Archer & Armstrong #12 Discussion

[lorddunlow]

This. Was. So. Great!

So much going on. Have to read this again, right now!

As for the Ambrose Bierce, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Twilight Zone episode. I'd like to add that it is considered a "lost" episode. It was never re-aired due to the graphic nature of the hanging. Also, it is a series of events that take place in the mind when only short time passed in reality. Maybe some foreshadowing?

Also, "Fanny*" "*USA only" was sooo hilarious!

[Labtech1]

Great issue! Loved the future teases. And pretty much all the characters were spot on with great interactions. And I'd pretty much figured Mary-Maria and Armstrong would start a thing... which is next issue, probably. It's the move that most throws a wrench in the A&A dynamic while still having an accurate title. Be reaaaaaaally interesting to see how this plays out in the Sect War arc.

And Ivar! That was expected, yet fully awesome in how it happened. And he seems a lot more Doctor Who-ish after his imprisonment, which is great! I fully look forward to literally everything this issue promised for the future.

Also, the grey-swearing was BRILLIANT!

Hunter again I am right there with you. This felt like a page from the Doctor Who play book was used here, and I loved ever min of it! The Mary-Maria falling for Armstrong situation will be interesting to see play out.

50 shades of grey was brilliant!

[bygranddesign]

After a night of processing this issue .. Couple of thoughts and observations

1) Just trying to put 2 and 2 together in regards to the showdown between Obie and Bloodshot could Bloodshot have an Obadiah protocol implanted in his programming? Could PRS have put it in there … or Harada after he captures Bloodshot?
2) In regards to Obie and Faith together …. I sort of liked the idea of Peter and Faith ending up together. He is somewhat emotionally disturbed and damaged and she is someone who gives him strength to be the person he is meant to be – they have a yin and yang type balance. Obie and Charlene also have that yin and yang balance – that’s why that relationship made sense in the original universe.
3) I’m also wondering if these revelations will end up being referred to as a POSSIBLE future. Nothing is written in stone. The future can be re-written a billion times over. I’ve always liked the multi-universe theory. And the future is being re-written as soon as the Sages and Ivar tell Obie his own future.
4) The faraway is outside the strings of different timelines and realities – there is only ONE version that exists and therefore that’s why the word of Obadiah is referred to as timeless.

[greg]

2) In regards to Obie and Faith together …. I sort of liked the idea of Peter and Faith ending up together. He is somewhat emotionally disturbed and damaged and she is someone who gives him strength to be the person he is meant to be – they have a yin and yang type balance. Obie and Charlene also have that yin and yang balance – that’s why that relationship made sense in the original universe.

Had a weird thought... what if Faith dies, and Charlene takes Faith's name in order to leave her own past behind and honor Faith?
Ivar would know Obadiah and Charlene as "Obadiah and Faith".

[bribri]

The really interesting thing about Mary-Maria having a boner for Armstrong is that it's really her parents!!! They're always on a bit of a power trip, and I think it's them lusting, not her. Regardless, this is going to break poor Archer's little heart.

[DrSoup007]

Oh, this is before the goat

2 Theories...

1. GOATPOCALYPSE!

2. GOAT MOTHER GOD

I'm done

[grendeljd]

The Hyper Sphere - a hypercube is a theoretical structure which exists in four dimensions (time) - therefore, Hyper Sphere is probably the same concept - appearing to exist in three dimensions, but having access to multiple times.

Unless it is a typo, Ivar threatened the WORD with the first cataclysm (the Boon, A&A #1) - how did he threaten the WORD from outside the hypersphere? Ivar will threaten the word again - so there is something to the order of the events, even though the hypersphere appears to connect multiple timestreams

The Aleph (prison for Ivar) appears to be related to fractals, not sure why that's important, but it could have easily been just a sphere... it's not.
Aleph is the first letter in multiple languages - also known as "alpha" - and we've seen Ivar pretend(?) to be Jesus (Alpha and Omega).

Ivar has been trapped in the timestream "for literally forever" - in the original Valiant, Solar was involved in EVERY time - now Ivar is saying HE has been in every time (all past and all future?).

Has Ivar seen his own future outside of the prison? If he has witnessed events in the timestream, he may have seen himself (freed) doing future things.

You've got me thinking that the Aleph/HyperSphere may either contain or actually be the Akashic Record. It kind of makes sense that it would have been engineered for Archer to be able to naturally tap into it, as it is built to preserve his 'word'. The real mind-bender is, was it engineered this way because they knew Archer was going to be able to tap into it, or was he engineered to tap into it by others who knew of its exsistence? Gotta love time-travel/timestream paradoxes...

[lorddunlow]

You've got me thinking that the Aleph/HyperSphere may either contain or actually be the Akashic Record. It kind of makes sense that it would have been engineered for Archer to be able to naturally tap into it, as it is built to preserve his 'word'. The real mind-bender is, was it engineered this way because they knew Archer was going to be able to tap into it, or was he engineered to tap into it by others who knew of its exsistence? Gotta love time-travel/timestream paradoxes...

No, you really don't.

I like your idea, though.

[dornwolf]

"Oh just before the goat then" Greatest teaser line ever. Also I like the idea that Ivar book would be Doctor Who-like, he's already when from being the biggest *SQUEE* in the family to being the gungho on an adventure type.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Completely loved this issue. This arc is why I read comics. FVL and Pere Perez are killing it!
The only thing that worries me is planting those seeds, like VH1's Shadowan destined to die in 1999. Not really crazy about spoilers that far out. It's fun to see those references, but they do worry me in the long run.
Aside from that, if you're not reading this book, or don't think it's at the top of the list as far as content, and writing go, I don't know what's wrong with you!
Cheers!

