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Ambrose, more commonly known by his nickname Flycatcher, is the king of Haven. He's generally viewed as a nice, if simple man, but hides a great capacity for magic. He can determine what magic works within Haven's borders and commands an army of ghosts. Ambrose is affected by a curse which causes him to turn into a frog when startled or embarrassed.
History
Early Life
Ambrose was born a prince. When he was a young man, Frau Totenkinder turned him into a frog, to be trapped in this form until he was kissed by a woman who loved him and married her, but his curse lingered. Anytime he got nervous, he turned into a frog again but a kiss from his wife would turn him back. Together, they had eight children and ruled their kingdom in peace.[1]
When the Adversary reached his kingdom, Ambrose was set to face them; however, the enemies broke into his room as he was putting on his armor. Startled, he turned into a frog. He could do nothing but watch as wife and his children were murdered; his wife and eldest daughter were raped before they were killed.
The next thing Ambrose remembered, he was a human in his ruined capitol city. The events taking too big a toll on Ambrose, he twisted his memory of them as to believe his family had fled the kingdom in time. He began to wander the Homelands to search for them. [2]
The Exodus
When he heard about the sanctuary world, Ambrose travelled there with the belief that he would find his family. He was disappointed, but decided to stay. He has since taken a job as a janitor at the Woodland.[2] Although his memories of his family's death were bottled up, he was known to speak about it when drunk. Ambrose was kept as a janitor in the Woodland to protect him for searching for his family, as he would find out the truth. Bigby charged Ambrose with minor offenses to give him more time to serve as a janitor, and the other Fables as well as the The Magic Mirror played along for his sake.
Depression
As time went on, Ambrose remembered what happened to his family. This caused him to enter a state of depression and mourning.[3] Red Riding Hood, at the time a good friend of his, told Ambrose to snap out of it and seek revenge. It's then that Ambrose came to his friend Boy Blue, who once invaded the Homelands single-handedly. He asked Blue if he would help him get to the Homelands and lend him his cloak and sword, so that he could fight and decimate the Adversary's army in revenge. Blue, however, refused. He reminded Ambrose that he was the only Fable to arrive in the Mundy with no crimes to absolve, and that he is too good. Shortly afterwards, the ghost of the Forsworn Knight (who turned out to be Lancelot) called to him. Lancelot gave his armor to Ambrose, told him to pull Excalibur from the stone, and knighted him.[4]
Now ready, the pair went down the Witching Well. They gathered the ghosts of various Fables, gave them bodies, and offered to lead them to a new land. [5] Most were willing, but some began to leave to become ghosts again as their hunger and thirst became unbearable.[6] Flycatcher suffered these pains immensely, as he was the only one that was still alive. As his body grew weak, the ghosts carried him the rest of the way.
Haven
After an unknown length of time, the group finally came to what was once Ambrose's kingdom.[6] After gathering their strength once more, they began to build the new kingdom of Haven. Ambrose sent Lancelot to inform the Empire that they existed, and exiled Shere Khan and Bluebeard so they'd lead the Adversary to them.[7]
Once the armies of the Adversary showed up, Ambrose demonstrated his ability to give his ghosts new bodies, making a traditional battle impossible. Instead, he proposed a battle of champions. When the time for the battle came, he was able to defeat the troll Grinder without killing him. The Adversary didn't honor his deal, so he sent the ghosts to torment them until they fled.[8]
The Adversary sent more armies to Haven and Ambrose dealt with them similarly. Those who returned to the Empire were killed for their failure; those who came to Haven were welcomed as new citizens.[9] Finally, the Golden Horde, an army of wooden soldiers, was sent. Ambrose was able to use the magic of Lancelot's armor to turn them into trees and gain control of the Magic Grove. [10]
Shortly after he defeated the Golden Horde, Ambrose had a vision of the future. He saw an army of wooden soldiers bearing his emblem lead by a man that looks similar to himself.[10] As a result, he established that no wood from the Magic Grove may be used, and shall be kept as a place of contemplation and peace.
