Pack (Gargoyles)
Encyclopedia
In the Disney
animated television series Gargoyles
, the Pack are a group of mercenaries who frequently clash with the Manhattan Clan
.
to star in their own superhero television show, and also to serve as his own personal tactical squad.
Each character adopted the name of a predatory mammal (with the exception of Hyena, all of their namesakes are canines
, and with the exception of Fox, all hunt in packs), which corresponded roughly to their personalities. For example, "Hyena" becomes known for her maniacal laugh, and "Dingo" is Australian in origin.
The Pack first appeared in the episode "The Thrill of the Hunt." The young gargoyle Lexington, after watching their television show, mistakenly believes them to really be the heroes they portray, and kindred spirits, and reveals the Clan's existence to them. The Pack quickly turns on the Clan, seeking the thrill of defeating such powerful creatures as the gargoyles. Though they are defeated and apprehended, Lexington remains bitter and vengeful towards them (in the same manner that the other gargoyles acquire arch-foes after particular experiences). The whole affair turns out to have been yet another scheme arranged by Xanatos, with the intent of capturing the gargoyles, or, failing that, putting the Pack's abilities to a real test.
The episode "Her Brother's Keeper," near the end of the first season, reveals that Wolf and Fox are both in prison, Dingo has fled to Europe, and Jackal and Hyena are working as free-lance criminals. Without realizing it, these last two are hired by Xanatos to make an attempt on his life, as part of a plot to persuade Elisa Maza
's brother to quit the NYPD and go to work for him. Xanatos survives the assassination attempt, and Jackal and Hyena are arrested.
In the second season episode "Leader of the Pack", "Coyote" (an android replica of Xanatos) breaks the Pack out of prison and leads them in another attack on the gargoyles. Fox alone chooses not to join the breakout, deciding to serve out her time. The attack fails, and the Pack is sent back to prison, while Fox's conduct allows her to gain an early parole - which was the intent of her boyfriend, the real Xanatos, all along.
After the end of their entertainment careers, the Pack become a loose team of free-wheeling mercenaries, and sometimes thieves. They became especially dangerous in the episode "Upgrade," when Xanatos offered to enhance their abilities (through genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, etc.) to allow them to fight the Manhattan Clan. Only Dingo refused to participate, opting simply for a bionic suit. However, while they were able to capture the Clan's elders and Elisa, the younger gargoyles were still able to defeat them thanks to Brooklyn's tactical expertise.
After this, the team broke up, with its members reappearing individually or in smaller groups over the remainder of the series.
A future plan by the show's creator Greg Weisman
would have had Coyote, a robot, freeing himself from David Xanatos
and reuniting the last members of the Pack (Wolf, Jackal and Hyena) into a new Ultra-Pack along with a new character. With the end of the show's production, this did not occur.
(uncredited). Born Janine Renard (though she later had her name legally changed), Fox is the daughter of businessman Halcyon Renard, and his wife, Anastasia. Where her father valued personal integrity and honor above all else, Janine preferred "thrills" and fell in love with David Xanatos.
Fox led the Pack up until its breakout from prison, when she chose to quit the team and remain behind bars. Gaining early parole, she and Xanatos became engaged, and married in the episode "Vows." However, she nearly died before their wedding in "Eye of the Beholder" when the necklace Xanatos gave her as an engagement gift was revealed to have latent magic powers and transformed her into a giant wolf like monster, the strain of the transformation and maintaining it nearly destroyed her body from within, but thanks to the reluctant assistance of Goliath and Elisa Maza, the necklace was removed and she survived.
In the episode "Outfoxed" she attempts a hostile takeover of Cyberbiotics, her father's company. The attempt fails, but her father takes no satisfaction in her defeat, lamenting that his only child has never shared his values.
In "The Gathering" she gives birth to her son, Alexander. Her mother, Anastasia, is revealed to actually be Titania, Queen of the Children of Oberon, in disguise. Because of this, both Fox and her son have latent magical powers.
With the reinstatement of the Manhattan Clan to the castle, Fox made a point of reconciling with Lexington over their past conflict. For his part, Lexington agreed to the truce for the sake of her son.
. The strongman of the group. Wolf tried to assert himself as leader of the Pack several times, but always remained second in command to Fox, and, later, Coyote.
In "Upgrade," tired of being constantly outmatched by Goliath's strength, Wolf chose to be genetically spliced with a wolf, making him stronger and more ferocious, but also significantly limiting his intellect as time went on. His ultimate goal, never fulfilled, was to beat Goliath in hand-to-hand combat.
