Metamorphosis

"Metamorphosis" is the fifteenth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the second episode of Season 2. It originally aired on September 5, 1995.

• Produced by: Frank Paur, Greg Weisman
• Written by: Brynne Chandler Reaves, Lydia Marano
• Story Edited by: Michael Reaves
• Directed by: Frank Paur
• Animation by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.
• Backgrounds by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.
• Additional Production Facilities: N/A

Summary

Main Plot

David Xanatos and Anton Sevarius work together in a dastardly plot to create a group of gargoyle-like genetically altered humans for Xanatos to keep at his castle.

Derek Maza goes with Xanatos to Sevarius's Gen-U-Tech lab to find out why the scientist needs armed mercenaries for his current project with Xanatos. Sevarius reveals the mutates: Fang, Claw, and Maggie the Cat, then shoots Derek with a dart containing the mutagenic formula while the young man was protecting his boss. Xanatos acts appalled, and threatens to turn Sevarius in despite his own involvement in the project, and orders the doctor to create an antidote. The serum is destroyed when Goliath, Brooklyn, and Lexington raid the lab to liberate Maggie; and Sevarius appears to perish when Goliath kicks him into the electric eel tank. Sevarius later comes to see Xanatos, revealing their plot to turn Derek into the leader of the mutates.

Subplots

Elisa is still rightfully worried about Derek working for Xanatos, but Derek promises to contact her if there is any trouble. After Derek is shot with the formula, Elisa comes to the lab to investigate Maggie's kidnapping. Xanatos threatens Sevarius that he will tell the police what happened if the scientist doesn't create an antidote, and he tells Derek that he will have Elisa brought in if he wants, knowing that Derek will refuse the offer, being too proud and stubborn to ask for help from his sister. Elisa is turned away, then returns after the gargoyles' raid and finds out that Xanatos owns Gen-U-Tech. She later goes to the Eyrie Building and effectively ends a fight between the mutates and gargoyles. She confronts the creature, "Talon", and is shocked when she realizes he's Derek when he automatically performs a ritual they did as kids. Elisa blames Xanatos, but Talon is still in denial, and accidentally shocks her with a blast of electricity. Ashamed, Talon leaves the building temporarily with the other mutates, and Elisa threatens Xanatos before going to the Clock Tower to cry.

Maggie Reed is homeless on the streets of New York when Sevarius offers her a job. She is turned into a mutate, and later escapes from the lab when Brooklyn and Broadway spot her in an alley. Brooklyn is immediately smitten with her, deluding himself into thinking that she feels the same way and wants his help. Broadway sees that she is frightened of them, but helps Brooklyn in an attempt to save her from a group of Gen-U-Tech guards. Brooklyn is shot with a tranquilizer dart, and Broadway leaves with him while Maggie is brought back to the lab. Brooklyn is determined to save her, and the next night, he, Goliath, and Lexington raid the lab to do so, where they unknowingly ruin Derek's chance for a cure. Maggie is taken back to the clock tower, and the gargoyles try to reassure her of their good intentions, but she leaves for the Eyrie Building to be with the other mutates. The gargoyles go there the next night, and Maggie shoots Brooklyn with an electric blast while accusing him of wanting her to stay a monster. After the mutates leave, Brooklyn realizes that has been deluding himself all along, and that Maggie never held any interest in him.

Xanatos asks Owen to find the "best geneticist on the planet" after Sevarius's supposed death, but Owen presents Sevarius to Xanatos alive and well. Everything was staged so that Derek would become a mutate, and they had him believe that Xanatos was free from blame and the gargoyles caused Derek to lose his chance for a cure. Xanatos and Sevarius had the mutates escape on purpose so that the gargoyles would spot one eventually, rightly predicting they would go to the lab to rescue him or her while Derek is being administered a supposed cure, then have Sevarius fake his death. Xanatos is confident that the mutates will return to him since they think he will provide them with a cure.

The Story

Previously on Gargoyles

• Recap: ("Her Brother's Keeper")

Act One

In the dark, cold streets of Manhattan, a few homeless people huddle around a trash can fire, burning discarded newspapers for warmth. A young woman tells an older looking man that she isn't like the other homeless people: she has not been in New York long and this is a "temporary setback". The old man understands. And fortunately, he is looking for a temporary assistant. The work is easy and pays well, plus it will get the young woman off of the streets. The woman asks what she would have to do and the older man grins.

At an airfield, Elisa Maza buys a hot dog from vendor. She jokes with the vendor and then informs him that she is looking for Derek Maza. The vendor, realizing that she is Derek's sister and knowing she was planning on coming by, points to a glider doing stunts over the airfield. The glider lands and Derek emerges from the cockpit. Elisa asks her brother if this is a "new toy" and Derek explains that the glider is "one of the perks of working for Mr. Xanatos". Elisa, annoyed, points out that Derek did not make it to dinner the previous Sunday. Derek claims that he's been busy. Elisa mockingly asks if Xanatos believes in letting employees see their families. Derek is frustrated with having to have this conversation again. Xanatos isn't evil, he opines, and even if Xanatos is, he can handle it. Elisa brushes this off and tells Derek that it's his life. She just thinks he's fooling himself. Elisa, suddenly concerned, asks Derek to promise to call if there is trouble. Derek says there won't be, but makes the promise. "Cross your heart," says Elisa, "And hope to die," finishes Derek. The siblings embrace.

Evening in Manhattan. The Sun sets and, at the Clock Tower, the gargoyles awaken from their stone sleep terrifying a flock of pigeons and raining down stone skin fragments unto the people below. Meanwhile, at Gen-U-Tech Headquarters, an employee screams in terror as a gargoyle-like creature throws its meal across the room and escapes. Alarms blare and more employees are thrown to the floor as the creature bursts through a door into the hallway. The creature finally finds a door to the exterior and escapes into the night. Armed Gen-U-Tech employees emerge through the exit, but the escapee is nowhere to be seen. The old man steps out from the building as well and casually taps on his cane, seemingly unconcerned.

Brooklyn and Broadway depart the Clock Tower and begin a patrol of the city. Not long into their airborne patrol, Brooklyn spots a gargoyle-like shape below and points it out. Broadway wonders if it could be Demona and Brooklyn menacingly says they are going to check it out. The gargoyles land in an alley near the female creature. It looks something like a gargoyle, but as Broadway quickly points out, "that's not Demona." The woman is terrified and tells the gargoyles to get away from her. Brooklyn tries to assure her to not be afraid. They won't hurt her. At that moment, two vans pull up to the end of the alley with flashing lights and alarms. Armed security emerge and begin to move down the alley. "There she is!," one claims. Another is surprised that she's not alone. The leader orders the rest to "Tranq them all. Let the Doc sort them out." They begin firing tranquillizer darts at the gargoyles and frightened woman. Broadway takes cover behind a dumpster. Brooklyn moves to protect the woman. He grabs her arm to pull her behind a dumpster as well, but she resists. As she pulls away, a Gen-U-Tech bracelet is removed from her wrist and falls to the pavement. One of the humans fires a dart that briefly electrifies the dumpster the woman is near and she does not resist as the humans surround her, only screaming out, "Help me!" Brooklyn implores her to not go with them, but instead she complies and they toss her into the back of one of the vans. Then they resume firing on the gargoyles. Brooklyn tells his rookery brother that they have to save the woman. Broadway begrudgingly agrees. The two gargoyles roll a dumpster down the alley and it slams into one of the vans. With the humans briefly distracted, the gargoyles leap at the van and begin clawing at it hoping to free the captive. Suddenly, Brooklyn is hit by a dart and begins to fatigue and the humans advance on the gargoyles. Broadway, decides to escape. Grabbing Brooklyn, who weakly resists, he glides into the night. The humans look for them, but the gargoyles are gone. They get into their vans and depart while Broadway and Brooklyn watch from the shadows above.

At the Eyrie Building, Derek lands a helicopter in the Courtyard of Castle Wyvern. Owen Burnett is waiting and addresses Xanatos when he emerges from the helicopter. They've received some "fascinating expense reports from Gen-U-Tech Systems". Xanatos takes the reports from Owen and reveals that the Gen-U-Tech R & D Team is working on "something special" for him. "Something involving armed mercenaries?" Owen asks. Xanatos denies knowledge of that and wonders if it is time to pay Dr. Sevarius a visit. Derek, listening on, is intrigued by the mention of mercenaries and offers to come along. Xanatos tells him it is unnecessary, but Derek insists that this is what he is paid to do. Xanatos agrees with a devilish grin.

Back at the Clock Tower, Broadway is explaining the incident to Elisa and the rest of the Clan. Brooklyn, still recovering from the tranquillizer, tells them how afraid the woman was. "Yeah," Broadway quips, "of us." Brooklyn insists that she needed their help, but Broadway doesn't see it that way. Brooklyn angrily claims she wanted his help and Broadway, exasperated, shows the others the bracelet that the woman was wearing. Elisa can tell that it was a tracking device: "digital, long-range, expensive". Pointing at the name on the bracelet, Broadway notes that this "symbol" was on the "ambulance" as well. Elisa reads it: Gen-U-Tech.

The following day, at Gen-U-Tech, Xanatos asks for an update on their project from the old man, Dr. Sevarius, as Derek watches on. Sevarius complies and turns on a video screen. He explains that Xanatos asked him to creature a living creature based on a gargoyle. Derek is briefly shocked. Sevarius considered cloning a living specimen, but no DNA samples were available. He asks if that has changed and Xanatos asserts that it has not. So, instead, Sevarius turned to gene splicing to breed for the desired traits: the composite organism would have a jungle cat's strength, speed, and agility as well as a bat's ability to fly. And, of course, human intelligence. The problem was the energy needs of the wing muscles. Sevarius notes that in order to maintain its strength, the creature would need to eat the equivalent of three cows a day! Xanatos asks how the gargoyles do it (as there are few cows in Manhattan) and Sevarius speculates that they store solar energy while sleeping each day. Unfortunately, that trait is unknown from the rest of the animal kingdom. Instead, he turns to a different source to meet the energy needs: the electric eel. These fish store energy in their electrorecepter organs. Derek admits that this is all impressive in theory, but still wants to know why Sevarius hired mercenaries. Sevarius explains that one of the "test subjects" escaped. Xanatos and Derek are shocked. Sevarius reassures them not to worry: "We got her back." He opens a panel to reveal three mutates behind a glass panel. One of the mutates, huddled in a corner, is the female from before. Xanatos, seemingly skeptical, asks how Sevarius grew them this quickly from scratch. The Doctor admits that that would've taken too long. Instead, he used a shortcut: human test subjects injected with a mutagenic formula! Xanatos and Derek are appalled. "This is what you've been funding here?!" shouts Derek. Xanatos claims to have had no idea, but then reconsiders. he knew Sevarius had a bad reputation, but he ignored it because he wanted results so badly. He assures Derek that he will make it right and find a way to reverse the mutations. Sevarius, angry, yells that he will not allow Xanatos to destroy his work. He aims a tranquilizer gun at Xanatos and fires! Derek acts immediately and shoves Xanatos aside, but instead he himself is hit with the dart. He leaps across the lab table and kicks Sevarius to the floor, disarming him. He quickly notes how odd it is that despite being hit with the dart, he doesn't feel sleepy. Sevarius laughs wryly. He tells Derek that that wasn't a tranquilizer dart, it was loaded with the mutagenic formula. The same formula he used on the three mutates! Derek is horrified.

