Metamorphosis

"Metamorphosis" is the fifteenth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the second episode of Season 2. It originally aired on September 5, 1995.

• Produced by: Frank Paur, Greg Weisman
• Written by: Brynne Chandler Reaves, Lydia Marano
• Story Edited by: Michael Reaves
• Directed by: Frank Paur
• Animation by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.
• Backgrounds by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.
• Additional Production Facilities: N/A

Summary

Main Plot

Xanatos and Anton Sevarius work together in a dastardly plot to create a group of gargoyle-like genetically altered humans for Xanatos to keep at his castle. Derek Maza goes with Xanatos to Sevarius' Gen-U-Tech lab to find out why the scientist needs armed mercenaries for his current project with Xanatos. Sevarius reveals the mutates: Fang, Claw, and Maggie, then shoots Derek with a dart containing the mutagenic formula while the young man was protecting his boss. Xanatos acts appalled, and threatens to turn Sevarius in despite his own involvement in the project, and orders the doctor to create an antidote. The serum is destroyed when Goliath, Brooklyn, and Lexington raid the lab to liberate Maggie; and Sevarius appears to perish when Goliath kicks him into the electric eel tank. Sevarius later comes to see Xanatos, revealing their plot to turn Derek into the leader of the mutates.

Subplots

Elisa is still rightfully worried about Derek working for Xanatos, but Derek promises to contact her if there is any trouble. After Derek is shot with the formula, Elisa comes to the lab to investigate Maggie's kidnapping. Xanatos threatens Sevarius that he will tell the police what happened if the scientist doesn't create an antidote, and he tells Derek that he will have Elisa brought in if he wants, knowing that Derek will refuse the offer, being too proud and stubborn to ask for help from his sister. Elisa is turned away, then returns after the gargoyles' raid and finds out that Xanatos owns Gen-U-Tech. She later goes to the Eyrie Building and effectively ends a fight between the mutates and gargoyles. She confronts the creature, "Talon", and is shocked when she realizes he's Derek when he automatically performs a ritual they did as kids. Elisa blames Xanatos, but Talon is still in denial, and accidentally shocks her with a blast of electricity. Ashamed, Talon leaves the building temporarily with the other mutates, and Elisa threatens Xanatos before going to the clock tower to cry.

Maggie Reed is homeless on the streets of New York when Sevarius offers her a job. She is turned into a mutate, and later escapes from the lab when Brooklyn and Broadway spot her in an alley. Brooklyn is immediately smitten with her, deluding himself into thinking that she feels the same way and wants his help. Broadway sees that she is frightened of them, but helps Brooklyn in an attempt to save her from a group of Gen-U-Tech guards. Brooklyn is shot with a tranquilizer dart, and Broadway leaves with him while Maggie is brought back to the lab. Brooklyn is determined to save her, and the next night, he, Goliath, and Lexington raid the lab to do so, where they unknowingly ruin Derek's chance for a cure. Maggie is taken back to the clock tower, and the gargoyles try to reassure her of their good intentions, but she leaves for the Eyrie Building to be with the other mutates. The gargoyles go there the next night, and Maggie shoots Brooklyn with an electric blast while accusing him of wanting her to stay a monster. After the mutates leave, Brooklyn realizes that has been deluding himself all along, and that Maggie never held any interest in him.

Xanatos asks Owen to find the "best geneticist on the planet" after Sevarius' supposed death, but Owen presents Sevarius to Xanatos alive and well. Everything was staged so that Derek would become a mutate, and they had him believe that Xanatos was free from blame and the gargoyles caused Derek to lose his chance for a cure. Xanatos and Sevarius had the mutates escape on purpose so that the gargoyles would spot one eventually, rightly predicting they would go to the lab to rescue him or her while Derek is being administered a supposed cure, then have Sevarius fake his death. Xanatos is confident that the mutates will return to him since they think he will provide them with a cure.

The Story

Previously on Gargoyles

• Recap: ("Her Brother's Keeper")

Act One

In the dark, cold streets of Manhattan, a few homeless people huddle around a trash can fire, burning discarded newspapers for warmth. A young woman tells an older looking man that she isn't like the other homeless people: she has not been in New York long and this is a "temporary setback". The old man understands. And fortunately, he is looking for a temporary assistant. The work is easy and pays well, plus it will get the young woman off of the streets. The woman asks what she would have to do and the older man grins.

