Hudson

Hudson

Hudson - The original leader of the Wyvern clan, and now its oldest member and mentor-figure.

History

Hudson was hatched in the year 878, and by 967 - presumably long before then - had risen to become the Wyvern clan’s leader. At some point prior to 967, he met Robbie for the first time, and made friends with him. In 971, Robbie introduced Hudson to Prince Malcolm, and they formed an alliance that led to the building of Castle Wyvern.

Between 971 and 984, Hudson continued to lead the Wyvern gargoyles as steadfast allies to Prince Malcolm and his people. In many ways, he was much more intelligent than Prince Malcolm was. He correctly saw the danger in Malcolm using gargoyles as threats to scare the young Princess Katharine into good behavior (the danger that was fulfilled by her attitude towards gargoyles up to the Wyvern Massacre, which even helped lead to it), and also recognized the treasonous schemings of the Archmage long before Malcolm saw them - sensing them as early as 975, in fact. By 984, he had already recognized Goliath’s worth, and appointed the young gargoyle warrior his second-in-command.

In 984, Hudson was blinded in one eye during a battle with the Archmage (the same battle that resulted in the evil sorcerer falling into a chasm to - so everyone thought at the time - his demise). Convinced that this condition made him no longer able to lead, he abdicated as leader in favor of Goliath. Goliath insisted on keeping Hudson on, however, as an advisor, recognizing the older gargoyle’s experience and wisdom.

Hudson survived the Wyvern Massacre in 994 because Goliath took him on his pursuit of the Vikings, but was afterwards turned to stone by the Magus for the next thousand years. Like the other gargoyles, he was awakened from his stone sleep when Xanatos moved Castle Wyvern to the top of the Eyrie Building.

Hudson is semi-retired now, thanks to his age and partial blindness. He feels that he’s past his prime, and prefers to stay home (whether Castle Wyvern or the Clock Tower) while the rest of the clan is out on patrol, for the purpose of guarding it. (Bronx, whom Hudson has a strong rapport for, usually stays with him).

However, he can still be a formidable warrior when the occasion demands it, and once defended a wounded Goliath very effectively against Demona, holding her off long enough for the sun to rise and heal his leader. He also demonstrated his resourcefulness in rescuing himself from Xanatos when the latter captured him to use as a guinea pig for the Cauldron of Life.

Unlike the trio, Hudson is not particularly enthusiastic about the modern world. He feels lost and confused in it, all too aware of the dramatic changes that have taken place in the last thousand years, particularly in the realm of technology, and knows in his heart that he’s too old and set in his ways to be able to adjust well to it as the other clan members have. However, he does enjoy one modern-day invention: television. He likes to settle down in an easy chair and watch it while the rest of the clan is out on patrol.

Like Broadway, Hudson was originally illiterate - and, unlike Broadway, ashamed of it; he covered it up, in fact, because of this. He finally revealed this secret to Jeffrey Robbins, however, who assured him that it was not a disgrace to be illiterate, but only to stay that way, and offered to teach him how to read. After this, Hudson undertook reading lessons with Broadway, practicing with the newspaper. He and Robbins also became good friends.

Hudson is Broadway’s biological father, although neither of them know this - and it wouldn’t matter to either of them even if they did know. Hudson’s mate died in 971, under currently unknown circumstances. They also had a daughter named Hippolyta, who is now dead, probably as a casualty of the Wyvern Massacre.

Characteristics

Hudson is a portly old gargoyle, with tan-colored skin and white hair and beard. His most distinguishing feature, beyond these, is his blind left eye. He wears a tough leather jerkin in addition to his gargoyle loincloth, and carries a sword about that he won during his attack on the Vikings’ camp in 994. (Hudson uses the sword because he feels that, with his strength failing as he ages, he needs some sort of human weapon to help even things out for him). Alone of the Wyvern clan, he speaks with a Scottish accent, because he had the most contact of all the gargoyles with Scottish humans.

Hudson was the first member of the Wyvern clan to take on a name in the 20th century, although he considered the concept of names nothing more than a peculiar human custom. He named himself after the Hudson River, after Elisa cited it to him as an example of how even geographical features have names.

Production Background

Voice Actor: Ed Asner