It’s been awhile since I last took a look at a Gargoyles release from NECA and there’s a good reason for that. While I was super pumped when NECA announced it had acquired the license for Gargoyles back in 2021, I found the figures to be a case of diminishing returns. Goliath, the first figure released, was promising, but had some notable flaws. The flaws would then be shared by just about every figure to follow and while fans practically begged NECA to address the main issue, the company failed to do so. Instead, it quietly cancelled the line after releasing over a dozen characters and a few variants. What was that issue? Wings. Big, honkin’, wings. These things came packaged with their wings spread wide open sucking up tremendous shelf space. The only solution NECA came up with was to include the caped or folded wings with other releases. To get Goliath’s, you had to get Bronx. Brooklyn’s came with Elisa while Demona’s were packaged with Xanatos. If you wanted Broadway’s you had to re-buy Broadway in his detective guise and if you wanted the same for Angela, Hudson, or Thailog, well – you were just plain out of luck as none of them received the wings they were looking for.

Is that why the line came to a premature end? I don’t know. Sales initially were said to be hot. NECA boasted that its Goliath was one of the fastest selling figures they ever had for a new product line. Things must have cooled following that. Perhaps momentum was stunted a bit when the second figure was Thailog, essentially a Goliath repaint. Demona and Bronx followed roughly six months later as part of the inaugrual Target Haulathon which made the pair perhaps harder to acquire than it should have been. They eventually made it to other retailers and by the end of the year we had Hudson. There was a pretty wide gap in releases between Hudson and Brooklyn/Broadway who arrived basically at the same time. Did that slow sales down? Maybe, only NECA knows. The property was untested in this collector space and it’s possible a lot of folks were just happy to get Goliath and didn’t necessarily need anymore. Maybe they didn’t like Goliath after they got him and dropped the line? There weren’t any drastic quality control changes and most of the figures turned out roughly the same. Deciding which figure was best ended up being a fairly subjective exercise. There were a lot of unique sculpts so it wasn’t a low cost line. The boxes were fairly large as well and swallowed up almost as much retail shelf space as they did collector shelf space. Allegedly, Walmart was the first to sour on the brand and stopped ordering it and I guess other retailers must have followed suit. This means the other figures shown off – Coldstone, MacBeth, and Gabriel, are likely to never see the light of day which is a shame.

For me, my number one issue definitely were those wings. The wide open wings were the most dramatic, but not practical. The caped wings solved the space issue, but their design really hinders articulation and posing too. What I really wanted were just some relaxed wings. Collectors started referring to them as the A wings since they kind of make an A shape when at rest. They didn’t have to be articulated, just more manageable. In addition to that though was the articulation in general. NECA rarely prioritizes articulation with its figures. They tend to have an acceptable amount of articulation points and styles, but NECA is very much an aesthetics forward company. And the gargoyles are basically big, naked, monsters so they don’t present too much options for hiding articulation as well. Even so, almost all of them have their necks at a forward angle that really limits how their heads can be positioned. The torso joints offer little and these guys can’t hit most of their signature poses. Plus you add in their anatomy which makes them hard to stand to begin with and you can see how we might have some issues. My collection is largely a bunch of characters in vanilla poses as a result. They’re not very fun to handle and as a result I kind of stopped wanting to talk about them. I didn’t even review every figure I have for that reason.

With the line’s cancellation, it has me rethinking where I left off. When I found myself losing interest in the line it made it easier to pass on some releases, especially variants. I passed on the Steel Clan and instead just got the armored Xanatos. I passed on the video game variant of Goliath as well as the Detective Broadway. I also passed on the subject of today’s post (I swear I’m getting to it), the Goliath and Demona two-pack, but when a Best Buy open box option popped up I decided to grab it since it was nearly 50% off.

