Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: The Edge

Welcome back to Gargoyles everybody! Last time, Elisa finally convinced the Gargoyles to leave the castle, setting them up in an old clocktower above the police office where she works. Meanwhile, Xanatos was finally released from prison and is ready to get back in the game

Speaking of Xanatos, we open with the man himself (Jonathan Frakes, Take a Shot) in his personal karate dojo, because of course he has a personal karate dojo, sparring with Owen. While Xanatos hold his own nicely, a well-placed kick from Owen knocks him on his ass. Xanatos is surprised as this is the first time he’s ever lost a match against his assistant. Owen suggests that he could always let Xanatos win, but Xanatos scoffs at the suggestion, saying he’d fire Owen if he ever did that. The two move on to the business of the day but not before an offhand comment about casually rescheduling an appointment with an Emir. This scene is brief, but I absolutely love it as it says so much about Xanatos’ character in such a short time. First, it establishes that while Xanatos does prefer to charm and manipulate people in order to get what he wants, that doesn’t mean he can’t hold his own in a fight if the situation calls for it. Can he take on Goliath in a one on one fight, probably not, but then not even MacBeth can manage that and he’s been dealing with Gargoyles a lot longer. However, any normal human who picks a fight with Xanatos thinking he’s just some rich punk afraid to get his hands dirty will probably end up regretting it. Second, there’s the bit with the Emir. For those of you that don’t know, an Emir is essentially an Arabic king, I.E. not the sort of guy you can reschedule a meeting with just because you feel like it, and yet, Xanatos just does it without even thinking. It further emphasizes just how powerful Xanatos really is if he can do that without reprisals. Finally, there’s the line about him firing Owen if he ever lets him win. I especially like that because it illustrates that Xanatos is not a man who believes in taking shortcuts or having things handed to him. I mean, do we really need to reiterate the whole moving a medieval castle to the top of a skyscraper bit again at this point? While he may be willing to do nasty and duplicitous things to achieve victory, he still nonetheless wants to feel like he earned that victory.

Meanwhile, Elisa is seen lugging a TV into the office, a housewarming gift for the Gargoyles. Turns out this is Elisa’s first day back on duty since she was shot in Deadly Force and her captain is assigning her a partner to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We are then introduced to Detective Matt Bluestone, whom we’d seen very briefly during the aforementioned Deadly Force. Bluestone is voiced by Tom Wilson, perhaps best known for playing Biff in the Back to the Future trilogy. Matt seems friendly enough and Elisa is sure he’s a great cop, but she’s not exactly thrilled about being stuck with a partner.

That night, Elisa goes to the Clocktower to deliver the television and it seems our heroes are settling into their new home nicely as we’re treated to a scene not unlike the one that opened Enter MacBeth. However, Goliath, who’s down in the library reading Dostoyevsky (keeping it light-hearted I see) is still brooding over being unable to reclaim the castle from Xanatos and being forced into hiding. Elisa agrees that it’s a lousy situation but tries to get Goliath to look on the bright side. Later, Elisa and the Gargoyles set up the new TV only to see Xanatos on the six o’clock news. It seems Xanatos has donated The Eye of Odin, a jewel from his personal collection worth millions, to the museum of modern art. The mere sight of Xanatos sends Goliath into a rage and he storms off.

Much later that evening, Elisa and Matt are getting to know each other and it seems that Matt is one of those conspiracy theorist types, with a particular interest in a shadowy cabal known as the Illuminati that is supposedly controlling the whole world in secret. I find it very interesting that this was right around the time that X-Files was gaining popularity so it wouldn’t surprise me if Bluestone here was at least partially inspired by Agent Fox Mulder. Anywho, the two get word of a break in at the museum of modern art, the very museum where Xanatos donated the Eye of Odin. It would seem Goliath, or at least something resembling him, has broken into the museum and stolen the Eye. However, when Bluestone tries to shoot it, the bullet just bounces right off, meaning that this definitely isn’t Goliath. When Elisa informs the Gargoyles what’s happened, Goliath speculates that Xanatos must have reconstructed his Steel Clan. That’s right, The Laser Robot Gargoyles are back! Goliath is about ready to fly to the castle and yank Xanatos’ ponytail so hard his head pops off, but with the images of the robots all over the news and the city thinking that it’s besieged by Gargoyles, going out right now is probably a bad idea. But, stubborn is ever, Goliath flies off, taking Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway with him.

