Hyppolyta

Hyppolyta in 971

"Hyppolyta" was a female gargoyle of the Wyvern Clan. She had no name, but "Hyppolyta" is used to identify her.

History

Hatched in 938, the rookery siblings of "Hyppolyta" include Goliath, Angel, "Othello", "Desdemona", "Iago", and "Brooksbro". [1][2]

When the Wyvern Clan formed an alliance with Prince Malcolm's people in 971, "Hyppolyta" was angered at Mentor for commanding that she and her generation stay out of the battle. When the fighting began, she disobeyed orders and headed into battle (followed by her sister "Angel"). During the battle, "Hyppolyta" relished her tastes of triumph and referred to her rookery siblings as "sheep" – making a point to include Goliath among them. An outraged Angel argued with her, but "Hyppolyta", in a moment of arrogance warned Angel to focus on the battle at hand – and as she said this, "Verity" had to step in and save her from one of Culen's soldiers... only for "Verity" to be killed to the shock of all. The battle concluded with Angel being taken hostage by Culen. The following evening, "Hyppolyta" was eager to take part in the rescue, but commanded by Mentor to stay behind – telling her that her disobedience cost the clan too much already. When Mentor and Goliath emerged with Angel, she looked upon them in pain. ("The Reach", "The Draw", "The Oath")

"Hyppolyta" joined her rookery siblings during the Nightwatch construction of Castle Wyvern. Despite her tendency to antagonize Goliath, the two warriors worked in unison with the rest of the clan to fend off a dragon's attack. She later attended Shahrizad's final night of storytelling alongside several humans and gargoyles. ("The Promise", "The Dream", "The Pledge")

"Hyppolyta" may have felt that Goliath's promotion to leader of the Wyvern Clan in 984 was unwise or unfair, and she argued with Angel on a regular basis over the matter. She died in the Wyvern Massacre of 994, smashed by the Vikings. [3]

Characteristics

"Hyppolyta" is a biological daughter of Hudson and "Verity" and biological sister to Broadway and "True". She was a "fine strong warrior. Fierce in battle. She was not unintelligent." Physically, she is tall, hairless, having light brown skin and burnt-red wings, and possessing two brow ridges running from above her eyes to behind her pointed ears. [4] The coloring and brow ridges seem to have come from her biological father, Hudson, while the hairlessness seems to have been a trait from her biological mother.

Appearances

• "The Reach"
• "The Draw"
• "The Oath"
• "The Promise"
• "The Dream"
• "The Pledge"

Real World Background

"Hyppolyta" – whose name obviously would not have been an official one in the 10th century – is evidently named after Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology. One of the twelve labors of Heracles was to seize her girdle from her, which he did, although at the cost of Hippolyta's life. However, the most likely "immediate inspiration" for Hyppolyta's name, from Greg Weisman's standpoint, was that of a second Hippolyta, more accurately known as Antiope, who was Theseus' wife (and who appears alongside him in A Midsummer Night's Dream). Weisman has speculated that "Hippolyta" was a title for the Amazon Queen, rather than an actual name. [5]

Production Background

Greg Weisman first revealed Broadway's oldest biological sister online in September 2000. [6][7][8] Much like "Othello", "Desdomona", and "Iago", "Hyppolyta" is a placeholder name for Goliath's rookery sister. [9] In 2006, during the early days of the SLG Gargoyles run, Greg wrote a short piece on the character, one that might later be incorporated in a future issue. [10] She appears in the spin-off, Gargoyles: Dark Ages.