List of Archer characters
This is a list of characters on Archer, an American animated spy comedy television series created by Adam Reed for the FX network.
Characters
Sterling Archer
Sterling Malory Archer, Code Name: Duchess, is 184 lb, 6'2", 36 years old and has black hair and blue eyes. He is considered the world's most dangerous secret agent. Though he shows proficiency in stereotypical spy skills—weapons, driving, martial arts—his primary interest in the job is the opportunity to enjoy a jet-setting lifestyle full of sex, alcohol, thrills, lacrosse, fast cars, designer clothing, and spy toys.Egotistical and self-serving, Archer generally lacks empathy towards anyone, though he is very quick to call out others for perceived bigotry. He shares many of his mother's flaws such as alcoholism, selfishness, impulsive behavior, and the stubborn refusal to listen to anyone. Flashback sequences show that his mother, between her career as an international spy and her social promiscuity, had very little time for Sterling in his youth. As such, Archer was primarily raised by his valet Woodhouse, whom he abused both verbally and physically.
He is almost always seen with an alcoholic drink. He insists that he has an incredibly high tolerance for alcohol yet is commonly seen in an inebriated state. He wears only hand-tailored suits to the office, and often refuses to wear anything other than black turtlenecks during operations. He claims he was the first to recognize the garment's tactical potential, and becomes enraged when his style is copied by other agents. His sidearm of choice is the Walther PPK despite being consistently insulted due to the gun's diminutive stature by his co-workers. In the season three episode "Drift Problem," he receives a modified black Dodge Challenger as a gift from Malory Archer, but she has the car stolen from him hours later in an effort to teach Archer a lesson about taking care of his possessions. In recent episodes he is seen driving a black Chevrolet El Camino.
Although Archer has a high kill rate, having stopped and killed a number of highly dangerous criminals, he usually does so not out of a desire to uphold the law, but for his own personal selfish reasons. He has, however, demonstrated compassion for others on occasion: in "Placebo Effect" he genuinely cared about fellow cancer patient Ruth, and was upset over her death, vowing vengeance against the mobsters who were selling phony chemotherapy medication; in "Double Trouble," Archer attempts to stop Katya Kasanova and Lana from fighting, as he doesn't want them to hurt each other. Archer admits to Lana in Season 3 that she is his only friend, and later suggests that his feelings for her go beyond physical attraction. At the conclusion of Season 4, Archer voluntarily drowns himself to save Lana after learning she is pregnant, confessing his love to her in the process. He shows surprising levels of concern throughout Lana's pregnancy, going so far as to become a certified Doula to help her through labor. He has shown great affinity towards large felines, such as ocelots and tigers, but fears large reptiles, in particular alligators and crocodiles. He has also displayed a heavy dislike of cyborgs/robots, possibly stemming from a childhood incident in which he nearly lost his testicles to a vacuum cleaner.
Despite his numerous personality flaws, he is undeniably an exceptionally gifted operative who doesn't hesitate to throw himself into dangerous situations. This is shown during his escape from Moscow, when he repeatedly outwits and outfights the soldiers pursuing him, despite numerous injuries. When he is finally cornered in an elevator, he blindfolds himself and fully intends his last words to be, "Fuck you, you douchebags." Though he claims not to have a death wish, Archer is clearly a thrill-seeker and an adrenaline junkie. He revels in activities such as skydiving, and driving powerful automobiles, sometimes joking that such things give him, "a giant erection."
Much of Archer's success can be attributed to luck. He confesses to Rip Riley in Season 3 that he's not big on planning and explains that his methods are more, "organic". When asked to explain his actions, he demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the tactics and capabilities of whatever enemy he is facing and near perfect situational awareness. When Archer sustains amnesia at the beginning of Season 4, believing himself to be someone else, he is still able to instinctively fend off a Russian hit squad, and detect the holes in Lana Kane's story while she attempts to restore his memory.
A recurring joke on the show is Archer forgetting his pre-planned witty one-liners, swearing, "I had something for this," before uttering something pithy such as, "suck grenade, stupids!" Archer also has an intense fascination with actor Burt Reynolds. He often quotes lines and re-enacts scenes from Reynolds' many films, often asking Lana if he resembles his idol.
His encyclopedic knowledge of various subjects allows him to make clever and obscure references on a moment's notice. However, he is often ignorant or forgetful when it comes to broader concepts such as helium not being inflammable, or that Barry's status as a cyborg renders him nigh-impervious to many conventional forms of attack. He also loudly declares to everyone he meets that he is a secret agent, and insists that keeping such information under wraps negates the whole purpose of being a spy in the first place.
Rival agents consider Archer a serious threat, due in part to his combat skills and his instinctual fieldwork, which tends to be devoid of any kind of preparation on his part. Because of this, Archer is equally likely to successfully kill a room full of enemy agents as he is to accidentally cause an international incident.
