When Gargoyles first aired, it was more or less about ancient creatures watching over Manhattan. The story grew ever more complex with each episode, introducing more and more to the mythos, like mystical relics and all powerful, immortal beings. By the end of it, including the non-canonical Goliath Chronicles, the series had introduced more than 20 supernatural characters. Some were heroes like Goliath and the Wyvern Clan, while others were powerful villains that challenged our heroes in new and exciting ways, ensuring that they would keep growing and learning as the series did. They may not be equally as memorable, but they were certainly powerful.

When we talk about power, it's important to note that power as a concept is difficult to define. Some of these characters have the ability to turn thought into matter, some just possess a powerful will. Sometimes, though, will is powerful enough on its own to ensure victory, and against which physical strength or mystical abilities prove ultimately ineffective. We'll be looking at the characters of Gargoyles and ranking them according to how well they were able to use everything they have to achieve something great. For the sake of fairness, we'll be looking at these character at their most powerful, which means we'll be taking their use of mystical artefacts into account. It's also worth mentioning that we'll only include the gargoyles that displayed a significant amount of power, since there are so many of them and not all of them are worth a mention in this list. Now that that's out of the way, let's take a look at the 20 most powerful characters in Gargoyles.

* Feature art by Ryan Lang.

20 BRONX

Unlike the rest of the Manhattan Clan, Bronx is a gargoyle beast, meaning he possesses limited intelligence and is essentially a mystical dog. Like all gargoyles, Bronx turns to stone by day and comes to life at night. His eyes glow a hot white when he's angry and he's shown to be useful in a fight.

However, his combat ability and mystically heightened senses don't make him nearly as powerful as anyone else in the show. He's a great character, no doubt about it -- he's a loyal companion, protective and reliable -- but in terms of overall power, Bronx is relatively weak.

19 THE PACK

When they were together, they were reality TV stars used by Xanatos to lure the Manhattan Clan out for an ambush. They were skilled but ultimately unprepared for a fight against the gargoyles. Over time, even after receiving cybernetic upgrades, the Pack disbanded. They couldn't take on the gargoyles together and even with their enhancements, Hyena, Jackal, Wolf, Dingo and their robot ally, Coyote, didn't stand a chance.

They weren't the weakest characters, but they got pretty darn close. Dingo went back to Australia and tried to do some good, but unfortunately, we were never able to see how powerful he really became after his exosuit bonded with the Matrix, so we can't really take that into consideration.

18 GOLIATH (AND THE MANHATTAN CLAN)

Goliath is the largest and strongest of the principal gargoyles in the show. He's skilled in a variety of weapons and possesses limited knowledge in the mystic arts, but he chooses to enter fights unarmed, like many of the gargoyles do in the show. As with all gargoyles, he turns to stone when dawn comes but that's not his largest weakness.

He often exhibits naivety, though that changes gradually over the course of the series. His greatest strength is found in his ability to form bonds with those around him. He has close friends and allies that would follow him to the ends of the Earth. Unfortunately, that also means that he -- and most other gargoyles in the show -- aren't, themselves, as powerful as other characters.

17 DAVID XANATOS

Xanatos was and still is unique when it comes to supervillains. He's incredibly wealthy, undeniably ambitious and terrifyingly intelligent, which is a dangerous combination. To put it simply, Xanatos may lose a battle, but he always wins the war. However, he's just a mortal. In comparison to the sorcerers and creatures you'll see filling this list, Xanatos isn't that powerful. Even with all of his skills and money, he's got limits; either physical ones or moral ones.

Sure, he's proven himself capable of expertly manipulating others and talking his way out of dangerous situations, but the characters you'll see from this point on would be able to easy destroy Xanatos if they wanted to. Their power isn't limited to the intangible skills Xanatos has developed over the years. Make no mistake, though, he's one of the show's best villains, but he's just a man.

16 THAILOG

Thailog was the clone of Goliath, created and raised by David Xanatos. As a result, Thailog not only possesses the strength and skills of Goliath, he also possesses the wisdom and cunning of Xanatos. He's also completely free from emotional attachments, making him far more dangerous as a character. Using his strength and intelligence, he has accomplished quite a lot.

