The Gargoyles

Membership: Goliath, Broadway, Bronx, Brooklyn, Hudson, Lexington

Purpose: To defend their home, whether it is Castle Wyvern in Scotland, or New York City.

Affiliations: Elisa Maza, Angela

Enemies: David Xanatos; Demona; Coldstone, Dracon, the Archmage, MacBeth

Base of Operations: New York, NY; formerly Castle Wyvern, Scotland

First Appearance: Gargoyles Episode #1 "The Awakening, Part 1" (Buena Vista for Syndication, 24th October 1994)

History: "One thousand 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, we were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again! We are defenders of the night! We are Gargoyles!"

Scotland, A.D. 994. Though the country suffers the periodic ravages of Viking raiders, Castle Wyvern stands unconquered, in large part due to its protectors. By day, the Captain of the Guard led the human defenders, but by night, the Castle was protected by a clan of gargoyles. Though their actions kept the people within safe, their charges largely failed to trust them,  and eventually they were betrayed. Cursed to sleep as stone during the day, and thus vulnerable, most of the Gargoyles were destroyed during their slumber. The Castle's Magus, wrongly believing the gargoyles were the traitors, bewitched the survivors to sleep during the night as well, "until the castle rose above the sky".

A thousand years later the Magus' spell was finally broken, when the Castle was shipped stone by stone to New York, and placed atop a Manhattan skyscraper. Awakening in a world totally unlike the one they left, the gargoyles have discovered a new purpose - or perhaps an old one renewed. Now, alongside new human ally Elisa Maza, they defend their new home against the machinations of villainous billionaire Xanatos, and the treacherous gargoyles Demona and Coldstone.

Comments: Created vt Greg Weisman, and made by Disney, Gargoyles ran for two seasons and 65 episodes, then was rejigged for a younger audience and relaunched as Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles on the ABC network. Many of the character voices were provided by actors who had previously been the leads in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

As well as several action figures, the show was also adapted by Marvel into a comic which ran for 11 issues.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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