Recently my trade paperback copy of the Fables series came in the mail… Volume 18: Cubs in Toyland, which included the Fables issues 114 thru 123. Where the first seven issues were about Therese and Darien’s adventures in Disturbia (aka Toyland) and issues 122 and 123 were called “The Destiny Game” where we learn about a young lady whose job is to assign destinies.
But this post is about the first seven issues…. or more specifically a re-analyzation of an old prophecy the was revealed in the form of a one-shot comic released to the public as a giveaway during a Fables panel at the San Diego Comic Con.
It is within the above one-shot comic that we learn a prophecy that dealt with the children of Snow White and Bigby Wolf:
The first child will be a king.
The second child a pauper.
The third will do an evil thing.
The fourth will die to stop her.
The fifth will be a hero bold.
The sixth will judge the rest.
The seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed
Up until the end of the “Babes in Toyland” storyline we now know three of the seven cubs have been given their fates:
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
1) WINTER: The first child will be a king.
Winter is known as the runt of the children, timid and shy but with the power within her to be able to take over the mantle of the North Wind from her recently deceased grandfather.
2) THERESE: The third will do an evil thing.
During the “Cubs in Toyland” storyline, Therese became a murderer when she had Lord Mountbatten (originally a toy tiger in the Mundy world but a full fledged tiger in Toyland) killed and his meat became her supper. As it would stand… had the next not happened, she may have had to continue to kill in order to eat as opposed to starve.
3) DARIEN: The fourth will die to stop her.
It was revealed in the “Cubs in Toyland” storyline that Darien had to sacrifice himself so that the cauldron would always have food for the inhabitants of Toyland to live off of and feed. He did this so that Therese would no longer have to kill innocents for supper (see above)
So that leaves the others four cubs: Blossom, Connor, Ambrose and Ghost.
Right off the bat we know that Ambrose lives a long life… the question now, however, would be is he the cub who is “the sixth will judge the rest” or “the seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed”. Since during “The Destiny Game” it would appear that Ambrose is designated with chronicling the history of the Fables in the Mundy world. As evidence by the title of one of the Volumes:
A History of Fables in America, the Mundy World and Beyond
by A. WolfVolume 7
In fact, it has been Ambrose who had been the narrator through a few of the side shots throughout the series. So it is truly difficult to know whether he would be the one to judge, or the live ages old.
After knocking of what has already come to pass this is what we have left:
The second child a pauper.
The fifth will be a hero bold.
The sixth will judge the rest.
The seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed
Now before going on, Ghost (the seventh child) is truly just that… a pocket of air. Invisible yet efficient. He has helped his father (Bigby Wolf aka the Big Bad Wolf) on a few adventures and saved him on occasion… Which would cause to believe that Ghost could be “the fifth” who would be “a hero bold”.
On the other hand there is also Connor, who may have felt that he lived in his brother’s (Darien) shadow, and eventually becomes a hero bold.
The cubs who have the tendencies to judge others (Darien, Therese) already completed their journeys… so who may have judging tendencies? My bet is probably Ghost, since Ghost stayed with his father for a spell and away from his siblings… and when integrated with the rest of the pack has become a loved member of the family. However, no one really gets to see his (only because Ghost sounds like a boy in my imagination) emotions, because he is nothing more than a puff of air… so he might be the best choice of the cub who “will judge the rest”.
So by process of elimination that leaves Blossom as “the second child a pauper.”
Looking back at the original prophecy this is what my breakdown would look like based on the above analysis:
The first child will be a king.
WINTER
The second child a pauper.
BLOSSOM
The third will do an evil thing.
THERESE
The fourth will die to stop her.
DARIEN
The fifth will be a hero bold.
CONNOR
The sixth will judge the rest.
GHOST
The seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed
AMBROSE
Interesting breakdown… and one that i would be willing to stick with Fables to see how it all unfolds. After all, Bill Willingham has promised that throughout issues 101 thru 199/200 would play out the prophecy that was given out a few years prior… and right now the series is on Issue 125… leaving approximately 75 issues left. Breaking that down, that is one issue per month at twelve a year leaving about six more years (at most) until the next major storyline takes effect…
But considering that we are only a quarter through, are we really anxious for the next storyline to happen? For me: Yes and No… But being a writer… it’ll always be Yes and No. 😛