Dec 21, 2022

Advent Calendar 21: Stone By Day, Warriors By Night

 


Gargoyles, the Epic 90s Cartoon from Disney that rivaled WB's Batman the Animated Series as one of the best animated series of the 1990s. NECA is making toys based on the series.

So far Goliath, Demona, Thailog, and Bronx have been released. Broadway, Brooklyn, and Hudson are next in line. Then 2 versions of Xanatos and a Steel Clan robot. We're missing Owen Burnett and Elisa Maza. I believe a Coldstone was teased... but back to the review. I only have Goliath and Demona. I purposely skipped Thailog, since it's the Goliath repaint version and not the armored version, which is a more unique and interesting version. 


Goliath and his clan were betrayed 1000 years ago by the humans they swore to protect... (and Demona) They were cursed to a permanent sleep until Castle Wyvern rose above the clouds.
Enter David Xanatos... basically Jonathan Frakes but with asshole levels over 9000. He was all like: 
"I want to put this heavy ass castle atop my office building slash residence, because I want people to see it from the sky as their planes are on their way to JFK... just to have the kids be like 'Mommy, look! It's a fairy tale castle! I wonder what king lives there!' Well, it's David Motherfucking Xanatos, you little shit! In fact, Owen, make sure all airlines play a video of Castle Wyvern as they fly by my Castle in the Sky explaining that it is the residence of David Xanatos, the world's most awesome man!" 
He did it because it was badass and the whole Gargoyle Curse.  

The Spell is broken and Goliath lives again...

Demona's story is far more convoluted. It involves lots of magic and betrayal. Point is Demona hates humans, but loves their toys.

Articulation 
Goliath has decent articulation, but due to his massive size and weight, he is slightly limited, like his knees being single joint, which limits some of his posing. He lacks butterfly shoulders, which limit his articulation. He cannot look upwards, which is needed for gliding poses. But what irks me the most is that he can't do one of his most iconic poses if not his most iconic pose...
Keith David's voice: Fuck...
Nefty VO: THAT WAS SPAWN!
Spawn: It wasn't me!
Goliath: I said fuck...
Keith David's voice: Who's the leader of the club made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!
Nefty VO: That was definitely Goli- no, it's  Spawn!
Goliath: Wrong again!
Keith David's voice: One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness, it was a world of fear, it was the age of Gargoyles!
Nefty VO: That's most definitely Goliath...
Goliath: Don't look at me...
Spawn: It was me...
Nefty VO: Dammit!
Keith David's voice: But I will be reborn once more. So even as you die, again and again, I shall return. Born again in this endless cycle i have created.
Nefty VO: Holy shot. That sounds so Final Fantasy-ish... CHAOS! Most definitely Chaos...
Keith David's voice: Fuck! I didn't expect anyone to guess that one...
Nefty VO: to be fair, Goliath, spawn and Chaos had the same voice, just as Cam Clarke's Prince Adam sounds like Leonardo and his He-Man sounds like Master Miller. Realizing that Spawn and Goliath had the same voice fucked my mind back then.



You need to be smart with his tail usage in order to balance such a heavy body with MASSIVE WINGSPAN... His wings are wider than MOTUC Castle Grayskull.

Demona fares a bit better for being lighter and having double hinged knees. With the proper hands she can be displayed in an array of poses, especially using her big guns. The only nitpick i have is that her right leg is way too loose and it resets itself. Guess that I might need Kiki loose joint fix liquid.
G: 4.0
D: 4.5
I could make a Reading Rainbow Reference, but
that would be Way too much Star Trek TNG even for Gargoyles.


Paint and sculpt:
I know I mentioned this before, but Goliath has a MOTUC vibe... probably because he was sculpted by Djordje Djokovic, who has sculpted SOME MOTUC figures like Fisto, Gwildor, and I believe NA He-Man and Draego-Man were sculpted by him. I'm not 100% sure on the last two, but there are some similarities in Goliath and those two. 
Demona is impressive, she looks both strong and sexy. Even the angry screaming head has some beauty on it. The one thing I dislike is how real metal is used on her earrings and ankle bracelet, while her tiara and bicep bracelet are plastic.
G:4.5
D:4.5
Limited Shelf Space? NECA's Gargoyles has 2 words for you: Fuck your limited shelf space.
Yes, i know those ware 5 words, but their MASSIVE wingspan doesn't give a fuck about my rules.


Accessories:
Here NECA Dropped the Ball. Their wings are too damn huge and they lack the "cape style" wings to display them without the wings open.
We have to buy other figures to get these. Bronx has Goliath's. Thailog is shit out of luck. Demona has to wait for Xanatos. Brooklyn and Broadway are Shit out of Luck as well. See what I'm getting at. But let's talk about what they have Instead of what they lack.
Goliath has a book, a Jalapeño, extra head, and hands.
Demona has 2 different guns, extra hands, extra faceplate, the Grimorum.
The reason they have so little in accessories is their frigging huge wings.

G: 4.5
D: 4.5
Once they Make Elisa Maza, the Boob kick shall come.


Overall
They are not bad figures, but they are victims of logistics. NECA would've had to go to a higher price point in order to deliver the perfect releases we needed. While I don't like the choice of spreading accessories with other figures, the other option would've made me skip them.
G: 4.33
D: 4.5

While Demona is technically the better toy, I like Goliath a bit more.
You're tearing me apart, Elisa!!


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