Quo Vadis Cum Hoc?

Gargoyles: Quest #2 by Clayton Crain

"Quo Vadis Cum Hoc?" is the second issue of the Quest comic arc and the fourteenth Gargoyles comic by Dynamite Entertainment. It was released on May 15th 2024. [1]

• Writer/Creator: Greg Weisman
• Pencil Artist: Pasquale Qualano
• Color Artists: Giovanna La Pietra
• Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
• Editor: Nate Cosby
• Main Cover Artist: Clayton Crain

Solicitation

The horrible Quest continues. The Manhattan Clan begins to see Demona's plan unfold, and the desperation to stop her from succeeding grows stronger...

The Story

Manhattan. July 19, 1997. Outside the Park Manor Hotel, Goliath watches Elisa Maza hand off the terrorist they apprehended to Matt Bluestone and Officer Morgan. Vinnie Grigori asks Goliath what he thinks about the deal he came to offer. Goliath notes that he does not need the money offered by Vinnie's boss since it is of little value to him and he possesses it anyway, but does find the offer to be "beneficial, admirable and righteous" and agrees to the deal.

With dawn approaching the next day, Goliath returns home and is shocked to find Jade and Turquesa, two gargoyles of the Mayan Clan are there waiting for him. They explain that Bronx and Fu-Dog found them upon their arrival in Manhattan and lead them to the castle. They are glad to see Goliath again as their quest has been "long and often lonely".

Meanwhile, the Nightstone Unlimited Jet flies through the night. Aboard, Shari asks her companions – Thailog, Brentwood, and Anton Sevarius – to review the plan with her again in order to be as prepared as possible. Thailog agrees. If he is to fulfill his "Devil's Bargain" with Demona he must acquire the Hand of Valmont without incident. Shari begins to go over the plan as the jet lands in Bermuda.

Back in Manhattan, Goliath talks with Jade and Turquesa about their whereabouts since departing Avalon and how the Mayan gargoyles continue to be sent where they "need to be". Suddenly, Angela emerges from the Castle having heard the familiar voices. She excitedly embraces Turquesa. Jade asks if Elisa is here also. Angela says no, but happily introduces them to Coldfire, Coldstone, Broadway, Lexington, and Gnash. Broadway has a sudden thought and tells Jade and Turquesa not to go anywhere. He and Lex have something for the pair. Before they can get it, however, the Sun rises and most of the gargoyles turn to stone.

In Bermuda, Shari arrives at the home of an old man who is delighted to see her. He is Paolo Prospero and his home is the current headquarters of the White Council (which Shari insists needs a new name). Prospero jokes that he could change the name to "Powder-Blue Council" to match the color of his comfortable track suit. More seriously, he suggests "Star Chamber" and "Shadow Cabinet" as alternatives, but Shari dismisses these as overused. She suggests asking Caliban and Ariel for ideas as they are good at naming things. Prospero sadly reminds Shari that they are on Avalon for the Gathering. Shari apologizes for forgetting, knowing the old man must be lonely, but Monsieur Le Maire enters the room and tells her that Prospero is not without company. Le Maire and Shari are both surprised to see the other in Bermuda. Shouldn't Shari be busy "infiltrating the enemy"? Shari quips that she has been doing so since before Le Maire was born.

At the Castle, Jade and Turquesa converse with Coldstone and Coldfire as they are all unaffected by it being daytime. Coldfire explains why she and her mate ended up looking as they do, concerned that the Mayan gargoyles would be uncomfortable. Turquesa is unbothered; they have seen many wonders on their "World Tour". Coldstone inquires about the magical pendants that Jade and Turquesa wear that prevent them from turning to stone and warns them to protect the pendants well, because in Manhattan there are those who would do anything to acquire such items. Turquesa wonders who would even know they were here. They didn't even know they were coming. Before any reply can be made, the four gargoyles watch a helicopter depart the Eyrie Building. Scanning it, Coldstone notes that David Xanatos, Fox, and their son are aboard. He is also able to scan and see that Owen Burnett is remaining behind in the building below their feet. Coldstone excuses himself to "recharge his cybernetics", but when he is at a safe distance he instead contacts Dominique Destine and tells her that the moment they've waited for has come. From another location, Destine radios back to Coldstone that she is pleased and asks Coldstone for a full report. Antoinette Dracon stands behind Destine.

