Unequivocal Success

Gargoyles: Quest #4 by Clayton Crain

"Unequivocal Success" is the fourth issue of the Quest comic arc and the sixteenth Gargoyles comic by Dynamite Entertainment. It was released on November 6th, 2024. [1]

• Writer/Creator: Greg Weisman
• Pencil Artist: Pasquale Qualano
• Color Artist: Arianna Stefani
• Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
• Editor: Nate Cosby
• Main Cover Artist: Clayton Crain

Solicitation

GET READY FOR A NEW WORLD ORDER!

Demona's carefully calculated plan to gain control of the three New Keys to Power is almost complete - and the ultimate ability to rule over humans and Gargoyles alike is nearly within her grasp!

Writer and Gargoyles creator GREG WEISMAN and artist PASQUALE QUALANO prepare for the imminent Demonian Era in Gargoyles: Quest #4 - featuring commemorative covers from CLAYTON CRAIN, JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG, and DREW MOSS!

The Story

November 18th. With Coldstone and Antoinette Dracon by her side, Demona begins by donning Cleopatra's Necklace, capable of bending an individual's very will. She then repairs Gungnir, incapable of missing its target and although it burns her, she feels it's worth it as the pain brings focus. Finally she takes hold of Puck's Flute, whose mystic melodies can enthrall all within earshot. The combined powers of the Three Keys will extend their range to the infinite. Demona casts a spell so that all humans will crave to serve gargoyles, Demona herself elite among them. Despite the enchantment, Antoinette doesn't feel any different, to which Demona tells the human, as she affectionately strokes her chin, that she wouldn't as she was already loyal and enthralled to her. Coldstone asks what's next and Demona declares that a new world is at hand.

November 27th. Broadway and Angela have taken to the kitchen to prepare the Thanksgiving turkey while, in the nursery, Lexington, Gnash, and Alex watch the highlights of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, specifically the popping of the Binzy the Polka-Dot Dinosaur balloon. In the Great Hall, Hudson welcomes Jeffrey Robbins and Gilly to the Castle for Thanksgiving while, down in the Rookery, Brooklyn and Katana discuss the holiday and the eventual hatching of Egwardo. As this all takes place, Elisa Maza stands out on the battlements with Jade and Turquesa, discussing Elisa's own mixed feelings about the holiday, and the Mayan Clan's history of colonists and native populations when such encounters took place. Turquesa mentions that, while they have spent the last few months in Manhattan to help the Manhattan Clan with their hunt for Demona, it might be time for them to move on and return to Avalon, in the hopes of returning home.

Across town, Goliath and Coldfire patrol as they continue their own search for Demona; a search that Coldfire grows more pessimistic about. Goliath reminds her that they've been close on more than one occasion, but somehow Demona always manages to vanish just as they arrive. Coldfire wonders if Demona was warned, and Goliath figures she must have been warned by her sorcery. Coldfire waxes poetic that, before her death and current constraints in her "metal shell", she was sensitive to the kind of power Demona seeks to wield. She laments that she could have located her by now if she had not lost those sensitivities. Goliath reminds Coldfire that she is as much a gargoyle as she ever was – defined not by her shell, but her soul and heart. He also expresses his own concern that the rest of the Clan have grown complacent; even Brooklyn rarely joins the hunt (but he is pleased that Brooklyn has outgrown his obsession with Demona). Coldfire, however, is concerned that Coldstone has taken on that obsession as she believes that Coldstone searches for Demona night and day and this has put distance between them. Goliath then urges her not to allow such distance to increase. He explains that he has realized, with hindsight, that such distance grew between him and his Angel long before the Wyvern Massacre – a distance he was slow and reluctant to acknowledge. Coldfire reminds Goliath that he now has Elisa, which Goliath agrees . . . acknowledging that he's blessed. He takes his leave of Coldfire to go and meet with Elisa. Coldfire chooses to seek out her own mate.