[jmatt]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

Great issue! So much comic-booky goodness!

Oh, Pixie? You have an endoskeleton. Ants have exoskeletons. And maybe Bugsy.

[jmatt]

Unless it is a typo, Ivar threatened the WORD with the first cataclysm (the Boon, A&A #1) - how did he threaten the WORD from outside the hypersphere?

Assuming that the first cataclysm is the original activation of the Boon, how could he have threatened something that won't exist for a few thousand years? Remember Kay saw Archer as "infinite", can it be he was around since the beginning of time? Or at least was present at the activation?

[greg]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

That's how I understood it...

[greg]

Unless it is a typo, Ivar threatened the WORD with the first cataclysm (the Boon, A&A #1) - how did he threaten the WORD from outside the hypersphere?

Assuming that the first cataclysm is the original activation of the Boon, how could he have threatened something that won't exist for a few thousand years? Remember Kay saw Archer as "infinite", can it be he was around since the beginning of time? Or at least was present at the activation?

What if Ivar is so greatful to Obadiah for releasing him from the Aleph prison that he shows him how to timewalk?
(He already showed him how to destroy the Boon... clearly Ivar can teach Obadiah things that others can't learn.)

[jmatt]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

That's how I understood it...

If so, then the Faraway is less "a place outside of time" ala The Lost Land and is an actual physical construct of future humans that somehow has portals to different times. If that makes any sense.

[greg]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

That's how I understood it...

If so, then the Faraway is less "a place outside of time" ala The Lost Land and is an actual physical construct of future humans that somehow has portals to different times. If that makes any sense.

I think so. The Anni-Padda brothers went through a portal to the Faraway, took the Boon back to their time on Earth and activated it.
I'm not sure how that could endanger the word (Archer's notebook) if the notebook was always in the Faraway.
I also don't understand why being in the Faraway doesn't require food/drink.

[BugsySig]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

Great issue! So much comic-booky goodness!

Oh, Pixie? You have an endoskeleton. Ants have exoskeletons. And maybe Bugsy.

You know too much...

[jmatt]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

Great issue! So much comic-booky goodness!

Oh, Pixie? You have an endoskeleton. Ants have exoskeletons. And maybe Bugsy.

You know too much...

You come near me and I'll peel you out of that carapace! No! Not the mandibles! Aaaah! It hurts! Everyone, Bugsy is actually a....

[pixierosa]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

Great issue! So much comic-booky goodness!

Oh, Pixie? You have an endoskeleton. Ants have exoskeletons. And maybe Bugsy.

I have an English degree. Science hard.

[lorddunlow]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

Great issue! So much comic-booky goodness!

Oh, Pixie? You have an endoskeleton. Ants have exoskeletons. And maybe Bugsy.

I have an English degree. Science hard.

[bygranddesign]

One question: Were they saying that the Faraway is in the Hypersphere?

That's how I understood it...

If so, then the Faraway is less "a place outside of time" ala The Lost Land and is an actual physical construct of future humans that somehow has portals to different times. If that makes any sense.

I think so. The Anni-Padda brothers went through a portal to the Faraway, took the Boon back to their time on Earth and activated it.
I'm not sure how that could endanger the word (Archer's notebook) if the notebook was always in the Faraway.
I also don't understand why being in the Faraway doesn't require food/drink.

What I was thinking was that the Sphere/Faraway/Archer's words can't be undone - It's on the "river of time for its own protection". People can access it through different times, different worlds(?), different realities(?) and it will never change. This place always stays the same.

But .... perhaps the Boon is different. The Anni-Padda's took the Boon from the Faraway.
Perhaps if Ivar unleashed the Boon's fullest potential - it could have wiped out everything - all worlds, all realities, all time .. even the hyper sphere/Faraway.

[bygranddesign]

The really interesting thing about Mary-Maria having a boner for Armstrong is that it's really her parents!!! They're always on a bit of a power trip, and I think it's them lusting, not her. Regardless, this is going to break poor Archer's little heart.

This is a plot point that I think FVL needs to clear up for us at some point

Sometimes Mary-Maria acts like herself, sometimes she acts like her Parents would act

My guess is that she doesn't realize that her parents are influencing her

I think its her with influence from her parents that causes the "boner" for Armstrong

[KXXX]

The really interesting thing about Mary-Maria having a boner for Armstrong is that it's really her parents!!! They're always on a bit of a power trip, and I think it's them lusting, not her. Regardless, this is going to break poor Archer's little heart.

This is a plot point that I think FVL needs to clear up for us at some point

Sometimes Mary-Maria acts like herself, sometimes she acts like her Parents would act

My guess is that she doesn't realize that her parents are influencing her

I think its her with influence from her parents that causes the "boner" for Armstrong

Well he definitely doesn't need to clear up why I get a "boner" for her. I should explain why I put that it quotes. But I won't.

[BugsySig]

When the Archies (that's what I'm calling them, deal with it VEI) say Ivar threatened the Word, I read it not as the literal "words" Archer has written, but their goal. The Word promotes "saving" the world by doing nothing. Ivar takes action to try to save the world, and therefor threatens it. He did so by bringing the Boon back to his people, and likely did so (or will do so) again by traveling through time.

[lorddunlow]

the Archies (that's what I'm calling them, deal with it VEI) .