Act Two

At Gen-U-Tech, Xanatos demands an antidote from Sevarius. He does, he claims, in his brain. But why would he help Xanatos destroy his work?! A video call comes through from building security. Two police officers (Detectives Maza and Bluestone) have arrived to investigate a kidnapping. "By all means, Doc, invite them in," says Xanatos. "Let's give them the slide show. Introduce them to the finished product." Sevarius tries to call Xanatos's "bluff". After all, he paid for the whole project. Xanatos admits that is true and knows they'll both be prosecuted for this. But he's been in prison before. Is Sevarius really prepared for the the persecution by the police, the press, and the public? "They'll crucify you. And if they don't, I will." Reluctantly, Sevarius agrees to begin working on an antidote. Xanatos turns to check on Derek. He's not looking well. He asks if Derek would like Elisa to enter the building and be with him. He admits that this is his fault as much as Sevarius's. Derek tells him no. He can't face Elisa now. Perhaps when he is cured. Xanatos orders Sevarius have the detectives leave and then to get to work on the antidote. Sevarius leaves as Derek cries out in pain and doubles over. As he raises his head it is clear the mutagenic formula is already having an effect. His eyes are becoming catlike and his teeth are becoming fangs. "Help me," he pleads.

Back at the Clock Tower, dawn approaches. Elisa is pacing as she talks with the gargoyles. She doesn't trust Sevarius and he's definitely lying about something. Brooklyn asks if she can arrest him. Not without probable cause, she explains; without enough evidence for a warrant, her hands are tied. Brooklyn leaps to a ledge outside. "Well, mine aren't." He and the other gargoyles turn to stone.

In the Gen-U-Tech laboratory, Sevarius is hard at work. Xanatos is watching over his shoulder and the doctor is annoyed. Derek snarls in pain and Xanatos points out that the metamorphosis is accelerating. He has already developed fur and wings. Sevarius suggests caging Derek for safety reasons, but Xanatos insists that he's a man, not an animal and demands Sevarius stop talking and keep working.

That evening, at the Clock Tower, the Sun sets and the gargoyles awaken. Brooklyn immediately begins to take off, but Goliath questions his motives. Brooklyn says he is going to find the woman. She needs his help. "Yeah right," scoffs Broadway. Brooklyn snaps back that he doesn't know anything about her. "And neither do you," claims Goliath. Rushing off without a plan won't help her, but Goliath has a plan. Brooklyn is relieved.

Soon after, Goliath, Brooklyn, and Lexington land on the roof of Gen-U-Tech. Brooklyn is about to enter through a skylight window, but Lexington stops him. There are wires in the window frame. Electrical wires probably mean an alarm. Brooklyn is frustrated, but Goliath tells him they will instead find another way in. He rips a hole in the ceiling and the gargoyles leap inside the empty room below. Lexington immediately hops on to a nearby computer. Brooklyn asks Lex to stop fooling around. "Hey, I'm trying to find your girlfriend," quips Lex. He gets her location and the gargoyles move through the building. They come to another room where the female mutate sits alone behind a glass wall. Brooklyn is relieved to see her, but she is, once again, terrified. She presses a button on an intercom and calls for help. An alarm starts to blare! Goliath grabs a nearby table and slams it against the glass wall. It cracks, but holds. Next, he tries his claws, but they only scratch the glass. Again, he tries the table and this time the glass shatters. Suddenly, two armed guards enter the room. It is the Xanatos Goon Squad. The leader, Bruno, gets on his radio and demands for the lab to be locked down while the second fires a tranquillizer dart at the female mutate. They start firing at the gargoyles. Brooklyn picks up the female while Goliath blocks the shots with the metal table. They throw a gas grenade at the gargoyles. In a different lab, Sevarius notes the alarm to Xanatos. Building security has been breached. Xanatos doesn't care, just give Derek the antidote. Derek, looking less human all of the time, begs him to hurry. Suddenly, the three gargoyles burst angrily into the room. "Not now!" screams Derek. Goliath spots Xanatos and is unsurprised that he is involved. The gargoyles rush into the room and are followed by the security troops. They continue to fire shots as Sevarius, "antidote" in hand, cowers behind lad equipment. Lexington uses his tail to slap one of the security guards across the room. The guard collides into Sevarius and the vial of liquid goes flying through the air. Derek leaps for it, but it is too late. It smashes against the floor and Derek falls after it. He screams in anguish, tears rolling down his furry cheeks. Meanwhile, Lexington again uses his tail to disarm the second guard and then tosses him at the first guard. Both fall to the ground unconscious. Goliath leaps on to a table and begins ripping through the ceiling. "Brooklyn, we have your friend," he yells, "now let's go!" Brooklyn (still carrying the sedated female) climbs out of the hole in the ceiling followed by Lex. As Goliath begins to leave, Sevarius approaches screaming about his work being stolen. He grabs on to Goliath's leg. Goliath is irritated and kicks the old man off. Sevarius flies against the glass of the eel tank, which shatters. The electric eels fall to the floor all around him. He grabs one and it sends a terrible shock through his body. He screams and shakes in pain, and then is still. Xanatos and Derek are horrified. Xanatos runs to the old man and examines him. "No pulse," he claims. "He's dead," he reports glumly.

