Always Darkest Before Dawn
"Always Darkest Before Dawn" is the second issue of the Gargoyles comic book published by Marvel Comics. It was released in March, 1995.
- Writen by: Martin Pasko
- Pencilled by: Amanda Conner
- Inked by: Alberto Saichann (p1-11), Palmiotti Bros. (p12-22)
- Colored by: Greg Wright
- Lettered by: John Costanza & Jon Babcock
- Edited by: Hildy Mesnik
- Editor-in-chief: Carl Potts
Contents
Summary
Main Plot
While the Trio are out helping Lexington test a new gadget, they encounter Tony Dracon's men committing a murder. Because dawn is fast approaching, Broadway and Brooklyn quickly find a place to roost, but Lexington can't resist the temptation to follow Dracon's men back to their penthouse. Just before the sun comes up, he finds a place to roost among some other statues on Dracon's terrace. Towards nightfall, Dracon's butler notices something strange about the statue, and alerts Dracon, who says it sounds like one of the creatures that attacked him in Deadly Force. The issue ends with a cliffhanger in which Dracon is about to smash Lexington to pieces with a fireplace poker.
Subplots
The gadget which the Trio are helping Lexington test is a tracking device, similar to a wristwatch, which each of the Trio wears, and will enable them to track where the other members are at any time.
The murder the Trio witness is of a business associate of Dracon's, who was supposed to be selling some more of his stolen weapons. Dracon believed the associate had been withholding some money for himself, which is why he ordered him killed. The associate's girlfriend also witnesses the event, so Dracon's men capture her too, and sell her to Xanatos to be used in his experiments. This underscores the darker tones of the Marvel comic series, as Dracon notes that she "says she's 20, but I figure it's more like 16."
When Dr. Phobos receives the new test subject, he informs Xanatos that he has no need of any more test subjects, and reveals what Xanatos' plan has been: to breed their very own gargoyle (which Xanatos did end up doing in the canon episode Double Jeopardy. Unlike in the canon episode, Dr. Phobos used DNA collected from the laboratory wreckage in the previous issue).
While the gargoyles roost that day, Elisa is assigned to work on the murder. The only witness to the crime is a street walker, who gives the police a sketch that matches one of Tony Dracon's men. But when she also tells how the gargoyles broke up the crime, Captain Chavez orders Elisa and Matt to keep a lid on it, on the grounds that the D.A. will consider the witness uncredible if she starts talking about gargoyles.
During the day, Broadway and Brooklyn are carried off by construction workers who have been ordered to remove all the stone statues from the building - the building they chose to roost on is being knocked down, and the owner has chosen to sell all the statues to make money. The "In the next issue" section at the end of the issue explains that Broadway is carrying the only piece of evidence which can tie Tony Dracon to the murder: a bullet he picked up at the scene of the crime.
When Elisa realizes she can't solve the case without the gargoyles' help, she goes to find them, and realizes the Trio are missing.
Matt is taken off duty when he starts to get dizzy spells after failing to take pain meds following an accident he had in the previous issue. His reason for not taking the meds is because they rendered him unable to do his job.
Elisa's sister Beth appears at Elisa's job, asking her for a place to stay.
Links
- "Always Darkest Before Dawn" at the Avalon Archives
| << Preceded by: "Fiends In High Places" | Followed by: "Rude Awakening" >> |
