Goliath
Goliath was the leader of the Wyvern Clan, and is now the leader of the Manhattan Clan.
Contents
History
Early Life
Goliath was hatched with his rookery in the year 938. [1]
Dark Ages
By the year 971, he was already one of the more noteworthy young warriors in the clan. In that year, Prince Malcolm made his alliance with the Wyvern Clan; during that time, he bestowed the name "Goliath" upon the gargoyle, comparing him in strength and battle-prowess to the Philistine giant who fought and was slain by the young David; on a darker note, the name also evoked the fear that most humans held towards gargoyles, given that its original was one of the best-known villains in the Bible. [2] Thus, even by 994, Goliath was the only gargoyle in the clan to bear a name, and it is likely that even he did not view it as anything more than an odd human label. ("Awakening: Part One")
At that time, he and the female gargoyle later known as Demona, then known only as his "Angel of the Night" (or Angel), were also growing to notice each other, which would lead in time to their becoming mates.
Before 994
In 975, they parted the Phoenix Gate between them as a token of their love for each other. ("Vows") They lost their virginity to each other that night. [3] Together, they conceived an egg in 987. [4][5] This egg would later hatch into Angela. Goliath's love for Angel may well have been deeper than hers for him, however, since even then, she was, to a certain extent, using him for her own goals (in particular, her growing hatred of humans, and her ambition for power), though Goliath never suspected it. ("Long Way To Morning")
In 984 Mentor, the clan leader (who would later be known as Hudson), was blinded in one eye by the Archmage, and abdicated from his position of leadership, appointing Goliath (who was already his second-in-command by then) to take his place. ("Long Way To Morning") Goliath led the gargoyles faithfully for the next ten years, defending the castle from its enemies. Human antipathy towards the gargoyles grew steadily in Castle Wyvern during this time, particularly after the death of Prince Malcolm and the accession of Princess Katharine. Many of the gargoyles, particularly Angel, came to resent the humans for their disdainful attitude towards the gargoyles. But Goliath steadfastly continued to protect the humans, understanding that they treated the clan as they did because they were afraid of it and it seemed strange and alien to them, and hoping that relations between the two races would improve in time to come. ("Awakening: Part One")
By 994, however, Angel and the Captain of the Guard had had enough of the gargoyles' poor treatment, and decided to betray Katharine and her people to Hakon and his Vikings. However, Goliath unwittingly helped foil their plan; when they urged him to take all the gargoyles away to pursue the Vikings, he refused, feeling that it would leave Castle Wyvern open to attack in their absence. Instead, he took just Mentor with him. The Captain consequently had to change his plan to have Hakon attack in the daytime, resulting in the Wyvern Massacre. Goliath and Mentor returned to find the rest of the clan dead, except for the Trio and Bronx (whom Goliath had sent down to the rookery for getting into a fight with some of the humans) and Angel, who had fled the castle to hide herself. Goliath believed her to be among the dead, however, and was grief-stricken. ("Awakening: Part Two", "City of Stone" Part One)
He quickly led the other surviving gargoyles to the Vikings' camp at the Archmage's Cave, for the purpose of both rescuing the humans and avenging the slaughter of his clan. While the other gargoyles were fighting the Vikings, Goliath cornered Hakon and the Captain of the Guard, with Princess Katharine as their prisoner, at the edge of a cliff nearby, and learned of the Captain's treachery. When he lunged at them in their fury, Hakon and the Captain fell off the cliff to their deaths; Katharine fell as well, but Goliath was able to rescue her. In his absence, however, the Magus, believing the Princess to be dead, had cursed the other gargoyles so that they would sleep, locked in stone, "until the castle rose above the clouds". Because Hakon had burned the page with the counter-spell on it, the Magus was powerless to undo what he had done. Goliath, filled with grief and despair at being completely alone, first entrusted the clan's eggs to Princess Katharine, and then asked the Magus to cast his spell upon him as well.