Goliath arrives at the castle to confront Xanatos who seems to have been expecting him. Goliath rages at Xanatos, but Xanatos doesn’t even flinch. Because of Xanatos and his robots, soon, everyone in the city will be hunting Gargoyles, meaning that soon, nowhere in the city will be safe for them. Xanatos offers them a comfortable home at a research facility of his upstate. Goliath is having none of Xanatos’ bullshit and takes off, only for Xanatos to smugly remark that Goliath is taking this far too personally.

As the Gargoyles fly away from the castle, they’re attacked by the Steel Clan, including a new model with a spiffy red paint job. It seems Xanatos has made a few improvements this time around as the robots pretty much wipe the floor with the Gargoyles and emit a painful electric shock any time one of them gets close. The Robots bury the Gargoyles under a collapsed brick wall, leaving them sitting ducks, and then suddenly stop. Goliath deduces that Xanatos likely wants the Gargoyles to lead the robots back to their new home so he can destroy it, meaning that Goliath will have no choice but to accept his offer. Xanatos doesn’t want to kill the Gargoyles, he wants them under his thumb. With a SWAT team gathering on the ground, Goliath and the others lead the robots away from the action, making their stand on top of the Statue of Liberty, while the trio takes on the two other robots, Goliath faces the red robot one-on-one. It’s actually Broadway of all people who manages to take down the two grey robots, one by using its momentum against it and forcing it to crash and the other by impaling it with the arm of its fallen comrade. I like this. It shows that while Broadway may look and occasionally act like a big dumb fat oaf, he’s actually pretty clever and good in a fight. That just leaves the red one who seems pretty evenly matched with Goliath, matching him blow for blow. However, once it realizes that the others have been destroyed and that’s it’s now outnumbered four to one, it retreats, a news chopper finding the remains of the robots and believing them to have been destroyed for good. Goliath sees this as a victory for his clan and seems to have regained his confidence that he and the others are ready for anything Xanatos can throw at them.

But what of the red robot that got away? Well, it’s seen on the highest perch of the castle the following morning (Goliath’s old perch so as to add insult to injury). The Robot removes his head, or rather helmet, and we learn that Xanatos has cut out the middleman and discovered the one thing more awesome than having your own fleet of Laser Robot Gargoyles, becoming a Laser Robot Gargoyle yourself. That’s right, just in case you thought I was kidding when I initially compared him to Tony Stark, Xanatos has built himself his own Iron Man Suit. While Xanatos’ goal of getting the Gargoyles to reveal their hiding spot was a failure, he did manage to steal back The Eye of Odin (because only Xanatos would donate a priceless jewel to a museum and then steal it just to prove that he can) and was able to successfully test his new battle suit. And there’s another victory to come out of the whole encounter, one far more meaningful to Xanatos. See, after his loss to Owen in their sparring match back at the beginning, Xanatos was starting to doubt himself, but after having fought Goliath, one of the most powerful warriors alive, to a near standstill, Xanatos is once again confident that he’s still got his edge.

This is an awesome episode. The central theme of the episode seems to be one of regaining one’s confidence. Xanatos has been bested by the Gargoyles several times now and after he’s taken down by Owen for the first time, self-doubt starts to creep in. Goliath has likewise been feeling defeated after being forced to flee from the castle, but after what he perceives as a clear victory over Xanatos’s forces renews his confidence that he will one day take back the Castle. It's also noteworthy of introducing Elisa's partner Matt Bluestone, who will become a much more fleshed out character as the series progresses. It’s great episode with a lot of character development and the Statue of Liberty made for a cool location for the big showdown. Next time, we’ll see if Demona still has her edge as she returns once again to menace the Gargoyles in Long Way to Morning.