The various recurring characters of Archer.
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ISIS
ISIS Workers/The "Drones" (in general)
The various employees of ISIS, nicknamed "drones" by Malory. Some have names, voice actors and distinct personalities, and others are only seen in group shots during earlier seasons.
- Crowd Chant: They attempt one in "The Rock". They aren't very good at it.What do we want? Unfair! When do we want it? Change!
- Put on a Bus: According to Lana, all of the drones quit after the office was shut down by the FBI in Season 5, and didn't return when it was rebuilt, leaving the main gang as the only current employees.
- Sassy Secretary: The unnamed Receptionist, one of the drones seen in the first episode (with cameos in two other Season 1 episodes), voiced by Maggie Wheeler.Archer: Hey, wanna smell something?
Receptionist: Swear to God, Mr. Archer, I have HR on speed-dial. - Weird Trade Union: They unionise in "The Rock" to get a cost-of-living adjustment from Malory.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They appeared less and less as the series went on, and it was confirmed in Season 6 that none of them work at the offices any more. While Brett and Bilbo died and Rodney stole everything and became an Arms Dealer, all of the others just never returned when the building was rebuilt in Season 6. One of them is seen sleeping on a bench with a bottle in-hand during season 5, implying he became homeless.
Brett Bunson
Voiced By: Neal Holman
Appearances: "Mole Hunt" (voice only), "Diversity Hire" (voice only), "Dial M for Mother", "Movie Star", "Stage Two", "El Secuestro", "Drift Problem", "Skin Game", "Legs", "White Elephant"
Cyril: I got shot!
Malory: Any idiot can get shot! Just ask Brett.
ISIS employee and resident Chew Toy.
- Alliterative Name: Brett Bunson.
- Boom, Headshot!: He got shot in the head in the Season 5 premiere.
- Butt-Monkey: Gets even worse treatment than Cyril. Gets hit with every single stray bullet fired in the ISIS office. In Season 4's "Legs", he gets hit with a bullet that had ricocheted down a flight of stairs from another floor. Gets savagely beaten at least twice (see No-Holds-Barred Beatdown below), and Archer accidentally maims him in "Skin Game". None of the other ISIS employees even care when he gets shot. He was even shot three times off-screen in season one before actually appearing on-screen.
- Catchphrase: God DAMN it [name of whoever just shot him]! (usually Archer, but at one point Cyril).
- Character Death: Killed by a stray bullet barely five minutes into "White Elephant".Archer: He died doing what he loved. Getting shot.
- Continuity Nod: He was mentioned posthumously in "The Holdout" and "Sitting".
- Creator Cameo: Is voiced by and modeled after animation director Neal Holman.
- Iron Butt Monkey: Until "White Elephant", it's amazing that he survived all of those stray bullets and still be alive, despite almost bleeding to death on several occasions.
- In-Series Nickname: Mister Bloodmobile.
- Jerkass Ball: His reaction to Archer's breast cancer, though it is a bit understandable.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gets a very much deserved one from Archer after he makes fun of him for having breast cancer in "Stage Two". Receives another one off-screen from Barry in "Skin Game", with Archer giving an accidental second one.
- Retcon: His last name appears as Buckley on a computer screen in "El Secustro", but becomes Bunson in 'White Elephant".
- Unlucky Extra: Brett has been shot eight times over the course of the series, mostly by ricocheting friendly fire. He's also been beaten half to death three or four times. This is frequently lampshaded and all of the characters (except for Brett himself, who is an extra) either don't care or find it hilarious.
Bilbo
Voiced By: Adam Reed
ISIS computer and satellite operator.
- Big Eater: He seems to especially like meatball subs.
- Character Death: In "Coyote Lovely", he suffers a fatal heart attack after being slapped by Malory. Nobody but Krieger notices.
- Deadpan Snarker: When Malory tells him to search for a station wagon in Texas. He then pulls up images of random cars in Texas while sarcastically asking if any are the car.
- Fanboy: Of The Lord of the Rings.
- Fat Idiot: At least according to most of his co-workers.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: In the pilot episode, he can be seen twice in one shot. Whether this is just a mistake, lazy editing, or an implication that Bilbo may have a twin brother (or a clone) remains unknown to the fandom.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him "Bilbo" because of his love for The Lord of the Rings, unless that happens to be his real name.
Rodney
Voiced By: Andrew Donnelly
Appearances: "The Wind Cries Mary", "Legs", "Live and Let Dine", "Sitting"
The ISIS Requisitions Officer introduced in Season 4. Rodney supplies weapons from the armory to those who fill out the proper paperwork and are approved to use them, and if you do not meet those requirements he will be more than glad to close his window in your face.
- Arms Dealer: Became one after ISIS was disbanded.
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: He's a bit of a dick, but it's hard to blame him given his co-workers and their often absurd weapon demands.
- Corrupt Quartermaster: Inverted and slightly played straight. In contrast to the unprofessional ISIS staff, Rodney is much more by the book, and put a stop to the staff using weapons for personal use. He does however, accept a sexual bribe in exchange for letting a phone scanner out. Season 6 reveals he stole everything and set himself up as an arms dealer when ISIS was shut down.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: He goes from a disrespected requisitions officer to a very successful, and dangerous, Black Market arms dealer after ISIS is shutdown.
- Jerkass Has a Point: His entire job is pretty much this. Sure, he's an annoyance to the main characters, but it is problematic that employees were taking weapons for personal use. He also correctly points out that it's a bad idea to fire a rocket launcher in a sealed room.
- Not So Above It All: Despite being portrayed as a very serious and fairly realistic employee, he jumps at the bribe of a handjob from Cheryl in exchange for some unauthorized weapons.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: While most of the workers and agents at ISIS are highly incompetent and/or unprofessional, Rodney takes his job managing the armory very seriously, much to everyone else's chagrin.
- Oh, Crap!: When Archer tries to open the sealed armoury door with a rocket launcher.
- Sex Equals Love: Falls in love with Cheryl after being given a handjob by her.
- Wealthy Yacht Owner: Is one now, and conducts his arms deals from its cabin, which has a pool of alligators.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Subverted. He didn't appear after "Live and Let Dine" until "Sitting" reveals he robbed the ISIS armoury and became an arms dealer.
ODIN
In General
The Organization of Democratic Intelligence Networks was a rival spy agency to ISIS in the early seasons of the show.
- The Ace: Constantly out-competed ISIS for intelligence work, sometimes even stealing prospective clients from right under their noses.
- Always Someone Better: Season 12 reveals that ODIN was ultimately acquired by the Agency's new rival IIA.
- Private Intelligence Agency: A more successful spy agency compared to ISIS.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: ODIN shares its name with the god-king of Norse Mythology, in contrast to the rival ISIS being named for the goddess-queen from Egyptian Mythology.
Len Trexler
Voiced By: Jeffrey Tambor
- Affably Evil: Though not exactly evil.
- Dating Catwoman: With Malory.
- Disappeared Dad: There's a one in four chance he's Archer's father.