For example, he established a company and acquired his own wealth and influence by working alongside Demona, who shared in his apparent hatred for the rest of the world. He's also distrustful, going so far as to create a human/gargoyle hybrid in the form in Delilah, a combination of genetic material from Demona and Elisa Maza. He may possess enough power to achieve his smaller goals, but not enough to take on these next 15 characters.

15 MACBETH

Like some of the characters mentioned, Macbeth is a gifted fighter, incredibly intelligent and considerably wealthy. He has only one truly supernatural power and that's his immortality, which is the result of a curse that links him to Demona. The only way Macbeth's life would ever end is if he is able to slay Demona or if she destroys him.

Because the two never have fatally defeated one another, Macbeth has been able to spend a lifetime acquiring knowledge about the gargoyles, magic spells, fighting styles and much more. That knowledge and his honed fighting skills make him a formidable opponent, which should be obvious considering how he's been able to survive more than a few fights against Demona.

14 BOREAS

This one may not be considered canon but Boreas remains a powerful character and is still worth mentioning. He was introduced in the show's second season as the wise and just ruler of the New Olympians. That alone makes him considerably powerful.

Armed with his staff, he's able to conjure lightning in order to visit his wrath upon those who deserve it like an unruly crowd, for example, as he did in "The New Olympians," the only episode in which he appeared. The reason why this god-like character is ranked so low is purely because he only displayed a little of his power. The rest is implied by the way powerful members of the New Olympians respected and feared him.

13 FOX

When Fox first appeared, she was simply the leader of the mercenary group, The Pack. Over time, she proved herself to be so much more. For example, when she and Xanatos were revealed to be romantically involved, she proved herself to be his match in almost every way. She was an experienced fighter, she could match wits with him and so much more.

After the two had their first child, Alexander, it was soon revealed that Fox had always been more than just a human. She was the daughter of Titania, a powerful, immortal Fae of goddess-like stature which is why later on, she was able to instinctively use a small amount of magic in defense of her child.

12 DEMONA

With her indomitable will, Demona has mastered almost every aspect of being a gargoyle and almost every aspect of human society. Thanks to her bond with Macbeth, Demona is immortal. Even before the two allowed the Weird Sisters to bind them, Demona had already learned a lot about magic thanks to her time with the Archmage. With those skills, she was able to survive and adapt easily.

She quickly familiarized herself with technological advances and had no problem using modern weaponry. Thanks to Puck, Demona no longer turned to stone during the day, instead becoming human. Her alias, Dominique Destine, runs her company, Nightstone Unlimited, which is how Demona was able to acquire her own wealth. She's clearly a powerful foe, though not as powerful as these next few mystical beings.

11 THE MAGUS

With his book of spells, the Magus is capable of incredible feats. He cursed the gargoyles and trapped them in stone for a thousand years and he was able to defeat the Weird Sisters, though the latter cost him dearly. Even without his spell book-- which he surrendered in order to reach Avalon -- the Magus was able to protect Princess Katherine and watch over the young gargoyles in Avalon for a thousand years.

All this was thanks to the knowledge he gained by studying under the powerful Archmage. If it weren't for the fact that he was largely dependant on that book, he may have ranked a little higher. As it is, the Magus has substantial amounts of power, but not as much as other sorcerers.

10 MERLIN

Merlin was arguably the most powerful sorcerer in Gargoyles, owing to the fact that he was a halfling; that is, half human and half fae. He is mentioned in three episodes and in none of them do we ever see just how powerful he is.

However, we can assume his power based on the heavy implication that he actually helped write the Grimorum Arcanorum as well as the highly-sought-after Scrolls of Merlin. We may not see huge displays of his power, but we know he possessed unmatched knowledge in magic and that he was obviously a man of great influence, with associates such as the legendary knight, Arthur Pendragon.

9 ARCHMAGE

We've mentioned the Archmage a few times already. He was the powerful sorcerer who taught Demona and the Magus the skills they needed to acquire power of their own. Already, we can see that he's a powerful being, but the second season showed us that all that barely scratched the surface.

He escaped certain death once, and after manipulating time itself, he was able to ensure that the three most powerful artifacts in the series would be his: the Grimorum, the Phoenix Gate and the Eye of Odin. He would have conquered the world were it not for his hubris, which compelled him to keep the Avalon Clan alive long enough for them to steal the artifacts from him.