Archer and other characters have noted that he exhibits numerous symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders. This includes his emotional development issues, his near encyclopedic knowledge of trivia, mission-relevant information, and the things that specifically scare him. In addition, he possesses a savant-like ability to count the number of bullets remaining in his and others’ guns, including multiple automatic weapons in a firefight. Oftentimes, when stating such facts, another character will ask him, in surprise, "How do you know that?", to which Archer incredulously will reply, "How do you NOT?". In Season 4, Archer admits that his uncanny ability to do this may, indeed, be evidence of autism. There is some ambiguity as to Archer's academic success. Photos show that he graduated from college, but flashback sequences show him struggling with written exams. In the Season 4 episode "Once Bitten", it is revealed that Archer had, at one time, received an offer of full athletic scholarship to Johns Hopkins University to play lacrosse. Shortly thereafter, it is then revealed that he had poor SAT scores.
After ISIS is shut down by the FBI, Archer joins the quest to sell a tonne of cocaine. He also tries to win over Lana, going so far as to get Kenny Loggins to play at her baby shower only to be dismayed when he discovers Lana never understood his repeated "Danger Zone" references. When Lana gives birth, she admits that she used sperm from Archer to get pregnant, making him the father. He is initially angry at Lana for using his genetic material without his consent, but comes to genuinely care for his daughter despite having a loose grasp of parental responsibility. He and Lana re-enter into a committed relationship halfway through Season 6.
Lana Kane
Lana Anthony Kane was the top female agent at ISIS and Archer's girlfriend. Lana has dark brown hair, green eyes, and a signature look consisting of short cowl necked sweater dresses and black thigh-high stiletto suede boots. She also has abnormally large hands for a woman, which are a frequent target for ridicule.A tall, beautiful black woman, she is a competent and deadly agent but is constantly frustrated that she is treated as the number two ISIS field agent because Archer's mother runs the agency. Like Archer, Lana is an expert in Krav Maga, in which all ISIS agents undergo training, and is usually seen carrying two Tec-9 submachine guns in shoulder holsters. She drives a purple car that resembles a Living Daylights-era Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Lana also has incredibly large and strong hands, which have been likened by Archer and other characters to cricket bats, steam shovels, and the "Truckasaurus" to her ever-mounting frustration.
Before Lana was an agent, she was an animal-rights activist; at a protest, she tried to throw red paint on Malory's fur coat but was stopped when Malory pulled a gun on her. While the other protesters ran, only Lana stayed and stood her ground even with a gun pointed at her. Lana's fearlessness so impressed Malory that she offered Lana the chance to become an agent. Her parents, Claudette and Lemuel, are academics at UC Berkeley who were unaware of her career in espionage for years, believing her to be a doctoral student in Environmental Science at Columbia. Her liberal leanings do occasionally show, and she tends to be the most politically correct character on the show, as well as the "straight man" to the antics of the rest of the staff. However, she is shown to be as capable of questionable behavior as the rest, once charging every man in the ISIS office $600 to say they slept with her as a way to get revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend Cyril, and on another occasion holding up a firefight on a space station until the other agents conceded her breasts are still perfect. Furthermore, in a moment of surprising insight, Cheryl accused Lana of being a hypocrite as her history as a social activist is not enough to drive her away from ISIS, which is deep down her only true love. She is also prone to extreme acts of unnecessary violence, such as giving Cyril, whom she was dating at the time, a black eye for merely implying that she might have been jealous of a rival agent.
Lana has a complex love/hate relationship with Archer, with whom she had a long-term relationship that she ended six months prior to the start of the series due to his constant philandering and psychological issues resulting from Malory's parenting. She regularly trades insults with him and consistently berates him for his chaotic methods in the field, but at times she has shown sympathy when he is in trouble or been attracted to him in moments of competence. In "Stage Two" she tried to counsel him through his cancer scare, and in a drunken state of fear he admitted he loved her, a statement that rendered her speechless. She slept with him prior to his surgery, but after his cancer was treated he was unable to say it again. He later admitted in "Heart of Archness" that she was his only friend, but was not able to repeat his confession of love until he nearly died saving her life in "Sea Tunt II". She acknowledged his sentiment, but does not confess her own affection for him until after the birth of her daughter in "Arrivals/Departures". Lana and Archer maintain a professional rivalry throughout the series, both claiming to being the best agent, while openly belittling each other’s skills.
Lana reveals her pregnancy at the end of Season 4, with the biological father being a donor and not Cyril, who she had briefly resumed dating earlier in the season. After ISIS is disbanded, Archer proposes marriage to Lana but she declares she'd rather lose the baby than let it be raised by Archer. She reluctantly goes along with the plan to form a drug cartel in order to provide for her child. As the season progresses, she is surprised by Archer's high level of sympathy and interest in her pregnancy, Lana eventually gives birth to a daughter, Abbiejean, and reveals to a stunned Archer that she used frozen sperm samples from him to make him the father. He reacted to this revelation by fleeing halfway around the world and going on a six-week long bender. Later in the series Archer and Lana re-enter into a committed relationship halfway through Season 6.
In flashbacks, she is shown sporting an afro, a hairstyle that, according to Archer, made her look "like Angela Davis had a love child with Sweet Lou Dunbar." She eventually straightened her hair and grew it long enough to wear it in a tied back flip hairstyle. In season seven, she began wearing a hair weave, which she does not like the others noticing.