Art Deco Statues
The Art Deco Statues were part of a stone façade that Oberon enchanted to distract the Manhattan Clan during his efforts to take Alexander Fox Xanatos from his family.
History
In 1996, while a giant Oberon attempted to break through the Eyrie Building's defenses, Goliath and the rest of the Manhattan Clan did what they could to distract him. Growing frustrated, the Lord of the Third Race animated three Art Deco statues from a nearby skyscraper. The statues pry themselves off their building, with one (a man with a hammer) slamming into Broadway midair, another (a woman with a propeller) putting a chokehold onto Brooklyn, and a third (a winged cat) chasing off Angela. While the first statue was destroyed when it smashed Broadway against the Eyrie Building's force field, Brooklyn and Angela destroyed the other two when the gargoyles led their stone pursuers into one another. ("The Gathering" Part Two)
Production Background
Brooklyn's line, "It's incredible how often that move works," was, as Greg Weisman explained, an acknowledgement from the writers that they too were aware how often the battle sequences in the series relied on similar choreography. [1]
Real World Background
While the statues Oberon enchanted have no specific real world analogue, Art Deco is frequently found in the art and architecture throughout New York City, featured at such iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center.