Demona, Antoinette, and Coldstone step out of Demona's townhouse and, with Gramercy Park as ground zero, Demona begins using the Three Keys to Power by enchanting and enthralling the first humans they encounter on the street: William Greene and his brother, the Jogger. The two humans fall to their knees, acknowledging Demona as their Gargoyle Magistra and ask her what she wills. Demona commands them to remain her grateful thrall; her puppets in perpetuity. Coldstone is pleased that the plan is working and Demona explains that as the lance is targeting all humans, the necklace bends their will to hers, and the flute makes them happy to be enthralled. With her power expanding, all of Manhattan will be in her thrall soon, and the entire world within days.

Goliath and Elisa rendezvous at the Clock Tower with a kiss. Elisa then tells him that so far Matt Bluestone and the Gargoyle Taskforce have had no luck finding Demona. Goliath says that Xanatos and Owen have also turned up nothing. For now, the Clan will have to continue their patrols if they hope to find her. Goliath asks if he can expect to see Elisa at the Castle later for Broadway's big feast. Elisa replies that she wouldn't miss it.

On the streets below, Demona watches as Goliath soars away from the Clock Tower. She admits she's pleased to see him leave, as she's not quite ready for a confrontation with him. Just then Coldfire radios Coldstone, wanting to meet and speak with him. Coldstone reports that he's still searching for Demona (he says while standing but a few feet away from her), but leaves when Coldfire sends him her coordinates. Demona then enters the 23rd Precinct, smugly saying she's been looking forward to this part.

Coldfire stands upon one of the silver falcons of the Apex Tower recalling her old lessons from "Sacrifice" and reaching past her metallic frame to access her spirit and commune with the infinite wonders of the world. She succeeds and flies off, past Coldstone who pursues her. Detecting the magic at work, they land in Times Square as the humans all kneel to them, addressing them both as Gargoyle Magister and Gargoyle Magistra. Coldfire looks on the crowd in horror while Coldstone watch with smug satisfaction.

Demona and Antoinette enter the lobby of the Eyrie Building and Demona commands the security guard to grant her full access, unannounced. They ride the elevator up to the Great Hall where Demona enthralls Fox, Xanatos, and Owen. For Fox, she admits she was unsure if her magic would work on her, but clearly Fox is more human than not. For Xanatos, Demona knows she'll enjoy making him her servant. She then commands Owen . . . or rather Puck, to remain as Owen Burnett for all eternity. Demona and Antoinette step further into the Castle to see what other amusements they can find.

Inside the library, Hudson shows Robbins the books he's read while Lexington sits on the computer chatting with Amp. Lex writes to the gargoyle from London that he's thankful to have him in his life. Amp reciprocates. Robbins perks up and asks Hudson if he hears that strange music.

Goliath returns to the Castle, landing on his tower where Brooklyn and Katana greet him. He asks if Elisa has arrived, and suddenly the detective steps out onto the tower with Xanatos, Fox, and Owen as Demona reveals herself. Elisa bows to Demona and asks her Gargoyle Magistra what her will is. Demona grins in triumph, admitting she's not sure . . . after all, the possibilities are endless.

Review

At last this issue has arrived. And it brings this story to a very suspenseful climax.

In the first three issues of Gargoyles: Quest, Demona had assembled all three of the new Keys to Power. Now she combines them – just as the Archmage did with the original Three Keys back in "Avalon" Part Two, but with not only different objects, but with different results. The new Keys allow Demona to impose her will on every human in Manhattan (and apparently, eventually the entire Earth), making them obedient slaves to not only her, but to gargoyles in general (though with Demona's commands apparently taking precedence). (Based on what we've seen of Demona and her goals, this is presumably just one step towards her ends; she has made it clear throughout that her real intention is not to rule the human race, but to wipe it out utterly. There's no evidence that she has changed her mind on that since "Hunter's Moon" and her plans to unleash a lethal plague.)

