Elisa Maza
Elisa Maza is the Manhattan Clan's closest human friend - and to Goliath, more than a friend.
History
Elisa was born in 1968, the eldest child of Peter and Diane Maza. After majoring in Psychology at Columbia[1], she followed family tradition by entering the NYPD, and by 1994, had already become a Detective Second Class in the 23rd Precinct.
Elisa first met the gargoyles while investigating the mysterious disturbances at the Eyrie Building, caused by the first clash between Goliath’s clan and the Xanatos Goon Squad. She was originally frightened enough by Goliath and Bronx to fall off the battlements of Castle Wyvern, but Goliath saved her life and in that way, helped to convince her that the gargoyles were not evil monsters. She quickly came to learn their true nature and befriend them, saving Goliath from the Xanatos Goon Squad in Central Park (he was not actually in danger from them, but neither she nor Goliath knew that), and warning him about Xanatos' true nature in time for Goliath to save the other gargoyles from the Steel Clan. From then on, Elisa was the clan's closest human friend. ("Awakening")
When it became too dangerous for the gargoyles to continue living in the castle, Elisa managed to persuade them (although not without some difficulty) to relocate to the Clock Tower, where they would be safer and where she could check up on them regularly. ("Enter Macbeth") She even purchased a television set for them. Later on, her police work helped inspire Goliath to give his clan a new purpose: protecting the inhabitants of New York from harm. ("Reawakening")
While befriending the gargoyles was in many ways a wonderful thing for Elisa, giving her some loyal new friends, it also has had its drawbacks. Soon after she first met the clan, Broadway accidentally shot her with her own gun, and she only barely survived the surgery that followed. ("Deadly Force") Also, Xanatos lured her younger brother Derek into his service and then had Sevarius mutate him, transforming him into Talon. ("Her Brother's Keeper", "Metamorphosis") Demona has also resented Elisa's close friendship with the gargoyles and particularly Goliath, and attempted more than once to kill her. Elisa has sometimes wondered about the possibilities of a normal life without the gargoyles, particularly because of her very problematical feelings towards Goliath (see below), but in the end, she always loyally comes through for them.
Elisa also does like, in a way, being the gargoyles' closest human friend; she values this so much, in fact, that for a long while, she kept her friendship with the clan a secret, not just for their safety, but also so that she could feel a sense of uniqueness about her ties with them. Eventually, however, she let Matt Bluestone and her family into the secret.
Alongside being a close friend to the gargoyles, Elisa is also a highly able police detective. Her particular nemesis in her workaday life is mob boss Tony Dracon, whose organized crime rackets she often is kept busy thwarting.
The real problem that Elisa has to face in her friendship with the gargoyles is her feelings towards Goliath. Even during their first adventure together, in Central Park, they began to be drawn towards each other, though it took a long while for them to realize it. The time when Puck temporarily turned Elisa into a gargoyle undoubtedly helped. But when Elisa did realize how she felt about Goliath, it troubled her. Being in love with a gargoyle has raised some serious issues for her, issues that she does not wish to confront. So she carefully held back from discussing it with Goliath, for a long while. But their feelings with each other could not be forever held off.
When the Canmores came to New York, Jason Canmore took on the guise of a rookie policeman, Jason Conover, and became paired with Elisa. Elisa was soon drawn to him, in a very problematic fashion; she was attracted to Jason, and yet, she had strong feelings for Goliath as well, though feelings that she felt she could never acknowledge. She discovered in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the clock tower, however, about Jason's true nature as the Hunter, which shook her severely. Elisa did all that she could to dissuade Goliath and Jason from their feud with each other, but to no avail, and during one of her attempts, was accidentally knocked off the top of the dam where Goliath was battling the Canmores. Jason saved her life, however, and together they managed to persuade Goliath at Saint Damien's Cathedral to call off the feud with the Canmores, thwarting Demona's "Operation Clean Slate" instead. Afterwards, when she was reunited with the clan at Castle Wyvern, Elisa finally admitted to Goliath her feelings for him, and even kissed him for the first time.
In the immediate aftermath of the gargoyles' revelation to the world, Goliath visited Elisa to seek comfort from her. Both were attacked by a vengeful John Castaway and almost killed, but rescued by Vinnie's intervention ("Nightwatch", "The Journey").