At an airfield, Elisa Maza buys a hot dog from vender. She jokes with the vender and then informs him that she is looking for Derek Maza. The vender, realizing that this is Derek's sister and knowing she was planning on coming by, points to a glider doing stunts over the airfield. The glider lands and Derek emerges from the cockpit. Elisa asks her brother if this is a "new toy" and Derek explains that the glider is "one of the perks of working for Mr. Xanatos". Elisa, annoyed, points out that Derek did not make it to dinner the previous Sunday. Derek claims that he has been busy. Elisa mockingly asks if Xanatos believes in letting employees see their families. Derek is frustrated with having to have this conversation again. Xanatos isn't evil, he opines, and even if he is he can handle it. Elisa brushes this off and tells Derek that it's his life. She just thinks he's fooling himself. Elisa, suddenly concerned, asks Derek to promise to call if there is trouble. Derek says there won't be, but makes the promise. "Cross your heart," says Elisa, "And hope to die," finishes Derek. The siblings embrace.

Evening in Manhattan. The sun sets and, at the Clocktower, the gargoyles awaken from their stone sleep terrifying a flock of pigeons and sending stone skin fragments down unto the people below. Meanwhile, at Gen-U-Tech Headquarters, an employee screams in terror as some sort of gargoyle-like beast throws its meal across the room and escapes. Alarms blare and moreemployees are thrown to the floor as the beast bursts through a door into the hallway. The creature finally finds an door to the exterior and escapes into the night. Armed Gen-U-Tech employees emerge through the exit, but the escapee is nowhere to be seen. The old man steps out from the building as well and casually taps on his cane, seemingly unconcerned.

Brooklyn and Broadway depart the Clocktower and begin a patrol of the city. Not long into their airborne patrol, Brooklyn spots a gargoyle-like shape below and points it out. Broadway wonders if it could be Demona and Brooklyn menacingly says they are going to check it out. The gargoyles land in an alley near the female creature. It looks something like a gargoyle, but "that's not Demona" points out Broadway. The woman is terrified and tells the gargoyles to get away from her. Brooklyn tries to assure her to not be afraid. They won't hurt her. At that moment two vans pull up to the end of the alley with flashing lights and alarms. Armed security emerge and begin to move down the alley. "There she is!," one claims. Another is surprised that she's not alone. The leader orders the rest to "Tranq them all. Let the Doc sort them out." They begin firing tranqulizer darts at the gargoyles and frightened woman. Broadway takes cover behind a dumpster. Brooklyn moves to protect the woman. He grabs her arm to pull her behind a dumpster as well, but she resists. As she pulls away, a Gen-U-Tech bracelet is removed from her wrist and falls to the pavement. One of the humans fires a dart that briefly electrifies the dumpster the woman is near and she does not resist as the humans surround her, only screaming out "Help me!". Brooklyn implores her to not go with them, but instead she complies and they toss her into the back of one of the vans. Then they resume firing on the gargoyles. Brooklyn tells his rookery brother that they have to save the woman. Broadway agrees begrudgingly. The two gargoyles roll a dumpster down the alley and it slams into one of the vans. With the humans briefly distracted, the gargoyles leap at the van and begin clawing at it hoping to free the captive. Suddenly, Brooklyn is hit by a dart and begins to fatigue and the humans advance on the gargoyles. Broadway, decides to escape. Grabbing Brooklyn, who weakly resists, he glides into the night. The humans look for them, but the gargoyles are gone. They get into their vans and depart while Broadway and Brooklyn watch from the shadows above.

At the Eyrie Building, Derek lands a helicopter in the Courtyard of Castle Wyvern. Owen Burnett is waiting and addresses Xanatos when he emerges from the helicopter. They've received some "fascinating expense reports from Gen-U-Tech Systems". Xanatos takes the reports from Owen and reveals that the Gen-U-Tech R & D Team is working on "something special" for him. "Something involving armed mercenaries?" Owen asks. Xanatos denies knowledge of that and wonders if it is time to pay Dr. Sevarius a visit. Derek, listening on, is intrigued by the mention of mercenaries and offers to come along. Xanatos tells him it is unnecessary, but Derek insists that this is what he is paid to do. Xanatos agrees with a devilish grin.

