Wolf from Disney's Gargoyles: A Brief Insight Into His Characterization and Queer Coded Villains

 

Who is Wolf, and why should I care?

So, as a gay writer and editor, I'm increasingly fascinated by psychoanalyzing certain characters in media and resonating with what they might be going through sexuality wise, trying to decipher what I would do in their situation and ways I could maybe assist them later in life.

Would you believe me if I told you it all originated from one man? Wolf, from Disney's Gargoyles. I know, out of all the diverse cast of alluring characters—and even with the canonically gay Lexington—Wolf, the sadistic, dimwitted recurring villain. He is the one villain who was so obsessed with Goliath that he turned himself into a literal wolf-man, was the one who simply screamed "I have been in the closet my whole life, and don't know how to express myself" to me.

Wolf is a character I really resonated with in a time where I was afraid to be myself and afraid to come to terms with who I am, even before I realized I was attracted to men, he was a character I seemed to fixate on, and I still firmly believe that despite being this sadistic villain, he's very psychologically tormented by his own self image, and quite possibly, even his own sexuality. Throughout the series, he fixates on individual males who seem to outdo him in terms of strength and he uses that as a clutch for character motivation, and despite being a villain who's insistently claiming he's out to 'hunt and kill' our moonlight stud of a protagonist, there's a sense of tragedy beneath the whole thing.

For a long time there have been history with gay coded villains particularly in Disney media, be it the effeminate, power hungry Jafar, the sadistic and headstrong Clayton, the rather butch and boisterous Ursula, or the flamboyant and drama ensuing Hades. Even outside of Disney, there's still that writer's compulsion to make the villains at least somewhat sexually ambiguous that has shown up in media throughout the years. A lot of these villains are often satirized in the media they appear in and outside it, becoming the sorta 'butt of the joke' to the hero and sometimes other villains.

Dingo and Wolf.

Now take Wolf. He's overly confident, egotistical, somewhat of a narcissist, headstrong, dimwitted, and constantly boastful about wanting to be 'the one in charge' and 'leader of the pack.' Even by looking at his appearance for the first time as a human and knowing his name, you can already see he's in somewhat of an identity crisis. His name people know him as is "Wolf." He has long, timber colored hair that goes all the way down to his butt. He dresses in a chest piece with a Wolf symbol on it and a jumpsuit beneath it, along with furred bracers and shoulderpads. You can see already he's trying to be a literal Wolf.

According to his alleged backstory you can collect from comics and interviews, he gave up mercenary work to become a TV star where he revels in his 'heroic persona' he's created. Doing this sort of made for TV fictional hunting he does, and being in the limelight with his Wolf persona is probably the closest he's felt to being "out" as a person. He is ridiculed by the others because of his identity and the way he looks, particularly by Jackal and Hyena. Its shown in little interactions that Fox uses his dimwittedness to the group's advantage, and Dingo, who we later learn has a good heart beneath that leather harness, seems to try and steer him away from making poor decisions and wants to be his friend, or a 'mate' as he might put it (no gay pun intended.) These good intentions, however, don't seem to weigh into Wolf's thick skull of his, as they both partake in attempting to hunt the gargoyles for the time being, and Dingo probably values his own safety and fortune enough to want to risk getting involved deeply with Wolf.

Wolf upon meeting Lexington for the first time. "This one's not as big as the one in the picture you showed..." (About Goliath)

Whatever type of relationship, friends, bedfellows, or anything otherwise between him and Dingo isn't revealed. When we first see Wolf, he is pent up and frustrated. He is aggressively lifting weights as he strives to ignore Jackal and Hyena's teasing. He is going on about how he wants to gain a "good hunt" before throwing his weights through the nearby wall--y'know, the toxic masculinity variant of an emotional meltdown. It's clear he's at a point in his life where he feels he needs something more, but never once then or throughout the series does he bring up the idea of ever pursuing a mate, or some form of affection. All that matters to him is this idea of a good hunt. To find and claim something that he feels should rightfully be overpowered by him. A sadistic mindset, indeed, but interestingly enough, it mirrors very well with a lot of LGBT+ folk who are heavily into the idea of BDSM, wherein, the guidelines of BDSM stem from the idea of dominating and claiming, or possible even wanting to submit and become claimed by the other partner, usually in a role play setting.

For Wolf, hunting and being a TV star, inflated in his own ego and 'heroic persona', is his way of role playing. It's like I said before, its probably the closest thing he's ever felt to being 'out of the closet' and its through that he likely gains this lustful feeling.

After his debut episode, we last see him getting physically bested and punched out cold in an alleyway by Goliath. The next time we see him, he is clad in an undershirt and jeans, obsessively counting his push ups in prison. Its almost as if he's felt this surge of vulnerability since his last match with Goliath and despising this feeling, is already trying to buff up for the next battle. Not to mention, he's in a prison, which can make a closeted gay man feel infinitely more vulnerable and insecure no matter the circumstances, and boosting his strength would help him cloud these feeling out better in this sort of environment.

Dingo attempting to talk Wolf down from engaging in a fight.

What is it that makes Wolf, as you put it, "Gay Coded"?

Wolf, sexual or otherwise, is a character that undoubtedly does lust throughout the entire series. He has desires he strives to achieve but never truly meets or feels satisfied until he gets close to achieving them. He enjoys flexing his ego over others at any given chance. Even if there isn't some underlying queer meaning behind his obsession with the other gargoyles, particularly with Goliath and possibly Hudson, and his intentions are in actuality primarily violent as he so claims, there is still a sheer form of lust there that undoubtedly requires these individuals to quench that feeling, much like the way a killer would glorify their victim (Example, Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham from the TV Series, a serial killer and an FBI consultant who did develop a fascination with one another so deep that it did in fact become romantic.) No matter how you really look at it, its apparent that Wolf has conflicting feelings towards his own gender and identity. His life is dedicated to the pursuance of men and is constantly failing in achieving this goal, further frustrating him, as well as it is further motivating him to never give up his quest, such is the persistence of the toxic male equation.

Now, what is gay coded exactly? It is when a character portrayed in some form of media that exhibits traits similar to that of a queer individual, be it common queer traits, behavior, mannerisms, and anything similar that might be identifiable to the common audience, and they are still never explicitly stated as queer in the source media they are portrayed in. It is even stated around various websites that some members of the queer community have argued that the Walt Disney Company has attributed queer characteristics and behaviors to villainous or antagonistic characters. Here, we have an individual who is antagonistic in nature, is licensed by the Disney company, and has a blatant case of gay coding applied to him. However, I don't think he falls under the same category as most other gay-coded Disney villains, such as the examples I mentioned before, Jafar, Clayton, Ursula, Hades, etc. The difference is, those villains have a tendency to be read as intentionally exhibiting queer stereotypes, whereas, with Wolf and the creators of Disney's Gargoyles? It seems to be by complete incident that this may have even slipped under the writer's nose in the story boarding room. While Wolf shows up frequently enough to be one of the more identifiable villains in the show, he is not a primary threat to anyone, and inevitably becomes another throwaway antagonist whenever the story needs one, only one time getting his own episode with "Vendettas". This was not necessarily an effort to represent a gay man in such a manner, as much as it was them just trying to write a villain they could try and invest time into, while not realizing that a lot of Wolf's behaviors just so happened to be that of a closeted homosexual trying to find satisfaction in all the wrong places in this fantasy world. He is trying to cope with his internal struggle using outlets such as egotistical personas, frequent body dysphoria, obsessive behavior, failing to fit into any social group or situation, displaying aggression toward anyone that gets too close to him, etc. In his centerpiece episode, "Vendettas" it shows his journey back to the city and his failed attempt to gain revenge on Goliath and Hudson, with the help of his Gargoyle slaying ancestor, Hakon. This is the only semblance of Wolf's family and history we get from him within the show, and that relationship even proves to be a toxic one.

Something I find particularly interesting is that throughout the show, he always claims he wants to hunt and kill Goliath. He threatens Goliath with the idea of death sometimes, but, he has never actually killed anyone in the show, even when he has the chance to. In "Vendettas", Wolf, clad in a trench-coat and armed with a weapon, robs a man of his car in the middle of nowhere. Instead of killing him however, the man is left alone by the side of the road, alive and well albeit a bit shaken up. All in all, Wolf has never directly killed anyone, yet he claims he is this 'perfect hunter' and will one day 'get his claws on Goliath', fixating on these stronger, inhuman men. There are even times where in the episode, he finds himself running into arguments and conflict with the ghost of Hakon, a man who is "supposedly" the answer as per why Wolf is lusting for these characters. Though related, and though they seem to have a similar goal in mind against the gargoyles, they do not share the same intentions and desires. During one of these arguments with his ghostly ancestor, Hakon even personifies and says to him, "How you could be descended from me, I'll never know." The one member of Wolf's family and bloodline we're aware of, and he's still finding he isn't accepted for who he is. He is quick to rebel and argue against him as if its a familiarity of something he's done before, maybe a past rejection from family because of who he is, which led him to where he is now? He even threatens Hakon with the prospect of throwing his ax, the one connection that brings his spirit to the mortal world, into the fire--quite literally, burying the hatchet. This can be interpreted as a form of, "if you don't accept what I want, I don't need you." Ergo, quite literally showing him prepared to cut off a family member for not accepting him, something a lot of queer people have had to go through.

Something else I can point out is that there are no long winded interactions between him and a female character throughout the series, and that could just be a coincidence, or you can look into to where it might actually be that he is self aware that he gets more of a sort of kick from interacting with the same gender. It might be out of an underlying gender preference or some form of indifference towards women, not because he necessarily thinks women are weak, which I doubt is the case. He despises Coyote because he represents this inhuman, infinitely more strong and capable being he has strived to be his whole life, who just walks into the pack one day and claims leadership for himself. He is indifferent to Dingo because of the constant disagreement with his own headstrong decisions, something he is not used to and is generally turned off by. He constantly seeks physical combat with Goliath because Goliath represents the ideal prize or specimen of a male he wants to have, something inhuman and stronger than he is. When that fails, he usually settles for combating Hudson because their strength is evenly matched, and he's aware he can overpower him at times due to Hudson's older age.

Post-mutated Wolf in his outfit.

Now I bring up his fascination for inhuman men a lot because, as those who have watched the series know, Wolf himself seeks to become inhuman and winds up doing so through self-mutation into a literal werewolf. It all ties back to his constant identity crisis, the strive and need to be an individual different than his actual self and stronger than most men. Nowadays, in reality, we have individuals who identify as "furries." There are many types, and I have met many of these types being a member of the furry community myself. Like Wolf, they are fascinated with becoming an animal persona of themselves. Most strive to be something due to a lot of psychological insecurities in that they are not satisfied with their physical self and wish to be something they perceive as 'better.' The book "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz talks a lot about identity crisis, the perspective we all as humans find ourselves in and the idea of perfection that we fabricate in our minds, further troubling ourselves, and this can ring true in any person in the world or even any character in a fictional media portrayal, such as Wolf. He is an individual that wants to become something he cannot, and he is an individual pursuing what he wants in the wrong ways, which is primarily what makes him a villain and very poor at making conscious decisions when it comes to his own gender and others in his life.

In Maxwell Maltz' book "Psycho-Cybernetics", he describes a female patient who saw him for plastic surgery because of some scarring she had received from a car accident. After the scarring was repaired, she insisted to the doctor that she sees no difference in the way she looks. He later learned that she had been depressed for a while because her husband had left her, making her feel that her looks were not good no matter what she did. After some counseling and proper help, she did get better, but Maltz seemed to learn something regarding the psychology surrounding people who seek out surgery to fix their appearance--that they develop this mental image of perfection within their mind, and that no matter what they do, they do not feel a proper amount of happiness with who they are because they make up a "self image" of what they desire to be. Examples: I need makeup to feel pretty; I need muscles to look hot; In Wolf's case, I need to be a monster to pursue a monster. Maybe he wants more than just a challenge in combat? Maybe through all the repression, fighting and sparring has become his mental equivalent to dating and having relationships? Going back to the emotional meltdown when we first see him, it goes without saying he acts the same way a pent up man, or animal, or otherwise would act if they were in heat and not sure what to do about it. Wolf doesn't acknowledge his own pursuance of lust in a healthy manner. He doesn't acknowledge the emotional reliance he has on other strong men in his life. Therefore, he feels he hates Goliath because the way he always bests him in battles is a form of rejection, and maybe fighting him is the closest thing he can get to feeling a male kinship.

Often finds himself to be more aggressive when he is in close physical contact with his combatant.

As for Wolf's fights with the gargoyles, particularly with Goliath and Hudson, well... Manly grunting. Struggling. Grappling with each others' hands, using each man's strength to push against the other. Bodies pressing against bodies. Not exactly, blatant murder attempts like Wolf claims he is prepared to emit, but instead, maybe there's an underlying sense of thrill in these combative situations he's not acknowledging or expressing. There is one instance in "Upgrade" where Hudson wraps his thighs around Wolf's neck and rides on top of his shoulders, inciting Wolf to panic. He becomes quickly hardheaded and frustrated with the predicament, jumping and leaping about to try and get the other male off of him. This could be read as just your basic dumb, meat-headed villain unsure how to respond with being overpowered by another man, but then Wolf actually gets to the point where he mutates, and his head becomes a full canine shape, with a snout, a drooling mouth and everything else... All while the old gargoyle has his muscular legs constricted around his neck, his intimates rather close enough to press against Wolf's head. Imagine being a closet case gay villain, and the hero finds a way to wrap himself around your body in a rather intimate way. You would freak out like Wolf does. You would struggle to try and get the upper hand. Your body might even feel some sense of satisfaction with this predicament, and you, who is not being used to acknowledging your more sexual desires, would panic.

I might be reading too much into this, it is a Disney show for kids after all (albeit, a dark one) but interestingly enough? We never see Wolf reach that point of mutation ever again. He never becomes this snarling, drooling, and full-on canine wolf-man, hellbent on punishing those that would even dare to try and make his body feel forbidden sensations, even in his new evolved form.

If you're a fan of sitcoms, then Wolf's characterization and problems I've just addressed might sound very familiar. The identity crisis, the constant fabrication of what he wants in a partner, and the ignorance towards his own deluded perspective on his sexuality. This is equivalent to Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I kid you not, its just about the same character.

Always Sunny's Mac next to his custom made blow up doll of his friend, Dennis. Which, he totally isn't using at all...

Both seem to boast about how tough they are in comparison to the weakness that is constantly demonstrated by the other characters in the show. Both suffer with body dysphoria, wishing to be so tough and manly that they wind up greatly altering their physical appearance for a period of time to compensate for it. Both are very obsessed with pursuing other men that exhibit traits of musculature and strength: Mac with recurring characters such as the supermodel Rex and the male stripper Mike; Wolf with the older and muscular, buff and gruff, loincloth-clad gargoyles, Goliath and Hudson.

I could go on about the similarities, but there are eventual key differences with both characters. Always Sunny has run long enough for Mac to come full circle and accept himself for who he is finally, as a gay man. While he's still the same problematic individual and reoccurring sufferings with humorous incidents with his identity crisis (eventually getting a shredded eight pack in one of the newer seasons), he has changed for the betterment as an LGBT+ character. Gargoyles was taken off the air in its prime, and Wolf was last seen defeated by his rivals once again, being dragged out of a junkyard while unconscious.

Knowing Disney's history with misrepresenting LGBT+ characters, and knowing the time period the show aired, it likely wouldn't be as progressive as Mac's character in Always Sunny.

What would Wolf's story be like if Gargoyles made a return to television? Do you think the writers are aware of these gay coded tendencies?

Honestly if Gargoyles were ever to make a return to media for its loyal fan-base in the now-progressive modern day era, nothing would satisfy me more that to see a story arc for Wolf coming to terms with his identity, maybe beneath that villainous exterior that seems to ward away anyone that gets close to him, finding a way to accept himself as a potentially gay/queer man. It goes without saying he's still a villain, a sadist, and not a perfect person, but to make it more in the air that beneath it there is some form of conflict within himself that is causing all this toxic behavior to rise. It's obvious that whatever repressed feelings he might have for someone such as Goliath may not be returned, but maybe there might be some other tough, inhuman guy that might return that feeling for lust and combat the way he does. My mind goes directly to the other recurring villain and winged feline mutate, Fang, for some reason, considering he also is satisfied with his new form as a mutate? But of course, that's just my fanboy self shipping characters at this point. If anything happened, it'd have to feel natural and not forced.

