Talon (real name, Derek Maza) is a recurring character of the Disney animated series, Gargoyles. He is Elisa Maza's younger brother who became a mutate and the de facto leader of the Labyrinth Clan.
Background[]
Personality[]
Derek has a strong sense of justice, wanting to maintain peace and protect others. However, in the desire to do good, he is stubborn and very opinionated and doesn't like to admit when he's wrong, opting to delude others and himself into believing untruths. This is an exploitable personality flaw that allowed him to be easily manipulated by Xanatos in the first place. While he does care about his sister, he refused to listen to Elisa's advice concerning Xanatos, feeling that he had to prove to his family and himself that he has good judgment.
Despite all this, he's kind-hearted, just and charitable, helping others who can't help themselves by providing them with shelter. He has been able to have a relatively happy life despite the tragedy that has befallen him. As Talon, Derek has become more responsible and less naive due to the duties associated with the leader of the mutates.
Physical appearance[]
As a human, Derek had dark brown skin from his mother's side, cut black hair that was shaved at the sides and styled into a flat-top, and was seen wearing a blue vest over a black shirt.
Talon's mutate form combines genes from a black panther, a bat, and an electric eel with his natural human DNA. He is very strong, can fly, and is capable of producing powerful electric blasts. Initially, the mutation caused Derek to become deformed and covered with hair, and his appearance appeared intermediate between humans and animals. Over time, his mutate form became more trim and feline in appearance. He sports a green, cuirass-like breastplate and blue trunks.
Role in the series[]
Derek was once part of the N.Y.P.D. along with his sister Elisa, both following in their father's footsteps. During his time in the force, he was a helicopter pilot. Derek came to see Elisa when she was shot. Later, when he helps Elisa track Xanatos by helicopter, he and Elisa wound up in the middle of an attempted robbery by Jackal & Hyena. Jackal aimed a bazooka at them, but Xanatos tackled Jackal and threw off his aim so that the missile from the bazooka hit only the helicopter's tail. Derek managed to land the helicopter, but Jackal & Hyena escape. Xanatos, impressed by Derek's skill, offers him a job at Xanatos Enterprises as his pilot and bodyguard. Despite Elisa's protests, Derek took the job.
Later that year, Xanatos "discovers" that his chief scientist at Gen-U-Tech, Dr. Anton Sevarius, had been hiring mercenaries for an "unknown" reason, and when he and Derek investigate the matter, they discover that Sevarius had mutated three humans into pseudo-gargoyle creatures. When Xanatos threatens to undo Sevarius' work, Sevarius tries to shoot Xanatos with an apparent tranquilizer dart, but Derek pushes Xanatos out of the way and gets hit with the dart instead. Sevarius then reveals that it contained the mutagenic formula used to create the other mutates, and soon enough, Derek himself begins to mutate. Xanatos then forces Sevarius to try to make an anti-mutagen, but the gargoyles, who were there to rescue Maggie the Cat, another mutate who had been encountered by Brooklyn, interrupt Sevarius' injection of the anti-mutagen and knock the injector containing it out of Sevarius' hands, shattering Derek's "cure". Sevarius is then "killed" when Goliath knocks him into a tank of electric eels in the lab, "electrocuting" him. Derek blames the gargoyles for this, just as Xanatos had intended. Shortly after this, Talon leads the other Mutates in a vengeful mission against Goliath and his clan while tracking Maggie. Elisa prevents him from killing Goliath and discovers his true identity. Surprised, Talon accidentally shocks Elisa, and in shame, he leads the other mutates temporarily away from Xanatos. With no chance of becoming human again, Derek takes the new name of "Talon", and becomes the leader of the other mutates.
An image of him can be seen on a television set in the episode "Upgrade".
The mutates eventually return to live at Castle Wyvern with Xanatos, all of them believing that Xanatos was their only hope for salvation. Talon soon discovers Sevarius was alive and confronted Xanatos, who convinced him that Sevarius and Goliath were in league. Talon leads another mission against Goliath, soon finding Goliath and Sevarius in the underground facility formerly owned by Cyberbiotics. Sevarius bargains for his life by offering an alleged cure, but Talon expresses he was beyond looking for a cure, merely wanting revenge. Xanatos intercepted with four robots from his Steel Clan, revealing the truth behind all his lies concerning the mutates. After these events, Talon made peace with Goliath and his clan and reunites with his family at last.
With the other mutates, Talon went on to live in the former Cyberbiotics complex, now called the Labyrinth, over time they would also welcome Manhattan's homeless. When Goliath & Eliza go "missing", Talon aids the Manhattan Clan to look for them. Around this time, the mutate Fang stages a coup with several criminals in the Labyrinth. The coup is overthrown when the Manhattan Clan rescues Talon and the other residents, and imprison Fang. Talon also grows a romantic interest in Maggie, a feeling that is returned from Maggie.
Sometime later, Talon allows the Manhattan Clan to place Demona in the Labyrinth, under guard. After three months in "prison", Thailog storms the Labyrinth, releasing Demona, who in turn releases Fang. Fang is defeated and recaptured, Talon allows the Manhattan Clan clones to live with the residents of the Labyrinth.
In the "Future Tense" reality, Talon was killed along with Coldstone and Maggie when the three and Broadway tried to prevent Sevarius and the Ultra-Pack from turning the last free humans into mutates.
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