A New Life
A thousand years later, Goliath and his clan were awakened by David Xanatos, when he purchased Castle Wyvern and moved it to the top of the Eyrie Building in Manhattan, New York City, thus fulfilling the terms of the spell's undoing. ("Awakening: Part Two")
Xanatos and Demona had carried out this scheme together, hoping to use Goliath and his clan for their own ends, and began by duping them into stealing three computer disks from Cyberbiotics, which they had deluded Goliath into thinking had been stolen from Xanatos. Goliath was temporarily overjoyed at discovering that Demona was still alive, but that joy faded as he gradually came to discover how she had changed over the centuries. Also, the same night that the gargoyles awoke in New York for the first time, Goliath met Elisa Maza, who had come to the castle to investigate the disturbances caused by the initial clash between the clan and Xanatos' thugs. He rescued her when she fell off the top of the castle wall in fear of him, and the two of them soon came to become friends, particularly after Elisa risked her life to protect him in his stone sleep from the Commandos in Central Park. It was Elisa who revealed Xanatos' true nature to Goliath, warning him in sufficient time that he was able to foil Xanatos and Demona's attempt to destroy the clan with their new Steel Clan robots, once it became clear to them that the gargoyles would not be quite so useful to their schemes as they had originally intended. ("Awakening: Part Two", "Awakening: Part Three", "Awakening: Part Four", "Awakening: Part Five")
Although Xanatos was sent to prison in the immediate aftermath of the Steel Clan's defeat, he still owned the castle, and Elisa urged Goliath to leave it with his clan and find a new home. ("The Thrill of the Hunt") Goliath refused, unwilling to leave his last link to the 10th century, but after the gargoyles were attacked there by Macbeth, and Lexington, Brooklyn, and Bronx were temporarily captured, he finally gave in and moved, reluctantly, to the clock tower, though vowing to someday return and win the castle back from Xanatos. ("Enter Macbeth")
Despite his anger and grief at having had to leave Castle Wyvern, Goliath settled into the clock tower soon enough. During his first winter in New York, he began to learn more about Elisa's work as a detective and her vow, as part of the NYPD, to protect the innocent citizens in the city from criminals. Realizing how much this echoed his own vow to protect the castle, Goliath used this as inspiration to redefine his role as a protector, taking a new oath that henceforth, he and his clan would protect the inhabitants of New York, both human and gargoyle, particularly through foiling criminals. ("Reawakening")
Expanded Protectorate, Expanded Worldview
Goliath took to his new role well enough, but remained torn in his heart; he still had his old feelings for Demona, despite her having turned evil, and longed to have her back with him, but was also developing new feelings for Elisa (feelings which grew stronger when Puck temporarily transformed her into a gargoyle, bringing those feelings he didn't know he had to the surface). ("Vows", "The Mirror")
Demona took advantage of Goliath's "torch-carrying" for her by tricking him into giving her his piece of the Phoenix Gate, which to him was only a token of her love, and using it to transport herself and Xanatos to the year 975, accidentally taking Goliath along with them. Goliath became involved in an effort by the Demona of the present to subvert the Demona of 975, and urged the younger version of Demona to not follow that dark path, but remain true to her vows of love.
Unfortunately, his hopes of changing Demona for the better in the present failed, since history is immutable; after discovering that the Demona of 1995 still had abandoned her love for him in favor of her hatred for humanity, he had to face, at last, the fact that they would never be together again. ("Vows")
Goliath had other adventures following his first journey to the past. He met Halcyon Renard, the CEO of Cyberbiotics, and with his help, learned to finally take responsibility for his part in the Cyberbiotics raid. ("Outfoxed") He also discovered the existence of Thailog, a clone of him made by Xanatos, who was even more villainous than Xanatos ever was; Goliath viewed Thailog (with a little help from Elisa) as his son and made the effort to reach out to him, which Thailog contemptuously rejected. In the time to come, Thailog would become one of Goliath's most deadly adversaries. ("Double Jeopardy")
Late in 1995, a grown-up Tom came from Avalon to New York, and warned Goliath of the Archmage's attack upon Avalon. Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx accompanied Tom there, to meet the Avalon Clan for the first time, including Angela, the biological daughter of Goliath and Demona. After Goliath defeated the Archmage, he, Elisa, Bronx, and Angela left Avalon to return to New York. But since Avalon sends one, not where one wants to go, but where one needs to be, it took a long time for them to return there. ("Avalon" Part One, "Avalon" Part Two, "Avalon" Part Three)
Goliath had more adventures during the "Avalon World Tour" of a personal nature. He encountered the ghosts of the Captain of the Guard and Hakon in the Archmage's Cave, and finally made his peace with the Captain. ("Shadows of the Past") He used the Phoenix Gate to take him back in time to 1940, to rescue Griff in the Battle of Britain and bring him forward in time. ("M.I.A.") He also briefly donned the Eye of Odin in order to battle Odin, but came dangerously close to becoming corrupted by it, only saved by Angela's intervention. ("Eye of the Storm") But perhaps the most important thing that happened to him during this odyssey was his acknowledgement of Angela as his daughter. He was reluctant to do this when he learned of their biological link, for it ran contrary to gargoyle instinct and felt like favoritism to him and was also worried about what Angela would do when she learned that Demona was her biological mother. [6] So he rejected her urges to accept her as his child for a long while. ("Monsters") But in the end, Diane Maza persuaded him to reconsider his treatment of her, arguing that giving special treatment to the only child traveling with him did not run contrary to the Gargoyle Way. Goliath acknowledged his daughter at last, to her great joy. ("Mark of the Panther")