In the episode "Vendettas," Wolf is revealed to be descended from Hakon, the Viking leader who was responsible for the massacre at Wyvern castle in the 10th Century A.D. (who was also voiced by Brown). In that episode, he and Hakon's spirit teamed up to attack Goliath and Hudson, but the plan failed and the axe was destroyed in a scrapyard, leaving Wolf to be easily defeated.
and Cree Summer
, respectively. A pair of fraternal twins who are expert with edged weapons. Jackal, the more quiet, intelligent and power-hungry of the two, shows characteristics of a sociopath while his more vicious sister is more of a rude psychopath. They bicker often, but always work together, whether in or out of the Pack. Despite their teamwork, Jackal can resent his sister as she sometimes mistreats him despite the fact she is the "baby sister" and simply because of his hunger for power. Jackal's ruthlessness and megalomania are particularly prominent in "Grief", when he briefly becomes the avatar
of Anubis
and tries to use his new found power to destroy all life on the planet.
In "Upgrade", they allowed themselves to be turned into cyborg
s, and continued to receive upgrades throughout the remainder of the series. Hyena exhibits tender, even lustful feelings toward the robot Coyote - even as his various upgrades make him less and less humanoid in appearance - which even her brother finds disturbing.
. Real name Harry Monmouth (a reference to Shakespeare's version of Prince Hal
). An Australia
n marksman and weapons expert Dingo was one of the more sympathetic, stabled and intelligent members of the Pack along with Fox.
In "Upgrade," he expressed disgust that the Pack had stooped to robbing banks to make its living. When Coyote offered to upgrade the Pack, Dingo rejected the more extreme alternatives embraced by the others, opting for a powered suit of armor. After their latest defeat, Dingo, disgusted by what his teammates did to themselves, abandoned the group.
In the episode "Walkabout", he had been hired to provide security for a nanotechnology
project being conducted in Australia by Fox and her mother, Anastasia. However, his main goal was to clean the slate and sort things out with his life. When the project got out of control and became the sentient "Matrix," Dingo and Goliath joined forces to reason with it. Dingo confessed that he missed feeling like a hero, as he did on TV, and he and the Matrix joined forces to help defend law and order in Australia.
Dingo appears later in the comic book Gargoyles Bad Guys #1
. The combined Dingo/Matrix team captures an Australia criminal, alias "Tasmanian Tiger." Because Dingo is still a wanted criminal in the U.S., Robyn Canmore
comes to arrest him, but offers him a chance to redeem himself, by joining her team of vigilantes. They agree, with their first mission taking place in Japan.
. Coyote first appears as a humanoid android replica of Xanatos, masquerading as the real Xanatos dressed in a suit of power armor. He first appears in the episode "Leader of the Pack," where he breaks the Pack out of prison to lead them against the gargoyles. His body is destroyed, but his half-damaged head (resulting in an appearance not unlike Two-Face
in Batman) survives and escapes.
In subsequent episodes, Coyote reappears as a series of larger and less human robots (though still carrying the partially destroyed head of the original in its core). Each new form carries a new designation similar to a software upgrade: Coyote 2.0, Coyote 3.0 and Coyote 4.0. He acts as a henchman for Xanatos, sometimes working with the Pack.
Each time his body is destroyed, he is rebuilt as a larger version. The latest version, 4.0, has components forged from the melted down remains of the Cauldron of Life, giving him the ability to hold and trap magical creatures.
On a mission for the Illuminati, Xanatos recruited Coldsteel and upgraded Coyote to aid Coldsteel. The Coyote Diamond (which Xanatos bought in Her Brother's Keeper) is incorporated into his body for this upgrade.
Coyote (specifically Coyote-X) would have been one of the main antagonists of the spin-off show Gargoyles: 2198, but it was never put into production.
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
animated television series Gargoyles
Gargoyles (TV series)
Gargoyles is an American animated series created by Greg Weisman. It was produced by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and aired from October 24, 1994 to February 15, 1997. Gargoyles is known for its dark tone, complex story arcs and melodrama...
, the Pack are a group of mercenaries who frequently clash with the Manhattan Clan
Manhattan Clan
The Manhattan Clan are the fictional protagonists of the animated Disney series Gargoyles. They are six gargoyles , the last survivors of a Scottish Gargoyle clan who are frozen in stone in the year 994 AD only to be reawakened in 1994 in Manhattan...
.
History
A team of martial artists and weapon experts, the Pack were originally hired by David XanatosDavid 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...
to star in their own superhero television show, and also to serve as his own personal tactical squad.
Each character adopted the name of a predatory mammal (with the exception of Hyena, all of their namesakes are canines
Canidae
Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
, and with the exception of Fox, all hunt in packs), which corresponded roughly to their personalities. For example, "Hyena" becomes known for her maniacal laugh, and "Dingo" is Australian in origin.
The Pack first appeared in the episode "The Thrill of the Hunt." The young gargoyle Lexington, after watching their television show, mistakenly believes them to really be the heroes they portray, and kindred spirits, and reveals the Clan's existence to them. The Pack quickly turns on the Clan, seeking the thrill of defeating such powerful creatures as the gargoyles. Though they are defeated and apprehended, Lexington remains bitter and vengeful towards them (in the same manner that the other gargoyles acquire arch-foes after particular experiences). The whole affair turns out to have been yet another scheme arranged by Xanatos, with the intent of capturing the gargoyles, or, failing that, putting the Pack's abilities to a real test.
The episode "Her Brother's Keeper," near the end of the first season, reveals that Wolf and Fox are both in prison, Dingo has fled to Europe, and Jackal and Hyena are working as free-lance criminals. Without realizing it, these last two are hired by Xanatos to make an attempt on his life, as part of a plot to persuade Elisa Maza
Elisa Maza
Elisa Maza is a fictional character from the Disney animated television series Gargoyles, voiced by Salli Richardson. She is the main human character of the series, the steadfast ally of the Manhattan Clan of gargoyles...
's brother to quit the NYPD and go to work for him. Xanatos survives the assassination attempt, and Jackal and Hyena are arrested.
In the second season episode "Leader of the Pack", "Coyote" (an android replica of Xanatos) breaks the Pack out of prison and leads them in another attack on the gargoyles. Fox alone chooses not to join the breakout, deciding to serve out her time. The attack fails, and the Pack is sent back to prison, while Fox's conduct allows her to gain an early parole - which was the intent of her boyfriend, the real Xanatos, all along.
After the end of their entertainment careers, the Pack become a loose team of free-wheeling mercenaries, and sometimes thieves. They became especially dangerous in the episode "Upgrade," when Xanatos offered to enhance their abilities (through genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, etc.) to allow them to fight the Manhattan Clan. Only Dingo refused to participate, opting simply for a bionic suit. However, while they were able to capture the Clan's elders and Elisa, the younger gargoyles were still able to defeat them thanks to Brooklyn's tactical expertise.
After this, the team broke up, with its members reappearing individually or in smaller groups over the remainder of the series.
A future plan by the show's creator Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
would have had Coyote, a robot, freeing himself from David Xanatos
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...
and reuniting the last members of the Pack (Wolf, Jackal and Hyena) into a new Ultra-Pack along with a new character. With the end of the show's production, this did not occur.
Fox
Voiced by Laura San GiacomoLaura San Giacomo
Laura San Giacomo is an American actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! and Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman, and Cynthia in sex, lies, and videotape as well as other work on television and in films...
(uncredited). Born Janine Renard (though she later had her name legally changed), Fox is the daughter of businessman Halcyon Renard, and his wife, Anastasia. Where her father valued personal integrity and honor above all else, Janine preferred "thrills" and fell in love with David Xanatos.
Fox led the Pack up until its breakout from prison, when she chose to quit the team and remain behind bars. Gaining early parole, she and Xanatos became engaged, and married in the episode "Vows." However, she nearly died before their wedding in "Eye of the Beholder" when the necklace Xanatos gave her as an engagement gift was revealed to have latent magic powers and transformed her into a giant wolf like monster, the strain of the transformation and maintaining it nearly destroyed her body from within, but thanks to the reluctant assistance of Goliath and Elisa Maza, the necklace was removed and she survived.
In the episode "Outfoxed" she attempts a hostile takeover of Cyberbiotics, her father's company. The attempt fails, but her father takes no satisfaction in her defeat, lamenting that his only child has never shared his values.
In "The Gathering" she gives birth to her son, Alexander. Her mother, Anastasia, is revealed to actually be Titania, Queen of the Children of Oberon, in disguise. Because of this, both Fox and her son have latent magical powers.
With the reinstatement of the Manhattan Clan to the castle, Fox made a point of reconciling with Lexington over their past conflict. For his part, Lexington agreed to the truce for the sake of her son.
Wolf
Voiced by Clancy BrownClancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
. The strongman of the group. Wolf tried to assert himself as leader of the Pack several times, but always remained second in command to Fox, and, later, Coyote.
In "Upgrade," tired of being constantly outmatched by Goliath's strength, Wolf chose to be genetically spliced with a wolf, making him stronger and more ferocious, but also significantly limiting his intellect as time went on. His ultimate goal, never fulfilled, was to beat Goliath in hand-to-hand combat.
