Manhattan Clan
The Manhattan Clan is a family that features in Gargoyles.
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History
The Manhattan Clan was the name given to a gargoyle clan from Castle Wyvern in Scotland moved to Manhattan, New York by David Xanatos. This gargoyle clan dedicated their lives to protecting Manhattan. Originally from Castle Wyvern in Dark Age Scotland, they were part of a larger Wyvern Clan of gargoyles, living alongside humans and protecting them. Castle Wyvern sat on top of a cliff, of which the gargoyles originally lived in caves within the cliff face. Once they were fully matured, they would perch on the battlements during daylight hours, in order to be ready to protect the castle once night fell. However, they were betrayed by the humans, and their castle attacked by Vikings. Many of the gargoyles were destroyed - smashed into rubble while in their stone sleep - and only six survived: the leader, Goliath, and his mentor, who had followed bad information and were away from the castle tracking the Vikings during the attack, and three younglings and their pet, dog-like creature who had been locked in the underground rookery as punishment. A seventh, Demona, also survived, though this was not known at the time.
The Vikings then captured many of the castle's human inhabitants, as the surviving gargoyles pursued. They successfully rescued most of the prisoners, but the Magus of Castle Wyvern, mistakenly believing the gargoyles had caused the death of his beloved Princess Katherine during their counter assault, cast a spell on five of the remaining clan, turning them permanently to stone. However, when the Princess returned after being rescued by Goliath, the Magus realized that he had made a terrible mistake. Unfortunately, the necessary counter-spell was destroyed earlier when the Viking leader Hakon burned a page from the Magus' spellbook to taunt him, thus precluding restoring the clan, except for the fact that the curse would end when the castle "rose above the clouds" which seemed impossible at the time. A grief-stricken Goliath, feeling alone and wanting to join his brothers, asked the Magus to perform the spell on him while Katherine and the Magus would care for the rookery eggs.
One thousand years later, billionaire industrialist David Xanatos acting on a tip from Demona and the Grimorum Arcanorum that he owned, purchased Castle Wyvern and had it moved, brick by brick, to the top of his skyscraper, the Eyrie Building on Manhattan in New York City, New York. As Xanatos anticipated, the building was high enough to satisfy the requirement for the spell to be broken, which occurred at sunset on the evening of October 4, 1994. The situation of the "castle above the clouds" — with the reconstructed Wyvern Castle now atop Xanatos' Eyrie Building skyscraper, being above the fog that had came in from New York Harbor — liberated the gargoyles from their stone sleep, only to be stunned to find themselves 1000 years in the future in a place far away from their ancestral homeland. After the initial shock passed, the clan would eventually attempt to fit into their new environment with the five unnamed gargoyles (apart from Goliath), taking names from New York boroughs and landmarks to allow the people of this world to better relate to them. For the most part however, the period of adjustment was relatively smooth, for the younger trio of "Broadway", "Brooklyn" and "Lexington" in particular, who delighted in the vast variety of goods and activities available.
Despite being grateful for their release from their slumber, the new Manhattan Clan was reluctant to put their trust in another human. This was fortunate, as their benefactor David Xanatos intended to use them for his own machiavellian schemes. Instead, they befriended NYPD detective Elisa Maza, and were eventually forced out of their ancestral home of Castle Wyvern and into a clock tower above Eliza's precinct. From their new home, they charged themselves with defending the island of Manhattan, as well as from Xanatos and Demona, now their enemies who still wanted to dominate them. As they acclimated to the new home, the clan worked to reestablish their command structure, with Brooklyn appointed as Goliath's second after the elderly Hudson had stepped down from the role.
Later on, Goliath, Elisa and Bronx were called away to help the grown children of the Wyvern clan on the mystical island of Avalon where they met Goliath's full-grown daughter Angela. and the likewise full-grown gargoyles that had hatched from the surviving rookery eggs, raised on Avalon by Princess Katharine, the Magus and caring male Scot named Tom, who as a boy befriended the gargoyles of Castle Wyvern before their destruction, and who formed the "Avalon Clan". After defeating the threat of the powerful sorcerer known as the Archmage from the time of Castle Wyvern as he tried to take over Avalon, the group of gargates, with Maza as the only human member of the "Avalon World Tour" group were sent on a quest by Avalon to battle evil and correct wrongs worldwide with Angela accompanying them. In the meantime, Brooklyn had some initial difficulty assuming leadership of the clan, but soon proved a capable leader on his own. The group returned to Manhattan with the new addition to the clan, but also with the hope that the gargoyle species is doing far better than they ever hoped with the discovery of at least three other clans in existence worldwide.
Following the destruction of the clock tower, they moved back into their ancestral home at Castle Wyvern courtesy of a grateful Xanatos, who was thankful to the gargoyles for defending his family against threats towards them. Thanks to the Hunters, the general public, now aware of their existence, fears and seeks to destroy them.
Around Halloween of 1996, Thailog stormed the Labyrinth, temporarily reclaiming control of the clones of the Manhattan Clan. Together, they crashed the Xanatos Halloween Masque, where Thailog collected genetic samples from each member of the Manhattan clan, including Elisa, Bronx, and Angela, and all the clones save Brentwood abandoned his company.
Shortly thereafter, Macbeth entreated the Manhattan Clan to help protect the Stone of Destiny while it was transported to Scotland from England. Goliath, reluctant at first, allowed Lexington and Hudson to join Macbeth on his quest. Shortly before Hudson and Lexington returned with Coldstone and Coldfire, the Phoenix Gate appeared and swallowed Brooklyn. Though it seemed as if he were only gone for minutes, Brooklyn had been traveling through time for forty years, and returned with an entire family unit, and a new gargoyle beast.
Overview
In appearance, the members of the Manhattan Clan were of Scottish descent and therefore shared the same skin and general wing type, meaning not feathered, and most only having one brow ridge. Chin, elbow, wing-joint, and knee spurs are not very common, and the most common wing-type is a 'full wing', where each non-thumb digit sports a membrane with the least common wing-type was the 'web-wing'.
Members
Notes
- The Manhattan Clan were created by Greg Weisman where they featured in the setting of the Gargoyles universe.
In other media
Video games
- In Gargoyles, the Manhattan Clan appeared in the setting of the 1995 video game.
Comics
Appearances
- Gargoyles:
