Archer (TV Series)

Sterling Archer

Sterling Archer

Sterling Mallory Archer, codename Duchess, is described as the world’s most dangerous spy. Despite not appearing competent, he possesses raw talent that allows him to survive years of constant peril largely unscathed, unlike his enemies and some allies. He is an expert in womanizing, sarcasm, and explaining how people get ants.

Strength

  • Throws a serving platter with enough force to penetrate a man’s skull. (source)
  • Wrestles a harpoon gun away from Lana ‘Monster Hands’ Kane. (source) (This was before the ‘Monster Hands’ joke started, only one episode prior.)
  • Knocks out Rip Riley in one punch. (source) (Riley was able to no-sell this: https://gfycat.com/LonelyImpishIberianemeraldlizard a couple episodes prior.)
  • Knocks out Edie in one punch. (source) (Edie was able to take a beatdown from Cyborg Barry without losing consciousness.)

Durability

  • Survives an enormous explosion that the head of the KGB states ’no one could have survived’. (source)
  • Gets totally mangled in a car crash, isn’t even bothered and still feels good enough to continue to ask Lana if she wants to bang. (source)
  • Drinks some broken glass. (source)
  • Is chased extensively by KGB while barefoot, running over broken glass. (source) (He claims to have about 3 pounds of glass in his feet by the end.)
  • In a crashing plane, he remains completely alert and conscious while it knocked out Rip Riley. (source) (Rip Riley was able to no-sell this: https://gfycat.com/LonelyImpishIberianemeraldlizard.)
  • In a crashing space shuttle, he is the only one without a somewhat permanent injury. (source)
  • Explosions with enough force to tear Archer’s clothes, or occasionally blow them entirely off, leave him almost completely unharmed. (source) (Also seen here: https://gfycat.com/ImpeccableBlissfulBurro. No injury except a few broken glass cuts despite being thrown by a car.)
  • Survives in the air vents for an entire weekend while the furnace was turned up to 90 degrees, with no water. (source)
  • Drowns, technically dies, and suffers no brain damage when he is revived via CPR. (source)
  • By early season 5, he remembers being shot 26 times over the years. (source) (Only 17 of those were onscreen, including a harpoon, a space taser, and a regular taser. Since then he’s been shot 9 more times (https://gfycat.com/HiddenAmpleArchaeocete), including a bean bag round. [SEASON 5 AND 6 SPOILER])

Fighting skill

  • Takes on 3 guards in a SCUBA fight while talking on the phone with Cyril. (source)
  • Forces one enemy to shoot another, and then guns down 8 more pirates. (source)
  • Steamrolls a space station-full of mutineers with ease while carrying Lana. (source) (Lana, Ray, Cyril, and Bryan Cranston together couldn’t even drive the front line back from the shuttle opening.)
  • Fights some armed KGB goons while he’s unarmed and has amnesia, using improvised weapons. (source)
  • Fights a bunch of soldiers and wins. (source) (He gets pretty banged up.)
  • Takes out a whopping 23 assassins on snowmobiles in ‘Swiss Miss’ S2E1. (No GIF available.)

Accuracy

  • Shoots a smiley face onto a target without even looking. (source) (There are seven bullet holes despite only firing six shots.)
  • Would have qualified as a countersniper if he had woken up for the test. (source) (This is a claim, but his sniping skill is good enough to be believed, as seen here (https://gfycat.com/InfamousPastelHaddock) with three headshots in quick succession, and here (https://gfycat.com/GiganticUnawareElephantseal) where he easily shoots the engine block in a moving truck and then the gun and knife out of a guy’s hands.)
  • Impresses himself with his accuracy. (source)

Armaments

  • Generally carries a Walther PPK. (source)
  • Utilizes his underwear gun. (source)
  • Proficient with a vast array of weapons including assault rifles, submachine guns, and sniper rifles. (He uses many other weapons that don’t make more than one appearance. When he had amnesia, he could identify guns Lana was carrying despite not knowing how he knew. The only time he was shown to not be used to a weapon was Woodhouse’s sawed-off shotgun. He mastered a laser rifle in space to the point he could dual-wield the large two-handed guns with ease.)
  • Allows Krieger to mod his guns. (source) (Sometimes the modifications do more harm than good.)

Fourth wall awareness

  • Makes fun of the trope ‘Lampshade Hanging’ while he himself is lampshade hanging where he got that grenade. (source) (TV Tropes link: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging.)
  • Points out the metaphor the writers are using for Cyril and Lana’s relationship. (source)
  • Points out the show’s nebulous timeline and anachronisms. (source) (Also seen here: https://gfycat.com/UnpleasantUnsungJenny. Computers in ISIS’s office are old and the Soviet Union is still around, but they have cell phones (Archer’s can get internet).)
  • Lampoons the finale of season 2. (source)
  • Points out how similar two scenes are. (source) (Although it isn’t the same footage, it does show 4th wall awareness.)
  • Watches the series ‘Lucy, Daughter of the Devil,’ in which his voice actor (H. Jon Benjamin) also starred. (source)
  • Points out a trope that the writers for the show are using. (source)
  • After a montage foreshadowing events during Archer Vice, Archer repeats the title of the season to himself. (source) (No one else knows what he’s talking about.)

Other

  • Reads X-men comics multiple times during the series. (He has also mentioned familiarity with many other works of fiction, including Predator and any Burt Reynolds movie.)
  • Lana speculates that Archer has some form of Atypical autism that allows him to remain calm, even bored, in situations that are completely nerve-wracking for others. (source) (He also has a habit of counting gunshots fired at them, although he has forgotten to do so at least once.)
  • Knows how to get out of handcuffs without his captors noticing. (source)
  • Fluent in several foreign languages, including Russian, Finnish, and Portuguese. (He does not know Spanish or Romansch, and probably doesn’t know Italian, German, or French either, as his language barrier was an issue when fighting the Swiss Guard.)
  • Has an extreme fear/hatred of alligators, crocodiles, brain aneurysms, and cyborgs.

Weaknesses

  • Overconfidence.
  • Women.
  • Tinnitus.

Alcoholism

  • Drinks 9 melon balls after having lost an entire liter of blood earlier that day without being noticeably affected. (source)
  • Doesn’t even notice being on an IV drip of Zima for weeks. (source)
  • Mentions he thinks the cumulative hangover he’s been building up over the years might literally kill him. (source)
  • Chugs basically an entire bottle of $300 scotch. (source)
  • His super-liver can metabolize a knockout drug quickly. (source) (Metabolized it in the amount of time it took a rogue agent to grab his gun, walk outside, and take aim at Cyril.)
  • His body can somehow handle drinking WD-40 (mixed with a couple other alcohols) after already drinking 20 minibottles of some unknown alcoholic beverage on the flight there. (source)
Tags: