History Characters / ArcherSterlingArcher

* AmbiguouslyBi: To date, he was willing to, and with some liking judging by the finger he held up to Lana during the act [[spoiler:kiss Ramon Limon while he was (apparently) dying]], and when [[spoiler:locked in a cell in San Marcos with Gustavo Calderon two cells down, and his wife in between them, the three of them have been having sex through the bars. When Juliana is taken upstairs by Cyril so she can marry him, Gustavo asks if Archer "wants him to move over one." Archer seriously considers the idea]]. And in "The Archer Sanction" it is revealed that "Bang Joe Frazier" is on his bucket list. He also had a devil's threeway with [[spoiler:Skorpio and Lana]] in "Skorpio", though he seems to regret it.

** Archer also makes this argument at the end of season 11, claiming that the gang keeps him around as an excuse to be their worst selves. But this neglects the fact that even after he awakened from his coma, the gang did ''not'' want him around for precisely this reason, which was a plot point for most of the episodes during the season. Malory is the ''only'' one who really wanted Archer to return to the agency.

* HandsomeLech: He's fairly attractive, but a bit of a dick.

[[folder:U-Y]]

* WellDoneSonGuy: His relationship with Malory is… complicated. Even Lana clearly states in season 5 that all Archer wants is to please his mother.
* WouldHitAGirl: He has no problem attacking women in the course of doing his job, or if they are abusive toward his friends, as seen in "Edie's Wedding" and "Double Indecency".

* BetterWithNonHumanCompany: A rather unusual example for this Trope since Archer is a raging, insensitive jackass rather than the shy and gentle people normally associated here. But at the same time Archer is almost uncharacteristically forgiving and friendly to animals, whom he seems to genuinely love and get along with more so than most people.

* NotGoodWithPeople: A rather unusual example for this Trope since Archer is a raging, insensitive jackass rather than the shy and gentle people normally associated here. But at the same time Archer is almost uncharacteristically forgiving and friendly to animals, whom he seems to genuinely love and get along with more so than most people.
* OedipusComplex: Inverted. He absolutely ''despises'' every last thing about his mother but he seemed to have idolized the image of his father… until he learned that his dad was not who he thought he was. In recent seasons, Lana just right out accuses him of having a subconscious desire to sleep with his mother.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Archer's narcissistic attitude was so dangerous is indirectly caused Barry's descent into craziness.

** Season 11 culminates in the team having fully regressed to their pre-coma personalities and [[ToxicFriendInfluence Lana blaming Archer for their backslide]]. Archer [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech throws their excuses back in their faces]] and accuses them of keeping him around as an excuse to be their worst selves, leaving Lana at a loss for words.

** It bears mentioning that Archer is more than likely actually in love with Lana (as shown in the season four finale where he [[spoiler: screamed "Lana! I love you!" right before he drowned)]], but considering his background, he doesn't actually know ''how'' to love anyone or anything.

* ManChild: Archer can be pretty immature, such as antagonizing Lana just for kicks. He also tries to drive[=/=]pilot literally ''any'' vehicle he is on. Not just cars either, he has attempted (often unsuccessfully) to operate airplanes, submarines and even a ''space shuttle''. When drunk (which is often), he has gotten into trouble for trying to storm the cockpit of airliners or trains because he wants the chance to drive them.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Despite having been raised from infancy by an actual Englishman, Archer is ''terrible'' at faking an English accent. Granted, he usually tries to go for an RP accent (which Woodhouse didn't have).

'''Archer''': *scoffs* Then why be one?

** After [[spoiler:AJ's kidnapping]], he momentarily "Rampages" out, before immediately regaining his composure, and cooly going over the facts of the mission. Outside telling [[spoiler:AJ's kidnappers]] he is going to break everyone of their vertebrae, he remains surprisingly even-tempered and intensely focused on [[spoiler:getting AJ back,]] instead of his usual moody, flippant self.
* PanickyExpectantFather: He's barely holding it together when Lana goes into labor and eventually gets kicked out of the room because his panic is stressing her out. Once outside he tips over a vending machine and punches Cyril in the face to distract himself. Ironically [[spoiler: he didn't actually know the baby was his until ''after'' she'd been born and they were safely on the way back to the U.S.]].

* RagingStiffie: Has this at the most inopportune times. Women, cars, the thought of his mom ''dying''.

* TreatedWorseThanThePet: Archer was neglected and berated by his mother throughout his life. In contrast, her dog Duchess was treated as if she were Malory's child. Malory was more likely to remember her dog's birthday than her own son's.

[[caption-width-right:309:''"Lying is, like, 95% of what I do."'']]

The man, the mission: impossible, the massive ego himself. Despite being one of ISIS's top secret agents, Sterling Malory Archer (Codename: "Duchess") has consistently proven himself to be questionably competent, questionably sane, morally questionable and unquestionably an absolute jackass. He has still kept his job at ISIS (his mother is the boss), but this hasn't shielded him from the ire and scorn of his colleagues or mother.

The man himself. Despite being one of ISIS's top secret agents, Sterling Malory Archer (Codename: "Duchess") has consistently proven himself to be questionably competent, questionably sane, morally questionable and unquestionably an absolute jackass. He has still kept his job at ISIS (his mother is the boss), but this hasn't shielded him from the ire and scorn of his colleagues or mother.

[[quoteright:309:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/archer_sterling_5461.jpg]]

** And despite the circumstances on how he became a father, Archer is ''completely'' devoted to [[MoralityPet AJ]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: Numerous hints throughout the series suggest that Archer has some form of autism: he is often the only character to count bullets during gun fights, including multiple automatic weapons; this coupled with his ability to identify the make and model of firearms allows him to ascertain when enemies are reloading. He is able to identify the make and model of a blender in Fugue and Riffs just by hearing the sound it makes through the phone, and he has an unusual affinity for animals and is able to 'converse' with Babou and Kazak. Archer also shows an inability to pick up on social clues and a lack of empathy on the cognitive level, rather than being void of it entirely, eats baby aspirin, and seems to be unable to dress himself without help from Woodhouse. Another characteristic is his voice, which stays very monotone and changes only in response to strong emotions, particularly rage. The possibility of Archer being on the autism spectrum is directly addressed in the episode Coyote Lovely; when asked if he is autistic, Archer first mocks Lana for suggesting it, but after identifying Border Patrol's Ruger 6s and realising they were out (after being ''shot in the back'') he remarks, "Holy shit, maybe I am autistic?" before collapsing.

* InsufferableImbecile: Sterling is ignorant, boisterous and reckless narcissist who's callous, abrasive and rude to most people he interacts with and his dumb actions are a result of his arrogant and self-absorbed nature.

* UnskilledButStrong: He's much worse at espionage when compared to Lana and Barry, but neither can hope to rack up a body count anywhere near his.

[[center: [- [[Characters/{{Archer}} Main Character Index]] | '''Sterling Archer''' | [[Characters/ArcherMainCharacters Main Characters]] | [[Characters/ArcherRecurringCharacters Recurring Characters]] | One Shot Characters: [[Characters/ArcherOneShotCharactersSeason1And2 1-2]], [[Characters/ArcherOneShotCharactersSeason3And4 3-4]], [[Characters/ArcherOneShotCharactersSeason5To7 5-7]], [[Characters/ArcherOneShotCharactersSeasonElevenAndTwelve 11-12]] | [[Characters/ArcherDreamland Dreamland]] | [[Characters/ArcherDangerIsland Danger Island]] | [[Characters/Archer1999 1999]] -]]]

* HotBlooded: Basically the only thing that raises him above the level of BadassNormal agents such as Lana. If he must violate the laws of physics to save her (from a mess he got her in), he'll bend them out of the way.

* AmazonChaser: The two women that Archer ever truly fell for were [[BloodKnight Lana]] and [[ActionGirl Katya]].
** He also slept (and, according to him, had the best sex of his life) with [[StoutStrength Pam]], although their relationship doesn't progress beyond [[FriendsWithBenefits best friendship]] (which for Archer, is a pretty big deal).

* ToxicFriendInfluence: As with AesopAmnesia above, this trope is quite ''thuroughly'' dissected and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]]. On one hand, its very clear that Archer's return post-coma is the main catalyst that reverts the Agency to their old selves, essentially undoing all the progress that had been made while he was absent, and Archer does himself no favors, bungling missions, interfering with Lana's relationship, and bullying Cyril mercilessly, which makes their reversion all the more understandable. On the other, while Archer gets so many chances at CharacterDevelopment, and even ''realizes'' his toxic behavior at several points, his toxicity is directly fed by the people he interacts with, and none of them are willing to entertain the idea of cutting him out of their lives because, as Archer points out in the season 11 finale, his behaviour is the ''perfect'' excuse for them to be their worst selves without feeling guilty for the backslide.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sterling Archer.