The Sun begins to set in Bermuda and Shari chats with Le Maire and Prospero. They ask for information about her latest assignment. They'd like a story. Shari obliges, but reminds them that her "life depends on not telling you how it ends". Meanwhile, in the sky above, Brentwood approaches the building. He passes through the mystic field that Prospero maintains to alert him to intruders. But as Shari begins her story of Thailog joining the Illuminati, the two men become transfixed and unaware of Brentwood's arrival. Shari's tale has a magical effect and she continues...

In Manhattan, the Sun sets and the Manhattan Clan awakes with a roar. Broadway immediately rushes off to retrieve the object he remembered. He returns with the Mayan Sun Amulet and gives it to Jade and Turquesa who are shocked to see it. They knew it must have been intact since their pendants continue to function, but it was stolen from their pyramid home years earlier and they knew not where it had been taken. Lex, Broadway, and Angela explain that it wound up in a Manhattan museum where their enemy Hyena tried to take it. Instead, they took it to the Clock Tower to keep it safe. When the Clock Tower was destroyed, Angela, Goliath, and Elisa knew the item's importance and so Elisa retrieved it from the wreckage soon after. The Mayan gargoyles are overjoyed and grateful, never dreaming they would see it again. Suddenly, Gnash spots something above them and calls out a warning. A cadre of exo-frames is descending upon the Castle and they are prepared to battle!

At Prospero's home, Brentwood has successfully moved past the mystic field (since Prospero is distracted) and enters the building through the roof. He makes his way to a large window and opens it to allow Thailog entry. The two gargoyles approach an iron vault door. Such a door might discourage Oberon's Children, Shari has told them, but it does little to stop a "big, strong gargoyle". Thailog rips the door from the wall with a load crash.

Meanwhile, Gnash orders Bronx and Fu-Dog to return to the rookery and help his dad, his mom, and Hudson protect the egg there. Coldstone uses his impressive weapons to counterattack the exo-frames, but Goliath reminds him to disable and not destroy the machines. He does not want to harm the humans inside. Coldstone begrudgingly obeys.

The destruction of the iron vault door has caught the attention of Le Maire and Prospero releasing them from Shari's distracting tale (which she anticipated). Brentwood has entered the vault and retrieves the Hand of Valmont from among the various other relics. Thailog, meanwhile, acts as a second distraction and roars into the room with the three humans, knocking Prospero to the ground. The gargoyle briefly battles Le Maire hand to hand and is amazed at the human's strength. But Thailog doesn't linger and bursts through the window and escapes. Prospero uses his magic to sense that the Hand has been stolen! With his abilities, he can tell that Thailog does not have it and widens his "mystic perception" to find the real thief. He senses Brentwood nearby, but can tell that he does not have the Hand either. Moving his attention to a group of human bicyclists, he takes a few moments to check each of them for the Hand, but by the time his thoughts come to Sevarius (who is disguised and hidden among the other cyclists), the doctor has dropped a package in a mailbox. Prospero cannot find the one holding the Hand of Valmont. Le Maire is furious and asks for Shari's thoughts only to discover that the storyteller is nowhere to be found.

As the battle continues in Manhattan, Jade tells Turquesa to protect the Amulet. They've lost it once, they will not lose it again. Gnash wonders if that is what the assailants are after and points out that exo-frames such as these have been used by the Dracon gang and that Demona once stole one as well. Goliath, landing on one of the airborne machines, decides to see who is inside and smashes through the glass canopy only to find that there is a dummy pilot inside. The exo-frames are in fact being controlled remotely by Antoinette Dracon.

