A New Marvel Crossover Brings The Fantastic Four And A Beloved '90s Cartoon Together

Marvel Comics is no stranger to crossovers with other famous franchises: Godzilla has fought the Avengers, the X-Men have crossed paths with the Enterprise crew from "Star Trek," and Marvel's heroes have even come face-to-face with their distinguished competition. 

The latest crossover has combined the Fantastic Four with a beloved Disney cartoon: 1994's "Gargoyles," in a story written by "Gargoyles" co-creator Greg Weisman. "Gargoyles" was set in a world where Gargoyles are not mere statues, but living, breathing, winged humanoids, a species that developed in parallel to humanity but in modern day is near extinct. The lead characters are the Manhattan Clan, a group of gargoyles who safeguard modern (well, '90s) New York. 

The set-up of the series is a tad complex, but the opening narration by lead gargoyle Goliath (Keith David) gives the gist pretty well: 

"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. Stone by day, warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again!"

Drawn by Enid Balam, "Fantastic Four/Gargoyles" #1 sees the FF team up with the Manhattan Clan to fight their adversary Diablo, an alchemist from ancient Spain. Like the gargoyles, Diablo is a holdover from the ancient world who is now in the modern one. He seeks eternal life, and he thinks the gargoyles hold the alchemic secret to unlocking it. 

The first issue was published by Marvel. A second issue also written by Weisman, "Gargoyles x Fantastic Four" #1, is being published by current "Gargoyles" publisher Dynamite and is out in November.

Disney's 1990s cartoons were largely comedies featuring their classic characters (e.g. "Ducktales," "The Goof Troop") or movie spin-offs like "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," etc. "Gargoyles" was something completely original and much darker. 

It's often viewed as Disney's answer to contemporary superhero cartoons like "Batman: The Animated Series" ("Gargoyles" writer Michael Reeves had also written on "Batman.") Another easy comparison is that it's a more mature and gothic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," albeit with heroes who fly above Manhattan instead of hiding below it. The gargoyles have their own Commissioner Gordon/April O'Neil in NYPD Detective Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson-Whitfield). Rather than an evil ninja clan like the Turtles, the Gargoyles' main enemies are billionaire David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes) and their misanthropic former clan member, Demona (Marina Sirtis).

Weisman was a good fit to make an original superhero cartoon; he'd previously worked at DC Comics, writing on series like "Captain Atom." After the end of "Gargoyles," he went on to write several episodes of "The Batman" (2004) and create "The Spectacular Spider-Man" and then "Young Justice." His influences didn't end at capes, though; Weisman is a Shakespeare enthusiast and loaded "Gargoyles" with references to the Bard. The historical Macbeth is even a recurring character! (In "Enter Macbeth," there's a joke that to the gargoyles, who come from 10th century Scotland, Shakespeare is a hip new writer.)

"Gargoyles" surpassed 65 episodes, the at-time standard-for-syndication, but just barely. A 13-episode third season (made mostly without Weisman), "The Goliath Chronicles," aired in 1997 and that was that. Still, "Gargoyles" holds up alongside "Batman" as the best of the '90s action cartoons. While Disney has been slow to capitalize on or revive the series, the '90s nostalgia cycle is here and "Gargoyles" may be benefiting.

This "Fantastic Four" crossover is just the latest proof of a "Gargoyles" renaissance. After rejecting Jordan Peele's pitch for a "Gargoyles" film, Disney apparently got the hint people were interested in the show and announced a live-action series from James Wan. Meanwhile, Weisman has kept his original "Gargoyles" story going through comics. From 2006 to 2009, Weisman wrote a "Gargoyles" series for the publisher SLG. In 2022, he started his "Gargoyles" run at Dynamite, picking up where the previous comic left off. 

While Weisman has a history with Spider-Man, a Fantastic Four crossover makes sense too. Like the Four, the Manhattan Clan aren't just a team; they're a family. Mixing two ensemble casts winds up overstuffing the first "Fantastic Four/Gargoyles," though. The story feels like a miniseries condensed into a one-shot.

There's no real table-setting about how these two mutually exclusive settings have somehow always coexisted. After a cold open featuring Diablo and Demona in the 11th century, the present day opens with the Manhattan Clan and Fantastic Four already facing off. While Xanatos gets to meet Tony Stark (with whom he shares similar looks and suits of armor), him not teaming up with the FF's nemesis Doctor Doom is a waste. (Both men are brilliant masterminds, but unlike Doom, Xanatos doesn't do envy or vengeance.)

There's similarly little chance for the FF and gargoyles to form bonds like, say, Reed Richards and Lexington bonding over a love for engineering. The story stretches itself even thinner to ensure the Manhattan Clan meet both Marvel supervillain the Grey Gargoyle, who has a Medusa-like stone touch, and superhero Isaac Christians, aka the Gargoyle.

"Gargoyles x Fantastic Four" may be on the way, but this last issue suggests we need many more to do this crossover justice.