Coldstone

Coldstone in 1995

Coldstone is a cyborg gargoyle, created by Xanatos and Demona from the shattered stone remains of three members of the Wyvern Clan who were killed during the Wyvern Massacre, as well as some cybernetic parts. Of the three gargoyles, Coldstone mostly resembles the gargoyle "Othello", and "Othello" is considered the dominant personality. Coldstone was so named since he is "cold stone brought to life" and not a flesh-and-blood creature.

The other two gargoyles whose remains were used in the construction of Coldstone were "Desdemona" (his mate) and "Iago" (his rival). Their souls were later transferred into robotic bodies, and they are now respectively known as Coldfire and Coldsteel.

History

"Othello" in 971

"Othello" was hatched in the year 938, a member of the same rookery generation as Goliath, Angel, Hyppolyta, "Desdemona", and "Iago". [1] In 971, when he was an adolescent, the leader of the clan whom he called Mentor had him on sentry duty and he was the first to approach Robbie and Prince Malcolm when they came seeking the clan's aid, and he escorted them up Wyvern Hill to talk to their Rhydderch. The Prince and gargoyle leader would agree to support one another in their fight against King Culen, which "Othello" and the rest of his generation were asked to refrain from participating in. He would later mourn with the rest of the clan in a Wind Ceremony for those gargoyles that died in the battle. ("The Reach", "The Oath", "The Pledge")

"Othello" fell in love with "Desdemona", and she with him. Thanks to Mentor's continued alliance with Prince Malcolm, he participated in the construction of Castle Wyvern. He and the rest of the Wyvern Clan fought together with the humans to protect everyone from the dragon Wyvern's attack. Following the confrontation, he and much of the rest of the clan would gather to hear Shahrizad's Tale of the Three Brothers. He didn't particularly care for the storyteller's depiction of him, but, according to Alesand, was soon assuaged by "Desdemona". ("The Promise", "The Pledge")

As he grew older, "Othello" had become mates with "Desdemona" by 987, when they conceived the egg that would one day hatch into Gabriel. However, in 993 "Iago" wished to split them apart, since he lusted after "Desdemona" himself, and so lyingly told "Othello" that "Desdemona" and Goliath were lovers. [2] "Othello" believed his lie, and fought against Goliath in anger, but "Desdemona" finally managed to somehow make peace between them. "Othello" and "Desdemona" returned to their mated life afterwards in peace, until they were destroyed by Hakon's Vikings, alongside most of the Wyvern Clan, in the Wyvern Massacre of 994. ("Legion", "Awakening: Part One")

In the beginning of 1995, Demona and Xanatos plotted to resurrect another gargoyle to assist in defeating Goliath. The remains of the gargoyle who had been "Othello" were chosen both because Xanatos had been able to retrieve several pieces of his body (and unwittingly those of two others who had been sleeping nearby) and because Demona felt that her rookery brother's indifferent attitude towards humans was closer to her own than Goliath's. [3][4] Bringing Coldstone to life through a combination of sorcery and science, they also unwittingly resurrected "Desdemona" and "Iago", whose souls were likewise confined in Coldstone because their body fragments were part of it, although they did not immediately reveal their presence. The soul of "Othello" was the dominant of the three initially because most of the body parts were his, thus rendering him the identity of Coldstone thereafter.

Demona and Xanatos then duped Coldstone into helping them against Goliath, Demona deceiving him into believing that Goliath was the one responsible for his half-machine condition that had so horrified him when he discovered it. Coldstone fought Goliath first at Times Square and then at the George Washington Bridge, but finally came to understand that he had been deceived by Demona, and saved Goliath from drowning in the Hudson River. He also blocked a shot meant for Goliath from Demona's laser cannon and fell into the river himself; Goliath and his clan mistakenly believed him to have drowned or damaged beyond repair. ("Reawakening")

"Othello's" soul in 1995

But Coldstone survived, repaired his own damage and emerged from the river some months later, now controlled by a computer program that Xanatos had installed in him when he and Demona had first "revived" him. Under Xanatos's control, Coldstone broke into the Goldencup Bakery Building and downloaded a series of files on secret weapons being designed for the military there; however, these files were protected by a powerful computer virus that began to destroy his memory banks. This triggered the surfacing of the additional souls of "Desdemona" and "Iago" inside him, and both they and his original soul as "Othello" began surfacing at different moments, all controlling him randomly. Goliath and his clan, re-encountering him, soon discovered his new condition, and Goliath had to enter Coldstone's mind through RECAP's virtual reality hook-up to save him. "Iago" tried to play Goliath and "Othello" against each other once again, but failed. In the end, the virus did enough damage to erase Xanatos's computer program and temporarily shut Coldstone down; the gargoyles took him back to the clock tower, in the hopes of someday being able to restore him. ("Legion")

Lexington worked hard at this task, but was unable to make any progress. Demona and Macbeth kidnapped Coldstone under the Weird Sisters' instructions, however, mainly as a decoy to hide the thefts of the Grimorum Arcanorum, Eye of Odin, and Phoenix Gate, but also to use briefly against the clan (while "Iago" was controlling him). For a time, "Othello" refused to regain control of his body as Coldstone from "Iago" and save the gargoyles and Elisa from their enemies, preferring to remain with "Desdemona" in cyberspace, but at last (with a bit of prodding from the Sisters, masquerading as "Desdemona") did seize control of his body, ousting "Iago". He helped Elisa drive off Demona and Macbeth and free the clan, but then left New York City, unwilling to remain in the area as long as "Iago" could regain control of him at any point and use his body to endanger the gargoyles once more. ("High Noon")

Coldstone's arm-cannon.

Coldstone wandered about the world, finally coming to reside in the Himalayas for a time due to its isolation. There he somehow encountered Master Dawa, a wise monk, who agreed to work with Coldstone in controlling his inner demons, namely the Iago soul inside him. In mid-1996, the Avalon World Tour brought Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx to Tibet and they encountered Coldstone there. While Coldstone was happy to see his brother and excited to learn that his rookery children were alive and well on Avalon, he knew that he could not accompany Goliath and the others to Avalon and beyond as he was still a threat to his clan and his children if "Iago" gained control of the Coldstone body. Knowing Goliath and the others would not leave without him, Coldstone pretended to come under the control of "Iago" and fought the Travelers until they were unconscious. He may have then assisted in sending them aboard their skiff to Shambahla. ("Reunion")

Later, after Goliath helped thwart Oberon's attempt to kidnap Alexander, Xanatos decided to repay his debt to Goliath by finding Coldstone, bringing him back to New York, and constructing two additional robotic bodies to house the souls of "Desdemona" and "Iago" in, Coldfire and Coldsteel respectively. He found Coldstone in the Himalayas using a built-in tracking device and used Steel Clan robots to capture him. [5] Taking him back to Manhattan, Xanatos and Owen Burnett began attempting to transfer the two souls into the two robots using technology. When mere technology proved unable to transfer the gargoyle souls to these bodies, however, Owen had to step in by, as Puck, making "Soul Transference 101" one of Alex's magic lessons. The three gargoyle souls in Coldstone were temporarily transferred to Broadway (who housed the soul of "Othello"), Angela ("Desdemona"), and Brooklyn ("Iago"). For a time, they were tempted to remain in their new gargoyle hosts, but at last "Othello" realized that he and "Desdemona" could not deprive Broadway and Angela of their own lives, and so let Alex transfer them back to Coldstone and Coldfire's bodies. "Iago" had, in the meantime, already housed himself in Coldsteel, and Coldstone and Coldfire, realizing that he had become more dangerous than before in this form, set off in pursuit of him. They plan to eventually join the Manhattan Clan, but only when Coldsteel is no longer a threat. ("Possession")

Eventually, the couple tracked down Coldsteel to London, England just as the latter was battling with Hudson while Steel Clan robots and Coyote 5.0 were engaging Lexington and members of the London Clan in battle. Coldstone and Coldfire announced themselves by interrupting their quarry's attempt to seriously wound the elder gargoyle and then joined the battle. ("Rock & Roll")

They helped Hudson, Lexington, and members of the London Clan fight off Coldsteel and Coyote 5.0, defending the Stone of Destiny. During the day, the fight continued over the Coldstream Bridge. Coldstone destroyed Coyote 5.0 while Coldfire managed to damage Coldsteel but he fell into the river and disappeared. Later that night, Hudson conviced the pair to leave off the search for Coldsteel and return to the Manhattan Clan. ("Rock of Ages")

Coldstone, Coldfire, Lexington, and Hudson spent the next several months living among the London Clan. They returned to the Manhattan Clan the same night Brooklyn returned from his adventures, just in time to handle the Pack in Times Square. ("Phoenix")

In the months that followed, Coldstone and Coldfire would often patrol Manhattan together. Together they disrupted a fight between Glasses and Jack Dane and their people and ended up destroying a Dracon drug lab. Coldstone questioned why the Clan bothered to protect humans and doesn't seem to value them much, but he followed orders (whether coming from Goliath or Brooklyn) to protect them and not do unnecessary harm. However, he was angered when Goliath chose to remain in custody after Brooklyn led him and Coldfire on an attempted jailbreak and face humanity as an equal. He later spoke with his mate that, as much as he loved and respected his brother he was unable to fathom this decision... believing mankind could not be trusted. ("A Little Crazy", "Render Unto Caesar", "Underwater", "Mayday")