As the four companions neared New York at last, near the end of the world tour, Goliath had one last, horrendous, adventure, when Puck visited upon him an illusion in which they had returned to New York, but forty years in the future, by which time Xanatos (or, more accurately, a traitorous Lexington masquerading as Xanatos) had taken over the city, and was preparing to take over the entire planet from there. Puck's motive was to trick Goliath into giving him the Phoenix Gate; Goliath finally realized, almost at the last moment, what was going on here, and to prevent future attempts to seize the Gate, threw it away into the timestream, hoping that it would be lost there forever. ("Future Tense")
Goliath returned to New York, to become involved in an attempt by Oberon and Titania to kidnap the new-born Alexander Xanatos. Goliath was unwilling to see even his greatest enemy deprived of his child, and so led his clan against Oberon to thwart him; they were defeated, but after Fox mustered up enough of her "halfling strength" to strike Oberon with a spell, Goliath used the incident to persuade the magical rulers to let Alex stay in the human world and be tutored in magic. Xanatos, grateful to Goliath for this act, promised to do whatever he could to repay the gargoyles; Goliath was skeptical, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. ("The Gathering" Part One, "The Gathering" Part Two)
Not long afterwards, Jason, Robyn, and Jon Canmore came to New York in search of Demona, and while hunting for her, came upon Goliath, Hudson, and Angela. Mistaking Angela for Demona, they attacked and almost killed her. Goliath angrily vowed revenge, and so began a terrible feud between his clan and the Hunters that resulted in the destruction of the clock tower, the exposure of the gargoyles to the public, and Elisa almost dying when a battle between Goliath and Jason inadvertently knocking her off the top of a dam. In the final battle with the Hunters at Saint Damien's Cathedral, however, Elisa finally arrived and managed to stop Goliath from killing the Hunters, and he, having come to his senses, quickly followed that with thwarting a genocidal scheme that Demona had developed to destroy all humanity. The gargoyles were trapped by the Gargoyle Taskforce in the cathedral afterwards, and almost captured, but Xanatos came to their aid and gave them shelter at the castle, in gratitude for their having saved his son from Oberon earlier. In the immediate aftermath, Goliath and Elisa finally admitted the feelings that they had developed for each other, and she kissed him for the first time. ("Hunter's Moon" Part One, "Hunter's Moon" Part Two, "Hunter's Moon" Part Three)
The Journey Continues
Goliath and Elisa were soon afterwards the first targets of John Castaway in his war against the gargoyles, but rescued by Vinnie. ("Nightwatch", "The Journey")
On Halloween of 1996, Elisa was asked on a date by her coworker Officer Morgan - an offer she initially refused, because of her relationship with Goliath. However, because of this offer, as well as a conversation with Jason Canmore, Elisa came to believe that the practical difficulties of a relationship between a gargoyle and a human were too great to overcome. Certain things that she wanted from a long-term relationship (including children) were impossible to attain with Goliath. That evening, she ended their relationship, and encouraged him to pursue a relationship with Delilah, which he did by inviting her to a masquerade ball to be held at the Eyrie Building. ("Invitation Only")
Elisa, who had been invited to the same ball, finally accepted Morgan's offer and brought him. This "double date" (an idea of Greg Weisman's that he revealed long before the publication of the comic) only served to make Goliath and Elisa understand how much they meant to each other, but before any sort of reconciliation could be achieved the party was crashed by Thailog, who had come to collect Delilah, and stabbed Goliath in the gut. ("Masque") Goliath was then tortured by Thailog, and might have perished if not for the intervention of the rest of the gargoyles, as well as Dr. Sato. Realizing that it could no longer be denied, Goliath and Elisa finally declared their mutual love. ("Bash")
A few nights later, he told Elisa that he would not hold her to any words said when he was on the verge of death, and reminded her of the things he could not give her and her desire for a normal life. Elisa replied that "normalcy is so over-rated." Overjoyed, the two kissed. ("The Rock")
In January, 1997, as Goliath was pondering the future of his clan, he was overjoyed by the return of Coldstone and Coldfire to the clan, as well as shocked by the arrival of the newly aged Brooklyn along with his mate Katana, their son Nashville, their beast Fu-Dog, and their egg. With his clan now doubled in size since they first awoke, Goliath was filled with renewed hope. ("Phoenix")
In May, 1997, while on patrol with Hudson, Goliath was captured by the Gargoyle Taskforce and incarcerated at Rikers Island, in chains and with a shock collar on. An attorney named Tobe Crest filed a lawsuit on the gargoyle's behalf which led to a hearing where his very sentience became the subject of debate. Brooklyn attempted to break Goliath out, but the clan leader refused to leave, determined to have his night in court. Despite saving the life of a prison guard when Wolf, Jackal, and Hyena broke into the prison in an attempt on the life of Tomas Brod, Goliath still faced challenges in the courtroom with Margot Yale arguing against his sentience.
