Tale Old as Time
"Tale Old as Time" is the fourth issue of the Gargoyles comic by Dynamite Entertainment, and Chapter Four of the Here in Manhattan story arc. It was released on March 22nd, 2023. [1]
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Contents
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Solicitation
Dino Dracon has just been released from prison. Determined to take over the New York underworld, Dino won't let anyone - human or Gargoyle - stand in his way! So when Goliath and Hudson go out on their nightly patrol, they're in for a couple of extremely nasty surprises!
The Story
As dawn approaches, Goliath and Elisa Maza kiss atop the Eyrie Building. As they bask in their newfound love, Goliath ponders about how gargoyles mate for life, and how he lost his mate, Demona, twice. Once to time and once more to her own rage. Now he has somehow found love again in the arms of Elisa. A human – and yet, she has grown so precious to him. As the Sun rises, she fills his daylight dreams.
Later that day, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, the newly released Dino Dracon waits for his ride. His wait isn't too long as Pal Joey pulls up, driving the Dracon Limousine. As he comes to a stop, the car splashes some water on Dino's shoes. Pal Joey hops out of the car and offers to open the door for him, but Dino declines, seemingly happy to ride up front with his driver. As Pal Joey prepares for their departure, Dino slams Joey's head into the steering wheel before physically kicking him out of the car, growling that if Joey intends to drive him, he needs to learn to drive more carefully. The car takes off, leaving behind Joey groaning in pain on the streets of Ossining. Dino looks into the rearview mirror and spots his niece, Antoinette, who is too terrified of her uncle to correct him when he calls her 'Toni'. He assures her that Pal Joey will catch up with them.
That afternoon, a mysterious man watches Travis Marshall reporting on amateur footage taken by Charles Chalmers of the Manhattan Clan pulling the ATM Bandits from their car the other night, with Chalmers protesting that the humans were arrested (conveniently leaving out that the humans were criminals). The report then cuts to Travis interviewing Matt Bluestone who confirms the criminals were arrested on burglary charges and suggests that the gargoyles were actually apprehending them, but Travis asks if it's a stretch to assume that the gargoyles could even understand what a criminal is. The mysterious figure watching the interview says to himself that something must be done . . . before it's too late.
In the penthouse of the Park Manor Hotel, Dino has gathered Glasses, Antoinette, and his father, Dominic Dracon, to demand a briefing. Glasses tells him that ever since Dino went to prison, some things have stayed the same but everything's different. Huracán Sanchez, Choi Yingpei, Grisha Volkov, and Izaak Slaughter no longer recognize the Dracon Family as the undisputed head of the Five Families. Dino blames this on Anthony's weakness. Dominic angrily warns Dino not to talk about his brother that way before Antoinette reminds her grandfather that Dino is talking about her brother Tony, not her and Tony's father. Glasses proceeds with the briefing, explaining that Tony wasn't the only factor in the family's diminished status – Tomas Brod and how his outfit seemingly came out of nowhere. Dino is unmoved, believing that Tony should have put Brod down immediately. Glasses explains that Brod was everywhere before they knew it, thanks to Brod hiring Jack Dane, who knew the entire Dracon operation, and so the damage was done before they even heard of Brod. As a result, the other Families took notice. Despite all this, Glasses insists that Tony had Brod "on the ropes" and he then tells Dino all about the gargoyles, how they interfered, and how they're working with the cops. Dino considers all this, but makes it clear that he plans to take the city back and no human or gargoyle is getting in his way. Finishing his debrief, Glasses insists that the Dracon Family simply lacks the manpower for an all-out war against the other four families and Dane. Dino understands, but mentions that he read something in prison that he thinks will help. After he leaves, Dominic is more than a little surprised that Dino "read something". Glasses is relieved that Dino seems more measured than how he used to be. But Antoinette doesn't believe it, after witnessing what he did to Pal Joey.