And we see Demona's will imposed on the humans of New York – including Xanatos, Fox, and Elisa (not to mention Owen, thanks to the restrictions placed on him while in that form – and Demona orders him to stay in it, to guard against any trouble from his "Puck" side). She comments ominously at the end "the possibilities are endless" – she hasn't started wiping out the enthralled humans yet, but presumably out of a wish to play with the mice before killing them.

(One human appears not to have succumbed yet – the popular recurring figure of Jeffrey Robbins, one of the guests at the gargoyles' Thanksgiving feast. He hears the music that Demona has created, but does not appear to be controlled by it; might this be a repeat of the "you have to see and hear magic" for it to affect you that had protected him before in "City of Stone" Part Two? The final issue should answer that question.)

Coldstone is still Demona's willing supporter (presumably not having realized just the full depths of her plans and just seeing it as a way of protecting the gargoyle race from human rule), even smiling at the results in a chilling way. It's made clear, as well, that he has seen to it that the clan have been unable to track her down during the months since the events in the first three issues. The Manhattan gargoyles have not suspected yet his "fifth column" status, but Coldfire is concerned about how they seem to be drifting apart, a concern which she shares with Goliath in a good "quiet drama" moment. Goliath recognizes that a similar subtle rift kept him from realizing until too late the path his "angel of the night" was heading down, and advises her not to let the same thing happen. The result is Coldfire tracking her mate down – to discover the spell wrought upon the humans of Manhattan as they kneel before the ColdDuo.

These events take place during Thanksgiving, marking the first time in Gargoyles that a human holiday other than Halloween has featured. (In this way, the Dynamite revival of Gargoyles evokes one of my favorite elements of Greg Weisman's two best-known post-Gargoyles series, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice, both of which made considerable use of the landmarks of the year.) This time, the gargoyles are apparently intending to join in the Thanksgiving celebrations, with moods ranging from the light-hearted (Broadway eagerly cooking a turkey and Gnash commenting on a mishap in the Thanksgiving Day Parade – see the "Tidbits" section below for more details) to the more serious (Brooklyn and Katana discussing what the clan has to be thankful for, including its first egg since its awakening in New York, while Elisa, Jade, and Turquesa ponder the darker side of the events in early American history that Thanksgiving is linked to). If the appearance of such landmarks of the year will be a regular feature in the Dynamite revival, I welcome it (except, maybe, that some have speculated that the long delay in this issue's publication might have stemmed from a wish to time its release to be closer to Thanksgiving on the real-world calendar).

With only one issue left in this story, will there be enough room to resolve this chain of events? Given that the final act of "City of Stone" Part Four managed to resolve another danger produced by Demona in a feat of very effective storytelling, I believe there will be. And I look forward to the conclusion....

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles	Humans	Oberon's Children	Others
Demona/Angel Coldstone Broadway Angela Lexington Gnash Lexington/Tin Man Hudson Katana Brooklyn Bronx Fu-Dog Egwardo Turquesa Jade Coldfire/"Desdemona" Goliath Amp	Antoinette Dracon Cleopatra (Mentioned Only) Catherine the Great (Mentioned Only) Princess Aga Khan (Mentioned Only) Alexander Fox Xanatos Jeffrey Robbins Elisa Maza Diane Maza (Mentioned Only) Peter Maza (Mentioned Only) Jogger William Greene Matt Bluestone (Mentioned Only) Rosaria Sanchez Peter Choy Eyrie Building Security Guard Fox David Xanatos Owen Burnett	Puck (Mentioned Only)	Hathor (Mentioned Only) Gilly

Media	Miscellaneous
Thanksgiving Day Parade Binzy the Polka-Dot Dinosaur	Thanksgiving

Tidbits

• Gnash's remark, "We're better than Binzy", is an allusion to Bill Fagerbakke's famous (among Gargoyles fans) response to a group of reporters that the series was "better than Barney".

Cover Gallery

Links

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