In the building below, Owen Burnett is exasperated to watch on his monitors the Castle once again is under attack. Without warning, Demona appears behind the man and points a gun at him. "It's worse than that, I'm afraid," she quips, "as Owen Burnett has something I need." She's on a quest and has her sights on her next target.

Review

The most exciting moment of this issue for this reviewer was the introduction of Prospero into Gargoyles. A series that had included the witches from Macbeth and the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream had to bring in The Tempest at some point – and now it happens. Not only do we encounter Prospero (living in modern times, and gone back to being a wizard), but we even get a mention of Ariel and Caliban (both called back to Avalon for the Gathering; they were evidently both members of the Third Race), to confirm that this is *the* Prospero rather than a namesake (as in John Bellairs' The Face in the Frost). We also learn that he is apparently part of the same organization as the Director and Monsieur Le Maire in Bad Guys – and that Shahrizad is also part of that group, infiltrating the Illuminati. Though Shahrizad is apparently playing a triple game, working with Thailog to steal the Hand of Valmont from their group (called the White Council – fittingly, Prospero's hair and beard look very "Gandalf-ish" – though Shahrizad thinks that name may be out of date).

Thailog's scheme to steal the Hand gets underway, assisted by Brentwood, Sevarius (disguised as a biker), and Shahrizad (who even – fittingly, given her specialty – narrates a lot of the scheme) – but finds himself up against some formidable opponents, particularly the now-on-stage Monsieur LeMaire, who can hold his own in a fight against Goliath's clone. (There are hints that Monsieur LeMaire is himself another noted literary figure, alongside Prospero and Shahrizad). One note about the scheme: in the previous issue, Demona had asked Thailog to get what she wanted from the Illuminati, but the White Council has been established as opponents to the Illuminati. No doubt the remaining three issues will explain this seeming discrepancy.

Back in Manhattan, Goliath speaks with Vinnie, and agrees to make some sort of financial deal with the person whom he's working for; we are not told the details, but will no doubt learn about them in the forthcoming issues as well. Jade and Turquesa meet the Manhattan clan, and Broadway and Lexington are finally able to return the Mayan Sun Amulet to them (something we've been awaiting since "The Green"). But Demona launches her attack – a new set of robotic suits (like the one she wore at the start of "The Reckoning" – as Nashville mentions; Brooklyn's shared that adventure with him), only these are remote-controlled, courtesy of Antoinette Dracon.

The big moment comes on the last page. As [Owen displays his displeasure at the Castle yet again being under attack (echoing his sentiments in "Masque", and "Enter Macbeth" before that), Demona confronts him, announcing that he has something she wants. What that is, we will have to wait for the next issue – but it makes a great cliffhanger, and a good continuation of the story begun in "Questions".

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles	Humans	Oberon's Children
Goliath Jade Turquesa Bronx Fu-Dog Thailog Brentwood (No Lines) Angela Broadway Lexington Gnash Coldfire Coldstone Katana (Mentioned Only) Brooklyn (Mentioned Only) Hudson (Mentioned Only) Egwardo (Mentioned Only) Demona	Elisa Maza (No Lines) Solomon Hawke (No Lines) Matt Bluestone (No Lines) Morgan Morgan (No Lines) Vinnie Grigori Taro (Mentioned Only) Shahrizad Anton Sevarius (No Lines) Paolo Prospero (First Appearance) Monsieur Le Maire (First Appearance) Fox (No Lines) Alexander Fox Xanatos (No Lines) David Xanatos (No Lines) Owen Burnett Dominique Destine Antoinette Dracon (No Lines) Hyena (Mentioned Only)	Caliban (Mentioned Only) Ariel (Mentioned Only)

Places	Miscellaneous
Bermuda Prospero's Estate	Nightstone Unlimited Jet White Council

Tidbits

The title is Latin for "Where are you going with this?"

Cover Gallery

Links

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