- Fate Worse than Death: Gets a faulty Soviet mind control device implanted in his brain. Even Archer feels sorry.Archer: Is he always going to be like this? Because I kind of feel bad now.
- Flashback: He's visible in "Placebo Effect" during Krieger's 15th birthday.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He shares more than a passing resemblance with Jeffrey Tambor.
- Karma Houdini: He was fully complicit in all of Veronica's crimes and no mention of him receiving punishment is made.
- Mean Boss: To Barry, though in some cases it's accidental, like whoring out Barry's fiancée, then finding out about her and Barry (punching Barry's bullet wound for being "engaged to be engaged" was deliberate, though).
- My God, What Have I Done?: Is genuinely upset to discover Barry and Framboise were engaged, after whoring her out to Archer.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Delivers one to Barry for being "engaged to be engaged" to Framboise and punches him in his bullet wound.If you love it, put a ring on it.
Barry Dylan (spoilers)
"YEAH! One for three off the roof, Bitch! WOO!"
Voiced By: Dave Willis
Unmarked spoilers for Season 2 follow.
An ODIN agent who has a history with both Archer and Lana. Often talks to his gun. After being gravely injured by Archer during a mission in Russia during "White Nights", he is turned into a Cyborg under Boris' command and by Jakov's men, and proceeds to go rogue and devote his life to making Archer's existence a living hell as revenge for sodomizing his fiancee and dropping him off a roof twice. By the end of Season 2, he becomes the show's Big Bad when he murders Katya at her wedding.
- The Ace: He is definitely a better agent than Archer even before he was turned into a cyborg.
- Affably Evil: At least until he gets turned into a cyborg.
- Arch-Enemy: If anyone can get under Archer's skin (besides his mother), it's Barry.
- Ax-Crazy: This is merely implied at first given his tendency to chat with his gun as well as an unseen alter ego, "Other Barry". However, this is ultimately played straight when he discards all pretense of sanity as a cyborg. Subverted by season 11, where he reveals he saw a therapist off-screen.
- Big Bad: While he's Affably Evil at worst and generally justified in his actions throughout the first two seasons, after he's turned into a Cyborg during the Season 2 finale, he murders Katya at her wedding and shows no remorse for it at all. He's since been Demoted to Dragon in favor of Katya.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: For the first two seasons. He talks to his gun and addresses himself as "Other Barry" but is one of the most competent agents on the show.
- Broken Ace: Handsome, hyper-competent and a star agent, also revealed to have been abandoned at birth, had his legs and entire body shattered by Archer's negligence, turned into a cyborg, had both of his partner's leave him for other men, severely, severely mentally unbalanced, in addition to being beat up, shot at, burned, blown up and even left in space for an extended period of time.
- Butt-Monkey: Often ends up injured due to Archer dropping him off balconies.
- Catchphrase: "Later, tater."
- Create Your Own Villain: Barry already had a reason to hate Archer (dropped off a balcony and damaging his femur, over a torn suit). After finding out he had sex with his ex-fiance (well, she wasn't even really his fiancee) and being abandoned in Russia (Almost dying after Archer drops him again), Barry sets out on killing him as a cyborg.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: While he was already somewhat unstable to begin with, he turns into a remorseless killing machine after being converted into a cyborg.
- Cyborg: The KGB turns him into one after he is badly injured in Russia. During "Edie's Wedding", the damage from his fight with Archer and Pam leaves him as just a robotic skeleton though he later gets it repaired.
- Demoted to Dragon: Katya's whipped him good.
- Disproportionate Retribution: While he certainly had valid reasons for hating Archer, who crippled him and slept with his fiancee (and again, she wasn't really his fiancee), he took it way too far after becoming a cyborg, attempting constant Revenge by Proxy by hurting or killing Archers loved ones.
- Even before Archer really got under his skin, he attempted to murder his fiance with a car bomb after she cheated on him with Archer.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Katya took over the KGB while he was trapped in space, but he still had a master plan, though it was eventually abandoned.
- Empowered Badass Normal: At first, Barry was a superior field agent to Archer. Now, he's a relentless Cyborg who is one of the few people Archer can't beat.
- Enemy Mine: His first appearance has him trying to recruit Lana into ODIN. In Season 2, Malory recruits him to rescue Archer (Though she has to throw in free sex with Lana to make him do it). Inverted in Season 4, when Katya recruits Archer to rescue him from outer space.
- Enemy Within: "Other Barry" became this when controlled by Fabien Kingsley in Season 12.
- Enemy Without: As of Season 14 Other Barry controls his body and he exists as an A.I. currently located in a smart fridge.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He spent the majority of "Motherless Child" trying to find and reconnect with his birth mother.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- When Pam's sister Edie throws a volley of horrifically cruel insults at her, he actually kind of stands up for Pam by rightly observing Edie is "no prize" herself.
- He was disgusted at Archer for being so hellbent on trying to murder him, he was also willing to risk Malory's life to do it.
- Everyone Has Standards: Just like Archer, he is off put when Cyril breaks the defenceless guard's neck.
- Evil Counterpart: To Archer. Both are handsome, skilled spy agents who have had a sexual relationship with Lana and Katya at some point and are introduced as major jerkasses. However, while Archer (who fights for good) is capable of compassion and grows (if slowly) kinder, Barry (who went rogue) remains a complete asshole, becoming more so after turning into a cyborg.
- Expy: When he's a cyborg, The Six Million Dollar Man. Even having the same clothes as the guy.
- The climax of "Edie's Wedding" results in him looking like the metal Endoskeleton of a Terminator
- Eye Awaken: After his eyes power down at the end of "Edie's Wedding", and it looks like he's down for good, one eye flashes back open, and he begins to laugh.
- Eye Lights Out: Subverted in "Edie's Wedding": After all the damage he sustained, the final shot of the episode is of his eyes fading away, only for one to flash back open and him to start laughing manically.
- Face–Heel Turn: Downplayed. Even before his turn to evil Barry was a massive dick, but after Archer dropped him off a building a second time, which almost killed him and required cyborg parts for him to survive.
- Facial Horror: After having his skin destroyed, Krieger gives him a replacement face, a replica of Cyril's. Unfortunately, it's very sloppily applied, leaving him looking like a decomposing corpse.
- Fatal Flaw: His need to make Archer's life hell. He's dropped this by season eleven.
- Faux Affably Evil: His smile and congeniality go away as soon as something goes wrong. See Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Freudian Excuse: Considering how many times Archer has done him wrong, it's not at all surprising that Barry turns evil and dedicates his life to seeking revenge against him. This however doesn't excuse his more vicious actions, all of which he blames Archer for.
- He also never met his mother, who it turns out was a 16 year old girl who sent him to an orphanage after he was born.
- Fusion Dance: With Katya in the Series Finale to save his life, though it's not a perfect fit.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: He wasn't exactly sane before, but spending months stuck on an abandoned space station seems to have cracked the shell off the nut. Then again, he wouldn't have been alone in the first place if he hadn't murdered everyone else.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Once he became a cyborg, Barry's fuse became a hell of a lot shorter. At one point he goes from calm and quiet to screaming at the top of his lungs and chucking a desk across the room, before becoming completely calm again. It's implied that "Other Barry" is the psychopathic persona.
- Handsome Lech: Loses Framboise, and can never seem to get Lana. Doesn't stop his confidence, though.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: He started out as a nominal ally (though one that didn't get along with Archer) but quickly descended into complete insanity after being turned into a cyborg by the KGB and remained that way for most of the series. In season 11, during the three years that Archer spent in a coma, Barry reformed and joined the gang. He has become nicer than he ever was before he became a cyborg and even genuinely buried the hatchet with Archer. In season 12, "Other Barry" gets reactivated by Fabian Kingsworth and takes control of Barry's body, though Barry maintains that he still considers Archer a friend despite Other Barry's attempts to kill him.
- Henpecked Husband: He was this way with Katya, and would meekly say "Yes dear" whenever she so much as raises her tone at him.
- Hugh Mann: Inverted. His KGB-issued passport reads "Sy Berg".
- Hypocrite: He is furious with Framboise for getting her arse seen to by Archer, but at the same time was gladly flirting with Lana.
- Iconic Outfit: Exclusively wears a tracksuit, starting in "Double Trouble".
- Insistent Terminology: He keeps calling Framboise his fiancée, but he admits that they were "engaged to be engaged"note , so the relationship probably wasn't as solid as he thought it was.
- Invincible Villain: At best, he can be slowed down, and usually comes out on-top in his encounters with Archer.
- Immune to Bullets: As a cyborg, he's no longer vulnerable to standard ammunition, which Archer tends to forget. Archer eventually manages to subvert the trope by bringing along explosive ammunition, which does very well.
- Jerkass: Even before he became a cyborg, he had a rather cocky, arrogant streak, and enjoyed making digs at ISIS and Archer. While this makes sense given his rivalry with Archer, trying to kill his (not really)fiancée moments after firing her, promising Lana her dream job but only if she has sex with him and murders Archer, and only going to rescue Archer when Mallory promises Lana will have sex with him, makes him a next level dick. After he became a cyborg, he graduates from jerkass to full on psycho. Subverted as of season 11, as he went to counselling after reuniting with his mother.
- Joker Immunity: No matter what Archer does to put him down, he just keeps coming back up.
- Knight of Cerebus: As of the Season 2 finale.
- Laughing Mad: In the last scene of "Edie's Wedding".
- Misplaced Retribution: In "Edie's Wedding", he tries to kill Archer because Katya left him... for Boris, something which Archer was not involved in, nor was even aware of.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: After being turned into a cyborg he is almost literally indestructible, and nobody is able to even harm him. The best anyone can do to him for several seasons is leave him stranded at the space station. Finally, in Season 6, he is shot by Pam with explosive rounds, buried under a ton of grain, which was then set on fire, and then getting hit by a car, and he still doesn't die. It does leave noticeable damage, however, as his skin has been burnt off, resulting in his robotic endoskeleton being left exposed.
- Noodle Incident: What happened on that mission that ended with Barry hanging off a balcony, clinging to Archer's sleeve?
- Not Quite Dead: After being shot twice with explosive rounds, buried under a ton of grain, burnt alive and then hit by a car, he still survives, but only barely.
- Oh, Crap!: While he usually inspires this in ISIS, more specifically Archer, he is on the other end of this trope in "Edie's Wedding" after Archer reveals that he brought explosive shotgun shells.Archer: (after being nearly choked to death by Barry) Barry...just for you... I got explosive ammo.
Barry: ...you what n-?
(Pam blasts Barry with the shotgun Archer brought) - Phrase Catcher: "Barry, you ass!"
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: What invariably happens when Archer attacks him in Season 3's "Skin Game".
- Power Up Let Down: When he's finally given a new body in the Series Finale, it's only a prototype the size of an action figure, making him little more useful than he was as a fridge.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes change between red and brown depending on who's in control in Season 12 after "Other Barry" is reactivated.
- The Rival: He manages to find himself in direct competition with Archer over pretty much everything, to the point where he seems to be intentionally invoking it.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After all the abuse he was dealt, his entire life after becoming a Cyborg is dedicated to making Archer's life miserable.
- In "Double Trouble", he crashes Archer's wedding and kills his fiancee in the process.
- In "Crossing Over", he kills Archer's possible father Nikolai Jakov and does it in such a way that Archer will never be able to get the DNA necessary to test if Jakov truly is his father.
- In "Skin Game", he crashes Archer and Katya's second wedding, and hooks up with Katya just as she is about to marry Archer.
- In "Space Race, Part 2", he attempts to kill Archer at the International Space Station Horizon. However, this isn't successful for him, and he ends up stranded in outer space for it.
- In "Edie's Wedding", he ambushes Archer when he accompanies Pam to Edie's wedding and kidnaps Pam.
- Running Gag:
- Him getting thrown off of balconies. Other characters also frequently say: "Barry, you ass!" to him.
- Archer will usually reference specific past injuries he inflicted on Barry in greeting.
- Sanity Slippage:
- He wasn't all there to begin with, but becomes clearly psychopathic and obsessively seeks revenge on Archer after being turned into a cyborg.
- He starts to display signs of more traditional insanity when he is trapped on a space station in orbit in Season 4, to the point where Other Barry appears to be a separate personality.
- He finally goes completely off the deep end after Katya dumps him for Boris.
- Shadow Archetype: He represents what Archer could've become if he remained a total asshole, or rather if Archer was as big of an asshole as people think he is.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: His fight with Katya in "Skin Game" turns into this.
- Smug Snake: He delights in informing people that he's a "frickin' cyborg" and cannot be damaged. Even before that, he was a self-satisfied chap, boasting about ODIN's superior capabilities in front of ISIS agents.
- Smug Super: After becoming a Cyborg. He loves reminding Archer that he can't beat him in a straight fight anymore.
- The Sociopath: While he showed signs of this as a human, he fully embraces it after his conversion, being willing to cross any and all moral boundaries in his pursuit of revenge on Archer.
- Split-Personality Takeover: Other Barry returns in season 12, having gained control over Barry after Fabian accidentally revives him while trying to hack Barry.
- Stepford Smiler: In "Skin Game", after running away with Katya, their glowing smiles quickly give way to looks of uncertainty and sadness. This is explored throughout the series. In "Space Race, Part 2", he lied to Katya about his whereabouts during a phone conversation, implying that their relationship was not as happy as he would like Archer to think it was. By "Live and Let Dine", their relationship was clearly dysfunctional, and officially ended as of "Edie's Wedding".
- Teen Pregnancy: He was the result of one, his mother gave him up for adoption when she was 16.
- Terminator Impersonator: Especially prevalent when his skin is burned down to his metal skeleton and he still survives.
