Petros Xanatos

Petros Xanatos is a fictional character from the Disney animated television series "Gargoyles", voiced by Morgan Sheppard (who also voiced the character of Odin on the show, as well as King Kenneth from the episode "Avalon"). He is the father of David Xanatos, a wealthy industrialist and an important character and antagonist in the series. Little character background is given to the character in the series, although what is known is that he is a fisherman from Maine. While not canon, he made his first appearance in issue 7 of Marvel Comics "Gargoyles".

Petros Xanatos is first introduced in the episode "Vows", in which he is invited to David's wedding to Fox. The precise reason for the invitation is never made clear, as the two have a rocky relationship, in part because of David's apparent obsession with wealth. David first established his fortune in 1975 after receiving a 10th century coin from an unknown benefactor and selling it for 20,000 Grand. David invested the money wisely, building up a vast business empire, but Petros believed that David was merely lucky, and frequently wished that the coin had never arrived. Throughout the episode, David attempts to convince his father that he is really a "self-made man" (this is one of several instances in the series that suggest David on some level wants his father's approval, in contrast to Fox's relationship to her own father, Halcyon Renard).

After arriving at his son's home for the wedding, Petros is quickly and repeatedly thrown into shocking situations - first by witnessing his son wearing his Steel Clan red battle armour, and then by being introduced to the gargoyles Goliath and Demona, and finally by being transported back in time by the Phoenix Gate - although throughout this he retains his calm and copes with the surprising revelations.

He is not impressed when he learns that the time-travelling scheme was anticipated, even planned, by David, who personally arranged to send the 10th century coin (a worthless penny he'd picked up in 975) to his younger self in 1975. Their relationship remains poor even after they return to the present, and Petros's parting gift is a simple American penny, saying "It's not worth much now, but in a thousand years... who knows? It's my wedding gift to you, because it's all you seem to care about."

Despite this, Petros appears again in the episode "The Gathering", in which he is invited to David's home once again. This time, however, it is to witness the birth of his grandson, Alexander Xanatos. This time, Petros's relationship with his son begins to improve when he sees how far David is willing to go to protect his family. When Oberon threatens to take Alex away from the family, Petros stays to fight alongside his son. Indeed, it is Petros that comes closest to defeating, even killing Oberon, when he shoots Oberon through the chest with an iron harpoon (this shot is edited out of some televised versions due to censorship issues). Oberon is visibly weakened, appearing old and frail, and even admits that the blow has "hurt him". Nevertheless, Oberon survives and seems to heal himself, and Petros is defeated. After Oberon is finally convinced to leave Alex with his parents, Petros is never seen again in the series.

Behind The Scenes

Petros Xanatos's name was chosen to connect him to another character in the series, Peter Maza, father of protagonist Elisa Maza.

Background

Greg Weisman has revealed that Petros is a Greek immigrant and naturalized citizen of the United States. He is a widower, and a Greek Orthodox.