Back at the Clocktower, Broadway is explaining the incident to Elisa and the rest of the clan. Brooklyn, still recovering from the tranqulizer, tells them how afraid the woman was. "Yeah," Broadway quips, "of us." Brooklyn insists that she needed their help, but Broadway doesn't see it that way. Brooklyn angrily claims she wanted his help and Broadway, exasperated, shows the others the bracelet that the woman was wearing. Elisa can tell that it was a tracking device: "digital, long-range, expensive". Pointing at the name on the bracelet, Broadway notes that this "symbol" was on the "ambulance" as well. Elisa reads it: Gen-U-Tech.

The following day, at Gen-U-Tech, Xanatos asks for an update on their project from the old man, Dr. Sevarius, as Derek watches on. Sevarius complies and turns on a video screen. He explains that Xanatos asked him to creature a living creature based on a gargoyle. Derek is breiefly shocked. Sevarius considered cloning a living specimen, but no DNA samples were available. He asks if that has changed and Xanatos ascertains that it has not. So, instead, Sevarius turned to gene splicing to breed for desired traits: the composite organism would have a jungle cat's strength, speed, and agility as well as a bat's ability to fly. And, of course, human intelligence. The problem was the energy needs of the wing muscles. Sevarius notes that in order to maintain its strength, the creature would need to eat the equivalent of three cows a day! Xanatos asks how the gargoyles do it (as there are few cows in Manhattan) and Sevarius speculates that they store solar energy while sleeping each day. Unfortunately, that trait is unknown from the rest of the animal kingdom. Instead, he turns to a different source to meet the energy needs: the electric eel. These fish store energy in their electrorecepter organs. Derek admits that this is all impressive in theory, but still wants to know why Sevarius hired mercenaries. Sevarius explains that one of the "test subjects" escaped. Xanatos and Derek are shocked. Sevarius reassures them not to worry: "We got her back." He opens a panel to reveal three mutates behind a glass panel. One of the mutates, huddled in a corner, is the female from before. Xanatos, seemingly skeptical, asks if Sevarius grew them this quickly from scratch. The Doctor admits that that would've taken too long. Instead, he used a shortcut: human test subjects injected with a mutagenic formula! Xanatos and Derek are appalled. "This is what you've been funding here?!" shouts Derek. Xanatos claims to have had no idea, but then reconsiders. he knew Sevarius had a bad reputation, but he ignored it because he wanted results so badly. He assures Derek that he will make it right and find a way to reverse the mutations. Sevarius, angry, yells that he will not allow Xanatos to destroy his work. He aims a tranquilizer gun at Xanatos and fires! Derek acts immediately and shoves Xanatos aside, but instead he himself is hit with the dart. He leaps across the lab table and kicks Sevarius to the floor, disarming him. He quickly notes that it is odd that despite being hit with the dart he does not feel sleepy. Sevarius laughs wryly. He tells Derek that that wasn't a tranquilizer dart, it was loaded with the mutagenic formula. The same formula he used on the three mutates! Derek is horrified.

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles	Humans
Bronx Lexington Brooklyn Hudson (No Lines) Broadway Goliath Demona (Mentioned Only)	Maggie Reed/Maggie the Cat (First Appearance) Anton Sevarius (First Appearance) Elisa Maza Hot Dog Vendor (First Appearance) Derek Maza/Talon (First Appearance as Talon) Bruno Female Commando Commandos Owen Burnett David Xanatos Fang (First Appearance) Claw (First Appearance) Matt Bluestone (No Lines)

Places	Objects	Miscellaneous
Gen-U-Tech Systems Gen-U-Tech Headquarters	Mutagenic Formula Fake Mutate Antidotes	Derek's Glider

Quotes

• "How many times do I have to keep saying this? Xanatos isn't the reincarnation of Snidely Whiplash!" - Derek

• "Tranq them all. Let the Doc sort em' out." - Bruno

• "It's what you pay me for. Might as well get your money's worth."

"Heh, might as well." - Derek and Xanatos

• "She was so frightened."

"Yeah... of us!" - Brooklyn and Broadway

• "You wouldn't dare! You bankrolled everything!"