- Took a Level in Badass: While always one of the more competent agents when not falling off a roof or being thrown off one he proved his badass credentials in "Crossing Over" where it's revealed he had become the insane head of the KGB and had an elaborate master plan. Killing Archer's possible father in a way that makes sure there will be no DNA left to test was 'just a goof' for him.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: At the end of the second season. Being betrayed and left for dead by someone whose life he just saved and being unwillingly turned into a cyborg will do that to a guy. Though to be fair, he was only doing it to get sex with Lana. In fact it's implied that one of the reasons he tried to hire Lana to ODIN was to get sex from her. In "Edie's Wedding" he pursues Archer to Wisconsin after spotting him in an airport in Chicago because Katya left him for Boris.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He returns in season eleven, having had his skin replaced and now working for the group while Archer was in a coma, and has no ill will towards Archer whatsoever. He explains that them helping him find and reconnect with his biological mother gave him closure, and with therapy he was able to drop his grudge against Archer and "Other Barry" has been gone for years.
- Tragic Villain: Considering how many times Archer has done him wrong, it's not all that surprising that he turns evil.
- Two First Names: "Barry" and "Dylan" can both be used as first names for guys.
- Verbal Tic: He often talks to "Other Barry" whenever he talks to himself.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Said word for word by Boris explaining to Jakov Barry's augmentations.
- Would Hit a Girl: He nearly strangled Cheryl to death and had no qualms about fighting Katya.
KGB
In general
The foreign intelligence agency of the Soviet Union. For information about the real-life KGB see: Moscow Centre
- Government Agency of Fiction: Fictionalized version of the real-life KGB. Notably, it is the only one of the three spy agencies featured in the show's early seasons to actually be government-operated.
- Renegade Russian: In the episode "Movie Star", a renegade faction of the KGB successfully assassinates the new Soviet Premier before he could make a speech to the UN supporting disarmament.
Nikolai Jakov
Voiced By: Peter Newman
A Major General in the Russian military and the head of the KGB, and possibly Archer's father.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Although it's debatable whether or not he's even a villain anymore, as he gets a lot of Character Development in "Crossing Over", and even apologises to Archer for his earlier actions before being killed by Barry.
- Artistic License – Military: He's constantly referred to as a Major General, yet he wears the uniform of a Lieutenant General. Lana addresses him simply as "the Major" in "Crossing Over".
- Chest of Medals: His uniform has a rather sizeable ribbon bar. Fairly common for Soviet officers.
- Dating Catwoman: Jakov has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Malory for about 40 years.
- Disappeared Dad: The odds are about 1-in-4 that he's this to Archer. When they finally meet, he assumes he's the father and tries to bond with his son. In a rare moment, Archer reciprocates and tries to make up for lost time.
- Dying Clue: Tries to invole this prior to his death, which is being recorded, stating that "things are not always what they seem" in the hopes that Archer will hear it. Sadly, the camera is destroyed in the explosion, and this never amounts to anything.
- Everyone Has Standards: While he wants to murder the chairman of the UN Intelligence Committee, he is adamant that the assassins must not harm Mallory.
- Face Death with Dignity: He faces eventual explosive destruction surprisingly calmly, and spends his final minutes alive recording a message for Archer. The only thing that truly affects him about his death is Barry denying him his final request of leaving a DNA sample so that Archer can find out whether or not he is truly Jakov's son.
- Full-Name Basis: Often referred to by his full title "Nikolai Jakov, Head of the KGB".
- General Failure: He's not terribly good at his job.
- Mean Boss: To Boris. He creates a hostile work environment.
- Punny Name: Major Jakov = Major Jack-off.
- Sacrificial Lion: His appearance and death in "Crossing Over" exist mostly to establish how violent and insane Barry has become.
Boris
Voiced By: ???
Nikolai Jakov's second-in-command and general Butt-Monkey. Returns unexpectedly in the Series Finale, as part of Slaters conspiracy to restart the Cold War.
- Ambiguous Criminal History: In season 14, he reveals to Pam that he spent time in a Siberian prison for "various crimes". The warden of the prison went insane, opened the cells and forced the inmates to fight to the death, with Boris being the only survivor.
- Butt-Monkey: To Jakov.
- Chekhov's Gunman: While he usually just appears now and again for comic relief, on a few occasions he has played an active role in the plot:
- "Double Trouble": Turning Barry into a cyborg.
- "Crossing Over": Helping Nikolai Jakov flee the country.
- "Edie's Wedding": Dating Katya, who broke up with Barry for him, which sends Barry completely off the deep end.
- Disappeared Dad: It's heavily implied that he has one of these—when Jakov orders him to run a paternity test on Archer, Boris contaminates the sample, commenting, "Who Archer think he is? Only guy who want father?".
- The Ditz: Barry describes him as "literally the dumbest guy in Russia". In the same episode, he is seen serving his girlfriend Katya an empty platter of syrup and butter, having forgotten to make the waffle.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Helps Jakov escape to the United States in "Crossing Over".
- Expy: Of Frisky Dingo's Ronnie. He speaks in the same accent, makes a catchphrase from a quote from Ronnie ("come on, buddy.") and even at one point sabotages a paternity test for Archer and Nikolai, much like Ronnie destroys a DNA machine (originally used for an Xtacle paternity test) that was being used to compare Xander's DNA to Awesome X's records.
- Hidden Depths: Rather eloquently explains the difference between a mole and a vole in "Dial M for Mother".
- Hoist by His Own Petard: It was his own creation, Bionic Barry, who ended up killing Jakov, whom he eventually came to care about.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Boris was quirky but reasonably-effective KGB officer until Katya came along. After having become smitten with her, he’s become a complete idiot. See notes on Took a Level in Dumbass below.
- Men Don't Cry: Attempted, but failed, when saying goodbye to Jakov.Boris: I promised myself I don't cry. [sniff] Promise broken.
- Power Trio: With Katya and Slater.
- Took a Level in Badass: Never got physically involved in the action before, but when he returns in season 14, he's able to fight Pam to a standstill.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: While he had his occasion moments of ditziness, Boris was actually quite intelligent in earlier episodes; he was even responsible for Barry becoming a cyborg. By season 6, however, he's become so dumb that he, as stated above, served Katya a platter with syrup and butter because he forgot about the waffle.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Responsible for turning Barry into a cyborg, and all the mayhem that followed.
Mannfred and Uta
Voiced By: René Auberjonois (Mannfred) and Kathryn Cressida (Uta)
A pair of German assassins working for Jakov. The least competent KGB employees, which is saying a LOT.
- Fake Pregnancy: Uta is desperate to have a child, to the point of wearing a prosthetic pregnancy bodysuit. Mannfred reluctantly tolerates this.
- Informed Flaw: Supposedly the least competent KGB agents, yet both times they appear, they complete their missions (assassinating a UN official and kidnapping Archer and implanting a mind control chip).
- May–December Romance: Uta is 19. Manny's age is never given, but he's at least as old as Uta's father (and that's a whole other thing).