8 BANSHEE

As a Child of Oberon, the Banshee (or Molly, as she is also known) has a lot of power contained in that horrifying voice of hers. With her wail, she's able to harm or mesmerize people but that's not all. She's also shown the ability to shapeshift by turning into the dreaded Cromm-Cruach, a monstrous insect which she used to fight Odin.

She may not possess influence or wealth but she has enough supernatural power to be able to take what she wants anyway. She was was definitely confident enough in her abilities to stand up to other Children of Oberon. While everyone, including the gargoyles, were able to go toe to toe with her, the only person who seemed to be able to easily put her in her place was Oberon himself.

7 COYOTE (CHILD OF OBERON)

We're not talking about Xanatos' mechanical member of the Pack, we're talking about the spirit of Native American legend adapted to the show as one of the Children of Oberon. This fae spirit is a master at manipulating events and people from a distance. Luckily, it's often in service to the protection of mortals, which he often bonds with.

He's also gifted with several supernatural abilities such as the ability to teleport himself across vast distances, cast spells, become the wind itself and shapeshift, among other things. He also seems to be known for the ability to grant boons, which is why, in his search for immortality, David Xanatos sought Coyote out.

6 WEIRD SISTERS

Many of the characters in Gargoyles have found themselves caught in a bind or a curse due to the magic of the Weird Sisters. These triplets are each one of the Children of Oberon and among the most powerful at that. In fact, they've displayed the ability to do almost anything.

They granted immortality to Macbeth and Demona, they threatened to turn Princess Katherine and the Magus into owls, they cast illusions, teleport from place to place and even possessed the gargoyle, Coldfire. With all that power, it's no wonder that Oberon left these three to watch over the gates of Avalon.

5 ODIN

The All-Father of Norse mythology is depicted in Gargoyles as a Child of Oberon, and as such, he's capable of performing incredible feats. Even at half strength, Odin was still capable of great displays of power. He hunted and attacked Goliath, Eliza, Angela and Bronx time and time again, able to hold his own for a time against the power of the mystical Eye of Odin.

Being a Child of Oberon, he could shapeshift, conjure objects and command entire storms -- a bit like his Marvel counterpart, and almost just as surly. Keep in mind that this was all just when he was limited to half his power, before the Eye of Odin was returned to him.

4 ANUBIS

When Avalon brought Goliath and the others to Egypt in the episode "Grief," they found that Xanatos had sent the Pack there in an effort to summon the ancient god, Anubis, who he had hoped would grant him immortality. Unlike the other Children of Oberon, Anubis can do more than just shapeshift and blast people into oblivion with beams of magic.

He has power over life and death itself, an ability both the Emir and Jackal used after becoming the Avatar of Anubis. That highlights the god's only weakness: the Scroll of Thoth, which evidently contained methods which allowed anyone to control the power of a god.

3 PUCK

In a twist no one would have ever seen coming, Xanatos' faithful assistant, Owen, was in reality, the trickster known as Puck. Over the course of the series, he displayed a great amount of power in almost all its forms. Like pretty much all of the Children of Oberon, he could shapeshift and he possessed knowledge of a vast array of spells. However, his greatest power was his ability to bend reality to his will. He turned all humans into gargoyles, for example, in "The Mirror." Nothing seems to be beyond his capabilities, which might be why Puck was willing to fight Oberon himself when the latter was weakened, in defense of the baby Alexander Xanatos.

2 OBERON

We've mentioned this being quite a few times already. But who is this godlike fae who rules over some of the show's most powerful characters? Oberon is the ruler of mystical Avalon with power that knows no limits. The Children of Oberon respect his wishes because Oberon can strip them of their power or even their free will in an instant.

Reality bends and bows to his will, and he is seemingly omniscient. His only real weakness is iron, which is a weakness shared by all fae. There is only one being with more power and like Oberon, and she rules over everything in and beyond Avalon.

1 TITANIA

We've explained everything Oberon is capable of. His wife, Titania, seems to be capable of just the same. She's also capable of fighting Oberon and weakening him, as she did in "Ill Met By Moonlight." She wields great power but clearly prefers to reserve her strength.

She usually operates through others, manipulating those around her when she can, including the powerful Oberon, over whom she possesses great influence. We've seen several forms of power in Gargoyles and Titania has it all: authority, influence, magic, wealth, there's nothing beyond her reach, making her arguably the most powerful character in the entire show.