Before sunset, Maria Chavez cuts the ribbon at the grand reopening of the NYPD's 23rd Precinct. The crowd gathered (including Matt, Elisa, and Officer Morgan) applaud as Margot Yale shows Bluestone a clipboard and asks him if he thinks the information on it is amazing. Matt, reluctantly, agrees with her.
The Sun sets and the gargoyles awaken from their stone sleep. With Elisa on duty, Goliath thinks about how he's been meaning to catch up with the Trio, but whatever he had planned is put on hold as Angela calls Broadway away to go talk to Coldfire before she and Coldstone leave for patrol. Katana reminds Brooklyn that it's time for Gnash's history lesson. Gnash gripes that, being a time traveler, he needs no lessons as he lived history. But Brooklyn disagrees, reminding his son that he lived snapshots, and he still needs to be educated about the big picture. Gnash continues to gripe as his parents take off with him. Lexington just sighs and heads into the computer lab, feeling unwanted and unneeded. Hudson approaches his leader, pointing out the distance that has grown between the once-close three rookery brothers, and offers to join Goliath on patrol to discuss it.
As Goliath and his mentor soar across the city, he suggests that it was probably inevitable that the Trio would grow distant as they developed separate interests. He even suggests that perhaps their bond was exaggerated as, upon awakening in Manhattan more than two years ago, all they had were each other to cling to. Hudson doesn't entirely agree, reminding Goliath that Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway were devoted friends from practically the moment they hatched. He fears they now take each other for granted and is saddened by this. Hudson believes that, inevitably, some crisis will come when the Trio will remember their bond and be thick as thieves once more. Goliath finds himself wishing for a crisis.
Deep inside Central Park, two teenagers, Rosie and Pete, meet by The Lake. They both ask if the other was followed before the share a kiss. But they are quickly jumped by three men wearing masks resembling the Trio. Their leader in the Brooklyn-mask, addresses them as "Romeo and Juliet" before dragging them to the trunk of a waiting car. Pete angrily shouts that the masked men don't know who they're connected to or what they'll do, but the masked leader is not intimidated; he knows exactly who they are and exactly what their people will do – he's counting on it, in fact. He slams the trunk shut and orders they leave when they hear Goliath's roars in the air. The smaller thug in the Lexington-mask cries out that "it's them!". The bruiser in the Broadway-mask deduces that the girl's screams must have brought them. But their leader is unfazed and orders them to go, he'll cover them.
The thug in the Brooklyn mask draws his guns and starts shooting. Goliath and Hudson dodge the shots, ordering Hudson to stop the car while he handles the gunman. As the gargoyles proceed, Goliath wonders if this might be Hudson's promised crisis. Goliath lands before the masked man who tells Goliath he's not impressed by the large gargoyle. Goliath leaps towards the human and quickly disarms him by crushing both guns in the thug's hands. Meanwhile, Hudson lands on the roof of the getaway car. Goliath lifts the masked man up by his shirt telling him that the mask will fool no one into believing he's a gargoyle, but as far as the masked man is concerned, that's not the point. He insults Goliath's intelligence as he slips a knife from his sleeve into his hand. As Goliath begins to dispatch the man, three fully armed helicopters appear overhead and shine spotlights on the big gargoyle.
One of the pilots speaks over a speaker, ordering the gargoyle "if you can understand our words, drop that man." Goliath demands to know if these helicopters are with the masked man, but he denies it, telling the gargoyle leader that he has bigger problems. Goliath deduces that the helicopters must be Quarrymen. The masked man takes advantage of the distraction and stabs him in the shoulder. Hudson spots the helicopters and abandons the getaway car, which takes advantage of the opportunity to speed off as the man in the Brooklyn mask runs deep into the park. The helicopter pilot again orders Goliath to kneel and place his claws behind his head. But Goliath refuses and attempts to escape. The choppers begin firing on Goliath as he gains enough height to take to the air and go on the offense, landing outside the cockpit of one of he choppers. But another one fires a net which hits Goliath, expanding around him and delivering a massive shock. As Goliath falls to the ground, losing consciousness, he wishes he was more careful about what he wished for.
