light if he lived in earth 16?

I know it is never going happen becuase one is from DC and one is from Disney/Marvel. But I would love to see the two of them interacting.

How would you do an episode with Lex and Xanatos?.(I don't consider this one a spoiler or an original idea becuase copyright will never allow this to ever happen).

thank you!

Greg Bishansky writes...

1. Did Xanatos know Demona's name before she revealed it to Goliath?
2. For that matter, while we know Xanatos regarded the gargoyles with benign amusement and interest, and you've said before that he always rather liked Goliath as a person... what did he think of Demona? On the one hand, while we know he felt she had her uses, on the other hand there she was talking about the genocide of humanity right in front of him. I guess I feel for being as intelligent as he was, and knowing about how much she despised humans, he put a lot of blind faith into her... he didn't even have the page with the Stone By Night spell translated prior to putting her on the air. That was a mistake far larger than the creation of Thailog.

Matthew writes...

When exactly did Owen reveal himself as Puck to Xanatos?

Tymiko writes...

1. Although he's amoral and generally has a commitment to self-preservation, why did Puck return to help Xanatos against Oberon "against [his] better judgement"?

Was it simply because he was impressed by Xanatos' choice to have him serve him for life instead of being granter a wish? I considered this, but then I thought it unlikely that Owen would have left Xanatos in the first place instead of returning after some consideration to stand at David's side.

2. Why DID David Xanatos choose Puck as a life-long servant instead of a wish? Wasn't he after immortality?

Battle Beast writes...

I was having a religeous debate at work today with a staunch Christian. Long story short, she got to "Remember David Versus Goliath?" and I said to her, "Hold it. I know full well about them but the only Goliath I care about is eight feet tall and lavender."

And then it hit me: David V. Golaith. I never, ever thought of that connection before... so I check the Archive and sure enough I was right. It was intention, you said.

I get their relationship now on a different level... Very clever! :)

Andre writes...

Hey man, been a big fan of Gargoyles since my early childhood days, and have been following your work from Spectacular Spider-Man to Young Justice.

My question refers to the primary antagonist of the Gargoyle universe, David Xanatos. What was the inspiration for you to create such a complex gray villain? Also, where'd the name come from for Xanatos too?

Richard Jackson writes...

In "Metamorphosis", Sevarius and Xanatos were pretending to be at odds after the former had injected Derek/Talon with the mutate serum. As part of the performance, Sevarius asked Xanatos if he had some junk bonds to sell.

Is Xanatos the Michael Milken of the Gargoyles Universe? I know he's a savvy businessman, but also a Wall Street trader?

Anonymous writes...

Ok trying these questions seperately this time around hoping atleast something gets approved.

While it appears that Xanatose generally prefers to avoid killing he's had his moments where he almost does(sending the steel clan to kill the gargs in awakenings when he realized he can't control them being the biggest example). So I have to ask has he ever killed or had someone killed?

alfred writes...

I just wanted to ask something about the gargoyles episode The Gathering part 2.

Was Xanatos wearing an iron suit?If the suit is iron,how was Titania able to freeze him?

Todd Jensen writes...

In "Cloud Fathers", Xanatos makes his famous quip to Goliath and Angela about how his acid trap that will spill over them and the Coyote Carving is "my first real stab at cliched villainy".

Recently, I realized that in Xanatos' next appearance in "Gargoyles", "Future Tense" (if that one counts, since the Xanatos in that episode was a deception twice over), he displayed a *lot* of cliched villainy (openly taking over New York, turning most of the population into Mutates, planning world domination, etc.). I don't know if that line in "Cloud Fathers" was intended as a foreshadowing, but it became all the more fun after I thought of it in connection with "Future Tense".

Joe writes...

I'm gonna try and ask this really carefully because I don't want it to be a suggestion more than a question. I'm a bit curious about the relationship between Xanatos and Sevarius.

1. Did Sevarius really need Xanatos or just his money?

2. Did Sevarius just let Xanatos think he had control over the project?

Thanks in advance

MasterGandalf writes...

Something that I've always wondered about "Double Jeopardy"- when Xanatos and Owen are discussing who could have "abducted" Thailog, Xanatos explicitly lists a small number of enemies- and he uses that exact word- who could have pulled it off. Specifically, the three he names are Demona, Renard, and Macbeth. Now the first two are easy enough to understand- Demona is the enemy of all humanity and has a history with Xanatos personally, while Renard is his main business competitor- but so far as we've seen Xanatos and Macbeth have only met in person twice (once in "Enter Macbeth", when Mac was actually working for Xanatos, albeit for his own reasons, and once in "City of Stone" when Mac pretty much ignored Xanatos and focused all his efforts on Demona). So my question is- why does Xanatos consider Macbeth an enemy? Have they had an offscreen run-in that we never saw, presumably because it didn't concern the gargoyles, that would lead to this attitude, or is it just a case of Xanatos naturally being wary of someone with the resources and skills to pose a legitimate challenge to him? Or is there some other reason?

