What happened to "Dark Archer"?

[slack]

Does anyone feel like the character has moved backwards since his unseen solo trip through time? To me his appearance in Faith felt most true to the character of all his appearances since the original run of Archer & Armstrong ended.
This isn't hate for A&A. I like the story so far, just don't like the characterization of Archer.

[jmatt]

Yeah, that concept kinda came and went in a heartbeat. Kinda like 'infinity' Archer. And psiot Archer.

[grendeljd]

Yeah, that concept kinda came and went in a heartbeat. Kinda like 'infinity' Archer. And psiot Archer.

That particular Dark Archer 'era' was meant to be fairly tongue-in-cheek, I think. I hope some writer comes back to the infinite/psiot-tapping Archer again. That feels more intentionally like an add-on to his abilities that shouldn't get swept under the "past writer carpet".

[slack]

I guess I didn't mean just dark archer. By issue 25 Archer was much further from the "gee whillikers" Archer of issue 1. And the Archer we've seen since then (except in Faith) has been getting MORE "gee whillikers" than the Archer of issue 1.

[Shadowman99]

I guess I didn't mean just dark archer. By issue 25 Archer was much further from the "gee whillikers" Archer of issue 1. And the Archer we've seen since then (except in Faith) has been getting MORE "gee whillikers" than the Archer of issue 1.

What was 'Dark Archer'? What are people referring to here?

I'm pretty indifferent on any portrayals of Archer since A+A except for the drooling moron he was in Dead Drop, but I think that goes without saying.

[slack]

I think it was issue 17 where Archer came back from an unseen 6 month solo trip through time. He came back with a mullet and a more mature world view.
It was tongue in cheek, but I was more referring to the fact that the character did grow over the original 25 issues, but most portrayals since then have shown him to be more of a repressed goofball than he was in issue 1 of the original 2012 run.

[Shadowman99]

I think it was issue 17 where Archer came back from an unseen 6 month solo trip through time. He came back with a mullet and a more mature world view.
It was tongue in cheek, but I was more referring to the fact that the character did grow over the original 25 issues, but most portrayals since then have shown him to be more of a repressed goofball than he was in issue 1 of the original 2012 run.

I dunno, I think he developed a bit. Became a bit more world-wise and not quite so naieve as he was when he first stepped foot outside the amusement park. Became a bit jaded by the things he'd experienced, especially when it came to Armstrong and Mary-Maria.

I don't know if there's really any need for Archer to be particularly well fleshed out since the original run as he's more or less just cameoed here and there.

[jmatt]

I hope some writer comes back to the infinite/psiot-tapping Archer again. That feels more intentionally like an add-on to his abilities that shouldn't get swept under the "past writer carpet".

I feel a little differently. I like akashic/infinite (whatever that was supposed to mean) Archer, but I don't need him to be super-psiot Archer. That can stay under the rug.

[Shadowman99]

I hope some writer comes back to the infinite/psiot-tapping Archer again. That feels more intentionally like an add-on to his abilities that shouldn't get swept under the "past writer carpet".

I feel a little differently. I like akashic/infinite (whatever that was supposed to mean) Archer, but I don't need him to be super-psiot Archer. That can stay under the rug.

I quite liked this angle too. If Archer's supposed to be this 'ultimate' character one day in the future then having this kind of anytime access to any 'power' is definitely the way to go with it.

Wonder if he could ever rival Harada in power level with the 'akashic' thing in the mix?

[Brapbrap]

I hate that Delinquents and (so far) A&A have ignored his psiot powers. I thought it was great how as he meets new enemies through the original series he gets new abilities.

[MC Kriet]

To me his appearance in Faith felt most true to the character of all his appearances since the original run of Archer & Armstrong ended.

I was thinking this same thing. To me Archer feels more rounded as a character in Faith than he has outside of the first run of Archer & Armstrong, which is kind of amazing seeing as he has only been in a couple of pages out of the entire 3 issues so far. Houser isn't portraying him as a naive bumbling boy but rather as just another teenager alongside Faith.

I think the main problem with Archer is that other writers are honing in on the idea that he grew up sheltered and brainwashed and are forgetting the journey he has been on since he met Armstrong. He has grown a lot since then and is more than that one character trait.