Raven

Raven in his human-like form.

Raven in bird form.

Raven in his gargoyle form.

Raven is a Child of Oberon and notorious trickster.

History

Raven with his illusions

Raven's preferred territory, when in the mortal world, is the Pacific Northwest, and particularly Queen Florence Island, which he has periodically attempted to conquer. Raven's lair on the island was the summit of a volcano; here he would live while magically turning the island into a wasteland, driving all the humans and animals who lived there away so that he could enjoy it alone. He was always thwarted in this goal, however, by the local Haida chieftain, who would, at Grandmother's coaching, climb the volcano and defeat him.

In 1995, however, Raven was assisted by the fact that the current chieftain, Natsilane, was a skeptic who did not believe that Raven existed, and so would not seek him out. Raven was pleased with this, since if Natsilane did not fight him, he would win control of the island by default, and save himself a considerable amount of trouble. When Goliath and his companions came to Queen Florence Island on the Avalon World Tour, Raven masqueraded as a gargoyle to dupe Goliath, Angela, and Bronx into believing that Grandmother was an evil sorceress and enemy to gargoyle-kind, so that they would become his allies; to further assist in the deception, he also created some illusionary gargoyles (who looked like totem beasts), whom he passed off as the last surviving members of a clan slaughtered by the local humans.

Angela, however, discovered that Raven was lying, and afterwards she, Goliath, and Elisa persuaded Natsilane to defeat Raven. Raven sullenly left the island after being bested in battle, muttering in a "sour grapes" fashion that it no longer interested him. However, according to Grandmother, he will no doubt return for another attempt at taking it over in the future. ("Heritage")

After his defeat at Natsilane's hands, Raven went to Spain, Alaska, and then was summoned to the Gathering with the rest of the Third Race. [1] He will visit New York at some point in the future and temporarily kidnap Alexander, although the details of this are as yet unknown. [2] His interests will also one day converge and compete against those of fellow tricksters Puck, Coyote, and Anansi. [3][4]

Characteristics

Raven has at least three known forms: a large raven, a gargoyle-like being with a raven’s head, and a dark-haired, arrogant-looking man with "elvish" features. He is one of the more unpleasant tricksters, with a tendency towards snide remarks and the use of deceit to obtain his goals.

Appearances

• "Heritage" (First Appearance)
• "The Gathering" Part One (No Lines)

Real World Background

Raven is a traditional figure in the legends of the peoples of the Pacific Northwest, although he appears in their myths in a more favorable light than he did in Gargoyles, appearing as both a trickster and creator figure. [5] In one Haida creation story, while Raven was bored and well-fed, he found a clamshell and freed the creatures contained inside, which became the first men of the world. [6] In another creation story, Raven is said to have stolen the Sun and Moon so that they could provide much-needed light to humans, brought to them the first berries, fresh water, salmon, and fire. [7] He is also said to have been on poor terms with Coyote the Trickster; whether this is also the case in the Gargoyles Universe is as yet unknown.

Production Background

Voice Actor: Lawrence Bayne

See Also

• Raven at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia