Character Study - Demona

 

"I have a name, too, Goliath. The humans gave it to me long ago. You should know it before you die. I am...Demona."

Hey there, Toonsters!

   Jason here with another character study in this new year (again). In this one, I will talk about one of the most complex, complicated villains in all of animation. I am, of course, referring to Demona from Gargoyles. Who is she, why is she such an enigma, how did she go from being Goliath's lover to his worst enemy, almost as bad as Xanatos, why her voice actress is linked to Star Trek, and why her profound hatred for humans mirrors that of King Triton himself? So sit back and wait till nightfall, as I explain the character study of the traitorous, yet tragic she-demon herself. Enjoy!

Goliath and his "Angel of the Night", before her betrayal of her mate and clan, and resentment towards humans. In another reality, they would've have their happily ever after, but it was not meant to be. But that story is for another time.

Origins: Originally a member of the gargoyle clan of Wyvern Castle in 19th Century Scotland, Demona, who was nameless at the time, was second in command of her clan, alongside her mate, Goliath, who he sees her as his "Angel of the Night." One night, as dawn was approaching, the raiders that attacked the castle the other day, attacked again. Goliath and Hudson, who was nameless at the time as well, returned to the castle, but was too late. As Goliath survey the damage to his helpless clanmates, he sees the shattered stone pieces of one of them, thinking that Demona was one of them, which saddened and anger Goliath. Little that he didn't know, Demona made her escape before the raiders attacked in secret. And on top of that, she conspired with the captain of the royal guard in betraying the inhabitants of the castle to those very same Viking raiders, but failed to convince Goliath and her clanmates to escape. She longs to return to the castle after everything calm down, however, she learned that the 6 surviving gargoyles, including Goliath, were placed under a spell that keep them in stone for a 1,000 years. As a result, Demona started her path of loneliness, pain and resentment.

As she wanders around for years, she tries to survive, but not going well as she wanted, including scarring a young boy when looking for food (who grew up to be a rage-filled hunter). From there, she met Macbeth in the year 1020 A.D.. Let's just say they started off allies and then, eventually enemies, especially when the Weird Sisters making them psychically linked (especially when feeling one another's pain), which also made them both immortal. It is around that time Macbeth gave her the name, "Demona", which literally means "She-Demon", cause according to him, she fights like a demon.

1,000 years later, Demona emerges from the shadows to see her mate Goliath, thanks to David Xanatos, who she aligned herself with. Initially aligned with her fellow gargoyle brethren, Demona shown her true colors towards Goliath and her soon to be clanmates, as she and Xanatos attacked with robot duplicates of Goliath known as the Steel Clan. Demona has since become the gargoyles' worst enemy, in her quest to rid the world of all humans and will eliminate anyone who aligns with them, especially her former mate, Goliath, the other gargoyles and their human friend, police detective Elisa Maza.

Demona's human form, a direct result of a magic spell by the trickster, Puck.

Appearance and Personality: At first glance, she is a pale blue skinned gargoyle with long spikey red hair and green eyes (but turn pupiless blood red when angered or in a rage), long whip like tail, large wingspan, which doubles as a cape, standing 6'7", sporting a gold spikey tiara, ring earrings, and ankle bracelet on her right ankle and a gold jagged armband on her left arm, wearing a midriff sporting halter top with one strap down and a matching loincloth with a leather belt. Normally, she can turn to stone at daytime like her fellow gargoyles, but now, she can turn into a human at daytime, thanks to a spell placed on her by the trickster Puck. As as human, she is more smaller and petite than her gargoyle form at around 5'9". She would give Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk) a run for her money. And as a human, she goes under her alias, Dominique Destine, and formed a company called Nightstone Unlimited, which she uses as a front for her nefarious schemes.

Personality-wise, for someone who is the gargoyles worst enemy, she is, among other things, her own worst enemy. Being alone for a thousand years can make a creature like her so bitter. She has a strong profound hatred for the humans, similar to another character that has the same hatred for the humans at the time, King Triton from The Little Mermaid. Unlike Triton, she didn't learn that not all humans are dangerous, for she wants to wipe them out, stating that they are the reason her kind don't exist no more. And even if Goliath and his clan survived, she will go after them for aligning with those said humans, including Elisa Masa herself. Aside from her xenophobia, Demona also craves power, power enough to rule all the world, both human and gargoyle alike. Nothing good comes from being power-hungry. And to make this a bit more complicated, she could've been all evil, if not for one benefactor, her daughter, Angela. Despite her obsession with power and her hatred for humans, Demona has a soft spot for Angela and will give her life to protect her, especially against Goliath's clone, Thailog. But there were times where Demona tries to convince Angela to join her in her war against the humans, but Angela, with all her better judgment, refuse. And for the record, when Angela told Demona that she hated her, she said it out of anger. Angela knows deep down that there is good inside of her mother, but that remains to be seen. Until then, Demona is what she is, a tragic, xenophobic yet lonely she-demon. So, 'nuff said.

Powers and Abilities: For a gargoyle, like most of her clan, Demona has superhuman strength, strong enough to rip her foes into a million pieces. Back then, she is also good with melee weapons, including swords, maces and knives. In modern times, she also learned how to use conventional weapons, including guns, rocket launchers, laser rifles and so forth. With a gun at her disposal, Demona is even more dangerous than a gargoyle that attacks with nothing but their talons. Like her fellow gargoyles, she can scale up buildings with her talons and can glide with her wings when at higher altitudes. As for everything else, mostly in the world of magic. Demona is practically immortal, thanks to the Weird Sisters, who also gave her a psychic link on to Macbeth. Whatever pain Macbeth feels, she feels it, too, and vice versa (Sort of like the Tomax/Xamot effect, know what I mean?). And thanks to Puck, Demona now changes into a human in the daytime instead of turning into stone like her fellow gargoyles.

The vengeful She-Demon, and her elegant voice, whose other character is her empathic opposite in the Final Frontier.

Voice: For someone as evil and malevolent as Demona, her voice makes her a bit more elegant and tragic at the same time, and no one can pull it off better than Counselor Deanna Troi herself, Marina Sirtis. That's right, straight from the world of Star Trek, most specifically, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Where Counselor Troi is benevolent, kind and full of empathy, Demona is the exact opposite. Sirtis is one of many actors from Star Trek who did voice work on this show, the others are Brent Spiner (Data), who voiced Puck, Michael Dorn (Worf), who voiced Coldstone, and most importantly, Jonathan Frakes (Riker), who voiced the main villain, David Xanatos. Wow, I wonder if they ever do a Star Trek/Gargoyles crossover. Perhaps, only time will tell.

"You dare rise against me! The human era is over, the mutant era has begun!"

Comparisons to Other Characters: Demona's motivations to destroy all humans is almost as similar to another character who had that same mind set and that was Magneto, the master of magnetism, who motivations were different from her own, for he wants to suppress the humans (not kill them) in his quest for mutant domination, stating that homo-superior is, well, superior to homo-sapiens.

"So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way...so be it!"

However, as I stated earlier, her xenophobia mirrors that of King Triton himself. As Demona blamed humans for her clan's extinction, Triton blames them for the death of his wife, Queen Athena, which causes conflict with his own daughter, Ariel, who has a strong fascination with the human world. The only difference between the two is while through self-sacrifice and Ariel's love for Prince Eric and realizing that not all humans are dangerous, Triton redeemed himself and cast aside his xenophobia, while Demona, she sees all humans as a threat, not just the guilty, but the innocent as well. It is fair game for her if she has her way.

Final Thoughts: No one knows what her legacy will be. There were plans to have a crossover with Atlantis: The Lost Empire, but it never came to fruition. But through fanart and fan fiction, maybe we will get to see more of Demona and how her character will go on in the future, either remaining a xenophoic socialpath or tragic villain seeking redemption and atone for her past sins. Either way, Demona is truly the most complicated, engimatic villain in all of fiction, and that's saying something. At least, we still get to see Gargoyles when we can.

Next time, I will do a follow up, a What if, where Demona was re-imagined as a tragic character with no hatred in her heart, and following the ways of Goliath and protecting humans from the very evil that took him from her. But that story is for another time. Until next time, stay frosty, my friends.

Saraba da (Farewell), for now!

"The access code is...'alone'."