This set, dubbed Vows, contains the same figures we’ve already looked at before of Goliath and Demona, but with one change. That change rests solely with Goliath who has had his head replaced with two new hairsculpts that function like Demona’s. The original release of Goliath just had two portraits with the same hairsculpt: neutral and angry. This one makes use of swap-able face plates so you end up with four expressions and two stylized pieces of hair giving you eight total display options. It’s the approach I thought NECA would have taken from the start and I’m surprised they didn’t, but at least it’s been remedied here. And the expressions packaged in this set for Goliath feel a little more alive to me and more evocative of what we saw out of the character in the show. There’s a stern expression that’s pretty much the same as the one that came in the first release, a smile, a teeth baring expression, and an angry yell. The yell doesn’t feature the whited out eyes so he’s not on the attack rather he’s probably pleading with Demona to not do something evil. His default hair sculpt is the same as the original release and it’s basically his normal look. The second has the hair more spread out and over his shoulders. It’s not exactly wind blown, but it’s a little messy. I call it his sexy hair.

As for Demona, she is also the same figure as before. And since she already had the face plate technology, there’s basically no change to her. We don’t even get another hair piece. What we do get are more expressions. Her default one is the same as the default one from before, but she adds to it a surprised look, a smile where her teeth are visible, and an angry look that also has a hint of surprise to it. It sort of looks like she smelled a fart. I like them, though the surprised face features a right eye that’s not in alignment with the left. It’s a little higher and tilted which is a bummer because I kind of like this expression the best. Since it’s an issue with the sculpt I’m assuming they’re all like this too.

The rest of the accessories contain the usual mix of hands and a couple of unique items. For both we get fists and open hands. Both also have a gripping right hand and a trigger right hand. Demona also has a clawing left hand. I think of it as a spell-casting hand or a gesture where she’s reaching for something. Goliath’s gripping hand seems to be intended to work with the mace he comes with. I’m assuming this is another throwback accessory to the original Kenner line since the first Goliath didn’t feature such an item (Broadway, Brooklyn, and Lexington all did), or it’s the mace used to smash the gargoyles in the first or second episode. That would truly be a morbid inclusion. Demona has a new laser rifle that’s mostly blue plastic with a little black paint. It’s probably a direct pull from the show, but I don’t recognize it immediately. I was hoping the effect part that came with Xanatos would work with it, but the opening is too small. They also come with two versions of the Phoenix Gate item from the show: one fully formed and one broken in half. That’s where the whole vows theme comes into play as they each took half of the magical artifact for safekeeping when the two trusted each other. My how times have changed.

What I have not yet mentioned are wings and with this set each figure comes with the caped wings and that’s all. It’s an odd choice because this set came out so long after the single releases of each character. Why wouldn’t NECA include both wing options? It seemed like this was a way to get newcomers to the line to jump on with two of the most popular characters in the franchise, but to not include the other wings is an odd choice. I do realize I spent quite a bit of time complaining about those wings, but my issue isn’t with the wings themself, just that they’re the only default option for every character. At the time this set came out, both Demona and Goliath were still fairly easy to come by. It wasn’t like they had sold out and become sought after by newcomers to the line. NECA gave the fanbase that had been collecting this whole time little incentive to double dip here. The accessories are fine, I like the new portraits, but enough to rebuy the pair? Goliath’s caped wings also came with Bronx, a character I doubt many would pass on. Demona’s previously came with Xanators and I guess some collectors may have passed on him if they were only interested in the gargoyles. I didn’t review that figure, but I did buy it, so I had no need for either wings in this set.