Not to mention before the post-tv series comic was scrapped, there was implication from the writers that Wolf would continue to upgrade his physical form as a super-mutant, which is a bit disappointing from the queer aspect I've built here and would lead to a likely unfortunate downfall for Wolf in the story, potentially even killing him off in some vigorous final battle as an action series does, but would also add to the villain aspect that has been built thus far, that he will never be satisfied with his lust and will continue until he inevitable becomes a full on feral wolf. Both possibilities are open ended when it comes to that story decision, but let's say, they do make the decision to characterize Wolf after realizing the queer coding embedded within him.

As crazy as it may sound, a gay Wolf subplot might even lead to a redemption arc between him and the Gargoyles? I suppose that's a bit far fetched on my end though, simply being the open minded fanboy who wants gay men to have happy endings, and besides, it'd be awkward for him to simply state, "Yeah, so, the reason I've been wanting to kill you this whole time was actually just me conforming to a toxic masculinity mindset I'd grown up with due to repressed trauma and ultimate denial of my own sexuality. Pretty much I've had the hots for ya the whole time Goliath and I just didn't know how to express it." Then Goliath just stares wide-eyed and blushes awkwardly, then is all, "Uh... Thank you...?" Well. Not exactly like that, but you get the point. Villain redemption arcs as it is are very tough to write because its not like they can suddenly turn over and be accepted after all the harm they've caused, for example, Zuko from ATLA, which is probably the prime example of how a villain redemption arc should go. He had to strive and actually work to return from the harm he'd caused beforehand and fully redeem himself, something that would... Probably not work for Wolf's favor, considering he is a hardheaded brute as it is. Not saying its impossible?? But as I said before, it would have to be very delicate writing and not feel forced.

Or maybe, the character simply too far gone and will continue to fall into repression of himself, and inevitable obsession to the end.

Much like the theme of Gargoyles, people are afraid of what they don't understand. Such is the Gargoyles' eternal struggle to find acceptance among humans, as well as it is for any person in the world to find acceptance in society, be it because of their race, gender, sexuality, or otherwise. This is a conundrum Wolf has yet to grasp a sense of personal closure on. Beneath the ego, he's a character who hates himself and is constantly striving to better himself, even if it means altering his appearance. Beneath the blood-lust, he's a character that has yet to acknowledge the self hatred and repression of his own emotions that drives him so mad to begin with. He's a pitiful villain, but beneath that, he has dynamic to him. He does not understand himself, therefore, he fears himself. He despises what he is. He rejects who he is and strives to change, only to find that nothing works. He lashes out and blames others for his misfortunes in life to make up for the fact he is hopelessly lost where he is.

Either or, for some reason, Gargoyles' Wolf is still a character that fascinates me personally, both as a queer individual and a die-hard Gargoyles fanatic, and probably the biggest fan of Wolf you'll be able to find on the internet? It's something I would be inclined to bring up to Greg Weisman eventually as a question, but not to press him on obviously, considering its just a fan's personal insight, but if he's as progressive as he says he is, I'm sure he'd enjoy to at least listen, and who knows, maybe this is something that has already crossed his mind in the creation process, but again, I wouldn't press on it. Gargoyles is still one of my favorite shows of all time irregardless and it still played a big role into my own coming to terms with my identity and who I am.

So, I hope any fans who came across this page enjoyed reading this, and if you have any inquiries, feel free to let me know.

Citations:

• Pendragon, Inferno. “Wolf (Gargoyles).” Villains Wiki, 2010, villains.fandom.com/wiki/Wolf_(Gargoyles).
• Penpaper123. “Queer Coding.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_coding.
• Bishansky, Greg. “Wolf.” GargWiki, 2006, gargwiki.net/Wolf.