Act Three

The smoke clears in the Gen-U-Tech lab and reveals Xanatos kneeling over Sevarius's dead body. Derek can't believe it. Sevarius was his only hope to be human again. Xanatos says he's sorry and Derek is furious. He only needed a few more seconds and he would've been cured. "It's the gargoyles' fault," he snarls before vowing revenge against them. Xanatos grabs his arm to leave. They have to leave before the police show up . . . unless Derek wants Elisa to see him like this. Derek agrees to leave with Xanatos who promises a cure for him and the others. They depart.

At the Clock Tower, the female mutate awakens surrounded by the Manhattan Clan. She is terrified and Brooklyn tries to reassure her that she is among friends. She asks if they were human once too and Goliath tells her no. Frightened, she tells them that she is "not like this". Her name is Maggie Reed and she's from Ohio. Lexington tells her that she will be safe with them. She can't believe that. She is desperate for a cure and tells them that she is "not a monster". Brooklyn tells her that they are not monsters either and asks her to not be afraid as he places his hand upon her head. She recoils. Goliath informs everyone that dawn is near and they all need rest, but when night falls, they will find her a cure "even if it means confronting Xanatos at his castle". The gargoyles take their places outside and turn to stone as Maggie gasps in fear. She slumps to the ground exhausted.

The police investigate the scene at Gen-U-Tech. It is a mess from the battle the previous night. Elisa, looking through some papers, discovers that Xanatos owns Gen-U-Tech.

The following night, the gargoyles have awakened. They discover that Maggie is gone. She probably left right after they turned to stone that morning. Brooklyn again claims that she needs their help. Goliath orders Hudson and Bronx to remain at their home in case she returns while he and the Trio go to Castle Wyvern.

