David Xanatos

David Xanatos is one of the primary characters of the animated series Gargoyles. In the series, he is the founder, owner and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises and a member of the Illuminati (He ranks at 36, which is the lowest of the society). Xanatos was voiced by (and his design inspired by) Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes.

Xanatos' behavior is often ruthless and amoral, although his personality is slightly softened later in the series by his affection for his wife Fox and their son Alex. His plans are often intricate and Machiavellian. However, he is notably not vindictive as he sees revenge as foolish and even tends to try and see the positive side of his defeats. In fact, his plans often work out beneficially to him in one way or another, despite the frequent intervention of Goliath, Xanatos' arch-rival, and his clan of Gargoyles. He is obsessed with obtaining immortality for himself and his family. His loyal right-hand man is Owen Burnett, a stoic man with extraordinary hidden talents Xanatos gained through equally remarkable circumstances.

Xanatos is a formidable fighter in his own right. In addition to advanced Karate and Judo skills, he also has a specialized red armored suit modeled on his Steel Clan that he wears frequently. He also has a highly advanced AI and cyborg clone modeled after himself, designed to do his bidding; it impersonates and represents him whenever he needs it to. This robot became the leader of the criminal group The Pack under the name of Coyote and there was a time where he actually used it to try to capture the actual Coyote spirit.

Biography[]

David Xanatos started life as the son of Petros Xanatos, a fisherman from Bar Harbor, Maine. Young Xanatos received an anonymous letter which contained a set of priceless 10th century coins. He sold the coins for 20 grand, investing the money in a series of successful ventures and eventually building his corporation. Xanatos's holdings include Xanatos Enterprises, a genetics company Gen-U-Tech, the Scarab Corporation robotics firm, and the television franchise Pack Media Studios. Despite his father's belief that Xanatos did not deserve the gift that had launched his career, Xanatos continued to claim that he would one day prove himself a self-made man.

During this time, Xanatos gained a former employee of his business rival, Halcyon Renard, Owen Burnett. Eventually, Burnett revealed that he was actually the Child of Oberon, Puck and offered his entertaining employer a tempting choice: a single wish or a lifetime of service as the mortal Owen Burnett. Against the magical being's expectations, Xanatos choose Owen's service and the decision deeply impressed Puck to keep his end of the bargain.

Xanatos learned of Castle Wyvern from Demona, the only remaining Gargoyle from the Wyvern Clan, and proceeded to purchase the castle and transport it, brick by brick, and reconstruct it atop his New York skyscraper, the Eyrie Building. With the castle "above the clouds," Xanatos successfully released the Manhattan Clan from their frozen sleep.

Xanatos initially posed as the Gargoyles' friend, convincing them to "acquire" technology from his rival Cyberbiotics for him and ultimately attempting to destroy the gargoyles once their replacements, the Steel Clan, came online. The Steel Clan was defeated, however, and Xanatos was convicted for receiving stolen property ("Awakening, Part V"). Xanatos continued to plot against the Gargoyles from prison, testing them and attempting to remove them from the castle. Upon his release, he became one of their greatest enemies, engaging in a particularly fierce rivalry with their leader, Goliath.

Xanatos also committed himself to getting his own clan of gargoyles that would be loyal and obedient to him. To that end, he tried several attempts throughout the series to do that such as resurrecting Goliath's brother Coldstone and some of the other dead Gargoyles from the Scottish clan; genetically creating his own clan of mutant gargoyles, one of whom was Elisa Maza's brother, Derek; creating a clone of Goliath, and perfecting the Steel Clan. When these attempts failed, he changed focus to continuing his quest for immortality but by using sorcery, magic, and even involving himself with children of Oberon, the King of the mystical island Avalon, instead.

Xanatos would meet an equal in Fox and marry her. It was on this occasion that, by inviting Goliath to the wedding and luring him into seeking reconciliation with Demona, Xanatos was able to reconstruct the Phoenix Gate. The wedding party was brought back in time to the 10th century, where Xanatos arranged for the ancient coins to be delivered to himself a thousand years in the future, via Illuminati, as well as a message to himself detailing the instructions how to do it that he had received a week before. In this way, Xanatos fulfilled his own history through a predestination paradox, at the same time proving himself to his father as a "self-made man" ("Vows").

When Demona finally betrayed Xanatos to advance her own goals of destroying the human race, Xanatos was forced to call a truce with Goliath to stop her ("City of Stone, Part II"). Goliath was later instrumental in saving Xanatos's newborn son Alexander, at which time Xanatos pledged to pay the debt back to him ("The Gathering, Part II"). He soon created new robotic bodies for Coldstone's other personalities, which he names Coldfire and Coldsteel. But the cyborg Gargoyles he put together was also created by magic, so it was impossible for mind transfer. While he and Fox were out to dinner, Puck and Alexander did the soul transfer for him. When the existence of the Gargoyles is revealed to the public, Xanatos ultimately calls an end to the feud and restores the Gargoyles to their ancestral home in the castle ("Hunter's Moon, Part III").

Relationships[]

Though at first Xanatos seems to have an on and off partnership with Demona when neither magic nor technology seem to be enough to accomplish what they plan to do, neither Xanatos nor Demona seem to truly trust one another. This proves to be a fatal flaw on their part that tends to doom plans to failure.

In general, Xanatos has an odd way of dealing with those he "loves". One example can be found in Thailog, Goliath's clone that he had Sevarius create. While the clone was being grown he had a program playing giving him information about the world and his beliefs. He seemed to have a paternal feeling towards Thailog as, when the gargoyle was kidnapped during his stone slumber, he would not let Owen fire on the kidnappers out of fear of hurting Thailog, and handed over $20,000,000 for his safe return without a second thought. He even showed pride in Thailog's manipulative abilities and genius when he found out the clone had engineered the entire plot to abscond with the money, referring to him as "a chip off the ole block". He even expressed to Thailog that if he wanted the money he would have given it to him if he would have asked for it. However his paternalism seems thin as, when he thinks Thailog died during battle with Goliath, he states that he knew the whole time that a copy (Thailog) couldn't match the original (Goliath), which infuriates Goliath as Xanatos was able to dehumanize a living being to such terms. Though arguably lacking romance, Xanatos asks Fox to marry him on the basis that "it makes sense" because they are genetically compatible, share the same interests, think the same way, enjoy the finer things in life, and "love each other" as much as two people such as themselves can. Fox accepts, yet Xanatos's feelings for Fox are largely debatable.

Though he does love Fox, he is shown using her to get what he wants as well. In the Halloween episode, Xanatos gives Fox the Eye of Odin as an engagement gift. The necklace holds unfathomable power that Fox cannot control. It turns her into a large red-haired beast, looking like a 'fox' or large wild dog. Though Xanatos suspects it has an effect on her, he does not fully understand, until he witnesses Fox transform in front of him. Terrified by what he has set into motion, he asks Goliath and Elisa for assistance, though they are initially reluctant. Goliath seems especially perturbed at how he has treated Fox and seemingly disregarded her life.

As Fox continues to go on rampages in search for food, Xanatos, Goliath, and Elisa scour the city for her. Eventually, they chase her to a rooftop and Goliath is able to free Fox from the Eye of Odin after electrocuting her with a neon sign. While preparing to leave and while holding Fox in his arms, Xanatos regretfully informs Goliath that now he knows his only weakness. Goliath turns to him, slightly disgusted and remarks, "Only you would regard love as a weakness." These words leave Xanatos speechless.

In the episodes of the Gathering, Xanatos seems instinctively protective of both Fox and Alexander, seemingly having come to terms with the idea of love not being a weakness.

Appearance in Media[]

SLG Comic[]

Soon after, Owen received a call from Mr. Duval from The Illuminati for Xanatos. Xanatos refused as he spent some time with his son that night. On Halloween Night, he's later visited by Martin Hacker (who ranks 32 in The Illuminati) who gives him an invitation to the White House. From there he meets another Illuminati member, Quincy Hemings (Chief Stewart at the White House who ranks 2 in The Illuminati). He hands Xanatos a mission from The Illuminati.

The mission is for him to obtain The Stone Of Destiny which is being sent back to Scotland. To ensure success, he recruits Coldsteel and activates Coyote 5.0. He sends some Steel and Iron Clan robots to assist them.

The Goliath Chronicles[]

Xanatos was portrayed as a benefactor to the Gargoyles. Greg Weisman has stated that while the feud with the clan ended, he still seeks to achieve his own goals (as according to Greg will be demonstrated in #4 or 5 of the comic). This is acknowledged by Brooklyn and Goliath in #1 of the Slave Labor Graphics comic book series continuation that while he isn't 100% trustworthy, they trust him not to smash them during the day. Also, Xanatos must deal with pressure from The Illuminati in terms of turning the clan over to them.