History WesternAnimation / 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 very few complete monsters who know they're evil.

* CentralTheme: The evils of bigotry and prejudice, and the importance of acceptance. The value of family, both the family you're born into and the one you choose. If you dedicate your life to vengeance you will bring nothing but pain, both to yourself and to those around you.

** "Enter Macbeth" forced the clan to relocate from their original home.

** “Double Jeopardy” introduced Thailog - an [[EvilDoppelganger evil clone]] of Goliath with Xanatos’s genius and amorality - who not only becomes a recurring and major antagonist for several overarching plots, but also nudges Xanatos further into a HeelFaceTurn.

** ''Dark Ages prequel comic'': Gargoyles are [[spoiler: the cousin species of dragons]].

*** ''SLG Comics'': The Illuminati’s roster is unveiled further; the Stone of Destiny is incorporated into the series’ lore; and Brooklyn goes on a “time-dancing” journey via The Phoenix Gate that results in: 1) his part in organizing Xanatos’s and Demona’s alliance in the 70s. 2) brings him to the present with a brand new look and his own family. 3) Transports the midwife Mary from the medieval era to the present.
** ''Dynamite Comics'': Maggie and Talon have a son; 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]].

*** ''Dynamite Comics'': Maggie and Talon have a son; 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]].
*** ''Dark Ages prequel comic'': Gargoyles are [[spoiler: the cousin species of dragons]].

* WhamEpisode: There were several that reshaped the world (or the viewers' perception of it). "Enter Macbeth" forced the clan to relocate from their original home. "Metamorphosis" not only created the mutates but rubbed the viewers' faces in Xanatos' prideful and manipulative villainy. "Vows" and "City of Stone" explained much that had only been hinted at and set up an AlasPoorVillain or two. "The Mirror" established TheFairFolk as part of the setting ''and'' started the transformation of Goliath and Elisa's relationship. "Avalon" started out by revealing that Goliath's clan were not ''quite'' the last of their kind, and finished by turning the seeming 'stand-alone' adventure into a strange journey that revealed many secrets. And, of course, "Hunter's Moon" forced the gargoyles' emergence into wider public view.

** [[HeroesWantRedheads Demona]] falls under this category, considering her magical abilities.

*** [[spoiler:Elisa realizes that she and Goliath won't do many of the things other couples take for granted, including have kids. She breaks up with him and takes her coworker Officer Morgan to Xanatos' Halloween party, and Goliath takes Delilah (whom Brooklyn has a mild crush on). Thailog returns to reclaim the other clones and collect DNA samples from the Manhattan Clan, Morgan realizes Elisa's not ready to date other people and bows out gracefully, Delilah calls out Thailog and a wounded Goliath for using her and decides to make her own way, Goliath and Elisa reconcile and confess their love, and Brooklyn turns to see Delilah getting cozy with his own clone, Malibu. "You gotta be kidding me," indeed!]]

* [[IHaveNoSon I Have No Daughter]]: After Thailog captures Angela, she tries to explain to Demona their relationship. Demona, in return, [[LampshadeHanging says she has no daughter]].

** For all of Demona's schemeing in the final episode, she never seemed to realize that her plague would eventually kill her too. Why? Because it targets humans, guess who turns human during the day, ''every day''.

* AscendedExtra: Lots, which was a hallmark of the series. The series had a reliable stable of background characters who originally appeared as one-off extras, but kept coming back - the jogger, Brendon and Margot, Vinnie, etc. The Archmage was originally a one-shot villain, but David Warner's performance motivated the writing staff into bringing him back as a greater threat. One of the more long-running examples is Officer Morgan. Keith David's performance gave depth to an otherwise generic character, leading to him being used often as the series progressed.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Castle Wyvern, a 14th century style concentric castle, and other such fortifications, in 10th century Scotland, where the [[https://www.castlesworld.com/tools/motte-and-bailey-castles.php motte and bailey]] was start of the art.

One thousand years later, it did. Billionaire David Xanatos (yes, [[TropeNamer that]] [[XanatosGambit Xanatos]]) bought the ruined castle, then had it transported brick by brick from UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}} and rebuilt on top of his skyscraper in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. This action broke the curse for good, reviving the dormant gargoyles in a land and time far from their home. He didn't do it for altruistic motives, though; eventually, Xanatos and the clan of gargoyles became enemies. The clan manages to make an ally in New York detective Elisa Maza, however -- and with her help, they work to protect their new home while simultaneously adapting to it.

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

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

* 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 CompleteMonsters who know they're evil.

* MotherNatureFatherScience: Fox's parents. Oh, boy, are they.

* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead:[[invoked]] [[EvilIsSexy Demona]] [[spoiler:in her human form]] is one of these, and so are Fox, Fleance, and Gruoch in her younger days.

%%* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: Xanatos. "It's alive! Aliiiive!"

* ActionGirl: Elisa, Angela... and possibly Titania, [[spoiler:or at least her human form.]]

* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Gargoyle beasts.

** After Broadway [[spoiler:shoots Elisa by mistake]], he's angrily hateful of guns being used by criminals, noticeably destroying any he gets his hands on.

** Never Touch Alex Xanatos if Lex is present, it's not good for your health.

%%* BigEater: Broadway

* ThereIsAnother: Even though the Manhattan Clan believed they were the last of their kind. Season 2 reveals that the rookery eggs were safely hatched and have been on Avalon. Goliath would then meet other gargoyles all over the world.

''Gargoyles'' (October 24, 1994 -- February 15, 1997) is a rare breed of a show, particularly for TheNineties (and [[NetworkRedheadedStepchild even more so]] for a Creator/{{Disney}} series-- the show was originally released under their Buena Vista banner, albeit on ''WesternAnimation/TheDisneyAfternoon''). A dark, violent series with a story that follows deliberate {{arc}}s and does things very rarely seen in the average Western animated show of the time.

** Also alluded to when Lex builds a motorcycle. Brooklyn asks him what took so long, since he rode one before, and Lexington snaps back, "You've ridden a horse before, does that mean you could build one from spare parts?". But still, as per the series timeline, the trio find an old abandoned motorcycle on November 7th of 1994 and Lexington decides to repair it, and he has it rebuilt in perfect working order and a brand new look by November 11th, and this short amont of time is made especially impressive when one remembers that the clan has been living in then-modern day Manhattan for only a bit over a month, yet Lex is already capable of this.

** Also alluded to when Lex builds a motorcycle. Brooklyn asks him what took so long, since he rode one before, and Lexington snaps back, "You've ridden a horse before, does that mean you could build one from spare parts?"

* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Brooklyn run-in with a biker gang ended with his motorcycle destroyed.

** Explicitly stated in the series: "Most Legends contain a seed of truth", and "All things are true." However this is not always in the literal sense. A few of the mythical beings met during the Avalon World Tour are ''very'' different from the stories. (For example, some {{T|heTrickster}}ricksters tend to be [[SadlyMythtaken outright evil rather than]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mischievous]].) In another episode, it is revealed that most of the creatures from Greek legends are real, however the stories are notably different. The minotaur, for example, was trapped in the catacombs and used as a source of entertainment by his captors.

** "Masque" in the comic has the clan attend a Halloween party in the Eyrie Building. Everyone is dressed-up except for [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself Goliath]].

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: It's primarily UrbanFantasy, but it uses this to add some sci-fi elements to the plot. Though the world mostly resembles America in the late 1990s, there are a few Creator/WilliamGibson-esque {{MegaCorp}}s with everything from PoweredArmor to {{Cool Airship}}s to nanobots at their disposal.