LoboGuara5bruxaria writes...

Hey Greg, here are a few questions of Gargoyles verse:

1) Has anyone in-universe commented that Mr. Acme has the same name as the fictional company that sells (Faulty) products to Willie Coyote? Has he ever get into legal problem with the in-universe Warner Bros company because of that? What does he personally feels about the coincidence of his name and Acme Company of Looney Tunes?

2) I remenber there was an episode where it was briefly shows Hudson watching an episode of Quack Pack and he seemed to be at least intrigued by what he was seeing. Do you think Hudson likes cartoons in general? Also, on a more slly hypothetical, if someone commented within Hudson's earshot that cartoons are just for kids or immature adults, what do you think would Hudson's opinion be about such comment?

3) Assuming that it isn't a spoiler, do you think Oberon would be more of a dog person or a cat person? (Aka: Would he prefer dogs or cats as companions/pets, even if enither of these were his favorite animal.) What about Titania, Puck and Odin? Witch animal would each of these prefer between a dog or cat?

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Eye of the Storm" on DVD today.

I noticed, this time around, that after Goliath rescues Elisa from Odin, Odin cries "This isn't over!" - the same words that Hakon used after his initial attack on the castle was turned back at the start of the series. It struck me as appropriate, since they were both "Old Norse". (I don't know if that was intentional, though, or just a fortunate coincidence.)

Karney writes...

Hey, Greg.
I just wanted to know what kind of stuff you read as a kid that got you interested in the whole mythological genre. Are there any good books you recommend, and are there any you read as a kid that you just couldn't put down?

Jackson writes...

Greg..once you told us(gargoyles fans) Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, and a member of the Third Race is dead.

Does Odin feels sad by this?
Because Thor was his favorite son.

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?

JC writes...

I'm honestly not trying to have an "ah ha! Gotcha" moment here (although it may seem like it after I ask my questions), as I am honestly curious and a little confused.

You've said that Odin was able to circumvent Oberon's rule of not stealing Avalonian artifacts from mortals because he felt that it belonged to him.
My question is:

1) Why does he believe the Eye still belongs to him after he gave it up willingly (i.e. not stolen from him)?

To put it in "mortal perspective," if a woman gives up her baby for adoption, and for whatever reason the adoptive family decides to give the baby to someone else, and the birth mother takes the baby back, thats kidnapping (i.e. theft)...even if the birth mother feels justified, reasoning that this new family isn't who she agreed to give the baby to and doesn't like how they are raising the child, if the authorities caught her, she would be punished the same as if she hadn't given birth to the baby - as she gave up all rights to the child in the first place.

Now, in Odin's case, Oberon is the authority and Odin was able to "bend" Oberon's law because he "felt" justified:

2) Does Oberon agree with Odin, that he is the rightful owner dispite having given it away a long time ago?

If so:
3) Why? Does he not see contractual agreements with mortals binding?

If not:
4) Was Odin punished for breaking the law or forgiven? (If this is a story for another day, I'll understand if you do not feel like answering this one).

Bryan writes...

The Eye of Odin. How did he lost his eye to begin with?

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg,

From watching The Gathering and other episodes with the Children of Oberon in it, and from your reveals on s8, it appears to me that the Third Race have a feudal-like system, with Oberon as the high king (more or less), and others as his subjects or vassals. I think you have said that there are various "subsets," such as the Aesir and the Egyptian gods.

Do these "subsets" or "pantheons" have any political or social reality in Third Race society? What I mean is, are they just convenient catagories for mortals to refer to this or that Child of Oberon as belonging to a mythological category, or are they actual groups who associate(d) with one another as such, who have something political, social, or cultural in common with one another?

Thank you.

Paul writes...

Are there any other limits as to what the Children of Oberon can transform into, other than their own whims or a decree by Oberon?

For example, before Odin got his Eye back, his form always appeared to have an empty eye socket. Was this because he chose to take such an appearance, or because he had to?

Charisma82 writes...

Hey! Why is it that once Fox put on the Eye of Odin that it took 2 days before she started to transform and that the Eye transformed Goliath right when he put it on?

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Yay the queue is open! I'm happy you're taking questions again. (and I'm of course excited to get #6, which I'll be ordering asap). I hope you don't mind questions unrelated to reviewing the comic... those Children of Oberon always make me so curious.