Future
Eventually, Goliath and Elisa would hold some sort of Commitment Ceremony (probably before 1999) and, further down the road, adopt and raise a child together. [7][8] Greg Weisman confirmed at the 2004 Gathering that it is from this adopted child that Nicholas Natsilane Maza will be descended.
At some point between 2004 and 2188, Goliath would sacrifice his life for some unknown purpose. However, it is known that shortly after his death, and in no small part due to his great sacrifice, the United Nations would adopt the Gargoyle Minority Protection Act which granted gargoyles full "sentient rights", established the Gargoyle Nation and made hunting gargoyles a crime. [9][10]
Characteristics
Physically, Goliath is an impressive figure, a tall and powerfully-built gargoyle with lavender skin and dark hair. He is one of the mightiest warriors alive, and even his most formidable opponents cannot easily defeat him. He is also a bold and fierce gargoyle, and his wrath is something that can be terrible to behold. While a level-headed figure in general, and a good leader, he can be very stubborn at times (such as in his refusal to abandon Castle Wyvern), or sometimes even become bitterly vengeful (as in his feud with the Hunters). But he is no mere savage, and his emotions can be held in check by his strong sense of justice and morality. He takes his role as a protector seriously, and will willingly put his life in danger to keep New York or his clan from harm.
In another way, Goliath has shown himself to be something more than a fierce gargoyle warrior. He is literate, having been taught how to read by Demona back in the 10th century, and has a particular fondness for the classics, such as Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky (he also enjoys Faulkner and Joyce). [11][12] Mingled in with his gargoyle instincts is a thoughtful, philosophical nature; he often ponders about the world and how it has changed since the time that he grew up in. He also eagerly learns all that he can about it from Elisa. His wisdom and sense of hope have helped him endure the fear and prejudice displayed by humans towards gargoyles, not yielding to it as Demona has done, as he continues to understand that humans treat gargoyles thus because they are afraid of them, and hopes that they will change for the better in the future, that someday, their races will be at peace.
Goliath has been shown to have a very forgiving nature. He did not get angry at Brooklyn for helping Demona trap him with her slavery spell and he forgave the Captain of the Guard for his role in the Wyvern massacre, in both of these cases Goliath saw that they were well intentioned, never meant him any harm, and were genuinely remorseful. When Talon and the mutates learned the truth about Xanatos, Goliath immediately forgave them for believing he was responsible for their mutations. He accepted Dingo's desire to redeem himself as genuine. Despite many adversarial encounters, he seems to be on friendly terms with Macbeth (Goliath may be particularly able to empathize with Macbeth as he too has felt the sting of Demona's betrayal). He accepted Xanatos's offer of friendship, though cautiously and more out of necessity. He held out hope longer than any of his clanmates that Demona could be redeemed, although in the end even he was forced to accept that she is a lost cause. At the same time Goliath has also been shown to have a vengeful nature which often conflicts with his forgiving nature. When Goliath faced Hakon and the Captain of the Guard he had to choose between revenge and saving Princess Katharine, who had always mistreated him. Goliath chose to save Katharine, this turned out to be a wise decision as Katharine became a devoted "mother" to the clan's eggs, but even after learning this Goliath regretted that he did not have a chance to kill Hakon and the Captian (even though they died anyway). When Goliath mistakenly believed Tony Dracon shot Elisa, he pursued Dracon with violent fury, and only refrained from killing him due to a last minute confession from Broadway. Goliath's vengeful streak was on full display after the Hunters almost killed Angela, having mistaken her for Demona. Goliath's thirst for vengeance led to the Hunters finding and destroying the clock tower and Elisa apparently falling to her death. Rather than see how much vengeance had cost him, Goliath doubled down and swore to avenge Elisa as well. As Goliath became increasingly obsessed with revenge, he became more of a mirror for Jason Canmore (just as Jon Canmore ended up becoming a mirror for Demona), in the end both came to their senses in time to stop Demona from killing the entire human race. In a reversal of the usual cartoon trope, Goliath, the hero, is more driven by revenge than Xanatos, the villain, who sees revenge as "a sucker's game".
