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{{Quote|Pay a man enough, and he'll walk barefoot into Hell.|David Xanatos, 1994<ref name="Awakening" />}}
{{Infobox_Character_Portable
| Image       = Xanatos.jpg
| Name        = David Xanatos
| Species     = [[Human]]
| Height      = 6'/183 cm 
| Gender      = Male
| Birthdate   =
| Age         = 37 in [[Awakening]] <br> 38 in [[Vows]]
| Relatives   = [[Fox|Fox Xanatos]] (wife)<br>[[Alexander Fox Xanatos]] (son)<br>[[Petros Xanatos]] (father)<br>[[Halcyon Renard]] (father-in-law)<br>[[Titania|Anastasia Renard/Titania]] (mother-in-law)<br> [[Oberon]] (stepfather-in-law)<br>
| Affiliations = [[Xanatos Enterprises]]<br>[[Steel Clan]]<br>[[Illuminati]]
|First_Appearance=[[Awakening Part Two]]
| Voiced By   = [[Jonathan Frakes]]}}

'''David Xanatos''' is the benevolent yet tyrannical founder, owner, and CEO of [[Xanatos Enterprises]], as well as a multi-billionaire and a member of the [[Illuminati]]. He is responsible for breaking the [[Magus]]' spell over the [[Wyvern Clan]].<ref name="Awakening" />

== History ==
David was born in Maine, to [[Petros Xanatos]], a fisherman. At a young age, he received a letter from the [[Illuminati]] containing an ancient Scottish coin from the 10th century, worth $20,000 in historic value. He sold the coin, invested the money into various stocks, and founded Xanatos Enterprises. Due to his father's belief that his fortune was unearned, their relationship became strained. It was later revealed that it was David himself who arranged for the coin to be sent to him. He traveled back in time via the [[Phoenix Gate]] and arranged for the coin (practically worthless back then) to be delivered to him. He also arranged for a letter to be delivered to himself 20 years after receiving the coin, explaining exactly where the coin came from and how it was obtained, thus keeping the time loop going.<ref name="Vows">{{TV. Episode|Vows}}</ref>

Xanatos's holdings include Xanatos Enterprises, [[Gen-U-Tech]]<ref name="Metamorphosis>{{TV. Episode|Metamorphosis}}</ref>, the Scarab Corporation<ref name="Awakening">{{TV. Episode|Awakening}}</ref>, and [[Pack Media Studios]]<ref name="TTotH" />. Despite his father's belief that Xanatos did not deserve the gift that had launched his career, Xanatos continued to claim that he would one day prove himself a self-made man.<ref name="Vows" />

Xanatos learned of [[Castle Wyvern]] from [[Demona]] and purchased the castle, transporting it brick by brick and reconstructing it atop his New York skyscraper, the [[Eyrie Building]]. With the castle "above the clouds," he successfully released the [[Manhattan Clan|survivors of the Wyvern Clan]] from their frozen sleep.<ref name="Awakening" />

Xanatos initially posed as the Gargoyles' friend, convincing them to "acquire" technology from his rival [[Cyberbiotics]] for him and ultimately attempting to destroy the gargoyles once their replacements, the [[Steel Clan]], came online. The Steel Clan was defeated, however, and Xanatos was convicted for receiving stolen property.<ref name="Awakening" /> Xanatos continued to plot against the gargoyles from prison, testing them<ref name="TTotH">{{TV. Episode|The Thrill of the Hunt}}</ref> and attempting to remove them from the castle<ref name="Enter MacBeth">{{TV. Episode|Enter MacBeth}}</ref>. Upon his release, he became one of their greatest enemies, engaging in a particularly fierce rivalry with their leader, [[Goliath]]<ref name="The Edge">{{TV. Episode|The Edge}}</ref>.

