Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Awakening Part 1

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

Welcome Everybody, to a project I’ve been wanting to tackle for years now, and since, at the time of me writing this, everyone is stuck inside anyway due to a global pandemic, I figure now is as good a time as any. As many of you may know, Gargoyles is my Favorite Television Show of All Time. I loved it as a Kid, I love it as an adult. The Writing is smart, the animation is beautiful, the characters all memorable and I could go on and on. What this series is designed to do is go through the entire series with an analytical mind and see just how well it truly holds up. I hope you all will watch along with me as we stroll down memory lane. We start, of course, with Awakening.

We open in modern day New York City, or at least what would be considered modern day for a show that came out twenty-six years ago where something very loud and presumably involving explosions is happening on top of a Skyscraper that we can’t see. The commotion causes large chunks of debris to fall to the street prompting Detective Elisa Maza to try and restore order to the panicking New Yorkers. Amidst the chaos, Elisa notices something unusual, claw marks, in solid stone, leaving the detective to wonder what could possibly have that kind of strength.

This prompts a flashback to Scotland, 994 A.D. where Castle Wyvern is currently under siege by a Viking raiding party and their ruthless leader, Hakon. Hakon is voiced by the always awesome Clancy Brown by the way. I should probably mention that if you, like me, are a fan of voice actor trivia, then this show is like porn for you. Everywhere you listen, you hear amazing actors and legendary voice acting veterans. I’ll do my best to point them out as they come, but I may miss a few because there are simply so many. Anywho, The Vikings are pretty much wiping the floor with the castle’s guards but the guard captain doesn’t seem to concerned, saying that they only need to hold the line until sundown and “then we’ll see some fun.” Meanwhile, The Vikings manage to break down the castle gates and Hakon orders a full assault. However, as Hakon scales the tower with a stone Gargoyle perched upon it, the sun disappears behind the horizon and we soon see why the Captain was so confident. In a brilliantly animated sequence, the stone cracks away and the statue springs to life, fixes its frightening gaze on the Viking and picks him up with one hand like he’s nothing.

This, is Goliath, our main character and leader of the Gargoyles, and as you can see, he makes one hell of a first impression, helped greatly by the fact that he’s voiced by one of my favorite actors, Keith David, known for films such as They Live, The Thing and Princess and the Frog as well as the voice of Spawn in the short lived animated series and the latest Mortal Kombat game. The man has a voice that is equal parts sexy and piss your pants terrifying depending on the situation and it is PERFECT for Goliath.

As more Gargoyles spring to life and swarm on Hakon’s terrified men, Hakon swings his sword only to have it caught by Goliath. However, when Hakon sees Goliath shedding blood indicating that he is indeed vulnerable, it gives him and his thugs their second wind.

Elsewhere, three young Gargoyles watch the action from a nearby tower. As we’ll come to learn, Gargoyle kind does not traditionally give one another names other than those given to them by humans as in Goliath’s case. However, to avoid confusion, I’ll be referring to these three as well as any others by the names by which we’ll come to know them by in the series. These three are Brooklyn, voiced by Jeff Bennett who will play various roles throughout the show, Lexington, voiced by Thom Adcox-Hernandez and finally, Broadway, voiced by the very awesome Bill Fagerbakke, best known for playing Patrick Star on Spongebob Squarepants and one of the most genuinely friendly celebrities I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. We also see Hudson, mentor to Goliath and eldest of the Gargoyles mixing it up with the Vikings. Hudson is voiced by legendary actor both in voice and on-screen, Ed Asner, known for many roles over the years but perhaps best known for Carl Fredricksen in UP and Santa Claus in Elf. Asner is also, for whatever reason, the only member of the Gargoyles who’s even attempting a Scottish accent.

Amidst the melee, Goliath comes into contact with the guard captain and it’s made very clear that the two respect one another a great deal. Meanwhile, Hakon tries to catch his breath but is cornered by Bronx who is presumably some kind of dog-like sub-species of Gargoyles given that he has no wings, does not speak and behaves very much in the manner of a dog. Bronx chases Hakon right into the Demona, Goliath’s lover and second in command, who gets an even more awesome intro than Goliath. The music suddenly changes, and Hakon sees, standing in the shadows a large female Gargoyle, eyes glowing red, challenging him to face her, if he dares.