Timeline
938. March. Hatches at Wyvern Hill. [13]
971. Goliath is named by Prince Malcolm. [14]
975. November 1. Splits the Phoenix Gate with Angel, and vows his love for her. ("Vows")
984. Tracks the Archmage to his cave along with Mentor and Angel. Catches the Grimorum Arcanorum before it falls into a chasm. After this adventure, Mentor abdicates as leader of the Wyvern clan and Goliath takes command. ("Long Way to Morning")
994. September 30. Sends the trio and Bronx to the rookery for getting in a fight with some humans. Later takes Mentor along with him to track the Vikings that have previously attacked them, unknowingly foiling Angel and Robbie's plan to rid the castle of the humans. They change the plan so that the Vikings attack Castle Wyvern during the day. ("Awakening: Part One", "City of Stone" Part One)
October 1. Goliath realizes he's been tricked but can't get to the castle in time. Wyvern Massacre occurs. Mourns Angel, thinking she was killed. Goliath and the other survivors attack the Viking camp to save the humans. Saves Princess Katharine from Hakon and the Captain. Comes back to find his friends turned to stone by the Magus, who thought the gargoyles caused the death of the princess. Goliath asks Katharine to watch over the eggs before asking the Magus to place the sleep spell upon him. ("Awakening: Part One", "Awakening: Part Two")
1940. A time traveling Goliath helps Griff fight the Nazis in London during the Battle of Britain. ("M.I.A.")
1994. October 4. Goliath and the others awaken at Castle Wyvern after the breaking of the sleep spell. The Manhattan Clan is born. The gargoyles meet David Xanatos, who broke the spell by placing the castle above the clouds. A group of commandos attack the castle. They "steal" three diskettes and escape. ("Awakening: Part Two")
October 5. Goliath saves Elisa Maza's life after he scares her and she falls off the castle. He arranges to meet her the next night right before being asked by Xanatos to get his disks back. Goliath meets with Elisa again and they take an aerial tour of Manhattan. In Central Park, they are attacked by the Commandos again. They escape but Goliath has been hit with a tranquilizer dart and has no choice but to turn to stone at the coming dawn. ("Awakening: Part Three", "Awakening: Part Four")
October 6. Wakes up to find that Elisa has watched over him during the day. Their friendship is cemented. Goliath returns to the castle and is reunited with Demona. She and Xanatos convince him to get the disks back. Goliath and Demona attack Fortress-1 and Demona destroys it. Goliath is disturbed by her behaviour. He meets with Elisa who tells him the disks were the property of Cyberbiotics and that Xanatos had been using the gargoyles. ("Awakening: Part Four", "Awakening: Part Five")
October 7. Returns to the castle to find Steel Clan robots attacking his clan. After the robots are defeated, Demona reveals she has been working against the clan and she tells Goliath of her plan that led to the Massacre. She reveals her name and is about to shoot Goliath but Elisa tackles her. Both Demona and Elisa fall off the castle, and Goliath saves Elisa before mourning the loss of his love once again. Elisa stops him from killing Xanatos, who is arrested for receiving stolen property. ("Awakening: Part Five")
November 5. Lexington convinces Goliath to meet The Pack. The Pack attacks them but are defeated. ("The Thrill of the Hunt")
November 12. Lured to the Cloisters by Brooklyn, where Demona casts a spell on Goliath from the Grimorum Arcanorum, enslaving his mind. ("Temptation")
November 13. Elisa uses the spell to free Goliath's mind. ("Temptation")
November 15. Owen gathers genetic material from Goliath. ("Double Jeopardy")
1995. January 3. Macbeth attacks the gargoyles, and abducts Brooklyn, Lexington, and Bronx. Goliath confronts Macbeth at his mansion, who reveals he is after Demona and that he named her. The gargoyles escape and Macbeth flees. ("Enter Macbeth")
January 4. Elisa, who has been trying to get Goliath to leave the castle, finally convinces him to do so with the help of Hudson and Broadway. The gargoyles move into the clock tower above the 23rd Precinct. ("Enter Macbeth")
January 20. Walks into a trap set up by Demona in order to try to reason with her. Demona shoots Goliath with a laser cannon, but he survives the night, thanks to Hudson's assistance. ("Long Way to Morning")
February 3. Accompanies Elisa on her shift, and confronts Coldstone in Times Square. Battle between the gargoyles, Coldstone, and Demona takes place at the George Washington Bridge. Goliath falls into the icy water but is saved by Coldstone, and then saved by him again when Demona shoots at him, supposedly sending Coldstone to his doom. Goliath declares his clan's new purpose; to protect the citizens of Manhattan. ("Reawakening")
September 9. Raids the Gen-U-Tech lab along with Brooklyn and Lexington in order to free Maggie, just as Sevarius seems to be giving Derek Maza a cure. Goliath kicks Sevarius into an eel tank, supposedly killing him, and destroying Derek's chance for a cure. Derek becomes a mutate permanently and blames Goliath for his condition. ("Metamorphosis")