The following day, upon being asked out on a date by Morgan, and visiting Jason in the hospital, the latter wanting her to be happy, Elisa knowing she'd eventually want a normal life with children and that Goliath could never give this to her, broke up with him. She encouraged him to court Delilah while she accepted Morgan's invitation and brought him to the masque at the Eyrie Building, only for her to realise she made a mistake, but still not ready to face Goliath. Upon seeing Goliath lying at near death at the hands of Thailog, Elisa told him that she loved him ("Invitation Only", "Masque", "Bash").
Future
Eventually, they will have a commitment ceremony of some sort (probably by 1999[2]). Further on down the road, they will eventually raise a child together, most likely an adopted child. Greg Weisman confirmed at the 2004 Gathering that it is from this adopted child that Nicholas Natsilane Maza will be descended. By 2198, Elisa will be dead, but of what cause is unknown. Upon her death, the Manhattan Clan will give her a Wind Ceremony as a member of the Clan[3].
Series Bible
Elisa Maza is a plainclothes police detective working night-shift for the N.Y.P.D. It's the family business; her father and her brother are also cops. Among other things, Elisa is 25 years old, college educated and single. She is 50% Native American (Sioux) on her father's side, 50% African-American on her mother's side and 100% New Yorker inside and out. In fact, she's lived in Manhattan all her life, and she loves her town. She is athletic, self-sufficient and hardly a damsel in distress.
Elisa is smart, but impulsive. There have probably been no great tragedies in her life. And although she is sensitive to the fact that others have not been as lucky as she has and that the world can be a dark and dangerous place, her own consistent good fortune occasionally leads her to take reckless chances. She's young enough to feel immortal. (However, she would never do anything truly suicidal or even half-way stupid. Remember, smart first; impulsive second.)
Her job occasionally takes her undercover, and her life sometimes depends on her acting skills, as well as her ability to see when someone else is being less than candid. Elisa is suspicious of surface qualities. She's curious, inquisitive and hungry to learn. She always wants to dig deeper and find hidden truths. (She loved reading Nancy Drew Mysteries as a child. In fact, she's read so many mystery stories she's come to believe that the obvious answer can never be the solution, even though occasionally, it is.) But this ability to look beyond the surface is also one of the main reasons she and Goliath get along so well. She is one of the few human beings who does not see the monster, but the individual. A real person with hopes and dreams, with deep sadness and anger, with tenderness and gentle strength. Both of them treasure innocence and beauty (in all its forms). Both of them dislike hypocrisy.
If Goliath is an optimist, Elisa is a downright idealist. She offers him understanding and friendship, hope and a sense of purpose. She reawakens him to his dream of a golden age of human/gargoyle cooperation, and she shares that dream with him. She helps him redefine and widen his definitions of territory and community.
Their relationship is caring, even romantic, but platonic. (They're different species, and this is still a cartoon show.) She might put a gentle hand on his arm; she might even give him a big hug. For his part, he's not used to physical tenderness from any human. It's a bit intimidating. But he's very protective of her. Very gentle. And he has to be periodically reminded that she's not a fragile flower.
Although she's not thinking about it much right now, Elisa probably does want a husband and family someday. But given her chosen career and her night-shift hours, she's not meeting many eligible men. And those she does meet have a tough act to follow in Goliath, who would be the perfect guy for her if he were only human.
Appearances
Behind the Scenes
Voice Actor: Salli Richardson
Elisa's African American/Native American heritage is based on Salli Richardson's own background. Elisa's appearance was also partially drawn from Ms. Richardson.
Elisa went through various name changes in the early development of the show, and many of these names were later given to secondary characters. Her original name was "Morgan Reed" (which inspired the last name of Maggie Reed and the double name of Officer Morgan Morgan), after architect Julia Morgan.[4] Her forename was changed to "Elisa" for aesthetic reasons, and her surname changed to "Chavez" (later given to Maria Chavez, captain of Elisa's precinct), then "Bluestone" (given to Matt Bluestone, Elisa's partner) and then "Maza".[5]
Elisa and her earlier incarnations also had a number of different professions, including schoolteacher, firefighter, museum curator, inventor, and archaeologist. For a while she was the former partner of Xavier (the early incarnation of Xanatos), a mother, and a descendent of the Scottish Princess who became Princess Katharine.[6]
See also
- Elisa Maza at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