Demona is voiced by Marina Sirtis, better known to you Star Trek fans as Couselor Deanna Troi from Star Trek the Next Generation. And that means now’s as good a time as any to introduce you to an activity of my own design, The Gargoyles Drinking Game! For whatever reason, maybe series creator Greg Weisman or someone in the casting department was a massive Trekkie, maybe Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes who were both series regulars were having so much fun they invited their friends along for the ride, maybe it was all just a big coincidence, we may never know, but this show has nonetheless become infamous for featuring a large number of Star Trek actors in its voice cast, so much so that the Star Trek actors who have appeared on this show are actually listed on its Wikipedia page. The rules are simple, once per episode, when you hear the voice of someone who was a main cast member on Star Trek, take a shot. You could of course play advanced rules and also take a shot for Star Trek guest stars as well, but then you’d be dead. But in any case, it’s a fun game to play while reliving this classic show. And for those watching along, you just heard the voice of Marina Sirtis, take a shot.

Cornered by Demona, Bronx and soon Goliath himself, Hakon orders his men to retreat, but vows that he’ll be back. The Captain thanks Goliath for defending their home and Goliath in turn thanks the Captain and his men for defending them while they lay sleeping in stone.

Later that night, Catherine, the Princess of Castle Wyvern holds a celebration and thanks the Captain for defending the Castle. However, when the Captain tries to say that Goliath and his Gargoyles deserve the credit, The Princess and her advisor, The Magus, are angered by the mere mention of “That Monster.” Faster than you can say “Awkward Timing” Goliath and Demona burst into the room, having been invited by the Captain. The Princess is clearly outraged by the presence of the Gargoyles, Goliath still addresses her with respect and reverence. Demona on the other hand is not so quick to kowtow to the humans and snarls in anger when the Princess calls Goliath a savage. Goliath, sensing he’s not wanted, politely leaves, the captain following. In the hallway, Demona makes it clear that she is tired of serving the humans, especially given that these cliffs belonged to the Gargoyles long before the human’s built their castle, but Goliath calms her down by reminding her that it is in the nature of a Gargoyle to be a protector. That morning, a hooded figure who we’re made to believe is The Magus, rides away from the castle and strikes a bargain with Hakon.

That night, Demona and The Captian try to encourage Goliath to attack the Vikings at their campground, Demona seeming a little too eager to go with him, but Goliath insists she stay and protect the castle as they exchange words of love. Elsewhere, Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway are playing together in the Castle courtyard where Lexington seems to have invented football several hundred years early. A young boy approaches the Gargoyles to introduce himself. This is where we officially learn that Gargoyles don’t really have names. The conversation is actually kind of sweet until the boy’s mother intervenes and calls the Gargoyles Monsters. Brooklyn and Lex, not happy with being called monsters, decide to live up to the name and intentionally frighten the humans, prompting intervention by Goliath. Goliath banishes the three, along with Bronx, to their rookery until his return to await punishment.

Later, Goliath and Hudson are tracking the Viking raiders but only find horses and a very small group of soldiers leading them as a decoy for the Gargoyles. Realizing this, The two attempt to return, but are unable to make it back by sunrise. The Vikings attack the castle ad it appears that the bows of the castle guard have been sabotaged, making the castle easy pickings for Hakon’s thugs. The Princess tries to alert the Captain, but it’s revealed that it was him, not The Magus, who has sold them out to the Vikings. When asked why he betrayed his people, he simply says “They’re not my people.” Hakon plans to destroy the Gargoyles while they’re stone and still vulnerable. The Captain protests but Hakon destroys them anyway. Even though all we see is a shadow and the captain’s reaction, the scene of Hakon massacring the Gargoyles still comes across as horrific. As Castle Wyvern burns, Goliath returns to see his clan, his family, completely destroyed. Goliath lets out a sorrowful roar as we end part 1.

Is it cliché to say that this show is even better than I remember it? Well, it’s true regardless. This first episode gives us a little bit of everything. We see our heroes kicking ass, we get a little glimpse into their personalities, and we get a nice cliffhanger. Join me next time as we see the resolution of the siege of Castle Wyvern as well as pick up with Detective Maza in the present and are introduced to my favorite character in the series.