This page contains a list of characters in the animated television series Gargoyles (1994–97) and the spinoff comic books.
Gargoyles In the Gargoyles universe, several clans of gargoyles exist worldwide, each with distinct cultural and morphological characteristics. The clans are similar in that they each have a particular item, area, or concept that they strive to protect. Gargoyles are fierce warriors and incredibly powerful and resilient. Their appearance (most are large with wings and claws) and ferocity often mean that humans vilify them as demons and monsters. Most gargoyles do not peacefully co-exist with humans.
Gargoyles in the series are particularly notable for entering a sort of stone hibernation, called "stone sleep", during the day, when they resemble Gothic statues. In this state they can quickly heal from injury and illness and are protected from most natural threats. However, this leaves them vulnerable to attack and death: if a gargoyle is destroyed during their hibernation such as by being shattered to pieces, their body will remain stone and they will never wake up again.
A subgroup of gargoyles are gargoyle beasts, who are typically quadrupedal and behave like domestic animals. Though they are smarter than mundane animals, they are not as intelligent as humans or gargoyles.
The Manhattan Clan The Manhattan Clan are the protagonists of the series, and gain new members as the series progresses.
Goliath (voiced by Keith David) The leader of the Manhattan Clan. Goliath is named for the biblical giant by the people of Castle Wyvern because of his large stature. Before his clan's awakening in Manhattan, Goliath was the only gargoyle with a name. By the end of the second season, Goliath has started a romantic relationship with Elisa Maza. Hudson (voiced by Ed Asner) An Elder and former leader of the Wyvern Clan. He now serves as an advisor to Goliath and the rest of the Manhattan Clan. Hudson took his name from the river after Elisa explained almost everything has a name. When not in battle, Hudson would spend the night watching television. Brooklyn (voiced by Jeff Bennett) The rufous-skinned, white-haired Brooklyn serves as the clan's second-in-command with a somewhat sarcastic and impetuous attitude, but has a talent for tactics. Brooklyn is named for the New York borough. He harbors bitter hatred against Demona after she tricked him. Forty seconds after being whisked away in time by The Phoenix Gate (but 40 years later, from Brooklyn's perspective), Brooklyn was returned to his correct time, older and with a family. Lexington (voiced by Thom Adcox-Hernandez) The smallest of the clan and a technical wizard. Lexington is named from the avenue, which itself gained that name in 1836.Henry Moscow:The Street Book. New York: Fordham University Press 1978. p.69.Harris, Gale and Shockley, Jay. "East 17th Street/Irving Place Historic District Designation Report" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (June 30, 1988) Lexington harbored bitter hatred against The Pack,"Gargoyles episode 14 Leader of the Pack" but attempted to reconcile with Fox after moving back to the castle. Unlike the other Manhattan Clan gargoyles, Lexington's wings do not exist as fully "separate" limbs, but instead consist of membranes that are webbed to his arms with one extra set of "limbs" halfway down within the webbing, which allow him to glide like a flying squirrel. He holds a soft spot for baby Alex; in the third season, he is shown to act as a sort of babysitter and spoils him with new toys. Broadway (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) An overweight and good-natured gargoyle. He is named for the street. Broadway has developed a strong dislike of guns ever since he accidentally shot Elisa with her own gun, and has a great appreciation for old movies (particularly detective/noir films), as well as a newfound and rapidly developing appreciation for reading and literary works. He later develops a relationship with Angela. Bronx (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) A dog-like gargoyle beast who is named for the New York borough. He often stays with Hudson within the clan's residence, keeping him company while watching television. Angela (voiced by Brigitte Bako) The daughter of Goliath and Demona. She was raised on Avalon like a human, thus making her more willing to trust others, and joined the Manhattan clan in the middle of the second season. Angela is so named because of her angelic nature, Angela literally meaning "She-Angel". She later develops a relationship with Broadway, after letting "the trio" (Broadway, Brooklyn and Lexington) know she does not tolerate nicknames being used for her. Fu-Dog A green leonine gargoyle beast, closely resembling a Chinese statuary lion in appearance from the Xanadu Clan in China who, at some unspecified time, joins Brooklyn on his journey through the time-stream. He is fiercely loyal to Brooklyn. Katana She comes from the Ishimura Clan during feudal era Japan, and is Brooklyn's sky-blue hued mate with a similar but smaller beak when compared to her mate. Named for the most famous form of Japanese sword, she joined him on his Timedancer journey. During their adventures, she and Brooklyn had an egg which hatched into Nashville. She has a second egg, Egwardo, which she is very protective of, as shown by her carrying it (before it hatches in 1998) with her everywhere in a compact backpack. Nashville The son of Brooklyn and Katana. He closely resembled Brooklyn, but had Katana's pale blue skin color and bluish-black hair. He is called Gnash for short. Egwardo A yet-to-be-hatched gargoyle egg. Its parents were Brooklyn and Katana. Egwardo hatched as a female in 1998, and was given the name "Tachi", possibly named for the predecessor of the sword her mother is named for. Othello (voiced by Michael Dorn) A rookery brother to Goliath who is shown to be hot-headed. Having been shattered by Hakon's Viking army during his stone sleep, Othello was resurrected as the cyborg Coldstone by David Xanatos. The Coldstone robot was designed to resemble him. The name Othello was used to identify the character in the script. He rejoined the clan in 1997. Desdemona (voiced by CCH Pounder) A gargoyle and Othello's mate who was shattered by Hakon's Viking army during her cold sleep and was revived in the Coldstone body by David Xanatos. She helped to keep Iago at bay and was eventually transferred into the robot shell of Coldfire. The name Desdemona was used only for script and credit sequences. She rejoined the clan in 1997.