With his battle won, Ambrose put most of the affairs of state in the hands of Trusty John and opened Haven to any Fables from The Farm that wanted to move. Red Riding Hood also came to live in Haven for the love she bore for Ambrose.[10]
He remained in contact with Fabletown and the Farm despite now living in Haven, as his magic is powerful and often required. He helped at any chance he got, and with the death of Boy Blue, the magic he took from the Witching Cloak became even more valuable.
Personality and Traits
Simple, friendly and innocent, those are the traits that describe Flycatcher. He is often regarded as a good-natured janitor by the other Fables. He enjoys being with his friends Boy Blue and Pinocchio, and in their spare time, they often go and buy comic books or do other activities. He is treated with respect and love by the other Fables and even by the shady Fables such as Jack Horner.
Ever since he became the King of Haven, he has grown wiser and can be quite serious, through he still remains kind and carefree. It is unknown if Flycatcher was like this in the past, or if it is a result of his finding out the truth about his family and his consequent arc. Ambrose is good and kind, and leads Haven to being a new kingdom without spilling any blood. He is not one for violent battle, and prefers settling things peacefully if possible. He is a caring ruler, meaning well and only wanting the best for others.
He appears to have accepted and moved on from what he had been repressing for so long. He is now in a relationship with Red Ridding Hood.
Flycatcher is noted to be the only truly innocent character of Fabletown, as he was the only one who enters the Mundy world without having anything to be forgiven of.
Powers and Abilities
Back in the Homelands, Frau Totenkinder cursed Flycatcher. Whenever he felt nervous or excited, he will turn into a frog. Only a kiss from a Princess is able to turn him back to human. Unfortunately, the curse is still active, thus his wife had to keep kissing him in order to restore his human form. When the Adversary invaded his kingdom, in a sad twist of fate, his curse saved his life at the cost of preventing the death of his family. After he becomes King of Haven, he has gained control of the curse, being able to turn back to human at will.
In Fabletown, Flycatcher works as a janitor for the Woodlands. He was evidently quite good at his job.
During his quest to restore his Kingdom, Flycatcher gain a magical armor and sword from Lancelot. He proved himself to be a capable fighter. He managed to singlehandly defeat the troll Grinder without actually harming him.
His greatest strength is his highly powerful magic. Fly controls everything in Haven, being able to restore or take away the bodies of his people in order to turn them into an invulnerable spirit army. He has gained the power of the Magic Grove, being able to absorb its power. He once tried to heal his best friend Boy Blue by using the power of the Magic Grove. He is capable of teleportation and has been shown to be able to teleport people with him back to Haven as well.
After Bellflower's defeat by Mr. Dark, Flycatcher remains the only fable, capable of standing up against the Great Power. He managed to keep the Dark One at bay for a limited number of time, by creating a barrier that surrounds his kingdom. The fact that Fly is capable of standing up against Mr. Dark, proves his status as one of the strongest Fable in the story.
Source
Ambrose is based on the titular prince in The Frog Prince.
The prince is cursed by a witch to be a frog until kissed by a princess. When a princess loses her ball in a well, the prince retrieves it in return for a kiss. The princess is disgusted and refuses to honor her bargain at first, but the king makes her hold up her side of the bargain. When they kiss, the curse is broken and the two are married.
Trivia
- Flycatcher was intended to die in battle during the March of the Wooden Soldiers arc, but artist Mark Buckingham begged Bill Willingham not to.[11]
References
- ↑ "Witch's Tale". First published in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (October 2006).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "A Frog's Eye View". First published in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (October 2006).
- ↑ "Flycatcher". Chapter one of The Good Prince.
- ↑ "Knighthood". The third chapter of The Good Prince.
- ↑ "Home". Chapter four of The Good Prince.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Duel". Chapter five of The Good Prince
- ↑ "Envoy". Chapter six of The Good Prince.
- ↑ "Haven". Chapter seven of The Good Prince.
- ↑ "Kingdom". Chapter eight of The Good Prince.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Eternal". Chapter nine of The Good Prince.
- ↑ Fables Encyclopedia, published in 2013.