Is all of that enough? Bare in mind that I didn’t even mention the MSRP on this set yet. This thing was $70. Gargoyles fans were expected to drop seventy bucks for a few new portraits and the Phoenix Gate. That’s nuts. I don’t know what NECA was thinking with this one. Yes, it’s reuse of existing molds so that naturally makes the cost lower, but who did they think would buy this? I got it for $40 and honestly that’s even too much considering I already owned both figures and the wing options within. I only was willing to do it for a few reasons. One, I did like the new expressions. I’ve never been satisfied with Goliath’s default expressions and these seemed much better. Two, my original Demona wasn’t great. Her wings were floppy and the factory didn’t paint the claws on her right foot. And, after a few years standing on my shelf, her shin has become warped and I was hoping this one would be less gummy. And three, we never got caped wings for Angela. She and Demona share the same body and can share the same wings. Of course, Angela is shaped like Demona, but colored like Goliath, so I’m going to have to try to paint a set of wings to match. I honestly don’t know if I’m up to the task, but I have two sets of caped Demona wings so I might as well try.

As for the figures themself, they’re exactly the same as before. Same pros, same cons. Goliath is hard to pose, but with his tail he’s not that hard to stand at least. The caped wings mean his arms can’t do much though so he’s just going to stand there. The open wings work fine as well, provided you have them. Demona is also the same. Her caped wings really don’t want to plug into her back, or rather, the right peg doesn’t want to. I can probably get it in if I heat it up, but I have yet to try. I didn’t have any issues with the other caped wings and my first release. Demona is still really frustrating though because she’s basically always looking down slightly. I wish NECA had given her a second hair sculpt with her ponytail up or articulated or something. The angle of her face just drives me crazy. She’s also hard to stand because female gargoyles in the show keep their knees straight and stand on their toes while the males bend at the knees, making weight distribution simpler. A stand for the women would have been nice. These figures also really needed a neck joint or alternate portraits that allowed them to look forward while flying gliding parallel with the ground. NECA got some great sculpts out of Djordje Djokovic, but they really needed their engineers to do something more with them. They probably thought they were doing him a favor by not cutting them up more, but really they did him a disservice since these things just don’t pose well.

Should you buy this set? No, probably not. If you have been admiring the line from afar and want to try and get into it before it disappears forever, then I guess, yeah, this is probably preferable to buying the figures individually. It’s $70 and Demona alone costs $36 while Goliath was $32, I want to say. I think NECA charged a little less with him on purpose to lure fans in. Right now on Big Bad Toy Store, you can get Goliath for $26 and Demona for $42. They also have the Vows set, but priced at $80 which is crazy. If that set came with both sets of wings then I could see going for that, but you can also find it cheaper. It mostly comes down to preference. If you prefer these caped wings then definitely go Vows. If you like the big, open, dramatic wings then get the individual releases. You’ll get more expressions with this set though. For Goliath, I don’t think anyone is really missing the book and jalapeno pepper, though the first Demona had two guns that turned out pretty nice plus her grimoire. She’s a bit more of a toss-up. Wouldn’t it have been nice if NECA just made this two-pack the ultimate release of both characters like the box suggests? There’s a balancing act to doing reissues like this where you want to put enough new in the box to entice existing customers, but also make it a good jumping on point for newcomers. I don’t think NECA satisfied either group here which seems like a shorthand way to describe the Gargoyles line in general – so close to being great, but oh so painfully short.

If you’re curious what I thought of these figures the first time around see below:

NECA Gargoyles – Ultimate Goliath

It was nearly 6 months ago that NECA unveiled one of its newest licenses for 2021: Gargoyles! I was incredibly pumped at the time to see that NECA had acquired Gargoyles because the license had so much potential. The show was basically a cult hit in the 90s often characterized as Disney’s answer to Batman:…

by Joe September 25, 2021September 24, 2021

NECA Gargoyles – Ultimate Demona

When NECA launched it’s line of action figures based on Disney’s Gargoyles, it seemed to imply that Demona would be figure number 2. She was not. That honor went to Thailog, the Goliath clone, and that might have had something to do with the many factory delays and shipping woes that were impacting the entire…

by Joe April 26, 2022April 20, 2022

NECA Gargoyles – Ultimate Bronx

Well, here’s something different. Bronx, the good gargoyle dog, is NECA’s fourth entry in its relatively young line of action figures based on the beloved Disney Afternoon series Gargoyles. And not only is Bronx here all on his own, he’s also got something for his buddy Goliath that collectors of this line have been begging…