Coldstone Coldstone is the spirit of three deceased gargoyle from the Wyvern clan resurrected through science and sorcery into a cyborg body by David Xanatos. He was formed from the remains of three different gargoyles (usually called Coldstone or "Othello", his mate Coldfire or "Desdemona", and his rival Coldsteel or "Iago"), and each personality remains mostly intact. Eventually, each personality is transferred to a separate robotic body. Since the Coldstone robotic body only had one voice box, Coldstone was always voiced by Michael Dorn, regardless of the personality in control. However, in "Legion" when Coldstone's tone changed whenever Desdemona was in control, Coldstone is voiced by CCH Pounder.
Iago/Coldsteel Iago or Coldsteel (voiced by Xander Berkeley) is Othello's enemy. He convinced Othello that Desdemona was secretly pursuing a relationship with Goliath. Having been shattered by Hakon's Viking army, Iago was eventually transferred into the robot shell of Coldsteel. Upon Demona's reactivation of the Coldstone robot, Iago took control of the body, until Othello was convinced to help Goliath and clan. In 1996, Coldsteel aided Xanatos and Coyote 5.0. in retrieving the Stone of Destiny in exchange for removing a tracking device from his body. The name Iago was used only in the script and credits.
Demona
Demona (voiced by Marina Sirtis) is the main antagonist of the series, driven by a hatred of humanity. She is Goliath's ex-mate and Angela's biological mother; who is no longer frozen in stone by daylight like the others, thanks to Puck's pre-Gathering intervention. She has been continuously alive for a millennium, because of a magical pact with Macbeth granted to them by the series' version of the Three Witches, giving both of them nearly-irrevocable immortality. Demona developed a hatred of all humans, making her an enemy of the clan. She was named by Macbeth, after her demonic fighting skills, Demona literally meaning "She-Demon". Over the centuries that she has been alive, Demona was the enemy of the Canmore family, who all took on the moniker of The Hunter; because of this, Demona was indirectly responsible for the destruction of the Manhattan Clan's clock tower home.
The Mary Sues Jessica Mason described Demona as the "perfect complex villain," writing "Oftentimes, villains are one-note and not nuanced, or they’re too evil and all we want is to see them defeated. But a great villain is one we can maybe sorta understand, who doesn’t see themself as a villain." "Demona was sympathetic. I'm not saying that I agree with her methods or where she landed in her world view, but viewers could understand why she did what she did and felt what she felt. Demona was always defiant and ambitious, but centuries of human betrayal and seeing the worst in men radicalized her. She represented the ultimate form of cynicism about humanity, and sometimes it felt justified... Demona is a great example of a villain that is so much fun to watch and even kinda fun to root for. She was an icon of so many childhoods because she was complicated, powerful, badass, and fun."
Avalon Clan The Avalon Clan are the gargoyle eggs of Castle Wyvern that were protected by Princess Katharine, Tom, and the Magus. The eggs were taken to Avalon where they hatched and grew to adulthood where they formed this offshoot of the Wyvern Clan. Katharine and Tom raised them as their own children, and thus gave each a name to be told apart from each other, so the Avalon Clan holds great respect for them.
Known members of the clan include:
Gabriel (voiced by Ruben Santiago-Hudson) – The son of Coldstone and Coldfire. Ophelia (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A turquoise gargoyle with a distinct wing feature and spikes on her forearms. Boudicca (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – A slender dog-shaped gargoyle beast.
The unnamed members of the Avalon clan consist of 14 unnamed females, 16 unnamed males, and two gargoyle beasts.
London Clan The London Clan are a prosperous English clan resembling the creatures of heraldry. The London Clan roosted at a country estate called Knight's Spur. They also ran a magic shop in London to supplement their income and until the mid-1990s (the timeframe of the Gargoyles series), the London Clan had abandoned their mission of protection.
Their names were derived from the heraldic creatures they were based on:
Una (voiced by Sarah Douglas) – A unicorn-type gargoyle and the clan's leader. Leo (voiced by Gregg Berger) – A lion-type gargoyle. Griff (voiced by Neil Dickson) – A griffin-type gargoyle who was displaced in 1995 when he went through the Phoenix Gate. Staghart – A white stag-type gargoyle who was rumored to have a close friendship with Lexington. Constance – A wild boar-type gargoyle, whom is second-in-command to Una. Pog – A hippogriff-type gargoyle who is the clan's eldest member. Lunette – A winged unicorn-type gargoyle. She is Leo and Una's daughter who was born the same year as Brooklyn's son Nashville.
The rest of the London Clan consisted of 189 unnamed members.
Ishimura Clan Ishimura Clan (Japanese for "stone village") was a gargoyle clan in Japan and the only clan thus far that lived in harmony with humans, teaching them Bushido, (lit. the "Way of the Warrior"), since feudal times. It includes:
Kai (voiced by Clyde Kusatsu) – Ishimura Clan's leader.