1. a. So Ragnarok already occured in the Gargoyles Universe. When did it happen? (If you don't want to give a year or decade, can you please say what century it happened in?)
b. Did any of the gods survive Ragnarok, other than Odin? If some did, who?

2. You've also told us that the war between the Titans and Olympians was a real event in the Gargoyles Universe. What happened to the defeated Titans afterwards? (I don't want to assume it is the same as the myths, or to ask more specifically for fear it would be an idea)

3. When was Oberon born? (If you don't want to give the year or decade, please say what century?)

Shadow Wing writes...

In Norse mythology, Odin had sacrificed one of his eyes (in most depictions I've seen, his left) to gain wisdom and omniscience. When the Eye of Odin was restored to him, did this have any repercussions on what he had "bought" with it?

Blaise writes...

EYE OF THE STORM

(And a Happy Thanksgiving 2004, BTW.)

This was the second time the Eye surprised me--the first being when it was revealed to be more than a mere bauble. Now we find out it really is Odin's eye, and he's looking for it.

I love Odin's "old wanderer" guise. The "star-cloak" is nicely done. His final, "Warrior-King" ensemble is a little less impressive to me, actually, but still nice (and hey--having little exposure to the great Kirby's work, it looked pretty fresh to me).

This is one of those episodes where, after watching it, you realise just how EASY things would have been if everyone had been honest and open from the start. As you pointed out Greg, Odin could have just said, "Hi! Welcome to Norway! I'm Odin, I'll be your resident supernatural being today. Oh, by the way, could I have my eye back please? I really miss having depth perception." He might have actually got his Eye in less time than it takes to watch the first Act. And poor Gunther and Erik wouldn't have lost a wall of their house!

Erik is an interesting fellow, to me. He know's Elisa's hiking story is suspect, but he doesn't want to press her about it, and in fact seems to have a rather cheerful attitude in spite of the deception. He also, to me, never seems to quite trust Goliath. Even after Elisa's first brought him up to speed he says, "From what you've told us, it sounds like we're in good hands with your Goliath." He doesn't sound completely sure about that.

Gunther's reaction to the gargoyles and the world they open up is great--wonder and enthusiasm. Pretty much what you'd expect for a boy his age. I love his eagerness to see Angela and Bronx wake up, along with his happy, "Hi, you must be An-GEL-a" (I love his strange pronunciation there).
I also love Angela's response to that greeting--"Uh...yes, I am." You go to sleep and then wake up on top of a car with a young lad happily saying your (mispronounced) name--yeah, that can be disorienting.

"The Fall of Goliath"--This was very well done. I liked how you guys developed the way in which the Eye "corrupts" Goliath. It takes his caring, protective nature and twists it into a rigid, tyrannical, "It's all for your own good" sort of thing. I have to admit I was at first surprised when it was revealed that he had been creating the storms, but afterwards it made perfect sense.
Actually, it's interesting that, after riding away and yelling "This isn't over," Odin really does cease to take any action against our heroes. He doesn't surface again until Goliath calls him out.

That battle is very well-done, BTW. It's pretty obvious that in terms of raw power, Goliath's got the edge, however Odin is the one who uses more subtlety--such as freeing Goliath's friends.

Goliath has some real "villain" moments in this piece, the most obvious of course being his line to Odin, "How frustrating for you, Old Man. To be so close to Death, and Rejuvination at the same time." Did anyone else hear a "Darth Vader Breath-Track" there?
Others would include the one you pointed out, Greg, where Goliath just says they'll "pack" Angela and Bronx--that always threw me off for some reason--and just the way he says, "A cave...yes, a cave would be ideal."

Before I forget, "Odinized Goliath" had a great design--and I like how it was tied in with Odin's "Warrior-King" design. The starry (sp?) wings were a nice touch, too.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS:
Goliath: "Believe it or not, we've hit ice."
Elisa: "I believe it." (A fun little exchange.)

I love how Goliath holds Elisa at the beginning. Obviously, it's to try and keep her warm...but there's, to me, a pretty strong undercurrent of attraction there. And I love his line (and the way he says it), "It is my duty to protect you."

Dang! In trying to get the Sturllisen's (sp?) car to stop, our heroes nearly send them over a cliff! Good thing Goliath can pretty much bench their car.