by Joe May 5, 2022April 29, 2022

When NECA launched it’s line of action figures based on Disney’s Gargoyles, it seemed to imply that Demona would be figure number 2. She was not. That honor went to Thailog, the Goliath clone, and that might have had something to do with the many factory delays and shipping woes that were impacting the entire industry. It’s a lot easier to pivot from Goliath to a figure like Thailog at the factory when almost all of the molds are the same. The other promise from NECA was that none of the Gargoyles figures were slated to be sold as exclusives. They were all general release and collectors could expect to be able to preorder them from their preferred retailer. Well, that went out the window with NECA’s Haulathon event which was split between a website for Halloween costumes and Target stores. And as you could probably have guessed at this point, Demona ended up falling into that event.

Demona is the rogue gargoyle from the show. Goliath’s former lover, she’s basically the Magneto of the series as she has a justifiable distrust of humans, but turns that mistrust into all-out hatred. She doesn’t want to live alongside humanity, she wants to crush it. Armed with advanced weaponry, magic, and a wealth of knowledge given her extreme lifespan, she’s a formidable foe for Goliath and company and a worthy third figure in the line. Since she’s not a Goliath repaint, she’s also just the second, unique, sculpt we get to experience. With Goliath and Thailog, I had some nitpicks, but was generally satisfied with the finished product. With Demona, that’s pretty much still true, but she does introduce a new problem that I really hope isn’t one going forward.

Demona is sold in the standard NECA Ultimates five-panel window box. It’s a bit smaller than Goliath’s since Demona is a smaller character. Not only is she shorter than her former beau, she’s more slender as she has a very feminine physique that mixes with the gargoyle anatomy. She has a big tuft of red hair that looks quite nice and the pale blue-gray of her skin lines up well with her appearance in the cartoon. Like Goliath, she’s inspired by the cartoon, but has added detail to make her look a bit more “alive.” It’s a bit less pronounced as she doesn’t need giant, rippling, muscles and it’s mostly seen in the texture added to her clothing. She basically just has a top and loincloth with the bottom piece being separate while the top appears to be part of the mold. Either that, or the torso is cut-out to fit it so it can be glued down. It’s interesting as I suspect NECA will want to reuse much of this mold for Angela at some point, but her top is different. Maybe Disney just didn’t want people sneaking a peek under Demona’s top? Which does raise the question: why do female gargoyles have breasts? They’re an egg-laying species, most of which don’t nurse their young, but they are fantastic beasts so I guess they can follow different rules.

Demona has a very striking appearance, and one thing I rather like is that NECA used actual metal hoops for her earrings and her anklet. This could potentially make her more fragile, but they seem secure and fine. Her proportions look nice, and like Goliath, her wings are painted in a two-tone fashion with a purple shade used for the membrane. Also like Goliath, the wings are huge and made of ABS so there’s no give to them. They’re going to take up a lot space, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Aside from that general complaint, my only other issue with her is that her face looks just a little off. I feel like her face should be longer and more narrow. Instead, it starts off rather wide and quickly comes to a point at her chin giving her a slightly scrunched appearance. It’s not terrible or anything, but I think she could look a little better.

Demona comes with more stuff than we’re used to, and she even has a new feature that I wish Goliath had. And that feature is she uses faceplates instead of swapping an entire head. Bandai has been doing this for years with its figures, and I’m surprised it took NECA this long as it would have been easy to do with Goliath. Her face pops off easily and she has a screaming, red-eyed, face to go in its place. It’s appropriately unsettling, so much so that I almost don’t like looking at it, but it definitely works. Demona also has various hands including open, clawing hands, fists, a trigger-finger right hand, and a modified gripping left hand for her book or gun. She has two, giant, guns. One is a bazooka while the other is some kind of laser canon. The bazooka has a trigger and a more conventional design that’s easy to get the character to grip, while the other gun is more cumbersome with no actual trigger. I’m assuming it appeared that way in the show so I’m not faulting the toy here, just pointing it out for review. She also has her Grimorum Arcanorum which is really cool. It’s well-sculpted and the paint looks awesome as it has this distressed look to it and it can even open. It’s also sculpted to have a page torn out and that missing page will come with a future figure – a nice attention to detail.

