Review: Archer & Armstrong #10
Creative Team:
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Pere Perez
Inkers: David Baron
Color Artist: David Baron
Cover Artists: Clayton Henry, Juan Doe, Matthew Waite, and Andrew Robinson
How We Got Here: Nothing is what Obadiah Archer thought it was. It wasn’t so long ago that he was the son of Reverend Joseph and Congresswoman Thelma Archer who was trained to kill “He Who Is Not To Be Named.” It was a mission he had to fulfill before going back home to the fundamentalist compound where he spent his first 18 years. But after getting into a bar fight he is saved by the bar’s drunken bouncer, Armstrong, who Archer discovers is the very person he was trained to kill. As they fight they are captured by some armed soldiers and imprisoned underneath Wall Street.
As Archer escaped he overheard a discussion between his parents and the One Percent, an evil demon worshipping cult that runs Wall Street, where his parents tried to bargain his life for the pieces of a device that promises to give eternal life called the Boon. It was then that he realized how he not only knew less about the world than he thought, but of his own parents. Now teaming with the very man who he was trained to kill the two raced around the world to attempt to collect the pieces of the Boon before his parents and the One Percent can collect them.
Armstrong, a man who has lived for over 10,000 years, received immortality from the Boon’s activation attempts to prevent anyone from using it again. The conflict with the One Percent and Archer’s parents is one that has existed for centuries between himself and the Sect. But despite their best efforts Archer & Armstrong failed to prevent the Boon from being activated. It is then that it is revealed that the Boon grants immortality while stealing the life essence out of those around it.
Archer learns that he is not his parents’ biological child, but instead came from something called Project Rising Spirit. To try to find more out about his past he and Armstrong head to Nevada.
The Issue: Archer and Armstrong sneak onto a flight headed to Project Rising Spirit’s headquarters, which is located in Area 51. On board the flight is Archer’s adopted sister Mary-Maria under the guise of Ms. Arquiero for purposes of checking PRS’ financial records.
Archer finds out that they are on the wrong Project Rising Spirit base. Where they should be is the base called “the Nursery” which is currently offline for repairs. Elsewhere, Mary-Maria (who is currently the host of Joseph and Thelma Archer’s essences) is killing security guards and running around the base. When Archer and Armstrong hear the gunshots they retreat to another room with a ton of machinery. One of the machines seems familiar to Armstrong but he can’t place it.
Mary-Maria arrives in the room and Archer is ecstatic to see she is still alive. Their parents are in her head telling Mary-Maria to kill him, but before she pulls the trigger PRS security run in firing shots. The shots activate the machine, turning out to be a portal to a place known as the Faraway.
What I Liked: After re-reading Archer & Armstrong to do this review it really struck me how this book is the centerpiece of the Valiant Universe. Part of that is by virtue of Armstrong having 10,000 years worth of adventures, but more than that it is because of the adventures the two take. Through the comic there are little Easter eggs such as mentions of the Vine (from the pages of X-O Manowar), and references to Project Rising Spirit.
When the first mention of a place in Nevada being tied to Archer’s origins, I overlooked it. But in further reading it links him with a lot of what is going on. He is not just a product of power hungry fundamentalist parents who just happened to be able to learn various styles of fighting. His ability to learn these fighting skills are his psiot ability, and it was the very reason the Archers adopted him. And if that wasn’t enough when they mentioned his origin is tied with the events of the Harbinger Wars by mentioning that the Nursery was offline for repairs.
The best part of this book is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Anything can happen, but it doesn’t use that freedom to take the cheap way out. The book is very similar in tone to Fred Van Lente’s Incredible Hercules series. There are things that on paper shouldn’t work, but he’s never failed to impress me. So much happens every issue, but it’s never too much. I could always use more.
What I Didn’t Like: Uh… umm… that it’s not more pages? I honestly can’t think of a bad thing about this issue. While it’s not the best single issue I’ve read in my life I feel like being critical of it is seriously nitpicking. It delivers in a way that very few comics do. I just love it. What else can I say?
Grade:
- 4.5 out of 5 villains
Coatesvillain
Just a guy who was into this nerd stuff before it's popular. Now that is I'm just happy I have people to talk about it with.