September 20. Confronts Coldstone again and enters his mind via RECAP in order to side with Othello and Desdemona against Iago and a program designed by Xanatos. Goliath is successful and returns to his body, but Coldstone is rendered temporarily dormant thanks to a virus. ("Legion")
September 28. Demona summons Puck using Titania's Mirror. Puck transforms all the humans of Manhattan into gargoyles, and turns the gargoyles themselves into humans. Mayhem ensues, but Puck is captured and then released by Goliath after he changes everyone back to normal. Goliath realizes his feelings for Elisa go deeper than friendship and tries to talk to her about it, but she cuts him off. ("The Mirror")
October 31. Xanatos asks Goliath and Elisa for help in getting the Eye of Odin away from Fox, which they refuse. Goliath attends a Halloween block party with Elisa and dances with her. The werefox attacks and Goliath aids Xanatos in removing the Eye from her. Goliath takes possession of the Eye. ("Eye of the Beholder")
November 6. Attends the wedding of Fox and Xanatos, which is really a trap to get him to give his half of the Phoenix Gate to Demona. Travels back to 975 with Demona and tells her younger self to remember to keep her vows of love. He returns back to the present, and seeing that Demona is unchanged, realizes that he has lost her forever. ("Vows")
November 11. Agrees to ally with Xanatos to help him break Demona's "stone by night" spell. ("City of Stone" Part Two)
November 14. Goliath and the clan are saved by Elisa and Othello at Belvedere Castle while in stone sleep. They have been captured by the Weird Sisters working through Demona and Macbeth as part of their plan to obtain the Phoenix Gate, Eye of Odin, and Grimorum Arcanorum from the clocktower. ("High Noon")
November 15. Injured during a fight with the Pack. Hudson tells him to choose a second in command amongst the trio. ("Upgrade")
November 17. Captured by Renard while following Fortress-2. He works with Renard to save the ship after Vogel and Fox try to sabotage it. ("Outfoxed")
November 24-25. The clan is introduced to Matt Bluestone who involves Goliath in his plan to bust Mace Malone and the Illuminati. He's put through his paces at the Hotel Cabal before escaping with Matt. ("Revelations")
November 29. Makes a bad first impression with Thailog until Elisa convinces him that the clone is his son. Thailog chains Goliath up in an oil rig along with Elisa, Xanatos and Sevarius. Working together they escape, and after a failed attempt to reason with Thailog, Goliath fears that he's failed him. ("Double Jeopardy")
December 14-15. Captured by the upgraded Pack along with Elisa, Hudson, and Bronx. They are saved by the trio, and Goliath chooses Brooklyn as his second-in-command. ("Upgrade")
December 19. Goliath and Broadway help Elisa bust Tony Dracon during his protection racket scheme. Goliath eats a jalapeño pepper before yelling out the infamous catchphrase. ("Protection") Later he informs Elisa that he's seen the mutates back at the Eyrie Building and the two of them confront a resistant Talon. ("The Cage")
December 20. Goliath kidnaps Sevarius in order to try to force a cure for the mutates out of him. Elisa convinces him to release him right before Talon attacks Goliath. He's nearly killed by Talon, but Xanatos arrives and Talon realizes his error. Goliath acknowledges that Elisa is part of his clan. ("The Cage")
December 28. Departs to Avalon with Tom, Elisa, and Bronx. There, he is introduced to his rookery children and meets Angela for the first time. ("Avalon" Part One, "Avalon" Part Two)
December 30. Fights with the enhanced Archmage during the Avalon battle. He manages to remove the Eye of Odin from him, causing the Grimorum Arcanorum to destroy the Archmage. Goliath reclaims the Eye and the Phoenix Gate. ("Avalon" Part Three)
1996. January 1-2. Departs from Avalon aboard the skiff with Elisa, Angela, and Bronx. Start of the Avalon World Tour. ("Avalon" Part Three) Arrives at Wyvern Hill where the spirits of Hakon and the Captain of the Guard slowly drive him mad, attempting to steal his life force. Goliath forgives the Captain after the latter switches sides and saves his life, and the ghost ascends. ("Shadows of the Past")
January 17. At Loch Ness, Angela discovers from Sevarius that Goliath is her biological father. ("Monsters")
January 20. In Prague, Goliath helps convince Renard to abdicate his soul from the Golem. Goliath realizes that fate is responsible for the Avalon World tour, and decides to see it through to the end. ("Golem")
January 21. In Paris, Goliath encounters Demona and Thailog. Angela learns that Demona is her biological mother, something that troubles Goliath greatly, and he refuses to acknowledge her as his daughter. ("Sanctuary")
January 23. Arriving in London, Goliath meets Leo and Una of the London Clan, who blame him for the loss of Griff. Using the Phoenix Gate, Goliath travels back to 1940, and brings Griff forward to the present time. ("M.I.A.")
