Marvel Comics is not any stranger to crossovers with different well-known franchises: Godzilla has fought the Avengers, the X-Males have crossed paths with the Enterprise crew from “Star Trek,” and Marvel’s heroes have even come face-to-face with their distinguished competitors.
The newest crossover has mixed the Incredible 4 with a beloved Disney cartoon: 1994’s “Gargoyles,” in a narrative written by “Gargoyles” co-creator Greg Weisman. “Gargoyles” was set in a world the place Gargoyles should not mere statues, however dwelling, respiration, winged humanoids, a species that developed in parallel to humanity however in modern-day is close to extinct. The lead characters are the Manhattan Clan, a bunch of gargoyles who safeguard trendy (properly, ’90s) New York.
The set-up of the sequence is a tad complicated, however the opening narration by lead gargoyle Goliath (Keith David) provides the gist fairly properly:
“One thousand years in the past, superstition and the sword dominated. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of concern. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by evening, we have been betrayed by the people we had sworn to guard, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, right here in Manhattan, the spell is damaged, and we stay once more!”
Drawn by Enid Balam, “Incredible 4/Gargoyles” #1 sees the FF workforce up with the Manhattan Clan to combat their adversary Diablo, an alchemist from historical Spain. Just like the gargoyles, Diablo is a holdover from the traditional world who’s now within the trendy one. He seeks everlasting life, and he thinks the gargoyles maintain the alchemic secret to unlocking it.
The primary problem was printed by Marvel. A second problem additionally written by Weisman, “Gargoyles x Incredible 4” #1, is being printed by present “Gargoyles” writer Dynamite and is out in November.
Gargoyles was Disney’s early try at a superhero cartoon
Disney’s Nineteen Nineties cartoons have been largely comedies that includes their basic characters (e.g. “Ducktales,” “The Goof Troop”) or film spin-offs like “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” and so on. “Gargoyles” was one thing fully unique and far darker.
It is typically seen as Disney’s reply to modern superhero cartoons like “Batman: The Animated Collection” (“Gargoyles” author Michael Reeves had additionally written on “Batman.”) One other straightforward comparability is that it is a extra mature and gothic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” albeit with heroes who fly above Manhattan as a substitute of hiding beneath it. The gargoyles have their very own Commissioner Gordon/April O’Neil in NYPD Detective Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson-Whitfield). Quite than an evil ninja clan just like the Turtles, the Gargoyles’ foremost enemies are billionaire David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes) and their misanthropic former clan member, Demona (Marina Sirtis).
Weisman was a great match to make an unique superhero cartoon; he’d beforehand labored at DC Comics, writing on sequence like “Captain Atom.” After the tip of “Gargoyles,” he went on to write down a number of episodes of “The Batman” (2004) and create “The Spectacular Spider-Man” after which “Younger Justice.” His influences did not finish at capes, although; Weisman is a Shakespeare fanatic and loaded “Gargoyles” with references to the Bard. The historic Macbeth is even a recurring character! (In “Enter Macbeth,” there is a joke that to the gargoyles, who come from tenth century Scotland, Shakespeare is a hip new author.)
“Gargoyles” surpassed 65 episodes, the at-time standard-for-syndication, however simply barely. A 13-episode third season (made largely with out Weisman), “The Goliath Chronicles,” aired in 1997 and that was that. Nonetheless, “Gargoyles” holds up alongside “Batman” as the very best of the ’90s motion cartoons. Whereas Disney has been gradual to capitalize on or revive the sequence, the ’90s nostalgia cycle is right here and “Gargoyles” could also be benefiting.
Gargoyles/Incredible 4 wants respiration room
This “Incredible 4” crossover is simply the newest proof of a “Gargoyles” renaissance. After rejecting Jordan Peele’s pitch for a “Gargoyles” movie, Disney apparently acquired the trace individuals have been within the present and introduced a live-action sequence from James Wan. In the meantime, Weisman has stored his unique “Gargoyles” story going by means of comics. From 2006 to 2009, Weisman wrote a “Gargoyles” sequence for the writer SLG. In 2022, he began his “Gargoyles” run at Dynamite, choosing up the place the earlier comedian left off.
Whereas Weisman has a historical past with Spider-Man, a Incredible 4 crossover is sensible too. Just like the 4, the Manhattan Clan aren’t only a workforce; they seem to be a household. Mixing two ensemble casts winds up overstuffing the primary “Incredible 4/Gargoyles,” although. The story appears like a miniseries condensed right into a one-shot.
There isn’t any actual table-setting about how these two mutually unique settings have someway at all times coexisted. After a chilly open that includes Diablo and Demona within the eleventh century, the current day opens with the Manhattan Clan and Incredible 4 already going through off. Whereas Xanatos will get to fulfill Tony Stark (with whom he shares comparable seems to be and fits of armor), him not teaming up with the FF’s nemesis Physician Doom is a waste. (Each males are good masterminds, however in contrast to Doom, Xanatos does not do envy or vengeance.)
There’s equally little likelihood for the FF and gargoyles to type bonds like, say, Reed Richards and Lexington bonding over a love for engineering. The story stretches itself even thinner to make sure the Manhattan Clan meet each Marvel supervillain the Gray Gargoyle, who has a Medusa-like stone contact, and superhero Isaac Christians, aka the Gargoyle.
“Gargoyles x Incredible 4” could also be on the way in which, however this final problem suggests we’d like many extra to do that crossover justice.