Elisa tries to outrun a man on a horse...well, I guess it beats just standing around, but they both have the same outcome.

I really wish more had been done with Goliath's first sight of the sun. This time, though, I began to wonder if Goliath was more enamoured with the feeling of the sun, or the feeling of the POWER coursing through him.

"Maybe you should take the Eye off now." I love how Goliath pauses ever so slightly before answering that.

I recall someone once saying that they were glad neither Gunther nor Erik became a new hero for Norway. :-)

Angela and Bronx are crusted with ice before they awaken. I rather liked that.

"The Eye! The Eye has gone to your head!" I love the look on Goliath's face after that--the raised brow ridge. It's almost like he's reacting to the (unintentional on Elisa's part) pun.

Goliath's turn around was a bit too quick and pat, but it nevertheless touched on Goliath's love for his daughter. I rather like Elisa's admission "Wish I'd thought of that." Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but it seems to me like it touches on Elisa's feelings for Goliath. Elisa may not be much for being the "Damsel in Distress"(tm), but all the same, I think she sort of likes being "rescued" by Goliath.

BTW, when'd the Eye get its "neck-chain" back?

To me, Odin's putting his Eye in its socket wasn't anti-climactic. It was just right. I mean, that's all he really wanted it for. And his and Goliath's final exchange was very well-done. I like how they admitted that each of them had kind of screwed up.

At any rate, I really enjoyed this episode and was glad to get a chance to see what happened when Goliath wore the Eye of Odin.

BTW, way back when you rambled on TEMPTATION (3 years ago, I think?) you said there were 3 toy tie-ins throughout the series. The first was the motorcycle in TEMPTATION. The second was supposed to be the helicoptor in HER BROTHER'S KEEPER (which wound up becoming a "sky sled"). And the third was supposed to be in this episode. So, what was the toy supposed to be?

Bill Warner writes...

In prior response you've indicated that the Ragnorak of the Norse Gods has already happened through its destruction was far less than it was in the Norse Sagas. So did you get your idea of having Ragnorak happening in the past from Roy Thomas's run of Thor where the Asgardians were revealed to be created by the survivors of the previous Ragnorak.

Todd Jensen writes...

Thanks for the ramble on "Eye of the Storm", Greg! This is another episode that I'm very fond of, especially because of the Norse mythology elements (which I've long been interested in, ever since reading the d'Aulaires' "Norse Gods and Giants" as a boy). While I had from the start taken a strong interest in the Eye of Odin on account of its name, I had not even suspected, before this episode aired, that this really was the very eye that Odin had given up for a drink from Mimir's well. And the revelation that it was definitely excited me.

I'd suspected that the Sturlissons were named after Snorri for some time; thanks for confirming it for me.

This episode answered one question that I'd had about the Eye for some time. I'd noticed the dark effect that it had had upon Fox and the Archmage, but I also knew that both of them had been "bad guys" before they ever donned it. So I was wondering what impact the Eye would have upon a "good person" who donned it, and whether it would corrupt them or not. This episode definitely answered my question, and made it clear that nobody was safe with the Eye except for Odin himself.

(As I mentioned in an earlier remark here, the Eye in this episode reminds me a bit of the One Ring in "The Lord of the Rings". Odin is attempting to recover his Eye for (more or less) the same reason that Sauron was attempting to recover the Ring; much of his power had passed out of it when he parted with it, and he needed to regain it to recover his old strength. And the impact that the Eye had on Goliath paralleled the element of how anybody who would try to use the Ring to defeat Sauron would become corrupted enough by it to become almost another Sauron. There's even the "eye imagery" in both cases. Of course, a major difference between the two stories is that giving the Eye back to Odin turned out to be the right thing to do - not to mention that Sauron definitely wouldn't have apologized to Frodo afterwards for all the trouble that he'd caused in trying to get the Ring back.)