The accessories are certainly appropriate, and the only thing missing is what’s missing from all of the figures so far and that’s a flight stand and additional wings. The wide open wings are essentially gliding wings so a flight stand is almost a necessity, but obviously would add cost to the figure. I’d happily take an increased cost if it meant alternate wings though. I know I sound like a broken record, but these things are too much to manage now that we have three figures.

Demona may be smaller than Goliath, but she essentially articulates the same. The head is on a double ball-peg, but her hair keeps her from being able to look up which is unfortunate for flying poses. NECA could have fixed that with either a second hairpiece or with a hinge in it, but chose not to. She can look down, tilt, and swivel. There’s no lower neck joint and her shoulders are ball-hinges. She can raise her arms out to the side without much trouble and has a biceps swivel, double elbows, and wrists that swivel and hinge. All of the hinges are horizontal, which is unfortunate for the trigger hand. Demona has a ball joint in the torso below her bust and a waist twist below that. Her hips are the standard ball joints and she can kick forward and back, since she doesn’t technically have an ass. There’s a twist there as well and she has single-jointed knees since the gargoyle anatomy only requires that much. The ankles are hinged and can rock a bit with another hinge at the toe that also has a rocker. The tail pegs into the rear of the figure and is bendy plus there’s a hinge at the peg. At the wings, she has hinges and they’re on pegs so they can rotate up and down and also swing out.

It’s with the wings that a new problem emerges for Demona. In many respects, I think she articulates better than Goliath as there’s less bulk to maneuver around, but what kills her is the tolerance of the wing joints. They are far too loose and are downright floppy. Her wings immediately slump to the table and posing them on their own is impossible. I’ve had to prop them up on Goliath and Thailog or just let them hit the shelf to pose her. She’s a challenge to stand, so I guess the wings help in that regard, but it’s a problem and it seems to be rather widespread. I’m going to have to try to remedy this somehow, either with super glue, tape, or something that can be added to that peg to tighten things up. It’s a problem that the figure really can’t have since the wings are so huge and it’s something NECA needs to tighten up now. I’ve refrained on trying to remedy it for the time being so that my images with this review are true to what the figure is out of the box.

Demona is a figure that is largely as expected. She looks the part well enough and has essentially the same articulation as Goliath, just with a new problem in the form of the wings. If not for that, I think I’d find her a little more entertaining than Goliath, but instead I find this figure to be rather frustrating as I try to pose it on my shelf. That’s also true of the other releases in this line as they’re so cumbersome that they’re really not a lot of fun to handle. They look pretty great when placed in a pose that looks nice, but they make you work to get there. NECA plans to include extra wings with the non-winged characters in the line, but that’s not going to do it. We really need options right out of the box, or else I think a lot of people will drop this line after a figure or two. Maybe I’m wrong, but despite this figure being overall a solid release, I’m finding my enthusiasm for this line waning which is hard to believe given how excited I was a year ago when the line was announced.

Demona was part of the Haulathon event and some stores are still receiving stock of her and she should set you back around $36. The distribution appeared poor to start, with some stores only getting one unit or none at all, but Target did make her available online so hopefully those who wanted her got her. I never found this figure in stores, so a special shout-out to @JoePoppingOn who helped me in tracking her down and the next figure in the line. The figure is also now up at various online retailers, some with a mark-up so it pays to shop around. Those figures are presently slated for a June release so hopefully that holds true and everyone who wants it can get one.