Alongside the rest of the clan, Coldstone watched Goliath's televised hearing. When Margot Yale cross-examined Halcyon Renard after the human vouched for Goliath, claiming friendship, Coldstone was enraged that this "great human ally" was the one who funded the Gargoyle Taskforce and provided the weapons that aided in his capture. While Hudson felt the first evening went better than expected, Coldstone declared it a farce and was too angry to watch the second night of the hearing. After Judge Roebling ruled in Goliath's favor, Coldfire called her mate with the good news, which Coldstone responded that the humans' "largesse" would not be forgotten. ("Your Witness", "New Rules")

When Goliath finally returned to his clan, Coldstone pulled Goliath aside to question Goliath's judgement and leadership - feeling that he ceded control to the humans and that humans should not be allowed to define success for them. While Goliath didn't disagree with his brother's concerns, he was pulled away by Elisa... but Coldstone perceived it as yet another human taking him away. Coldstone later participated in ending the gang war orchestrated by Dino Dracon and disarmed the bomb planted at the gang leaders' summit. Following this, he made one half-hearted attempt to resume his conversation with Goliath but there were too many distractions. Goliath was inducted into the Gargoyle Taskforce, pledging his loyalty believing his actions would help protect Manhattan. But Coldstone believed his brother surrendered his honor and authority to humanity. He then joined Demona, telling her that she had been right about everything and that, as long as the clan remained unharmed, he would secretly serve her cause. ("Cold Comfort")

Later that July, Coldstone overheard Angela's desire to share the news with Demona about her Commitment Ceremony with Broadway. The following day, when Xanatos, Fox, and Alexander departed the Castle, Coldstone alerted Dominique Destine. Her ally, Antoinette Dracon then sent remotely piloted stolen exo-frames to invade the Castle keeping the gargoyles distracted while Demona infiltrated Owen's office and stole Puck's Flute. Throughout the battle, Coldstone expressed a barely-contained rage when Goliath ordered him not to harm the humans he believed were controlling the exo-frames. A few nights later, Coldstone met with Demona and reported to her what Owen told the Clan about the Three New Keys to Power as well as Angela's hopes for Demona to attend her Commitment Ceremony. ("Questions", "Quo Vadis Cum Hoc?", "Acquisitions")

When Demona's use of the latest Three Keys to Power provided the opportunity to control all of humanity, Coldstone asked Goliath to consider the potential advantages to such a compromise, offering to help prevent Demona from abusing her new subjects. Such equivocation proved pointless, and Coldstone's participation in Demona's plot ultimately resulted in the abduction of Egwardo. When his treachery was surmised by Coldfire, he was banished by Goliath and openly joined Demona. ("Queen of All She Surveys")

Characteristics

"Othello" sleeping

In life, "Othello" didn't much care for humans. When Angel asked Goliath why the clan risked themselves to protect the humans' castle, "Othello" agreed adding that they should let the Vikings sack it. The following day, he was shattered in his sleep. He was resurrected as Coldstone a thousand years later, blaming the humans for what had been done to him. Despite everything, he still felt love and respect for his Rhydderch, Goliath. He expressed little desire to interact in the world, wishing only time with his mate, "Desdemona". But the two were prevented from exiling themselves in the Coldstone body, thanks to their evil rookery brother "Iago". "Othello" and "Desdemona" ultimately chased "Iago" across the planet when the three souls were separated into the robotic bodies of Coldfire and Coldsteel. Coldstone and Coldfire's pursuit came to and end when Hudson talked him into rejoining the clan.

Once among the Manhattan Clan, Coldstone resented protecting the city and the humans, but continued to do so out of respect for Goliath's authority. Coldstone's persistent frustration for humanity boiled to the surface in May 1997 when Goliath was captured by the Gargoyle Taskforce, imprisoned, and brought before the human authorities for a hearing. When Goliath was released, he questioned his clan leader, questioning if it was the best choice for the leader of the clan to allow humanity the to define success for the Clan and, more unsettling, ceding control and granting humans authority over gargoyle kind. He then chose to follow Demona in her war against humanity, believing that she offered a stronger alternative to Goliath's questionable leadership when it came to the safety of the Clan.

Coldstone's feelings about Elisa Maza remain vague. He's confessed to believing her love with Goliath is real and genuine, and he has called her "clan". But whether this is a belief he sincerely holds or one he forces himself to have remains unknown.