In the episode "Vendettas," Wolf is revealed to be descended from Hakon, the Viking leader who was responsible for the massacre at Wyvern castle in the 10th Century A.D. (who was also voiced by Brown). In that episode, he and Hakon's spirit teamed up to attack Goliath and Hudson, but the plan failed and the axe was destroyed in a scrapyard, leaving Wolf to be easily defeated.
Jackal & Hyena
Voiced by Matt FrewerMatt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
and Cree Summer
Cree Summer
Cree Summer Francks , best known as Cree Summer, is a Canadian actress, musician and voice actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as college student Winifred "Freddie" Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
, respectively. A pair of fraternal twins who are expert with edged weapons. Jackal, the more quiet, intelligent and power-hungry of the two, shows characteristics of a sociopath while his more vicious sister is more of a rude psychopath. They bicker often, but always work together, whether in or out of the Pack. Despite their teamwork, Jackal can resent his sister as she sometimes mistreats him despite the fact she is the "baby sister" and simply because of his hunger for power. Jackal's ruthlessness and megalomania are particularly prominent in "Grief", when he briefly becomes the avatar
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
of Anubis
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...
and tries to use his new found power to destroy all life on the planet.
In "Upgrade", they allowed themselves to be turned into cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s, and continued to receive upgrades throughout the remainder of the series. Hyena exhibits tender, even lustful feelings toward the robot Coyote - even as his various upgrades make him less and less humanoid in appearance - which even her brother finds disturbing.
Dingo
Voiced by Jim CummingsJim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
. Real name Harry Monmouth (a reference to Shakespeare's version of Prince Hal
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
). An Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n marksman and weapons expert Dingo was one of the more sympathetic, stabled and intelligent members of the Pack along with Fox.
In "Upgrade," he expressed disgust that the Pack had stooped to robbing banks to make its living. When Coyote offered to upgrade the Pack, Dingo rejected the more extreme alternatives embraced by the others, opting for a powered suit of armor. After their latest defeat, Dingo, disgusted by what his teammates did to themselves, abandoned the group.
In the episode "Walkabout", he had been hired to provide security for a nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
project being conducted in Australia by Fox and her mother, Anastasia. However, his main goal was to clean the slate and sort things out with his life. When the project got out of control and became the sentient "Matrix," Dingo and Goliath joined forces to reason with it. Dingo confessed that he missed feeling like a hero, as he did on TV, and he and the Matrix joined forces to help defend law and order in Australia.
Dingo appears later in the comic book Gargoyles Bad Guys #1
Gargoyles (SLG comic)
Gargoyles is a comic book produced by Slave Labor Graphics and Creature Comics. It was written by series creator Greg Weisman starting in 2006, and continued the storyline of the animated television series Gargoyles from the first two seasons, supplanting the ABC Network third season, The Goliath...
. The combined Dingo/Matrix team captures an Australia criminal, alias "Tasmanian Tiger." Because Dingo is still a wanted criminal in the U.S., Robyn Canmore
Hunter (Gargoyles)
In the Walt Disney animated television series Gargoyles, several of the show's antagonists, as legacy villains have used the name and identity of the Hunter. Traditionally, the Hunter persona was used specifically for the purpose of destroying members of the gargoyle species, such as the show's...
comes to arrest him, but offers him a chance to redeem himself, by joining her team of vigilantes. They agree, with their first mission taking place in Japan.
Coyote
Voiced by Jonathan FrakesJonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
. Coyote first appears as a humanoid android replica of Xanatos, masquerading as the real Xanatos dressed in a suit of power armor. He first appears in the episode "Leader of the Pack," where he breaks the Pack out of prison to lead them against the gargoyles. His body is destroyed, but his half-damaged head (resulting in an appearance not unlike Two-Face
Two-Face
Two-Face is a fictional comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. and is an enemy of Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #66 , and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger....
in Batman) survives and escapes.
In subsequent episodes, Coyote reappears as a series of larger and less human robots (though still carrying the partially destroyed head of the original in its core). Each new form carries a new designation similar to a software upgrade: Coyote 2.0, Coyote 3.0 and Coyote 4.0. He acts as a henchman for Xanatos, sometimes working with the Pack.
Each time his body is destroyed, he is rebuilt as a larger version. The latest version, 4.0, has components forged from the melted down remains of the Cauldron of Life, giving him the ability to hold and trap magical creatures.
On a mission for the Illuminati, Xanatos recruited Coldsteel and upgraded Coyote to aid Coldsteel. The Coyote Diamond (which Xanatos bought in Her Brother's Keeper) is incorporated into his body for this upgrade.
Coyote (specifically Coyote-X) would have been one of the main antagonists of the spin-off show Gargoyles: 2198, but it was never put into production.