At the Castle, Derek and Maggie and two other mutates stand on the parapets. Until Xanatos finds them a cure, they may as well learn how to use their wings. Derek tells them to follow his lead and flies into the air with the others following. One mutate tells the rest that Xanatos can keep his cure: he likes this ability to fly. Watching the mutates fly above, Xanatos asks Owen Burnett to find him "the best geneticist on the planet". Owen heads off and a roar is heard in the sky. Goliath and the other gargoyles have arrived. Derek's anger flares back up and he moves to attack Goliath. Brooklyn pursues Maggie while the other two mutates approach Broadway and Lexington and punch them down. Derek wrestles with Goliath in mid-air and the two of them fall to the battlements near Xanatos. Owen tells him that Detective Maza is here and Xanatos tells him to bring her up to help stop this "senseless violence". Brooklyn and Maggie land upon a tower and the gargoyle asks why she is afraid of him. He only wants to help her. She angrily disagrees. He wants her to stay "a monster" like he is. She suddenly blasts Brooklyn with a bolt of electricity from her hands and the gargoyle falls to the ground. Derek also uses his electric blast to attack Goliath. As Derek lists a claw to strike at Goliath he is suddenly ordered to freeze by Elisa who has her gun drawn on him. He stops his attack as she asks him who he is. He laughs wryly. "Call me . . . Talon." Elisa asks why he is attacking her friend and "Talon" explains that Goliath made him a mutate. Elisa tells him that this is impossible. Goliath would never intentionally hurt anyone. She wants to help him. "Promise?" Talon asks. "Cross my heart," she replies. Talon responds, "hope to-" but never finishes as Elisa, suddenly realizing, calls Derek's name. She is horrified and Talon hides himself from her in his wings, ashamed and upset. Elisa tells him that Xanatos did this to him, but he tells her that it was an accident and is trying to help him. Elisa places her hands on Talon and yells at him that Xanatos is lying. He's always lying. Talon's anger releases electricity, shocking Elisa. She falls to the ground in pain. Talon apologizes to his sister, but Elisa looks up at him in horror. He roars in anguish and flies away. The other three mutates follow him. Broadway and Lexington land alongside Goliath and ask if they should go after them, but Brooklyn, landing nearby, tells them no. "She doesn't want our help. She doesn't want me." Elisa turns to Xanatos and tells him that this means war now and she will take him down for this, no matter what it takes. Xanatos says nothing as she storms off.

Later, in Xanatos's office, Owen comes in with a man and introduces "the best geneticist on the planet" to Xanatos. It is none other than Anton Sevarius – he is alive and well and no longer masked as an old man with a cane. He laughs that he was proud of his "death scene". Xanatos thinks he overplayed the part. Still, Sevarius is amazed they pulled it off. They forced the mutates to escape for months before the gargoyles finally spotted one of them. After that, notes Xanatos, everything went predictably and his plan was a success. They view a video of Derek, or Talon as he calls himself now, flying through the sky. Xanatos thinks Talon is suited to his new form. Sevarius agrees, but points out that they have all escaped. Xanatos tells him that the mutates will return. They are convinced that only Xanatos can help cure them and that lie will keep the mutates under his control.

At the Clock Tower, Brooklyn stares silently out a window as Lexington comforts him and Elisa lays on the floor sobbing while Goliath, Broadway, and Hudson watch on. There is nothing they can say at this moment. Elisa continues to cry for her brother.

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles	Humans
Bronx Lexington Brooklyn Hudson (No Lines) Broadway Goliath Demona (Mentioned Only)	Maggie Reed/Maggie the Cat (First Appearance) Anton Sevarius (First Appearance) Elisa Maza Hot Dog Vendor (First Appearance) Derek Maza/Talon (First Appearance as Talon) Bruno Female Commando Commandos Owen Burnett David Xanatos Fang (First Appearance) Claw (First Appearance) Matt Bluestone (No Lines)

Places	Objects	Miscellaneous
Gen-U-Tech Systems Gen-U-Tech Headquarters Ohio (Mentioned Only)	Mutagenic Formula Fake Mutate Antidotes	Derek's Glider

Quotes

• "How many times do I have to keep saying this? Xanatos isn't the reincarnation of Snidely Whiplash!" - Derek

• "Tranq them all. Let the Doc sort em' out." - Bruno

• "It's what you pay me for. Might as well get your money's worth."

"Heh, might as well." - Derek and Xanatos

• "She was so frightened."

"Yeah... of us!" - Brooklyn and Broadway

• "You wouldn't dare! You bankrolled everything!"

"You're right, we'll both go down for this. But I've been in prison before, have you? The police, the press, the public... they'll crucify you; and if they don't, I will." - Sevarius and Xanatos

• "My name is Maggie... Maggie Reed. I'm from Ohio!" - Maggie

• "I need a cure! I'm not a monster!"