A.B. Washington writes...

Hi, Mr. Weisman!!

In the episode "Eye of the Beholder", I've seen "Fox"(a.k.a. Jeanine Xanatos" turns back into her human self and she was naked in this episode, how did you guys come up with that story which aired many years ago??

Another fan writes...

Without spoilers

how would you compare Lex Luthor from earth 16 with David Xanatos?

Richard Jackson writes...

A couple of in-universe questions about "The Pack" television show.

1) How much of a role did Xanatos play in the development of the show? Like creating the monikers for the team and coming up with the storyline of the Pack constantly battling the evil ninjas.

2) How was "The Pack" television show received among parents and critics in the Gargoyles Universe? I mean, was it considered better than Barney?

Anonymous writes...

Some Xanatose related questions here:

1. Is Xanatose enterprises a private corporation or publicaly traded with David obviously as majority shareholder?

2. What kind of plans does Xanatose have for that virus from legion? He seemed really impressed with it so much that he didn't even care they failed to get the defense specs but we havn't seen anything to my knowledge with it yet.

3. Was it Demona who X first learned of Goliath and his clan from or did he learn about them some other way before that like his claim of the Magus writing it down in the Grimorum for instance. Ive never been sure if that Grimorum claim was a flat out lie or not. Plus that line from awakening "At last Castle Wyvyrn" makes it almost sound like he's known about this for some time.

4. When did Xanatose first get the Grimorum.

5. When did Xanatose first get the Eye of Odin.

6. Final question. What did Xanatose exactly want the defense specs for that he was trying to steal in Legion anyway?

Xera writes...

I found on gargwiki that Xanatos and Fox are 11 years apart in age, how old were they when they started dating and did Fox date him originally because she wanted to date him, or because she thought it would annoy her father?

Jessica writes...

Hi Greg!

In "Eye of the Beholder" Xanatos lists genetic compatibility as one reason he and Fox should wed. Did either one of them ever have strong desires to be a parent before Fox got pregnant?

Thanks!

Sasha writes...

Dear Greg,
I have always wondered about what happened to the audio tape which Elisa recorded in Season 1 Episode 12, when Fox confessed to her all of Xanatos's schemes concerning Derek/Talon. Did Derek/Talon ever listen to it, either before or after his mutation? If not, what became of the tape?

Greg Bishansky writes...

Heh, well, after my last question about Xanatos and Fox being swingers, I figure I'll make a slightly deeper post about our favorite Machiavellian industrialist.

Throughout the entire series, we've really only seen Xanatos' armor penetrated twice. The first time was in "Eye of the Beholder" when he admitted he had lost control of the situation and practically begged Goliath for help. The second was in "The Price" when Hudson made a very sharp observation.

Demona and Castaway are both driven by repressed guilt and self loathing that they project on to their scapegoats of choice. Thailog is driven by an inferiority complex, so he feels he has something to prove. What drives Xanatos? I think it's fear.

Now, I'm not saying Xanatos is a coward, we know he's not. But let's look at the two above incidents.

"Eye of the Beholder" starts with Xanatos cool and confident as always, he thinks he's in control. But quickly loses it, and has to beg his enemy for help. There was even a moment when he looked like he was on the verge of a total breakdown while pleading to Goliath.

In "The Price" Hudson observes that Xanatos is terrified by the prospect of growing old and dying, and damn, for the first time that we've seen, Xanatos loses his temper, and retorts with a jab that's beyond petty. I will admit, I can't help but wonder how many conversations Xanatos had with his father that were like this.

Granted, both of these episodes end with Xanatos regaining his cool. But still, this guy is obviously a control freak. Nothing terrifies him because he feels he controls everything already, and when he knows he's not in control, he frets.

I suppose "The Gathering" could be another example, but that was very brief in his scene with Owen, but he quickly regained his cool when Owen showed him the security measures he had already implemented.

I'd be interested in know what you think, Greg. Is Xanatos driven by fear? That does seem to have been his most consistent weakness.

Greg Bishansky writes...

So, on the season finale of "Venture Bros," the Monarch declared that all good villain couples swing, as he and his wife obviously do. That got me thinking...

Xanatos and Fox? They seem like the type. What do you think? ;)

Matthew writes...

In "Legion", we see Iago and the computer program modelled on Xanatos merge into one being. Does this mean they combined aspects of their personalities? Did the Xanatos program's aspects transfer over when Iago was downloaded into the Coldsteel body?