Hunters

For the character known as Hunter in Gargoyles: Bad Guys, see Robyn Canmore

Gillecomgain, the first Hunter.

The Hunters are fanatical gargoyle-hunters who wear a distinctive mask with three red slashes across the face. The Hunters are particularly known as an enemy of Demona. Many humans have adopted the name and mask of the Hunter throughout history, beginning with Gillecomgain in 994 and culminating in Jason, Robyn, and Jon Canmore in 1996. Despite having hunted Demona for a thousand years, they are apparently unaware of the fact that only Macbeth can kill her.

History

A Few Scratches

"There will always be a Hunter . . ."

The mask of her greatest enemy . . . well, besides herself.

As a boy, Gillecomgain was attacked by a gargoyle and her claws left three scars across his face. Despite his father's dismissiveness, Gillecomgain determined her to be a Demon and vowed vengeance upon her and all her kind. In 997, he was taken under the wing of Constantine, who admired him for his vendetta against gargoyles. Before the Battle of Rathveramoen, Constantine painted his entire head in black war paint, with three red slash-marks across his face, using Gillecomgain's own facial scars as inspiration. This look was later adopted into the mask worn by all Hunters from that point on. ("City of Stone" Part One, "Hunter's Moon" Part One, "The Gate", "Tyrants", "Phoenix")

Gillecomgain hunted Demona ruthlessly as the Hunter throughout all Scotland, and also presumably destroyed any other gargoyle that he came across. Gillecomgain also became a hired assassin, and as the Hunter murdered Findlaech in 1020 on behalf of Prince Duncan. He continued to serve as the Hunter until his death in 1032, when Duncan manipulated his cousin Macbeth into killing him. ("City of Stone" Parts One, "City of Stone" Part Two)

Believing the persona of the Hunter to still be of some use, Duncan would took Gillecomgain's mask and as the Hunter in 1040, attacked Demona's Clan in its stone sleep, forcing the survivors to join forces with Macbeth. Duncan was slain in battle not long afterwards, but his son Canmore recovered the Hunter's mask and assumed it in 1057, when he invaded Scotland in concert with the English and overthrew Macbeth and Demona both. ("City of Stone" Part Two, "City of Stone" Part Three, "City of Stone" Part Four)

A Righteous Mission

As King, Malcolm Canmore raised his children to be on guard against any gargoyles they encountered, as well as inevitable return of The Demon. In 1093, he and his sons massacred the Northumbria Clan, shattering them in their sleep following their participation in burning down the town of Alnwick. When Malcolm Canmore tried to flee Robert de Mowbray's forces in the battle later that evening, he was confronted by Demona, who made such short work of the monarch, Canmore was slain before he could put on the Hunter's mask. Prince Domnall found his father dead and, unlike his many brothers that fought for their claims to the crown, took his father's mask, took his father's name as Donald Canmore, and vowed vengeance for himself and his descendants against Demona and all her kind. ("Fools Rush In...") [1]

The Canmore Hunters pursued Demona first throughout Europe and then the world over the centuries, ruthlessly hunting her and seeking her death, as well as any gargoyle they discovered. The details about them between 1093 and 1980 are as yet unknown, except for Stuart Canmore, who attacked her in Renaissance Florence in 1495, when she stole the Medici Tablet, and Fiona Canmore who hunted her in Paris in 1920. However, they seem to have been a nearly constant menace to her. Throughout this time, it is also likely the Hunters crossed paths with Macbeth, though it is uncertain if they were fully aware who he was. ("Hunter's Moon" Part Two, "The Last") [2][3]

Generations later, the Canmores had long since forgotten how the Hunters had begun, but continued to play the role out of force of habit and the weight of family tradition, not to mention the fact that it is much easier to keep a feud going than it is to end one. It has even been lost to them that the original Hunter wasn't even a Canmore. [4] In 1980, it was Charles Canmore that had taken up the vendetta, and despite his belief that he was prepared to face Demona, was quickly slain by her at Notre Dame Cathedral on the night of September 28th. Charles's three children, Jason, Robyn, and Jon, witnessed his death and took up the mission, culminating in their climactic encounter with both Demona and the Manhattan Clan in New York in 1996. The battles that they fought there caused the destruction of the Clock Tower, the revelation to the world that gargoyles exist, the near-death of several gargoyles and humans, and massive injuries to Jason Canmore . . . but brought the line of Hunters to an end. ("Hunter's Moon" Part Three)

A New Name

However, the Hunter legacy did continue in a new direction. Jon Canmore, the only one of the three siblings still desiring to continue the feud, changed his name to John Castaway and set up the Quarrymen. Robyn Canmore also continued to use the codename Hunter as the leader of the Redemption Squad, although she began hunting different prey than gargoyles. ("Nightwatch", "Strangers", "Estranged")

Characteristics

Concealing the identities of kings.

The Demon.

The Hunters always wore a black hooded mask with three red slashes upon it as a badge, to conceal their true identity. They carefully upgraded their equipment over the centuries; some Hunters used falcons to aid in the hunt while the Renaissance Hunter pursued Demona mounted in a flying machine that looked like something out of one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks. By 1996, Jason, Robyn, and Jon armed themselves in New York with an enormous airship, insulated suits, and even a robotic falcon. [5]

Macbeth also temporarily assumed the Hunter's mask and identity in 1995 when he fought Demona during the time that she had placed her Stone By Night curse upon the human inhabitants of New York City, telling her, "I wear this as a reminder of your treachery." ("City of Stone" Part Four)

Known Hunters

• Constantine III - More of an ur-Hunter or proto-Hunter. Never actually went by the nom-de-guerre "Hunter".
• Gillecomgain - The actual first Hunter.
• Duncan
• Canmore
• Donald Canmore
• Stuart Canmore, the Renaissance Hunter
• Angus Canmore
• Jackson Canmore
• Fiona Canmore
• Aron Canmore
• Charles Canmore
• Jason Canmore
• Robyn Canmore
• Jon Canmore

Production Background

As with David Xanatos and Macbeth, Greg Weisman has noted the Hunters have been "twisted riffs on the Caped Crusader". [6]

In the DVD commentary for "City of Stone" Weisman expressed regret about the decision to make the slashes on the Hunter's mask identical to Gillecomgain's scars, as it made no sense that no one ever suspected that Gillecomgain was the Hunter (except for some possible reverse psychology, which he quipped about in his "City of Stone" rambles). [7] This problem was solved in the SLG comics "Tyrants" and "Phoenix" when Constantine based his war paint on Gillecomgain's scars. Thus, the people of Scotland could assume the Hunter's mask was based on Constantine's war paint, making Gillecomgain a less obvious suspect.