- Staged Shooting: Malory hires them to perform one on Torvald Utne so ISIS can pretend to save the day and get the UN contract. Nikolai Jackov hires them to actually kill Utne, so they botch the fake shooting.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They haven't been seen since the Season 1 finale "Dial M For Mother", where they installed a mind-control chip in Archer's brain.
Katya Kasanova
Click here to see her as of Season 4 (spoilers!).
Voiced By: Ona Grauer
Unmarked spoilers for Season 3 below.
A sexy KGB defector. She joined with Archer in "White Nights", defecting from the KGB to ISIS, having fallen in love with him. As her relationship with Archer develops, he becomes a much better person as a result of her input. She is killed during their wedding by an out-for-revenge Barry when she dives off the roof to save Archer in "Double Trouble". As of "Skin Game", she has been revived as a Cyborg by Krieger, but she elopes with Barry shortly afterwards.
- Action Girl: Just as much as Lana, more-so after Krieger cyborgs her.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys:
- Her reaction to her instructor describing Archer as "the most dangerous man of the world"? She falls for him instantly.
- The second time they meet, Katya decides to start a relationship with Barry, even though he was responsible for her death.
- Alliterative Name: Katya Kasanova.
- Apologetic Attacker: To Lana and Malory in "Double Trouble" before shooting Lana's TEC-9's out of her hands.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica (a sultry, Russian spy, who later becomes a Cyborg and more of a jerk) to Lana's Betty (longest friend, on-and-off lover, usually the Only Sane Woman) for Archer's Archie.
- Big Damn Heroes: She is introduced killing an entire KGB firing squad by herself to rescue Archer.
- Birds of a Feather: How she rationalizes leaving Archer for Barry. Ultimately subverted however as they have nothing in common besides being cyborgs. Their relationship becomes increasingly dysfunctional and unhappy as the series goes on.
- Cyborg: After getting thrown off the balcony of Archer's apartment, Krieger revived her with cheap parts he bought off the KGB and the skin of homeless people.
- Expy: Her story in her first appearance is almost entirely lifted from Tatiana Romanova's cover story. Fitting, seeing as it's a James Bond expy she fell in love with.
- Friendly Enemy: She's apparently on good enough terms with ISIS that she'll show up to get back together with Archer.
- Fusion Dance: To save a mortally wounded Barry, she fuses herself with him, though their combined consciousness isn't a perfect fit.
- Heroic Sacrifice/Taking You with Me: She grabs Barry and dives off his apartment's roof during her wedding, saving Archer but killing herself in the process.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Sort of. Her everyday attire is definitely the skimpiest and most overtly sexual of any character, but she doesn't use it to gain an advantage. And she's not shown using sex the way most of the rest of the female cast does, and is probably the least promiscuous major character on the show after Gillette and Woodhouse.
- In-Series Nickname: "Slutya Slutzokova" and "R2-double D2".
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The light to Lana's dark. Played straight as Katya is softly-spoken and tactful, while Lana is blunt to the point of being bitchy. Inverted as Katya has been known to deceive and manipulate Archer while Lana is (mostly) straight with him.
- Love at First Sight: Fell in love with Archer just from seeing his profile.
- Manipulative Bitch: In "Viscous Coupling", she manipulates both Barry and Archer to do what she wants, and ends up usurping Barry as the head of the KGB.
- Meaningful Name: Her last name sounds almost exactly like "Casanova". Ultimately subverted as she's had a number of boyfriends, but is monogamous with them.
- Ms. Fanservice: Almost to Lana's level.
- Not Good with Rejection: In "Reignition Sequence", she does not take it well upon learning Archer is back with Lana, but then gracefully (albeit tearfully) accepts it.
- Only Mostly Dead: How Krieger is able to turn her into a cyborg as he claims he couldn't resurrect her.
- Second Love: To Archer, depending on if you believe he was already in love with Lana by that point. Else, she becomes Archer's First Love.
- Sensual Slavs: Is a direct shout out to the sexy Russian female spies of the James Bond world.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: When she fights Barry in "Skin Game", she ends up having sex with him and leaving Archer for him.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Went from being devoted to Archer to sleeping with his enemy, to emotionally manipulating Archer to rescue said enemy with no trace of guilt, and later leaving Barry for Boris. She later tries hooking up with Archer in "Reignition Sequence", while technically still with Boris.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Dumping Barry for Borris in "Edie's Wedding". Surely she knew what she was doing, but she probably didn't realize just how completely emotionally unstable it would leave Barry. She does this again in "Reignition Sequence", where she tries to seduce Archer after taking a shower, not realizing she left her detachable vagina in the sink of a then-enraged Lana to discover later and thus kicking off the following episode's conflict.
- Walking Spoiler: Her death, resurrection as a Cyborg and status as the new head of the KGB all lead to her being this.
CIA
The Special Agent (spoilers)
Agent Holly
Voiced by: Gary Cole
Introduced as a member of the FBI, and the agent coordinating the raid on ISIS in "White Elephant". He is revealed to be a CIA agent, along with Slater, and behind the entire events of the season. Malory blackmails him into re-opening their offices, now working under the CIA, at the end of Season 5.
- Inconsistent Spelling: The IMDB spells his name as "Hawley", but the closed captioning spells it as "Holly".
- The Man Behind the Man: He and Slater were behind the events of Season 5, having given the cocaine to Malory to sell in the first place.
- Pet the Dog: He might be a jackass, but he was genuine with his offer to pay handsomely for the operation in the finale. He also utterly refuses to let baby AJ go hungry, talks in Baby Talk with her, and when the Nerius expands in the operating theater he shields AJ from harm with his own body.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: Has this role with Malory during season six.
The Dealer (spoilers)
Slater
Voiced by: Christian Slater
An arms dealer who does business with Archer, Ray, and Cyril (under the names Rando, and Phil and Odie McKraken) in "On the Carpet". He later is revealed to be a CIA agent, along with the supposed FBI agent, Agent Holly. He reappears in Season 6, working with the ISIS gang (who are now being contracted by the CIA). Reappears once again in the Series Finale, having been disawowed by the CIA and formed a conspiracy to restart the Cold War and create a new world order he can rule from the shadows.
- Almost Lethal Weapons: He shoots Archer with a beanbag gun, which almost kills him, and gives him a huge bruise and internal bleeding across his chest.
- Ascended Extra: He was just Holly's subordinate, operating a CIA guns-for-drugs deal, in Season 5. In Season 6, he's seen more often, giving missions to the team, and even participating in a few of his own.
- Asshole Victim: Considering he became a traitor who was willing to wipe out an entire innocent village to start a new Cold War, no tears were shed once he meets his end in the final battle.
- Back for the Dead: He returns in the series finale as one part of the Big Bad Duumvirate alongside Katya & Boris, and meets his ignominious death along the way.
- Because I Said So: Pulls this on the gang in "Pocket Listing", calling the mission "Operation: Because I Said So".
- The Bus Came Back: He reappears in the penultimate episode and finale of Season 13.
