Iago

Iago

Iago was a gargoyle of the Wyvern Clan.

History

Iago was hatched in 938, alongside the rest of his rookery generation, which included Goliath, Demona, Othello, Desdemona, and Hyppolyta. Unlike most gargoyles, Iago was not a particularly noble or honorable individual, being corrupt and scheming. He entered into an alliance with the Archmage after Castle Wyvern was founded in 971, combining his cunning with the Archmage’s magic, although the details of their plots are as yet unknown.

Iago also lusted after Desdemona, and decided to gain her for himself in 993 by duping her mate Othello into thinking that Desdemona and Goliath were lovers, then claim her in the confusion that followed. However, his scheme eventually failed, leaving him with a strong grudge against Goliath afterwards. He was temporarily banished from Castle Wyvern for his crime, but had returned by 994. Nothing is known about his year as a rogue gargoyle.

Like most of the other Wyvern gargoyles, Iago was killed by Hakon and his Vikings in 994 during the Wyvern Massacre. When Demona and Xanatos created Coldstone in February of 1995, they used pieces of Iago and Desdemona’s stone remains, as well as Othello’s own fragments, to assemble his body, resulting in the revival of Iago and Desdemona’s souls as well as Othello’s. Iago nevertheless remained dormant until after Coldstone was damaged by the virus at the Golden Cup Building and all three souls began vying for control of Coldstone's body. When Iago became the dominant soul in possession of Coldstone’s body, he tried to kill Goliath and the Manhattan Clan, as well as set Othello and Goliath against each other once more as he had done a thousand years before. His plans were foiled, however, and he was temporarily defeated by the virus.

Iago was re-awakened by Demona and Macbeth when they kidnapped Coldstone from the clock tower, and helped them against the gargoyles and Elisa until Othello and Desdemona’s souls defeated him. He nevertheless remained a threat, always attempting to recover control of Coldstone’s body, and for this reason Coldstone went into exile until the battle within could be decided. It seems very likely that when Goliath, Angela, Elisa and Bronx encountered Coldstone in Tibet during the Avalon World Tour, Iago played a part in the adventure, though nothing is known about this encounter. Iago remained inside Coldstone until Xanatos recaptured the cybernetic gargoyle in the Himalayas. Puck and Alex then temporarily transferred the souls of Othello, Desdemona, and Iago to the bodies of Broadway, Angela, and Brooklyn, during which time Iago, in Brooklyn’s body, eagerly plotted to dispose of Broadway/Othello and seize Desdemona in Angela’s body for himself. But he soon became disappointed with Brooklyn’s fighting skills, and after seeing the robotic body Coldsteel that Xanatos and Owen had made for him, became sufficiently impressed with it to allow Puck and Alex to transfer his soul to it. The rest of Iago’s story can be found in the entry on Coldsteel.

{Iago was never actually so called in the series, but merely given that name in the ending credits to "Legion" and "High Noon". His name is, of course, taken from the Iago in Shakespeare’s play "Othello", who similarly schemes against Othello and does all that he can to convince him that Desdemona is untrue to him, and who has been ranked as one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains. The Iago/Coldsteel of "Gargoyles" might well consider his links to the Iago of Shakespeare a great compliment.}

Characteristics

Physically speaking, there is some evidence to suggest that Iago may have been biologically related to Goliath. They have similar wing and hair coloring and similar brow horns. However, Iago was not as powerfully built as Goliath and had several distinct traits of his own. Behind his brow ridges, he had a sort of small crest sporting several horns, and two large spikes come off his chin. His wings were similar to Brooklyn and Demona's wings, but the three fingers were not arranged as a thumb and two claws, but rather as simply three claws. Sometimes Iago has been shown without a tail, but this was probably an error. Similarly, sometime he is shown having one earring and sometimes two. He wore a sort of light armor with his loincloth.

Production Background

Voice Actor: Xander Berkeley