Anansi is a minor antagonist in the Disney animated television series Gargoyles. He is one of the Third Race, AKA, the Children of Oberon and is based on the traditional African figure from African folklore.
Background[]
Anansi generally looks like a spider, of varying size (what size he is generally depends on how much he's had to eat lately). He is a trickster, and will eagerly bend any bargain that he makes with anyone to his own advantage, at the expense of the bargainer. He likes to eat and has an enormous appetite, but is also very lazy and prefers to let other people obtain his food for him.
Alongside the ability to turn humans into werepanthers, Anansi can command ordinary spiders. The spiders that lived in Kara Digi served him, bringing him messages and even dropping thick webs upon intruders.
Role in the show[]
In "Mark of the Panther", Anansi is first seen in the story of the Panther Queen. He punished the queen for mocking him by turning her into a human. In order to reclaim her original form, Anansi commanded that she should build Kara Digi, a great city, in his honor. In order to accomplish this, she married the Oba, the chief, of the Houka tribe. She, her husband, and children built the great city, and it when it was populated, its citizens hunted and brought food to Anansi. Anansi was so pleased about what the queen did, so he finally turned her back into a panther. As a panther, she missed her family, and so begged Anansi to turn her children into panthers. Anansi said that he would only let her choose one child, so she chose her eldest son. Anansi, desiring to keep the boy in his service, tried to trick him into turning on his mother, but his plans backfired when the boy chose to become a panther with his mother. In his rage, he drove away the rest of the people of Kara Digi, leaving him without a food source.
Fara Maku found Anansi and struck up a deal with him. Fara Maku would hunt for Anansi as a panther at night, if Anansi would prevent Maku's love, Tea, from leaving for the city, by turning her into a panther. Anansi agreed, and the two became panthers. When Tea discovered what Fara Maku had done to her, she vowed to hunt him down and kill him. The Avalon Travelers (Goliath, Bronx, Angela, and Elisa) arrived, however, and helped to defeat Anansi in the lost city of Kara Digi, resolving the conflict between the two battling lovers.
Despite his defeat, Anansi returned to Avalon for the Gathering in line with the other Children of Oberon during the events of "The Gathering: Part One", albeit retaining with his colossal size. Anansi did not speak in this episode.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Anansi is one of the several characters to be played by a Star Trek cast member. In this case, LeVar Burton, who portrayed Geordi La Forge.
- After Goliath defeated Anansi during his confrontation in Kara Digi, a small spider was seen scurrying away from the Manhattan Clan for safety. According to series creator Greg Weisman, the small spider that scuttled away from the Manhattan Clan was identified as Anansi who vanished from his colossal size to his diminutive size while escaping in defeat. With that said, this gave a hint which implies that Anansi survived the battle against the Manhattan Clan and later returned in his next appearance, albeit retaining his colossal size.
