History WesternAnimation / Gargoyles

* HumiliationConga: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Taro]] gets one at the end of "Bushido". He created a gargoyle theme with the Ishimura clan as the main attraction. Elisa foiled his plan and the gargoyles left the park without being noticed. Guest reporters came in and find Taro humiliated hung in a robot gargoyle's hand only to clumsily fall down. Elisa and Hiroshi then make up wild stories of gargoyles, effectively destroying Taro's credibility. Not to mention this will result in a huge loss of investment.

** Goliath and Elisa is the main example. It starts off rather tentative with how they met and Goliath still not fully trusting humans after what happened to most of his clan, but once Goliath realizes Elisa saved him from attackers and stayed with him all day to protect him in his stone sleep, that sealed the deal. Eventually their very strong friendship develops into a romantic relationship.

** Hudson is helped by a blind human author, Jeffrey Robbins, and they become good friends, though Hudson didn't reveal himself as a gargoyle to Jeffrey for fear of being rejected. Jeffrey eventually lets Hudson know that he had figured out that Hudson was a gargoyle some time before, and their friendship remains strong.
** In the Dynamite comics Halloween Special, Nashville goes out to trick-or-treat by himself and ends up meeting Terry Chung and Billy and Susan Greene, with whom he gets along with right away. It's not long afterwards when the three children get to witness that Nashville is actually a gargoyle rather than a kid in a really good costume, and they enthusiastically assure him that they're cool with it and are happy to have a gargoyle friend.

A video game loosely based on the series' Season 1 was released for Platform/SegaGenesis in late 1995. Almost 30 years later, it was reworked into ''[[UpdatedRerelease Gargoyles Remastered]]'' for Platform/MicrosoftWindows, Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/PlayStation5, Platform/XboxOne, and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS on October 19, 2023.

The show was animated by 14 different animation studios: Disney Japan (19 episodes), Creator/KokoEnterprises, South-Korea (17 episodes), Creator/TamaProductions, Japan (7 episodes), Creator/SunwooEntertainment, South-Korea (7 episodes), Creator/AnimalYa, Japan (6 episodes), Creator/{{AKOM}}, South Korea (6 episodes), Creator/HanhoHeungUp, South Korea (5 episodes), Creator/HongYing, Taiwan[=/=]China (2 episodes), Creator/{{Saerom}}, South Korea (2 episodes), Creator/SunminAnimation, South Korea (2 episodes), Creator/ToonCity, Philippines (2 episodes), Disney Australia (1 episode), Creator/WangFilmProductions, Taiwan (1 episode) and Creator/HahnShinCorporation, South-Korea (1 episode)[[note]] with further assistance from Creator/JadeAnimation (17 episodes), Creator/NakamuraProductions (14 episodes), Creator/MorningSun (4 episodes), Creator/AnimaSamWon (4 episodes), Creator/SeoulMovie (2 episodes), Creator/MovingImagesInternational (2 episodes), Thai Wang Film Productions (1 episode) and [[Creator/TMSEntertainment Telecom Animation Film]] (1 episode)[[/note]].

The show was animated by 14 different animation studios: Disney Japan (19 episodes), Koko, South-Korea (17 episodes), Tama, Japan (7 episodes), Sunwoo, South-Korea (7 episodes), Animal Ya, Japan (6 episodes), Akom, South-Korea (6 episodes), Hanho Heung-Up, South-Korea (5 episodes), Hong Ying, Taiwan (2 episodes), Saerom, South-Korea (2 episodes), Sunmin, South-Korea (2 episodes), Toon City, Philippines (2 episodes), Disney Australia (1 episode), Wang, Taiwan (1 episode) and Hahn Shin, South-Korea (1 episode).

** Greg Weisman, who was not a writer on the show, has a habit of "confirming" fan suspicions on is blog. He has opined that [[spoiler:Coldstone]] is Gabriel's father and that [[spoiler:Hudson]] is Broadway's father. However, what the actual writers intended is far more ambiguous, and given gargoyles' instinctively collective parenting, neither would treat that revelation with much interest.

** The evils of bigotry and prejudice, and the importance of acceptance.

* ''[[ComicBook/GargoylesDynamite Gargoyles (Dynamite)]]'' (2022-present) - In July 2022 [[https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dynamite-disney-to-publish-gargoyles-season-4-by-greg-weisman/ it was finally announced]] that Greg Weisman would return to write a new series of comics under Creator/DynamiteComics. The new run serves as a "season 4", and includes its own spinoff miniseries ''Dark Ages''. It's accompanied by reprints of the Marvel and SLG comics as well.

** ''Dynamite Comics'': Maggie and Talon have a son (who has a human appearance but has their abilities); Goliath and the gargoyles are recognized as citizens of New York after a "sentience trial"; and Goliath is gifted 2% of Halcyon Renard's inheritance before the latter [[spoiler: dies of old age]].

