A new Marvel crossover brings together Fantastic Four and a beloved ’90s cartoon

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

The latest crossover combines the Fantastic Four with a beloved Disney cartoon: 1994’s “Gargoyles,” in a story written by “Gargoyles” co-creator Greg Weisman. “Gargoyles” takes place in a world where gargoyles are not simple statues, but living, breathing winged humanoids, a species that developed alongside humanity but is now almost extinct. The main characters are the Manhattan Clan, a group of gargoyles who protect modern (well, 90s) New York.

The set-up for the series is a bit complex, but the opening narration from lead gargoyle Goliath (Keith David) gets the gist across pretty well:

“A 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. Stones by day, warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans we were sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a spell for a thousand years. Today, 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 remnant of the ancient world that has become part of the modern world. He seeks eternal life and believes that gargoyles hold the alchemical secret to unlocking it.

The first issue was published by Marvel. A second issue also written by Weisman, “Gargoyles x Fantastic Four” #1, is published by current “Gargoyles” imprint Dynamite and will be released in November.

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

It’s often seen as Disney’s answer to contemporary superhero cartoons like “Batman: The Animated Series” (“Gargoyles” writer Michael Reeves also wrote on “Batman.”) Another easy comparison is that it’s a more mature, gothic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” but with heroes flying above Manhattan instead of hiding below. 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 choice to direct an original superhero cartoon; he had previously worked at DC Comics, writing on series like “Captain Atom.” After the end of “Gargoyles”, he wrote several episodes of “The Batman” (2004) and created “The Spectacular Spider-Man” then “Young Justice”. However, his influences aren’t limited to capes; Weisman is a Shakespeare enthusiast and loads “Gargoyles” with references to the bard. The historical Macbeth is even a recurring character! (In “Enter Macbeth” there’s a joke that, for the gargoyles, who come from 10th-century Scotland, Shakespeare is a hip new writer.)

“Gargoyles” exceeded 65 episodes, the standard for syndication at the time, but just barely. A 13-episode third season (made mostly without Weisman), “The Goliath Chronicles,” aired in 1997 and that was it. Still, “Gargoyles” remains, alongside “Batman,” 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” could benefit from it.

This “Fantastic Four” crossover is just the latest evidence of a “Gargoyles” revival. After rejecting Jordan Peele’s proposal for a “Gargoyles” movie, Disney apparently realized that people were interested in the series and announced a live-action series from James Wan. Meanwhile, Weisman kept his original “Gargoyles” story alive throughout the comics. From 2006 to 2009, Weisman wrote a “Gargoyles” series for the publisher SLG. In 2022, he began his “Gargoyles” series at Dynamite, picking up where the previous comic left off.

Although Weisman has a history with Spider-Man, a Fantastic Four crossover also makes sense. Like the Four, the Manhattan Clan is not just a team; it’s a family. However, mixing two ensemble casts ends up overloading the first “Fantastic Four/Gargoyles.” The story feels like a mini-series condensed into a one-shot.

There’s not really a set table for how these two mutually exclusive settings have always coexisted in one way or another. After a cold open featuring Diablo and Demona in the 11th century, the current day opens with the Manhattan clan and the Fantastic Four already face to face. While Xanatos meets Tony Stark (with whom he shares similar looks and armor), not teaming up with FF’s nemesis Doctor Doom is a waste. (Both men are brilliant masterminds, but unlike Doom, Xanatos has no desire or vengeance.)

There’s also little chance for the FF and Gargoyles to form bonds like, say, Reed Richards and Lexington who bond over their love of engineering. The story stretches even thinner to ensure that the Manhattan clan encounters both the Marvel supervillain the Gray Gargoyle, who has a touch of stone similar to that of Medusa, and the superhero Isaac Christians, aka the Gargoyle.

“Gargoyles x Fantastic Four” may be on its way, but this latest issue suggests we’ll need a lot more to do this crossover justice.