Review
With this issue, the story's pacing has improved – no doubt thanks to the fact that the re-introductions are over and the cast are firmly established for new readers. By the end of this installment, the adventure is well under way – and what a story!
Dino Dracon is out of prison, and quickly proves himself to be a dangerous opponent, someone whom you should not cross – as Pal Joey learns to his dismay. Indignant at the setbacks his family has suffered since the gargoyles awakened in Manhattan, he's determined to undo the damage – leading to a dramatic confrontation with Goliath in Central Park. He's also kidnapped Rosaria Sanchez and Peter Choy, the two teenagers who were mentioned in "High Noon" as rescuing a drowning child, and who now become on-stage characters, apparently relatives of two of the leading rival families in the New York organized crime scene. Dino's clearly planning something involving them, that will make the Dracon family the dominant crime family in Manhattan, though just what his plan is we don't know yet – except that it involves something he read in prison....
Goliath (who becomes narrator in this issue) has his own worries; the trio are drifting apart, have been doing so ever since Brooklyn's TimeDancer adventures. It's understandable, since Brooklyn and Broadway both have their own lives now (Brooklyn with Katana and Nashville, Broadway with Angela), while Lexington is feeling increasingly left out and seems to be growing bitter about it. Goliath discusses the problem with Hudson while they go out on patrol; Hudson suggests that some crisis might heal the rift between them. And, in the familiar pattern of "Be careful what you wish for", the crisis emerges, with Goliath captured by a group of mysterious helicopters (he believes them to be Quarrymen, but from the way the pilots speak, they're apparently police)....
(Dino Dracon's operation in Central Park forms a striking contrast to the trio's lack of unity; the three operatives in it, all wearing "trio masks", successfully carry out their operation, abducting Rosario and Peter and facing down Goliath until the helicopters show up. Dino's also clearly researched the gargoyles. The masks capture Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington's likenesses perfectly – it's still obvious, as Goliath notes, that they're humans wearing gargoyle masks, thanks to the suits they're wearing, but it's unlikely that the masks' purpose was to deceive onlookers into believing that – and the leader of the operation is the one wearing the Brooklyn-mask, indicating that he knows that Brooklyn's the leader of the trio.)
The humans of Manhattan are clearly still puzzling over just what the gargoyles are; note that the helicopter pilots address Goliath as if he was a human being arrested, yet uncertain over whether he can comprehend their words, and Travis Marshall in a news broadcast is similarly doubtful about how intelligent the gargoyles are. (A silhouetted figure is watching Travis's broadcast, expressing concern; we'll presumably be seeing more of him in succeeding issues.) The next few issues will no doubt cover more of this matter. And we're introduced to another mystery at the re-opening of the Clock Tower, when Margot shows Matt *something* on a clipboard....
One last little touch I liked was Nashville wondering why he needs history lessons when he's already experienced a lot of history on his TimeDancing adventures. I'm curious over what events and eras he's visited, and would like to know more some day.
To sum it up this issue fixes the pacing problems that had appeared in the first three issues, and launches us into what looks like a serious challenge for the clan.
Featured Characters and First Appearances
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Tidbits
The story title is a reference to the song Tale as Old as Time from Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast. The title was to be exactly the same as the song, but Disney requested the alteration for unspecified reasons. [2]
Charles Chalmers's remark that the gargoyles "are menaces! Or threats!" is an allusion to J. Jonah Jameson's habit of referring to Spider-Man as a threat and a menace (including in The Spectacular Spider-Man). This habit of Jameson's was even referred to in the "Religious Studies 101: A Handful of Thorns" radio play, when Goliath, meeting Spider-Man for the first time and getting the wrong impression about him, cries, "The Bugle was right about you; you are a threat and a menace!"
Cover Gallery
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See Also
| << Previous Episode: "Here In Manhattan" Chapter Three: "Miracle Child" | Next Episode: "Here In Manhattan" Chapter Five: "Render Unto Caesar">> |