I still find it a bit ironic that Odin would be ruefully admitting, at the end, that he was out of practice in dealing with mortals; in the original Norse myths, he was the only one of the Aesir who regularly interacted with humans much. All the other gods seemed to have dealings mainly with the other mythical races (dwarves, frost giants, etc.); Odin alone took part in human actions, often turning up in the human-centered sagas in his "old wanderer" disguise (such as thrusting the sword meant for Sigmund and Sigurd in the pillar of the Volsungs' hall, advising Sigurd on the correct means of slaying Fafnir, or engaging in a riddle-game with King Heidrek and winning when he asked a riddle - "What did Odin whisper in the ear of his dead son Balder?" - that only he knew the answer to). I can't help but think that if Odin's getting rusty in dealing with mortals, it's a good thing that Goliath and Co. didn't run into any of the other Norse gods while they were in Norway.

As I've also mentioned before, I was initially a bit disturbed by both Odin and the "Odinized Goliath" wearing horned helmets, since the series had shown earlier, in its character designs for Hakon and his Viking followers, that Vikings didn't actually wear those helmets, so my response was one of "The animators know better than that." I've come to accept this more, however, since both Odin and Goliath are "fantasy beings" rather than human Norsemen, and could be expected to dress more in accordance with popular notions about how Vikings dressed.

I hadn't picked up on the callousness of how Goliath spoke of transporting Bronx and Angela, but I did notice a couple of other acts of Goliath's while wearing the Eye which did, for me, serve as "danger signals". One was the way that he spoke when he was eagerly talking about seeing the sun for the first time; he delivered it in a very "over-the-top" fashion, almost straight out of Sevarius's style. (Though "over-the-top" in a good acting way, of course.) The other came when he, while reassuring Elisa that he was under control, patted her on the head in a very patronizing fashion.

(One thing that I'd really like to know was how conscious Goliath was of his motivations. Was he aware that his goal was to dispose of Odin so as to remove his chief rival claimant to the Eye, or did he believe that he was doing it to protect Elisa and the others, with his true motives buried deep below the surface without his being conscious of them?)

Perhaps the one thing about Odin getting his eye back that I find a bit of a pity is that his having one eye (and, as per the cartoon, in the original Norse myths, this was a feature that he had no matter what form he took on) was a major distinguishing feature of his; Odin having two eyes again feels to me, well, just a bit like Owen's stone hand returning to normal. But it certainly provided a great way to write the Eye of Odin out of the series.

Oberon writes...

In "Eye of the Storm," Odin says something to Goliath along the lines of "I did not draw your craft to this land to suffer defeat."
1. Was Odin responsible for Avalon sending the group to Norway?
2. Do the Children have power over where Avalon sends people?

Lawkjaw writes...

In "Eye of the Storm" Odin takes two forms. One as an old traveler blindfolded and another as a massive war God. Was his first form just your creation or was it based of seperate myths/characters?

Anonymous writes...

Why did Avalon send Goliath and Co. to Norway?
How did Odin know that they were there?

Anonymous writes...

Since Odin survived Ragnarok how about Fenrir?

Anonymous writes...

1.Are Thor's sons alive? I mean they were said to survive ragnorak.
2.How about Vidar and Vali?
3.What about Odin's wife? Is she alive?

Anonymous writes...

Did Odin's two brothers Vili and Ve exist in the gargoyle universe? If so are they alive?

Zarok writes...

I was reading through the archives and I found posts on the subject of Odin's horned helmet versus the more historically accurate hornless helmets of Hakon and your comments that perhaps the stereotypical vision of Vikings being clad in horned helmets was inspired by the Norse gods rather than Norse mortals and I remembered this bit of trivia you might find interesting, While Vikings never wore horned helmets into battle they were sometimes used in religious ceremonies. At any rate, I loved the design you guys gave to Odin. It's just as I always imagined the big guy. I would have been disappointed if you had given Odin a more earthly Viking look just as much as I would have been Hakon had had horns like Marvel's Loki (how can he stand up with those things?). It just seems pointless to me to debate historical accuracy in relation to supernatural beings, I mean if you say Odin shouldn't have a horned helmet because real Vikings didn't have them you might as well say Anubis shouldn't have a jackal-head because real Egyptians didn't have jackal-heads.

matt writes...

in "Eye of the Storm" Odin tells Goliath and Co. that "These days we don't see many gargoyles here in the Norse country..."

1. has Odin interacted with gargoyles before?

2. was there once a gargoyle clan in Norway?

3. what was Odin's connection (if any) with the Norse Clan (if it once existed)?

4. was Goliath the first gargoyle to ever wear the Eye of Odin?

Aris Katsaris writes...

Possibly starting a debate...