- Chick Magnet: Both Lana and Malory have flirted with Slater, and Dr. Kovac propositioned him to sleeping with her.
- Complexity Addiction: In "Pocket Listing" he needs to scan the handprints, retinas, cell phones and flash drives of a visiting prince while he is in New York. Rather than, say, simply break into his hotel and scan all this while he is sleeping, he comes up with a ridiculously overly complicated plan that involves luring the Prince and his bodyguards to Cheryl's mansion, having her pose as the listing agent while the rest of the gang pose as servants, having Ray use a laxative to separate the prince from his bodyguards, separating the prince from his mother, then drugging him with a dart gun and scanning all of this in the roughly sixty seconds that it will take for the drug to wear off. Both Archer and Lana call him out on this, with Lana comparing him to "Wile-E Coyote with access to Predator Drones."Archer: (re his plan) It had everything but a sign for free birdseed.
- Covert Pervert: When Lana was about to give birth, Archer asked Cheryl to look down Lana's vagina to see if the baby was crowning. When she refused, Slater eagerly volunteered to look instead.
- Deadpan Snarker: Goes toe-to-toe with Archer in this category.
- Disney Villain Death: How he meets his end in the series finale, with Archer letting him fall to his death from the top of the ruined dam into the flooding waters below.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- He's genuinely sorry when his men raid Lana's parents' house while baby Abbiejean is inside and indicates they wouldn't have gone ahead if they'd known she was there.
- He is absolutely disgusted by the idea of sleeping with Dr. Kovac's mistress while inside him, flat-out saying the lady has problems.
- Face–Heel Turn: The events of "Into the Cold" see him betray his country in order to start a new Cold War in the face of spy agencies being banned, all for the sake of personal gain.
- Final Boss: He is Archer's last opponent in the show, and the last threat he must take on.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Is modeled (and named) after his voice actor, Christian Slater.
- Limited Wardrobe: He's always seen wearing the exact same shirt unless he's on a mission. Archer lampshades it.Slater: You know what I don't have time for?Archer: Buying clothes?
- Mr. Fanservice: To a degree. He always wears very tight-fitting t-shirts and his Shirtless Scene shows him to be incredibly muscularly defined. Malory, Lana, and Ray all flirt with him as well.Archer: You?!Slater: In the well-toned flesh.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Unlike Katya who founded Silverwolf to restart the Cold War as a genuine attempt at helping personal spy agencies remain useful (and therefore prevent their banning by the UN), Slater reveals that his only goal in the matter is to ensure he has a monopoly on the privatized espionage world, and to hell with the other spies, Archer and his compatriots included.
- Only One Name: Is referred to only as Slater. Whenever Malory, Lana, and Archer call him "Mr. Slater" he repeatedly insists that it's "just Slater. It's a mononym."
- Quest Giver: He's Malory's primary liaison with the CIA.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: For Archer in Season 6. The "Sitcom" part is dropped in later seasons, especially after Slater performs a Face–Heel Turn and becomes the Final Boss of the series finale.
Figgis Agency Clients
Veronica Deane
Voiced By: Ona Grauer (imposter) / Mary Mc Donald Lewis (real)
An American actress who hired the Figgis Agency to retrieve a tape from her ex-husband's divorce attorney. As it turns out, this woman is actually an imposter, and the real Veronica Deane shows up after the agents complete her job for her.
- Arc Villain: She's the Big Bad for the whole of Season 7.
- Audience Surrogate: She provides an unusual (and chilling) example; after Archer kills Pinky Brewster in front of her, she's perhaps the first character in the entire show to Freak Out like a normal person. In a show that runs on Comedic Sociopathy, it's disquieting to imagine how the cast's antics would be to actually witness in real life.
- Betty and Veronica: Lana, the mother of Archer's child, being the (admittedly Jerkass) Betty, with Veronica being the more sultry, seductive and mysterious one.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Barry was openly disdainful of Archer and his crew, suffered greatly every time he interacted with them and was eventually revealed to have a sympathetic side. Veronica was Faux Affably Evil, gets away with everything and is revealed to be devoid of any sympathetic qualities.
- Damsel in Distress: She hides from a group of thieves dressed as clowns. Archer uses her as bait to lure one into a trap.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: Tuns out to have been behind a rather large part of the season 7 arc.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: She knows it too, and uses it on Archer.
- Evil Counterpart: To Katya. Katya's feelings for Archer were genuine at some point, she could handle herself as well as Archer could and anyone she did kill or maim had it coming. Veronica on the other hand manipulated Archer from the get-go, relied purely on getting others to fight her battles for her and her victims were largely undeserving.
- Evil Old Folks: Seems to be something suspect with her. Sterling might disagree about the age, but Lana and Malory are both like to mention she's old. But the evil part? Not ambiguous.
- Fainting: After Archer saves her from a runaway forklift she melodramatically swoons and faints in his arms.
- Femme Fatale: In classic Noir style. Unlike many female characters on the show, it takes some time for Archer to actually get anywhere with her even though she is constantly flirtatious. She also teases him, such as by pretending to not remember who he is after prior encounters with him. She is the one who shoots him, after he goes to confront her about her murdering her ex-husband and framing Lana for it.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Owing to her shooting Archer and leaving him comatose, she's effectively this for Dreamland, Danger Island and 1999.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She invokes this in Lana, with both Archer and Ray calling her out on this.
- Hate Sink: When her true character is revealed, there's pretty much nothing redeemable about her. She lies to and manipulates almost the entire cast during Season 7, murders her ex-husband and frames Lana for it over insurance money, sinks the Archer-Lana ship, shoots Archer and puts him into a three-year coma and is praised and adored by everyone despite doing little to earn it.
- Hero Killer: Remember at the beginning of the season when we see Archer's dead body floating in a pool? That was her doing, and it was in fact the real Archer.
- Iconic Outfit: In-Universe example. Everyone remembers the outfit she wore in Shanghai Moon.Everyone: Oh my God, that dress!
- Insurance Fraud: This was her entire motive. Insurance money from the production of Deadly Velvet, the movie she and Ellis Crane were putting together during the season, would have ultimately been more than double of what the movie's estimated box office would have been. So, she and Ellis conspired to sabotage the film's production so it could be cancelled, and they would collect the insurance money. Archer's old schoolyard bullies, Stratton and Whitney, were in on the scheme, manipulating insurance stocks to their advantage. At some point, Ellis attempted to kill Veronica with one of the accidents so that he could collect her share of the insurance money; she subsequently paid him in kind.
- Karma Houdini: As revealed in Season 11, she escaped after shooting Archer and has yet to be apprehended.
- Lady Drunk: Implied. She at least reacts with enthusiasm when Archer offers her a drink early in the morning. By contrast, the imposter Veronica is somewhat offended.
- Ms. Fanservice: Archer and Cyril are smitten with her beauty. Even the homosexual Ray is willing to fight for her.
- One-Hit Wonder: In-Universe: Although she is treated as a major star, the only film anyone seems to recall when talking about her is Shanghai Moon, which admittedly left quite a lasting impression.Everyone: Oh my God, that dress!
- Only Six Faces: Played with. The agents believe that the imposter Veronica is the real one without really checking, although her face was mostly covered by a hat and large sunglasses.
- Riches to Rags: Veronica is at risk of this, apparently having massive debts exceeding her current assets. Which is why she is involved in the Longwater insurance fraud scheme.
- Silver Fox: Getting on in years but still considered drop dead gorgeous.
- Star-Making Role: In-Universe. Everyone knows her from Shanghai Moon, in which she wore an impossibly stunning dress.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Deane chews out Archer for killing Pinky Brewster when he could have knocked him out. Archer replies that he wasn't about to take that chance.
Alan Shapiro
Voiced By: Patton Oswalt
A divorce attorney who possesses a disk titled "Longwater" which contains sensitive information about Veronica Deane.
- Ambiguously Jewish: It hasn’t been 100% confirmed yet, but he hasn’t denied being Jewish.
- Fat Bastard: He's pretty portly, and can be a jerk even when he's working with The Figgis Agency.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He's bitter about Ellis Crane, since the man used to be married to his crush. When Veronica makes a move on Archer, he gets even more jealous.
- I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He's in love with Veronica, but can never get with her, so he settles for managing her legal affairs. He'll even frame Lana for Ellis's murder.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He looks quite a bit like a mixture of his VA, Patton Oswalt with some Saul Goodman thrown in.
- Mean Boss: Has shades of this, though it’s downplayed: he threatens to kill his guards for letting the tape be stolen, but he ends up only firing them, as they did fail to protect his property. More prevalent when he threatens to fire and deport his maids if they didn't clean up after his dogs.
- Pet the Dog: Almost literally. While Shapiro's first appearance involves violence, his second appearance shows him genuinely caring for his two dogs, who had an adverse reaction to the tranquilizers Ray fed them.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: No mention is made of him after season 7, despite being fully complicit in Veronica's crimes.
Ellis Crane
Voiced By: John O'Hurley
An Oscar-winning American director, Crane is the former husband of Veronica Deane.
- Amicable Exes: Shapiro doesn't seem to think so, but Deane and Crane get along fine.
- Boom, Headshot!: Gets offed by one on the set of his movie.
- Distressed Dude: Like the core group of private detectives, he's held hostage in Bell Panto.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He is a dead ringer for John O'Hurley, right down to the hairstyle.
- Insurance Fraud: Suspected by Cyril of pulling this off, sabotaging the production of his movie to get the insurance money paid to his shell corporation.
- Mean Boss: He's pretty nasty to the people on the set of his movie.
- Mr. Fanservice: Malory, Pam, Lana, Ray, and Cheryl are all attracted to him.
- Non-Idle Rich: He's incredibly wealthy, but still works as a director and is a philanthropist.
- Silver Fox: All of the women of the Figgis Agency are attracted to him. His age is irrelevant to all of their desires.
IIA
In General
The International Intelligence Agency is a well off and competent spy agency that starts competing against ISIS (or as they are later called, The Agency, and then Spies with Soul).
- Awesome, but Impractical: Unlike the Agency, they're highly funded, highly structured, and highly advanced in the technology field. Unfortunately, this brings to the table a level of bureaucratic red tape and loopholes that makes it almost laughably easy for someone to infiltrate with the right tools; for example, during the Agency's excursions into the IIA headquarters, they manage to evade several guards by hacking into the IIA's mainframe and posting false negative performance reviews and contract terminations, which makes the guards leave their posts without so much as a quick glance around.
- Bothering by the Book: The regular agents have a rather ridiculous level of bureaucracy memorized that leaves Cyril impressed, down to having various documents (T-932 and CM-5 being deliberately mentioned, and VS-10 being known) on hand.
Fabian Kingsworth
Voiced by: Kayvan Novak
The head of the IIA.- An Arm and a Leg: In the Series Finale, Archer cuts off his cuffed left hand to use the last DNA security protocol to deactivate the killer drones.
- Arch-Enemy: Over the course of Season 12, Archer grows to despise Fabian. Between Fabian's overwhelming smugness and penchant to disrupt their missions, he was already on his bad side, but recruiting Other Barry and giving him control over the reformed Barry, whom Archer had befriended, pushed Fabian to number one on Archer's enemy list.
- The Bad Guy Wins: He may have lost the memory stick and the IIA's main headquarters, but he gets one over the gang by buying their agency.
- Benevolent Boss: Zigzagged. IIA has incredible employee benefits, including paid family leave and a healthcare plan that covers therapy. Meanwhile, Fabian himself is a megalomaniac who's willing to ransom off weapons of mass destruction (after using them as a tool to extort his prospective clients), and he's pretty open about barely seeing his employees as people. He has a "No-Fault Severance" rule to deal with "troublesome" employees (anyone, really) leaving the company, which translated to slaughtering them with highly advance killer drones. He even orders a hit on Archer's therapist because she's out of network.
- Big Bad: Of Seasons 12 and 13. Being the head of IIA, the agency is basically Fabian's own personal terrorist organization which he uses to blackmail entire countries for profit.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: He has a lisp that makes him sound a lot like Elmer Fudd. Some of his employees were so confused by it that he appeared "culturally ambiguous."
- Foil: To Archer. Archer is an impulsive alcoholic who never does the smart/boring option and prefers to do what he considers is awesome, but who, for all his foibles, has repeatedly proven to be an incredibly compassionate person, whereas Fabian is a calm, collected individual who maintains strict discipline, always thinks ahead and doesn't care about human life except to the extent that it directly benefits him.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Towards the last two episodes of Season 12, his opinion of the Archer and the Agency seems to have changed from wanting them out of the way/eliminated to wanting them on his side, after their effectiveness, especially when fighting his supposedly unparalleled elite forces, makes itself known despite the group's general level of dysfunction; he continues to insult Archer at every chance he gets, but still makes a pitch to him, and the rest of the Agency at various times, to join the IIA, even as the gang are tearing his headquarters down around him. By the end of the season, when he sees a chance to buy the Agency, he goes for it, putting the main cast under his employ (except for Malory, whom he forced into hiding).
- In Season 13 the Agency is functionally a separate subdivision that is largely exempt from most of the bureaucracy that governs the IIA. Fabian does this because the Agency's methods offer benefits that normal IIA operations don't, so he's willing to exempt them from procedure that would only make them less effective. Later events, however, make it clear that Fabian is using The Agency as a scapegoat to obtain sensitive materials and inadvertently blackmail a world leader while keeping IIA's hands clean.
Other Characters
Trinette McGoon
Voiced By: Maggie Wheeler
A prostitute who was first seen in "Training Day" as part of an exercise to train Cyril as a field agent.
- Berserk Button: When Archer implies that she's either a drug addict or has some kind of STD in the past ("I'll bet that's not the first needle you've had in you"), she is royally pissed and takes his wallet, watch and car as collateral.
- Chekhov's Gunman: While she was largely unimportant in Season 1, her appearance here warrants an entire episode focusing on her and her child.