"We're not monsters either. Don't be afraid." - Maggie and Brooklyn

• "Hey, he can keep his cure. I like this." - Fang

• "Detective Maza is here."

"Send her up. We have to stop this senseless violence." - Owen and Xanatos

• "Now it's war, Xanatos. You're going down for this. I promise you; no matter what it takes." - Elisa

• "I was particularly proud of my death scene."

"Frankly, Sevarius, I thought you overplayed the part." - Sevarius and Xanatos

Continuity

Dr. Anton Sevarius and the mutates are first introduced in this episode. It's also the last time we see Derek Maza as a human, and Maggie Reed appears briefly at the beginning of the episode as a human. Sevarius next appears in "Double Jeopardy", where he's essential in creating the evil clone, Thailog. The mutates next appear in "The Cage", though Talon has a brief non-speaking appearance in "Upgrade".

Broadway initially mistakes Maggie for Demona when he first sights her and Brooklyn reacts strongly (another allusion to his feud with her that began in "Temptation").

Bruno and his team from "Awakening: Part Two" serve as Sevarius's security at Gen-U-Tech.

Broadway describes Gen-U-Tech's logo as a "symbol"; since the logo consists of the actual words "Gen-U-Tech" (if written in a stylized fashion), it is tempting to wonder if this is a subtle reference to his illiteracy that would play such an important role in "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time".

Xanatos and Sevarius, during their discussion of Sevarius's plans to "create" gargoyles for Xanatos in front of Derek, mention that they had been unable to clone one; it is revealed later in "Double Jeopardy" that they were lying about that and Thailog was already in the works.

Tidbits

In the early plans for the series, the mutated victim was originally to be a scientist in Xanatos's employment who was (thanks to some behind-the-scenes manipulation by Xanatos) transformed into a feline mutate by one of his own experiments, and afterwards went by the name of Catscan (so called because his eyes could shoot out blasts of radiation). However, after the introduction of Elisa's family in "Deadly Force", Greg Weisman realized that it would be even more effective to make the mutated figure Elisa's brother (thus anchoring him more strongly in the main cast), and revised his plans accordingly, changing Catscan into Derek/Talon, and splitting his "scientist" side off to become the separate (and far less ethical) figure of Sevarius.

In his ramble for "Metamorphosis", Greg Weisman wrote that he "was never too fond" of the Zen Master joke that Elisa told the Hot Dog Vendor, but coincidentally enough he would create a "Zen Master character" for what would eventually be adapted for "Reunion" the sixth issue from the SLG comic book series).

To save money on voice actors, Fang was voiced by Jonathan Frakes in this episode.

When the episode ran a little short, the production team added in a brief scene at the beginning, showing the gargoyles awakening: a beautifully atmospheric moment, with small stones raining down from the gargoyles' perch (pieces of their stone skin) on top of a bewildered bystander, and pigeons hurriedly flying away from the Clock Tower.

Frank Paur was the director and Michael Reaves was one of the writers of a Batman: The Animated Series episode "Tyger, Tyger", where Selina Kyle (Catwoman) was mutated into a real cat-woman by a mad scientist. Batman also battles a cat-man creature created by the mad scientist. [1]

The title of this episode may come from the novella, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. The main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens to find that he has changed into an insect. [2] Kafka was referenced in the previous episode, "Leader of the Pack".

How did Adrienne let this one slip by?

Somebody knew what they were doing.

When Maggie the Cat escapes from Gen-U-Tech for the first time, there is a moment where she runs past the Female Commando knocking her to the ground and ripping the front of the commando's hospital gown open in the process. It's doubtful this would have gotten past Adrienne Bello during the scripting stage and it's so fast that it's easy to miss. One wonders if the storyboard artist was having fun, or if this was the work of an animator over at Sunwoo Animation Co.

DVD Release

• Gargoyles: Season Two, Volume One

See Also

• Background Memo
• Greg's Ramble
• Extensive Synopsis and Review
• Voices from the Eyrie Deep Dive

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