Galvatron> Umm... "western"-centric because Greg made western deities such as those of the Greeks or the Norse be children of Oberon? Do you think that Athens is somehow located to the *east* of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Mecca?

I assure you, it's not. :-)

Anyway, the Greeks, Norse, whatever had their deities be finite creatures which began their lives within the universe. There's a difference between that and a supposedly infinite God which *created* the universe. I can imagine the monotheists being upset if they discovered their god was a fay - if The Infinite proved finite, only one of many. But the Norse and the ancient Greeks already believed that there existed many gods. Why be too upset at discovering a couple more they hadn't heard about?

Galvatron writes...

Don't you feel it's alittle bit western centric making the god of the Greeks, Norse and all the other "pagan cultures" Children of Oberon who are no better than the non-corporeal beings of scifi while the God of Judaism, Islam, Christianity is actually the creator of the universe? I mean it's like saying that they're stupid for getting suckered in by the Children while we're smart for actually worshipping the true God.

Wingedbeast writes...

Questions regarding three of the Fair Folk

1. After the Wierd Sisters were banished by a simple parlor trick, they rather easily accepted the ARchmage's suggestion for help. Why that as opposed to just using Avalon's magic to destroy the clan?

Why put that much trust in a single human?

Did they even hedge their bets with attempts of their own to remove the clan?

2. When Odin went through his entire deal of getting his eye back, why didn't he, at one point, attempt identifying himself as Odin before threatening a Gargoyle's protectorate? It seems he'd tried everything but the truth before threatening Elisa... and then the truth at the same time, so what really could it have cost him to identify himself before going to threats?

3. While Oberon may have seen himself as being well in the right for wanting to rid Avalon of the mortals, why didn't he think to identify himself as Oberon: Rightful Lord of Avalon? Seems to be pretty much an obvious thing that he may have missed.

Basing this next question on the idea that Avalon wants the humans and Gargoyle clan to remain (or else why bring the world tour group back to Avalon just in time?). Why did Avalon obey Oberon's commands to attack Goliath, Angela, and Gabrial?

Gipdac writes...

You said that the Grimorum was brought from 995 to the 1970s by Brooklyn, Mary and Finella, and we already know the Phoenix Gate spent a thousand yeas, half with Goliath and half with Demona, but were you ever going to show the history of the Eye of Odin?
Care to give a brief synopsis of the history of the Eye?

Anonymous writes...

Why didn't Odin call on his sons who had survived Ragnarok to help him retrieve his eye?

Anonymous writes...

Why did Odin wish to retrieve his eye? Was it because of the frequent usage from the Archmage and Fox?

Anonymous writes...

Why didn't Odin retrieve his eye earlier? Like when the eye was in Xanatos or some museum's hands?

Anonymous writes...

Is Titania or Odin close to matching Oberon in power?

Lord Sloth writes...

The Wierd Sissies said that the Eye of Oden was fordged on Avalon. How is that possible if it came from Oden's head?

Vashkoda writes...

Puck said that he couldn't take the Phoenix Gate from Goliath--Goliath had to "fork it over". Is the same true for other Avalonian magical objects? I may be remembering this incorrectly, but didn't Odin physically attack Goliath and try to take back the Eye? And does this rule only apply to Children of Avalon? If so, it would explain why the Weird Sisters had to use Demona and MacBeth to steal the talismans for them (were you consciously doing this so as not to break the rule you would establish later about the Gate in "Future Tense"?)

Anonymous writes...

How the heck did Odin survive the Twilight of the Gods? He got swallowed by the Fenrir wolf who got pulled asunder by Vidar.

Todd Jensen writes...

In "Eye of the Storm", Odin is portrayed as a storm-god. This puzzles me a little since, traditionally, in Norse mythology, that was Thor's role. How is it that Odin is now the one among the Aesir who can control the weather? (Of course, you did indicate in past comments that you're leaning towards the possibility of Thor being dead in the Gargoyles Universe).

Anonymous writes...

Is Odin in any way related by blood to Oberon? In what way? How about the Weird Sister trio and the trickster quartet are they related to him by blood?

Alex "Cyclonus" Bishansky writes...

When Goliath put on the Eye of odin, how come his armor looked like Odin's? Neither Fox not the Archmage took on any of elements of Odin's appearance.