* GrandFinale:
** Because ''The Goliath Chronicles'' is officially non-canon, the series' Grand Finale is the three-part season two finale "Hunter's Moon", where the Manhattan Clan have to face off against a new generation of Hunters and Demona's latest scheme in wiping out humanity.
** While not canon, ''The Goliath Chronicles'' has its own finale in the episode "Angels in the Night", where the Quarrymen, having spent the season trying to wipe out the Manhattan Clan, end up discredited while humanity finally accepts the Manhattan Clan.
* GravityIsAHarshMistress:

** The finale of Season 2 (which is largely considered the canonical end of the series due to ''The Goliath Chronicles'' being officially non-canon) ends this way, with Demona and a new Hunter still out there hunting each other, and the Manhattan clan returning to their former home. Brooklyn references the trope explicitly, "So begins Gargoyles Chapter 2... or is it 3? I've lost count."

** "Future Tense." "Was it a dream? Or a prophecy?" (See foreshadowing above for some details) While some events have actually occured in some fashion, some that occured in passing would be unlikely or were made up by Puck to deliver further explanations to Goliath.

* OneWingedAngel: Banshee of the [[FairFolk Third Race]] deserves mention. Sure she looks like a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe gaunt woman in a tattered green dress with long purple hair and pale bluish-purple skin]], but piss her off, and she will turn into the [[EldritchAbomination Cromm-Cruach]], a large cross between a dragon and a larva with squeletical face.

** ''Dark Ages'': a prequel about the Wyvern Clan in Scotland, with teenage Goliath and Demona as main characters. This one got a comic run as of 2023.

** ''Bad Guys'': A spinoff regarding a team of minor villains, lead by the Robyn Canmore incarnation of [[LegacyCharacter the Hunter]], working to redeem themselves while squaring off against the Illuminati. The only one to really get off the ground, as a [[ComicBook/GargoylesBadGuys short-lived comic series]].

** After several years of trying to jumpstart these concepts, none of them (except the short-lived ''Bad Guys'' comic) got any farther than prelimiary sketches, pitch documents, outlines and concepts. None are likely to be produced in any form.

*** Gargoyles are [[spoiler: the cousin species of dragons and belong to the same clans as their gargoyle relatives]].
*** [[spoiler:The Illuminati]] began as a quaint theater troupe and the origins of its formation is connected to [[spoiler:Corbenic, the mystic castle of Arthurian legend housing the HolyGrail; which can only be accessed via wielding Excalibur]].

* MoralityKitchenSink: The characters range over the entire spectrum of morality, from well-meaning heroes such as [[AlwaysLawfulGood most gargoyles]], to people with their own agendas that make them allies or antagonists depending on circumstances such as Macbeth and Xanatos, to people who are blinded by their own morality and think they're always good, to a few [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]] who don’t give a damn about whether or not they are doing right or wrong by others as long as they get their way (examples: Tony Dracon, Fang, Margot Yale, Archmage etc.), to a very few complete monsters who know they're evil (examples: Thailog, Dr. Anton Sevarius, Proteus, etc.).

*** [[spoiler:The Illuminati]] began as a quaint theater troupe and the origins of its formation is connected to [[spoiler:Corbenic, the mystic castle of Arthurian legend housing the HolyGrail]].

** ''Dark Ages prequel comic'': Gargoyles are [[spoiler: the cousin species of dragons and belong to the same clans as their gargoyle relatives]].

** The {{A|nAesop}}esop of "The Mirror".

* AnAesop:[[invoked]] ExecutiveMeddling inserted one in every episode of ''The Goliath Chronicles'', but the earlier episodes featured them as well.
** A moral was prominent in "Deadly Force", an episode about the dangers of guns, which handled the subject in a mature manner (i.e., making the Aesop not "Guns are super evil and should not even be looked at" but "Guns are dangerous and should be respected and handled properly.") This particular Aesop was actually learned within the show itself, for Elisa [[ContinuityNod was shown to lock away her gun in future episodes]], rather than leaving it loaded and lying around. The episode also led to some CharacterDevelopment for Broadway, who hated guns from that point forward. Sadly, this was lost on the MoralGuardians, as they still saw fit to first ban the episode from rotation, and then return it with all the gun violence edited, including the shot of Elisa getting shot (which was cropped to remove the blood at her side).
** Of special note, ''Gargoyles'' won an award [[note]]which, at the time, was almost unheard of for an animated Aesop episode (an anti-gun episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' won one too)[[/note]] and was mentioned in ''The New York Times'' and other papers as one of the greatest reasons to watch the show for an episode about illiteracy and the importance of reading.
** Also notably, even when early episodes were clearly centered around Aesops, they still often managed to work in lasting contributions to the series's overall story arc. For example, the above-mentioned "Deadly Force" was centered around a clear Aesop about gun safety, but it also marked the introduction of gangster Tony Dracon, who would go on to become a prominent supporting antagonist. Likewise, "The Thrill of the Hunt" did a pretty obvious Aesop about the dangers of being seduced by television, but it also introduced the Pack--all of whom would turn out to be major players in the continuing saga.
** Similarly, the episode "The Green" had a GreenAesop. However, this one was actually well-rounded, and showed that deforestation is more complicated than something the average CorruptCorporateExecutive does [[ForTheEvulz just because he's evil]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney and has money]].
** "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" though had a ReadingIsCoolAesop played straight and was very heavy handed.
** "City of Stone" was anything but subtle in conveying the Aesop that killing never solves anything, but the scene in which the Weird Sisters and Goliath stop Macbeth from killing Demona wouldn't have been nearly as powerful otherwise.
** The show also lays it on thick about the pointlessness of revenge and how [[CycleOfRevenge killing causes more problems than it solves]]. This is reinforced by David Xanatos. Why is he such a successful, well regarded, and enduring villain? Because he ''doesn't go in for revenge''-- '''ever'''. While villains in other cartoons inevitably [[MotiveDecay forget their original goals to seek revenge on the heroes]], Xanatos never even holds a grudge because, as he put it, "Revenge is a sucker's game."
** One episode, "Temptation," has Brooklyn falling under Demona's sway. First, she saves his life from some bikers who blindly attack him when they realize he's not human. She then offers to "educate" him in the ways of humanity, and shows him various terrible things in the city, including a mugging, a couple angrily fighting over their son and the boy running away, and a murder scene. When Brooklyn argues that Elisa is a kind human being, Demona responds that she might be the exception that proves the rule, but as a whole, HumansAreBastards. She [[VillainHasAPoint comes across as having solid points]], something Brooklyn echoes when he remarks that much of what she said made sense to him in his confusion about humanity and their reactions to him. Goliath points out that Demona was only speaking half-truths that speak to her own hate-ridden interpretation of humans, which refuses to see any potential good in them. He pretty much sums up the morals that it is easy to be duped by an extremist, and that you should judge them by their actions and not their words.