Coldstone most closely resembles the gargoyle "Othello", his original dominant personality. Roughly half of his body has been replaced with robotics. Coldstone's wings, part of the left half of his head, his right eye, his right arm, most of his left leg, the end of his tail and much of his torso are all cybernetic parts, along with smaller pieces throughout his body. Most of Coldstone's robot parts resemble the corresponding parts on "Othello", though he is missing the horn and hair on the left side of his head and his wings are smaller and more angular. Coldstone has a couple of features borrowed from the Steel Clan, including a retracting arm cannon. Coldstone's robotics are metallic grey, red, and gold. His remaining body is re-animated stone, not flesh. (Hence Demona's line "You are cold stone brought to life.") This can be hard to tell, since his original body's skin color is very similar to Coldstone's current coloration. Although Coldstone no longer ages, he is still subject to wear and tear. [6]

During the time the personalities of "Othello", "Desdemona", and "Iago" shared Coldstone, its likely that each personality had access to information acquired by the other personalities when they were in control, as seen in "High Noon". Due to his personality being dormant the entire time Demona spent with Coldstone when he was first activated in "Reawakening", "Iago" could not know Demona's name himself (given that she did not even have a name when he was alive). [7] After Demona reactivated Coldstone (and "Iago" immediately took over), however, his internal point of view showed that he scanned Demona's face which gave the result "RECOG. DEMONA" and "Iago" immediately knew that she was a fellow enemy of Goliath that he could work with.

By 1996, the Coldstone could read and write in English and 'maybe a little' Latin and ancient Celtic as well. [8]

Appearances

"Reawakening" (First Appearance) "Legion" "Vows" (No lines) "City of Stone" Part One (No lines) "High Noon" "Upgrade" (No lines) "Shadows of the Past" (Illusion of "Othello") "Future Tense" (Mentioned only) "Possession" "Reunion" "The Rock" (No lines) "Rock & Roll" "Rock of Ages" "Phoenix" (No Lines) "A Little Crazy" "Idyll or Nightmare" (No lines) "Tale Old as Time" (Mentioned only) "Render Unto Caesar" "Underwater" "The Reach" "Mayday" "The Draw" "Your Witness" "The Oath" (No Lines) "New Rules"

"The Promise" "The Pledge" "Cold Comfort" "Questions" "Quo Vadis Cum Hoc?" "Acquisitions" "Unequivocal Success" "Queen of All She Surveys"

Real World Background

The name "Othello" was never used on screen for the pre-Wyvern Massacre version of Coldstone in the actual series; it was used in the script (because humans and production staff need names), however, for this character to fit the symmetry of Desdemona and Iago's names. The name, of course, derives from the title character of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Othello, the Moor of Venice, who similarly is married to the faithful Desdemona, but duped by the scheming Iago into believing that she is unfaithful, engaged in an adulterous affair with Cassio. In anger, Othello smothers his wife, and then, discovering how Iago had duped him and that Desdemona was innocent, commits suicide in remorse.

Production Background

Coldstone. Production sketch by Frank Paur.

Voice Actor: Michael Dorn

Coldstone is often said to be the Gargoyles Universe's equivalent of Frankenstein's monster (with Xanatos taking the role of his creator, Dr. Frankenstein). Though Coldstone's story does not directly follow Frankenstein's, there are some major similarities. The creation of Coldstone is an obvious homage to classic depictions of the birth of Frankenstein's monster, right down to Xanatos's self-indulgent "It's alive!" line. Neither Frankenstein's monster nor Coldstone turn out exactly as their creators intended. The episode "Legion" is partly inspired by a TV movie version of Frankenstein Greg Weisman saw as a boy, in which the monster is put under hypnosis and the various personalities of the people whose corpses were used to make the monster being to speak, including one who quotes the Biblical line "I am Legion, for we are many". [9] In the original novel by Mary Shelley, the monster escapes to the Arctic Circle, with his creator in pursuit. Coldstone, attempting to keep the rest of his clan safe from "Iago", ended up in a similarly cold and desolate part of the Himalayas, where one of his creators eventually finds him.

Coldstone's blue-grey skin color is a bit of a mistake, or at least something of a problem. It's pretty much identical to the skin color of his original body, but it is intended to be re-animated "stone," not the living flesh of a gargoyle awake at night. This confusion can make Coldstone's design seem like something of a cheat when it's revealed that he was assembled from pieces of three different gargoyles. If you think that the visible non-mechanical parts of Coldstone are skin, you might wonder why he doesn't have any patches of skin that resemble "Desdemona" or "Iago" in color. [10] Artistic license is largely to blame for Coldstone having white hair that should otherwise also be re-animated stone (although Greg Weisman muses that the process involved in Colstone's revival could have had an effect on his hair returning white. That, or it's just "VERY LIGHT GRAY" stone) [11]

See Also

• Coldstone at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Frankenstein's monster at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia