Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Gargoyles #5

Welcome back everyone to the latest issue of the new Gargoyles comic. Last time, the mysterious and much feared Dino Dracon finally made his appearance and wasted no time demonstrating that he presented a much greater threat than his skunk-haired dipshit nephew, Tony. While trying to thwart a kidnapping by Dino and his thugs, a bunch of armed dudes in a helicopter (whom our heroes assumed to be The Quarrymen) showed up and captured Goliath with an electrified net. Yes, even in the comics, this series’ obsession with electrocution remains ever present.

In any case, our comic picks up where the last one left off and apparently it’s now Hudson’s turn at playing narrator. I really like how Hudson opens things up, talking about how he feels that naming something gives it limits, and how he’s only recently come to accept having a name himself. He compares this to how he feels powerless to help Goliath, much like how the river that is his namesake is powerless to stop the evils with its city. Seems that just when Hudson was about to draw his blade and get medieval on the creeps who snagged Goliath, he was stopped by one amongst their ranks. Turns out it’s our old friend Matt Bluestone, and Goliath’s captors aren’t The Quarrymen, but rather, the N.Y.P.D.’s Gargoyle Task Force. Hudson is confused, but Matt explains that the GTF was ordered to capture a Gargoyle and Matt was told to play ball or lose his position as leader of the task force. Believing that him still being in charge would help him keep Goliath safe while in police custody, Matt opted for option one. Well, Hudson is having none of this and gets ready to free Goliath, but Matt talks him down, saying that these cops are only doing their jobs, and what’s more, if Hudson attacks them, he’ll only make things worse for his clan and probably end up captured himself. Hudson doesn’t like this, but he agrees to trust Matt and allows the cops to take Goliath away.

Back at the castle, we see the rest of the clan going about their business. Lexington is DMing his English boyfriend and their exchange is incredibly cute, Broadway and Angela are asking Coldfire to perform their commitment ceremony and Brooklyn is giving Gnash a history lesson, something he believes is critically important in a world where time travel is a thing. Everything seems just fine, until Hudson arrives with news of Goliath's capture.

Meanwhile, Goliath wakes up in a prison cell in Riker’s Island and because someone on the GTF is a massive dickhead, they put him in the cell right across from Dracon and Brod. Ew, go away Tony, we don’t need you anymore, we have your much cooler, non-skunk haired uncle now. Speaking of Dino, remember those two kids from last issue who were nabbed by Dino and his thugs last issue? Well, it turns out, those two were the children of rival crime families and Dino going after them was a calculated move to expose their forbidden romance and get the two crime syndicates fighting one another instead of him. Well played Dino, well played indeed.

Elsewhere, Elisa is chewing out Matt for letting the GTC arrest Goliath, but Matt explains that he had no choice. Seems that an anonymous benefactor (likely Dino Dracon) donated more money, equipment and resources than the mayor and chief had ever seen in their lives on the condition that the taskforce capture a Gargoyle. Matt tried to contact Elisa to warn her, but she was busy trying to get info on Dino Dracon. At the courthouse a lawyer named Tobe Crest is pleading for Goliath while Assistant District Attorney Margot Yale is being a horrible racist bitch. I gotta say, I dig this Tobe Crest guy. He doesn’t care that Goliath is a Gargoyle, he cares that he’s being held without charges and he’s having none of Margot’s bullshit of referring to Goliath as “it” and saying the only reason he’s at Riker’s is because the Bronx Zoo couldn’t hold him. For some reason, I feel like I should know who this Crest guy is, especially since he seems to know that Goliath reads Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky. Was this a character from the SLG comics or something? Something about this guy seems way too entrenched in this world and it's characters to be someone who is just now showing up out of the blue. I honestly have no idea. In any case, despite Margot’s best efforts, the judge agrees to consider Crest’s motion.

Back at the castle, Hudson brings the clan up to speed on what happened to Goliath. With Goliath gone, Brookyln’s now the one calling the shots and despite Elisa’s protests, Brooklyn says that they’re breaking Goliath out of the slammer. Angela, Broadway and Lexington are raring to go, but Brooklyn orders them to stay behind and protect the castle, opting to bring Cold Stone and Cold Fire with him instead. Lex and Broadway seem dejected at this, and while Hudson backs Brooklyn’s play, he thinks that Brooklyn will regret leaving his brothers behind. Brooklyn and the two mecha-Gargoyles break into the prison and Brooklyn reaches Goliath’s cell. Brookyln even gets a cool moment where he threatens a guard at gunpoint and warns that his depth perception ain’t what it used to be since he lost his eye, so even though he doesn’t want to kill the guard, he could very easily miss. However, our comic ends with Goliath insisting that Brooklyn and the others leave the prison immediately and leave him behind, much to Brookyln’s shock.

There was a lot going on in this issue. We furthered the subplot of the trio growing apart, got a closer look at Dino Dracon’s master plan and a lot of solid character moments for our heroes. I particularly enjoyed Hudson’s narration especially the touching moments when he admits that, despite being an old Gargoyle traditionalist who doesn’t go in for the whole family structure thing, he’s come to think of Goliath as his son. In fact, I’ve really enjoyed the narration in every issue up to this point. I love how it switches between characters, giving us a different perspective every time. I look forward to seeing what’s been going on in Brooklyn and Lexington’s heads. While Goliath being arrested and having to stand trial is ground that was covered in the dreaded season 3, I am intrigued by how it will be handled now that Greg Weisman is helming the story. Also, this isn’t really related, but now’s as good a time as any to share a theory of mine regarding Dino Dracon and his ultimate plan. See, I think while Dino was in prison he was recruited by The Illuminati. It makes sense. The last time we saw old Mace Malone, he was aimlessly wandering through the booby trapped halls of the hotel cabal, so at this point he’s either stark raving mad or, more likely, dead. Either way, he's now useless to the guys who secretly run the world so the secret society is probably in the market for a new liaison in the world of organized crime, and Dino has the experience to be a prime candidate for that position. It would explain why he's not afraid of the Gargoyles, how he knew about the secret love affair between the children of his rivals, and how he was able to move so much money to supply the GTF. If I’m right, and what this means going forward if I am, remains to be seen. All in all, while I didn’t think this issue was as strong as some of the ones that came before it, this is still a great issue and I look forward to seeing how things play out. Join me when issue #6 comes out!