May 2. Enters the Dreamtime with Dingo in Australia and helps him in convincing the Matrix from destroying the world. ("Walkabout")
May 16-17. In Nigeria, Diane Maza gives Goliath some advice about child-rearing. After deafeating Anansi per a suggestion by Angela, Goliath accepts her as his daughter. ("Mark of the Panther")
May 20-21. Attempting to retrieve his Eye from Goliath, Odin lures the skiff to Norway. He kidnaps Elisa, which motivates Goliath to don the Eye himself and become a quasi-avatar for Odin. [15] A power-hungry fascist, Goliath nearly kills his companions and Odin until Angela brings him to his senses and he removes the Eye. Odin reclaims his eye. ("Eye of the Storm")
May 24-26. Meets the gargoyles of the Mayan Clan in Guatemala, and helps them defend their home from Jackal and Hyena. ("The Green")
June 14-15. Meets the Ishimura Clan in Japan, and is abducted along with the other gargoyles by Taro for his Gargoyle Theme Park. The gargoyles are liberated with the help of Elisa and Hiroshi. ("Bushido")
July 4-6. Back on Avalon, Goliath is forced to battle with Oberon along with Angela and Gabriel. Later, Oberon decrees Goliath's clan part of his honour guard and immune to his magic. ("Ill Met By Moonlight")
July 8. Passes out on the skiff and given a horrible nightmare vision from Puck of a post-apocyliptic Manhattan, as per Puck's plan to obtain the Phoenix Gate. After Goliath awakens, he tosses the gate into the time stream. ("Future Tense")
July 9-July 10. Goliath and the others return home. Not long after he learns of Oberon and Titania's plan to kidnap Alexander, and the clan joins forces with Xanatos and Renard to stop them. Thanks to a magical outburst by Fox, Goliath convinces Oberon to let Alexander stay, with Puck as his tutor. Xanatos tells Goliath that he owes him for saving his son. ("The Gathering" Part One, "The Gathering" Part Two)
August 1-2. Goliath and Hudson are attacked by Wolf and Hakon's ghost. Goliath defeats Wolf just before Vinnie shows up swearing revenge, and hits Goliath in the face with a banana-cream pie. ("Vendettas")
October 24. Encounters the Hunters for the first time. Angela is badly wounded during the fight and Goliath swears vengeance. Elisa saves her using CPR. Later, Goliath witnesses Elisa kissing Jason Canmore from her balcony. Doubly upset, he enters the Hunters' Airship along wtih Lexington and Brooklyn and encounters Demona. The gargoyles are captured, and Goliath forms an alliance with Demona before escaping, but not before Robyn Canmore plants a tracer on him. ("Hunter's Moon" Part One, "Hunter's Moon" Part Two)
October 25. Using the tracer, the Hunters find the gargoyles and blow up the clocktower. The gargoyles save themselves just in time. Goliath declares fresh vengeance. Jon Canmore reports on the news that the gargoyles destroyed the clocktower, exposing them to the public at large. ("Hunter's Moon" Part Three)
October 26. Goliath tracks down the hunters and a fight breaks out on a dam. Elisa tries to break up the fight but is knocked off the dam along with Jason. Goliath attempts to rescue her, but is unsuccessful. Intent on revenge, the whole clan tracks the Hunters to Saint Damien's Cathedral, who are there to stop Demona from carrying out her Operation Clean Slate plan. Goliath is about to kill Jon, but is brought to his senses by the arrival of Elisa and Jason. Jon shoots at Goliath, but Jason takes the blast, causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down. Jon flees, and the gargoyles attempt to stop Demona. Goliath sabotages her plan by destroying the Praying Gargoyle, and then catches the vial containing the virus before it shatters. Leaving the cathedral, the gargoyles are cornered by an angry mob and the Gargoyle Task Force, but Xanatos arrives and rescues them. ("Hunter's Moon" Part Three)
October 27. The gargoyles reclaim Castle Wyvern. Just before dawn, Elisa and Goliath admit their feelings for each other, and she kisses him for the first time. ("Hunter's Moon" Part Three)
October 29. Goliath goes to visit Elisa, and the two of them are attacked by Jon Canmore posing as the Quarryman John Castaway. They are pursued to the ruined clocktower and are nearly killed, but saved by Vinnie's intervention. ("Nightwatch", "The Journey")
October 31. Elisa goes to the castle and breaks up with Goliath. Heartbroken, he agrees at her insistance to bring Delilah to Xanatos' Masque later that evening. At the party, Goliath tries to reason with Elisa, but she flees. Thailog arrives at that moment with the clones, under the pretense of reclaiming Delilah. While waiting for her arrival, Thailog stabs Goliath in the gut with a dagger from his gauntlet. ("Invitation Only", "Masque")
November 1. A fight breaks out between the Manhattan clan and the clones. Thailog flees after he obtains blood samples from each member of the clan. While Goliath is being tended by Dr. Sato, he and Elisa declare their mutual love and kiss. ("Bash")
November 4. Elisa indicates to Goliath that she wants to pursue a relationship with him, and he kisses her after she strokes his hair. ("The Rock")
1997. July 19. Goliath makes a bargain. [16]
1997-1999. Sometime during this time, Goliath and Elisa hold a Commitment Ceremony. [17]
2004. August 6. Goliath is briefly forced into hiding. [18]
2004-2188. At some point between these years, Goliath sacrifices his life for an unknown cause, resulting in the United Nations adopting the Gargoyle Minority Protection Act. [19][20]
Appearances
Apocrypha
"Religious Studies 101: A Handful of Thorns"
While Green Goblin attacks L. Thompson Lincoln, the deposed Big Man of Crime, Goliath swoops in to stop a pumpkin bomb from hitting Lincoln. Spider-Man arrives and mistakes Goliath as another of Green Goblin's creatures. The ensuing fight between Goliath and Spider-Man ends when Goliath turns to stone, leaving Spider-Man alone with the Green Goblin. Spider-Man stopped a pumpkin bomb from hitting the stone Goliath, thrown from Goblin while trying to escape.
