David Xanatos

Access to his exo-frame technology including the Steel Clan(plus his own gargoyle armor)

### Goals

Force the gargoyles to serve him.
Become rich and successful.
Protect his son from harm.

### Crimes

Attempted murder
Theft
Kidnapping
Acquiring stolen property

### Type of MB

Wealthy Mastermind

**David Xanatos** is one of the main antagonist in the 1994 animated series *Gargoyles*. He is a wealthy billionaire who has the Gargoyles brought to New York City, and revives them to use them for his own ends.

He was voiced by Jonathan Frakes.

## What Makes Him Magnificent?

* He's extremely charming and affable, and seems to genuinely like Goliath even though the feeling isn't mutual.
* He's a brilliant planner, adept at adjusting his strategies on the fly, and often reveals that he's managed to advance some hidden goal even when his most obvious plan seems to have failed.
* He poses as an ally when he revives the gargoyles, telling them he needs their help to retrieve some computer disks, when he's actually stealing technology from his rival.
* When Goliath threatens to throw him to his death, he shows no fear and dares him to do it, telling Goliath that he'd be nothing without him. This convinces Goliath to spare him.
* When he's sent to prison, he continues to scheme against the Gargoyles, creating a group of mercenaries, The Pack, to keep them occupied, while making himself out to be a model citizen, and gets himself released by pleading down to a lesser charge.
* He takes threats to his city seriously, and is willing to ally with the Gargoyles in order to defeat them.
* In one episode, he comes up with no less than five different plans to steal the Eye of Odin, amazing Golatih with his resilience. When he seems to have lost at the end, Xanatos states that it was all worth it, as he still managed to test himself against Goliath in combat, and is content that he's "still got the edge."
* He fakes his own assassination as part of his schemes, without even telling the assassins that it had to be faked.
* He warps himself back in time and discovers the coin that made him rich, sending it a thousand years into the future to his childhood self, allowing him to kickstart his own career.
* David does not attack the gargoyles during daytime cause there would be no challenge to have, which is something Goliath trust him with.
* He genuinely cares for his assistant Owen, as well as his wife and son. When the Gargoyles save his son's life, Xanatos is grateful to them and states that he owes them a debt he may never be able to repay, and ends his feud with them, redeeming himself.

## What Makes Him A Baddie?

* He steals technology from rival companies in order to become successful.
* He's devious and manipulative, often using the Gargoyles to achieve selfish goals, or tricking them into handling problems for him.
* He tries to have the Gargoyles destroyed in the pilot, claiming they've outlived their usefulness.
* He makes several attempts to create a new group of genetically engineered Gargoyles who will be forced to serve him.

## Trivia

* The tropes "Xanatos Gambit" and "Xanatos Speed Chess" are named after him. They refer, respectively, to a strategy where all possible outcomes manage to benefit the strategist in some way and to the ability to change your plan on the fly the moment an element falls out of place and always coming out on top as a result.

## Navigation

Animated Features
Gabby Gabby

Live-Action Features
Maleficent

Animated Television
Warp Darkmatter

Live-Action Television
The Annihilator

Video Games
Evil Dr. Porkchop

Fanon
Clopin

See Also
Toy Story Magnificent Baddies