Xanatos also committed himself to getting his own clan of gargoyles that would be loyal and obedient to him. To that end, he made several attempts throughout the series to do that, such as resurrecting Goliath's brother, [[Coldstone]]<ref name="Reawakening">{{TV. Episode|Reawakening}}</ref>; genetically creating his own clan of [[Mutates|mutant gargoyles]], one of whom was [[Elisa Maza]]'s brother, [[Derek Maza]]; [[Thailog|creating a clone of Goliath]]<ref name="Double Jeopardy">{{TV. Episode|Double Jeopardy}}</ref>, and perfecting the Steel Clan. When these attempts failed, he changed his focus to continuing his quest for immortality by using sorcery, [[magic]], and even involving himself with [[Children of Oberon]], [[Oberon|the King]] of the mystical island [[Avalon]], instead.

Xanatos met an equal in [[Fox]] and married her. It was on this occasion that, by inviting Goliath to the wedding and luring him into seeking reconciliation with Demona, he was able to reconstruct the [[Phoenix Gate]]. The wedding party was brought back in time to the 10th century, where Xanatos arranged for the ancient coin to be delivered to himself a thousand years in the future, as well as a message to himself detailing the instructions how to do it. In this way, Xanatos fulfilled his own history through a predestination paradox, at the same time proving himself to his father as a "self-made man."<ref name="Vows" />

When Demona betrayed Xanatos to advance her own goals of destroying the human race, Xanatos was forced to call a truce with Goliath to stop her. <ref name="City of Stone">{{TV. Episode|City of Stone|City of Stone, Part II}}</ref>Goliath was later instrumental in saving Xanatos's newborn son [[Alexander Fox Xanatos|Alexander]], at which time Xanatos pledged to pay the debt back to him.<ref name="Gathering">{{TV. Episode|The Gathering|The Gathering, Part II}}</ref> When the existence of the Gargoyles was revealed to the public, Xanatos called an end to the feud and restored the Gargoyles to their ancestral home in the castle.<ref name="Hunter's Moon">{{TV. Episode|Hunter's Moon|Hunter's Moon, Part III}}</ref>

===SLG Comic ===
Soon after, Owen received a call from [[Mr. Duval]] from the Illuminati for Xanatos. Xanatos refused, as he spent some time with his son that night.<ref name="Clan Building 2">{{GC|Series={{SLG}}|Title=Clan Building Chapter Two: The Journey|Alt=The Journey|sub=Clan-Building: Volume One}}</ref><ref name="Journey">{{TV. Episode|The Journey}}</ref> On Halloween Night, he was later visited by [[Martin Hacker]] who gave him an invitation to the White House. From there, he met another Illuminati member, [[Quincy Hemings]] who gave him a mission from the Illuminati.<ref name="Invitation Only">{{GC|Title=Clan Building Chapter Three: Invitation Only|Series={{SLG}}|Alt=Invitation Only|sub=Clan-Building: Volume One}}</ref> 

The nature of Xanatos' mission hasn't been revealed. To succeed in it, he recruited [[Coldsteel]] and activated [[Coyote|Coyote 5.0]].

===[[The Goliath Chronicles]]===
Xanatos was portrayed as a benefactor to the Gargoyles.

==Characteristics ==

One of the primary antagonists in the series, Xanatos's plans are often intricate and Machiavellian. His behavior is often ruthless and amoral, although his personality softened later in the series by his affection for his wife [[Fox]] and their son [[Alexander Xanatos|Alex]]. He is obsessed with obtaining immortality for himself and his family despising the very concept of death as he feels that it is one of the few things in the world that he has no way of truly planning around or controlling.<ref name="The Price">{{TV. Episode|The Price}}</ref>

Perhaps Xanatos' greatest characteristic is his practical mindset. He views concepts like grudges or revenge as foolish and even often tries to see the positive side of his defeats. In fact, his plans often work out beneficially to him one way or another, despite the frequent intervention of his nemesis Goliath and his clan. This win-win duality of his schemes is so paradigmatic among pop culture that such plans are often referred to in the real world as the "Xanatos Gambit."