The following night Goliath learns from Zafiro and Obsidiana about Demona's smuggling activities and from Elisa about Demona's break-out at Ravencroft Institute. They also get a call from from Matt Bluestone asking for back-up at at an OsCorp vault. Once there, Goliath eventually caught up with Demona, who now possessed both the Spear of Destiny and the Crown of Thorns. Unaffected by the relics' magicks, Goliath battles with Demona, reaching for the Crown. Electro blasts electricity toward Goliath, but he continues but he While the two struggled, Spider-Man managed to web the Crown of Thorns off Demona's head, causing an explosion of mystic energy.
In the aftermath, Elisa gets a call from Spider-Man, who, while on speaker phone, now sees that Goliath does "the super-hero thing without the tights". Goliath also understands that Spider-Man's protectorate is his "neighborhood".
"Recruits"
The Manhattan Clan learns that a mystical artifact known as the Hand of Valmont is at risk of being stolen from the Museum of Natural History. Most of the clan, including Goliath, departs to keep an eye on the museum, but they soon realize that the museum was largely a distraction for Demona to kidnap Egwardo from Castle Wyvern's rookery.
Following her defeat, Goliath is later approached by Batman and Iron Man, both trying to recruit the gargoyle to the Justice League and the Avengers, respectively. Xanatos interrupts them and asks both billionaires to join his club "Rich Boys with Big Toys" instead. Goliath and Elisa allow the three to sort it out amongst themselves.
"The Cosmos"
The Goliath Chronicles
After the Hunter's Moon and the Quarrymen's initial attack, Goliath and Elisa's relationship seemed to quiet down for a while. Goliath still had many adventures, several of which involved the Quarrymen. Among other events, Goliath went on trial; his "son" Thailog became permanently petrified by a degenerative virus, something that hit Goliath hard; he was sent into another dream world where he was human and married to Elisa by Titania; he was turned into a mind-controlled slave by the Illuminati scientist Dr. Nexus; and he nearly lost Elisa's trust when he was impersonated by an escaped Proteus. ("And Justice For All", "Genesis Undone", "...For It May Come True", "To Serve Mankind" "Seeing Isn't Believing")
Finally, Goliath and the rest of the clan were lured into a Quarryman trap and thought dead by the entire city (but secretly saved by Xanatos). Only Angela and Bronx "survived," and they were taken to face trial on charges of terrorism committed by the clan. The Quarrymen attacked the train that was transporting them in an attempt to destroy them, and the clan rescued Angela and Bronx as well as the humans on the train, much to the humans' surprise. Goliath faced down John Castaway, and defeated him for the last time. The gargoyles saved the train, and the Quarrymen were sent to jail while the gargoyles were finally accepted. ("Angels In the Night")
Production Background
Voice Actor: Keith David
Goliath was not part of the original comedy development of Gargoyles. He first appeared as the title character of "The Gargoyle", the first attempt at turning the show into an action-drama. In this proposed show, "the gargoyle" was the immortal magical creation of an evil wizard who becomes a hero in the modern world. [21]
Some of the names considered for Goliath included "Gar", "Griffin", "Lear", "Calaban", "Othello", "Atlas", "Stone", "Prometheus", and "Titan". [22][23]
In addition to the figurines from Applause and action figures from Kenner during the show's original run, Goliath was also released as a sculpt by both Bowen Designs in 2009 and Electric Tiki in 2011.
See Also
- Goliath (Gargoyles) at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