"You're right, we'll both go down for this. But I've been in prison before, have you? The police, the press, the public... they'll crucify you; and if they don't, I will." - Sevarius and Xanatos

• "My name is Maggie... Maggie Reed. I'm from Ohio!" - Maggie

• "I need a cure! I'm not a monster!"

"We're not monsters either. Don't be afraid." - Maggie and Brooklyn

• "Hey, he can keep his cure. I like this." - Fang

• "Detective Maza is here."

"Send her up. We have to stop this senseless violence." - Owen and Xanatos

• "Now it's war, Xanatos. You're going down for this. I promise you; no matter what it takes." - Elisa

• "I was particularly proud of my death scene."

"Frankly, Sevarius, I thought you overplayed the part." - Sevarius and Xanatos

Continuity

Dr. Anton Sevarius and the mutates are first introduced in this episode. It's also the last time we see Derek Maza as a human, and Maggie Reed appears briefly at the beginning of the episode as a human. Sevarius next appears in "Double Jeopardy", where he's essential in creating the evil clone, Thailog. The mutates next appear in "The Cage", though Talon has a brief non-speaking appearance in "Upgrade".

Broadway initially mistakes Maggie for Demona when he first sights her and Brooklyn reacts strongly (another allusion to his feud with her that began in "Temptation").

Bruno and his team from "Awakening Part Two" serve as Sevarius' security at Gen-U-Tech.

Broadway describes Gen-U-Tech's logo as a "symbol"; since the logo consists of the actual words "Gen-U-Tech" (if written in a stylized fashion), it is tempting to wonder if this is a subtle reference to his illiteracy that would play such an important role in "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time".

Xanatos and Sevarius, during their discussion of Sevarius' plans to "create" gargoyles for Xanatos in front of Derek, mention that they had been unable to clone one; it is revealed later in "Double Jeopardy" that they were lying about that and Thailog was already in the works.

Tidbits

How did Adrienne let this one slip by?

In the early plans for the series, the mutated victim was originally to be a scientist in Xanatos' employment who was (thanks to some behind-the-scenes manipulation by Xanatos) transformed into a feline mutate by one of his own experiments, and afterwards went by the name of Catscan (so called because his eyes could shoot out blasts of radiation). However, after the introduction of Elisa's family in "Deadly Force", Greg Weisman realized that it would be even more effective to make the mutated figure Elisa's brother (thus anchoring him more strongly in the main cast), and revised his plans accordingly, changing Catscan into Derek/Talon, and splitting his "scientist" side off to become the separate (and far less ethical) figure of Sevarius.

In his ramble for "Metamorphosis", Greg Weisman wrote that he "was never too fond" of the Zen Master joke that Elisa told the Hot Dog Vendor, but coincidentally enough he would create a "Zen Master character" for what would eventually be adapted for "Reunion" the sixth issue from the SLG comic book series).

To save money on voice actors, Fang was voiced by Jonathan Frakes in this episode.

When the episode ran a little short, the production team added in a brief scene at the beginning, showing the gargoyles awakening: a beautifully atmospheric moment, with small stones raining down from the gargoyles' perch (pieces of their stone skin) on top of a bewildered bystander, and pigeons hurriedly flying away from the clock tower.

Frank Paur was the director and Michael Reaves was one of the writers of a Batman: The Animated Series episode "Tyger, Tyger", where Selina Kyle (Catwoman) was mutated into a real cat-woman by a mad scientist. Batman also battles a cat-man creature created by the mad scientist. [1]

The title of this episode may come from the novella, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. The main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens to find that he has changed into an insect. [2] Kafka was referenced in the previous episode, "Leader of the Pack".

Somebody knew what they were doing.

When Maggie the Cat escapes from Gen-U-Tech for the first time, there is a moment where she runs past the Female Commando knocking her to the ground and ripping the front of the commando's hospital gown open in the process. It's doubtful this would have gotten past Adrienne Bello during the scripting stage and it's so fast that it's east to miss. One wonders if the storyboard artist was having fun, or if this was the work of an animator over at Sunwoo Animation Co.

DVD Release

• Gargoyles: Season Two, Volume One

Links

• Background Memo
• Greg's Ramble
• Extensive Synopsis and Review

<< Previous Episode: "Leader of the Pack"

Next Episode: "Legion" >>