Also, despite his clear intelligence and skills, Xanatos is not conceited. He is fully aware of his strengths and limits, apparently by conscious choice. In ''[[The Edge]]'', when Owen beat him in a sparring match, by his own statement, for the first time and Owen offered to pretend to lose, he responded by saying he'd "fire [him] if [he] did".

Another typical villainous quality found in most of the gargoyles' enemies that Xanatos lacks is prejudice. While Xanatos often tries to exploit the gargoyles, he is equally driven to exploit humans. He never seems bothered by the gargoyles' appearance nor does he ever treat them with fear, scorn, contempt, hatred, or any other emotion that humans have often displayed towards gargoyles.

Even before his more amoral tendencies abated due to the birth of his son, Xanatos was never truly sadistic or cruel. Although he has no qualms about [[Awakening|stealing]], [[Cloud Fathers|defacing sacred and historical landmarks]], or [[The Price|experimenting]] on [[Mutates|sentient beings]], he did have his limits. During the ''[[City of Stone]]'' arc, upon discovering Demona's plan to kill every human in [[New York City]], he immediately makes plans to stop her. This shows that while he was capable of manipulating people to serve his needs, violating their trust, or even ruining lives, he draws the line at senseless mass murder or genocide.

After Goliath helped save his son from Oberon, Xanatos decided to put aside his more selfish goals and methods and ceased being an enemy to the Gargoyles. He even restored them to their [[Castle Wyvern|ancestral home]] after the [[Hunter's Moon]] arc, claiming to have no ulterior motive, and attempts to help them following their public revelation.

Xanatos is a formidable fighter in his own right. In addition to advanced karate and judo skills, he has a [[Xanatos' Exo-Frame|specialized red armored]] [[Exo-Frame#David Xanatos|suit]] modeled on his [[Steel Clan]] that he wears frequently. He also has a highly advanced AI and cyborg clone modeled after himself, designed to do his bidding; it impersonates and represents him whenever he needs it to. This robot became the leader of The Pack under the name of [[Coyote (robot)|Coyote]]<ref name="LotP">{{TV. Episode|Leader of the Pack}}</ref> and there was a time where he actually used it to try to capture the actual [[Coyote (Child of Oberon)|Coyote spirit]].

Ironically despite his established fear of death, Xanatos also had an apparent fearlessness, which could be interpreted by some as suicidal insanity—much to the dismay of his allies and enemies alike, who were often prone to using intimidation tactics against their adversaries such as one incident in which an enraged Goliath grabbed and dangled him over the edge of a tall building threatening to drop him to his death. Xanatos merely responded to this with a calm amusement pointing out that while he could drop him if he wanted to, it wouldn't change the fact that the [[Manhattan Clan]] were now free of their stone imprisonment thanks to him effectively putting them all in his debt.

==Relationships ==
Though Xanatos initially seems to have an on-and-off partnership with Demona when neither magic nor technology seem to be enough to accomplish their goals, neither Xanatos nor Demona seem to truly trust one another. This proves to be a fatal flaw on their part that tends to doom their plans to failure.

In general, Xanatos has an odd way of dealing with those he "loves". One example can be found in Thailog. While the clone was being grown, Xanatos had a program playing, giving him information about the world and his (Xanatos') beliefs. He seemed to have a paternal feeling towards Thailog as, when the gargoyle was kidnapped during his stone slumber, he would not let Owen fire on the kidnappers out of fear of hurting Thailog, and handed over $20,000,000 for his safe return without a second thought. He even showed pride in Thailog's manipulative abilities and genius when he found out the clone had engineered the entire plot to abscond with the money, referring to him as "a chip off the ole block". He even expressed to Thailog that if he wanted the money, he would have given it to him if he had asked for it. However, his paternalism seems thin as, when he thinks Thailog died during battle with Goliath, he states that he knew the whole time that a copy (Thailog) couldn't match the original (Goliath), which infuriates Goliath as Xanatos was able to dehumanize a living being. Though arguably lacking romance, Xanatos asks Fox to marry him on the basis that "it makes sense" because they are genetically compatible, share the same interests, think the same way, enjoy the finer things in life, and "love each other" as much as two people such as themselves can. Fox accepts, yet Xanatos' feelings for Fox are largely debatable.

Though he does love Fox, Xanatos is shown using her to get what he wants as well. In the Halloween episode, Xanatos gives her the Eye of Odin as an engagement gift. The necklace turns her into a large red-haired beast, looking like a fox or large wild dog. Though Xanatos suspects it has an effect on her, he does not fully understand until he witnesses Fox transform in front of him. Terrified by what he has set into motion, he asks Goliath and Elisa for assistance, though they are initially reluctant. Goliath seems especially perturbed at how Xanatos has treated Fox and seemingly disregarded her life. As Fox's rampage continued, Xanatos, Goliath, and Elisa scour the city for her. Eventually, they chase her to a rooftop and Goliath is able to free Fox from the Eye of Odin after electrocuting her with a neon sign. While preparing to leave and holding Fox in his arms, Xanatos regretfully informs Goliath that now he knows his only weakness. Goliath turns to him, slightly disgusted, and remarks, "Only you would regard love as a weakness." These words leave Xanatos speechless.

In the episodes of the Gathering, Xanatos seems instinctively protective of both Fox and Alexander, seemingly having come to terms with the idea of love not being a weakness.<ref name="Gathering" />

==Notes==
*On October 31st, 1995, David Xanatos was released from jail. January 4th, 1996, David began serving his probation until October 31st, 1997.

==Trivia==
*Xanatos is one of several characters played by a Star Trek cast member, in this case [[Jonathan Frakes]], who portrayed William Riker.

*During the show's development, Xanatos was originally known as Xavier and he was the descendant of the [[Magus|wizard]] that originally cursed the gargoyles to sleep for a thousand years. According to Greg Weisman, he was, "rich, powerful and petulant. Very Captain Hook."
**This idea of a descendant of an ancient enemy was eventually used for [[Wolf]] and [[Hakon]] in ''[[Vendettas]]''.

* The name Xavier was eventually dropped because of the similarity to Professor X (Charles Xavier) in Marvel Comics X-Men. Still, [[Greg Weisman]] wanted a name with a similar sound to it.

*Thinking of Thanatos, the Ancient Greek God of Death, and since X and TH sounds are often interchanged, he tried the name Xanatos, which was quickly accepted by other crew members.
**Sometime later, he checked the phone book and found that Xanatos was in fact a real name.

*Weissman chose Xanatos's first name to be David as Goliath was his former enemy, a reference to the biblical story of David & Goliath except with the roles of hero and villain reversed.

*Odysseus was also in Greg Weisman's mind when developing Xanatos into a human trickster, particularly when the character became Greek-American. 

*Coincidentally, Jonathan Frake's wife, Genie Francis, was expecting at the same time as Fox.

*Xanatos's plans throughout the series have caused his tropes to be recognized. The Xanatos Gambit, Roulette, and Speed Chess all are tropes that basically cement victory no matter where the plan takes.

*Greg Weisman has confirmed David's height as ''"Xanatos  is 6' even"''
{{Character Images|Subject={{PAGENAME}}}}
==Appearances==

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| #1   = yes 
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}}<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> Mentioned only</small>
==Notes & References==
{{Illuminati}}
{{Xanatos Enterprise}}
=== References ===
{{scroll box|{{Reflist}}}}
==External link==
{{GargWiki|David_Xanatos|{{PAGENAME}}}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xanatos, David}}
[[Category:Illuminati]]
[[Category:Humans|Xanatos, David]]
[[Category:Villains|Xanatos, David]]
[[Category:Enemies]]
[[Category:Former Enemies]]
[[Category:Characters]]