** [[invoked]] Macbeth's first introduction and his origin story make his goals clear: He seeks Demona's death, both for vengeance and also to give himself peace after [[WhoWantsToLiveForever millennia of wandering the Earth]]. However, in two episodes, for no given reason, he is instead seeking ultimate power through connections to Myth/ArthurianLegend. First he tries to steal scrolls rumored to contained Merlin's spells, which instead contain Merlin's personal diary ([[AnAesop Whose story have a magic all their own...]]), and then he tries to steal Excalibur itself from an awakened Arthur. In both episodes he has two [[{{Mooks}} henchmen]] who are not seen in any other episodes, and in no other episodes does he make reference to questing for ultimate power, nor in these episodes does he make any reference to his vendetta against Demona. WordOfGod says that Macbeth wanted to use Merlin's spells against Demona (which also explains why he wanted to test them against another gargoyle). Given that Demona had magic of her own, this is understandable. It doesn't explain his desire to claim Excalibur, though; Macbeth had given up his vendetta against Demona by then. However, becoming the new "One True King" could have given his life, and immortality, some meaning again.

** During Goliath's hearing in the Dynamite comics, Margot Yale constantly refers to Goliath as "It" (along other names such as "monster", "creature" and "beast"). Both Elisa and Tobe Crest find this infuriating to say the least, and point out that it's "him", not "it", but Margot ignores them and doesn't stop using that term. To her credit, she does use “him” and “his” ''after'' cross-referencing him (albeit, while still using [[DehumanizingInsult dehumanizing insults]] alongside them). ''Yet'', when it’s Elisa’s turn to be cross-referenced, Yale slips back into using “it” seemingly to spite former’s care for Goliath.

** During Goliath's hearing in the Dynamite comics, Margot Yale constantly refers to Goliath as "It" (along other names such as "monster", "creature" and "beast"). Both Elisa and Tobe Crest find this infuriating to say the least, and point out that it's "him", not "it", but Margot ignores them and doesn't stop using that term. To her credit, she does use “him” and “his” ''after'' cross-referencing him (albeit, while still using [[DehumanizingInsults dehumanizing insults]] alongside them). ''Yet'', when it’s Elisa’s turn to be cross-referenced, Yale slips back into using “it” seemingly to spite former’s care for Goliath.

** During Goliath's hearing in the Dynamite comics, margot Yale constantly refers to Goliath as "It" (along other names such as "monster", "creature" and "beast"). Both Elisa and Tobe Crest find this infuriating to say the least, and point out that it's "him", not "it", but Margot ignores them and doesn't stop using that term.

** ''Dark Ages'': a prequel about the Wyvern Clan in Scotland, with teenage Goliath and Demona as main characters.

* KangarooCourt: In "Justice For All" where Goliath is put on trial, accused of an armed robbery (which he and the Clan stopped). It doesn't help that the majority of the court audience and jury are all racist to Gargoyles.

* MoralityKitchenSink: The characters range over the entire spectrum of morality, from well-meaning heroes such as [[AlwaysLawfulGood most gargoyles]], to people with their own agendas that make them allies or antagonists depending on circumstances such as Macbeth and Xanatos, to people who are blinded by their own morality and think they're always good, to a few [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]] who don’t give a damn about whether or not they are doing right or wrong by others as long as they get their way (examples: Tony Dracon, Fang, Margot Yale, etc.), to a very few complete monsters who know they're evil.