Stone Dragon

The Stone Dragon is a character featured in the Disney animated series, Gargoyles. It is an animate statue of a dragon that lived at the center of the hedge maze in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden where King Arthur recovered the sword Excalibur.
==Background==
This dragon appeared as a large statue of a European dragon where a sword was placed on its chest to make it look like the dragon was gripping the sword over its chest. However, it is unknown who or what created the magical dragon statue, although it was likely designed to test the one true king. Located on the dragon is a unique red stone which is said to be the dragon's weakness. When struck, it causes the dragon to be destroyed, such as the case when King Arthur smashed the stone to destroy the dragon.
==Role in the series==
In "Pendragon", King Arthur and Griff were tasked to seek the sword Excalibur with direction from the Lady of the Lake as well guidance from Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington. Soon as Macbeth sees the sword placed on the dragon statue, Arthur attempted to retrieve Excalibur only to be confronted by Macbeth, which Arthur engages into a confrontation with a mace given by Griff. During a battle between the two, the stone dragon comes to life and attacks Arthur, Griff, and Macbeth. During battle, Macbeth attempts to slay the dragon with Excalibur followed by Griff attempting to take on the dragon only for the dragon to attack him in combat. The stone dragon then knocks Excalibur off of Macbeth's hand, causing Arthur to retrieve it. Arthur attempts to slay it, but instead breaks the sword after he realizes that the sword was not the real Excalibur. Just as the dragon grabs him and Macbeth, Griff grabs the dragon's tail and attempts to rescue Arthur as the dragon attempts to fly away from the garden.
Later, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and Hudson notice the dragon flying above them, leading them to fight against the dragon which it attacks the four by breathing fire at them, knocking them back, followed by Griff striking the dragon with his claws, and as the dragon continues attacking the four, Arthur then sees the red stone on the dragon, leading him and Griff to work together in defeating the dragon. Arthur smashes the stone with the mace, causing the dragon to crack and fall apart, destroying the winged creature. The remains of the stone dragon disappear in a flash of light.
==Trivia==
*Although the stone dragon was a statue of a dragon encountered in the series, an actual dragon named "Wyvern" would later appear in the Gargoyles universe introduced in the comic Gargoyles Dark Ages, appearing in the issue "The Dream". Wyvern originated in an unused pitch for one of the proposed Gargoyles spin-offs, The Dark Ages, showcasing Mentor, Goliath, and Angel battling the dragon, which Greg Weisman tried to sell to Disney in 1996, but it remained scrapped.
**In the second part of the season one episode, "Awakening", Hudson mistook the Commandos' helicopter for a dragon, which Lexington described the helicopter as an unusual creature.
==External links==
*Stone Dragon on GargWiki.
Category:Gargoyles characters
Category:Dragons
Category:Objects
Category:Magical Objects
Category:Characters who fly
Category:Disney characters
Category:TV Animation characters
Category:The Disney Afternoon characters