- Continuity Nod: Briefly appears with a baby whose father "knows Krav Maga" as an extra in "Dial M for Mother" when Mannfred and Uta are at the park.
- She is mentioned in "The Double Deuce", when Archer is tasked with babysitting Seamus, as having gone to spend the weekend at the "Pimps and Hoes" ball.
- She reappears in "Stage Two" to let Archer, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, spend a day with Seamus.
- Den of Iniquity: In Season 13, it's revealed she opened a brothel with Archer's child support money.
- Disney Death: She was supposedly killed by Cyril's poison-tipped pen in Archer's apartment, but Archer set the whole scenario up and the "poison" was nothing more than a harmless tranquillizer.
- Disposable Sex Worker: Her Disney Death provides the page quote, although the trope is ultimately subverted.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Gets a haircut after leaving the escort business and having Seamus.
- Everybody Has Standards: She's horrified when she sees Archer got Seamus tattooed, and ditches him as soon as possible.
- Insistent Terminology: Agrees with Archer when he describes her as a call girl, not a hooker.
- Jerkass: By "Stage Two", she knows that Archer isn't Seamus' father, but still makes him pay her child support. She's quick to get away from him after he gets her baby tattooed though.
- Not Quite Dead: After being rolled up in a rug and stuffed in Archer's trunk at the end of "Training Day". The "poison-tipped pen" turned out to just be a sedative so Cyril would think he had killed a hooker.
- Really Gets Around: Archer comments that "[he] had to book her weeks in advance". To be fair, she is a
hookercall girl. - What Happened to the Mouse?: Hasn't been seen since a brief appearance in "Stage Two". Probably to keep Archer away from Seamus after his bad babysitting. Though Maggie Wheeler does eventually return as the Dreamland version of Trinette in Season 8. She makes a surprise return in Season 13's "Distraction Action".
Seamus McGoon-Archer
Trinette's baby son, whose father she claims is Archer; appears in "Blood Test" and "The Double Deuce".
- Embarrassing Tattoo: He gets a tattoo of Archer's name on his back.
- Foreshadowing: In "Dial M for Mother", Trinette can be seen at the park with a baby stroller, and says that the baby's father "knows Krav Maga", a form of martial art used by ISIS agents.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Archer's go-to method of getting Seamus to stop crying is to feed him alcoholic beverages. He also bribes a tattoo artist to put his name on Seamus' back. Mallory gets in on this by offering him a toy and then taking it away just to crush all sense of hope.
Fridge Brilliance is that Archer at Season 2 is following the raising he got himself. - Insistent Terminology: Referred to as "the wee baby Seamus", even by Woodhouse.
- Luke, I Might Be Your Father: Trinette has to hold a paternity test to determine whether or not the child is Archer's, but there's a decent chance it's his. It's not actually his, but Cyril's.
- Strong Family Resemblance: When we meet Trinette again, she has a picture of a now preteen Seamus on her wall and looks like a mini-Cyril.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Like Trinette, he hasn't been seen since "Stage Two", likely due to Archer's tattoo being the last straw. He's seen in a photo in "Distraction Action".
Popeye
"Going green up in here."
Voiced By: Clarke Peters
A loan-sharking pimp and second owner of the dry cleaners in the ISIS building. Archer considers him an enemy.
- Everyone Has Standards: Insists on turning the dry cleaners into an eco-friendly business.
- The Ghost: Gets mentioned a few times in season one, but doesn't appear until "A Going Concern" in season two.
- Noodle Incident: In "Job Offer", Woodhouse mentions a "Popeye incident" that led to Archer having a bulletproof door installed in his penthouse.
- Retired Outlaw: Currently a former pimp and loan shark, having bought the dry cleaners from Malory. He seems to be genuine in running a legitimate business.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: With Archer, mostly due to outstanding debts.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He goes out of focus even before the series went through several overhauls.
Mitsuko Miyazumi
Voiced By: Judy Greer
Dr. Krieger's holographic girlfriend, so realistic the state of New York was willing to let the two marry. Originally thought to be destroyed by Lana, Krieger soon managed to create another one that is often always with him.
- Alliterative Name: Mitsuko Miyazumi.
- Ascended Extra: Initially no more than a recurring joke about Krieger's technical skill during Season 2, Miyazumi has evolved over the seasons to have interactions with the team.
- Covert Pervert: Despite outwardly seeming to be a pure-hearted blushing holographic Japanese bride, some of her behavior implies she's just as promiscuous as the rest of the cast; she and Krieger apparently watch Tentacle Porn together, she was shown to be quite...entertained at watching Krieger (who was naked) get manhandled by FBI agents, and she's had the hots for Cyril (and may have even had sex with him), Neil deGrasse Tyson, and possibly even Archer*. Given who she was made by, you can't really be surprised.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Is the victim of one In-Universe, when Cheryl comments that she's just hard light. Cyril, Pam, and Kreiger all come to Miyazumi's defense.
- Gratuitous Japanese: What she normally speaks, complete with referring to Krieger as "Kuriga-san"; in "Viscous Coupling," Krieger lies to Barry about his eagerness to assist the latter by saying Archer slept with his girlfriend, to which Miyazumi wistfully mutters, "Dattara iinoni..." (translated as "if only it were like that...") adding to the running gag of Kreiger being unable to keep it up during sex.
- Legacy Character: Lana killed the first one; the second one looks exactly the same, however, and Krieger doesn't seem to acknowledge any differences. It's probably because Krieger's actually been killing her every night for being annoying, as he mentions in "Reignition Sequence".
- No Name Given: For four seasons, the closest to confirmation of her name was "codename.fileserv{miyazumi}" attached to the file for the render of her second incarnation, seen briefly in "Tragical History". This was confirmed to be her name in "The Kanes" when it is written on her bowling jersey. Another possible name for her is "Mitsuko", which is her name in the scripts and her login on Krieger's website and her flickr account in the Season 6 ARG.
- Miyazumi is likely a surname, making her full Name Mitsuko Miyazumi.
- Nonstandard Character Design: She is drawn in an Animesque style.
- Projected Woman: Despite this, Krieger (And possibly Cyril, during their time together in Krieger's van) is somehow able to have sex with her.
- Robotic Spouse: For Krieger. Despite being a hologram, she's evidently real enough that Krieger is able to have sex with her, and apparently the State of New York even allowed them to marry. That being said, their relationship is very strained.
- Satellite Character: She's always in the same room with Krieger. Justified considering her nature as a holographic entity. However, she seems to have some sort of rivalry with Malory.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: Has moments with Malory, and later with Cheryl.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: She is briefly seen in this form in Season 11, apparently as a combined result of going through a "phase" and her and Krieger's strained relationship, which is also explains why the two aren't seen together as often.
Babou
Cheryl's pet ocelot. Babou is an unruly pet, marking its territory constantly and scratching up Archer whenever he tries to play with him. That being said, it's hard to blame the animal when its owner is as neglectful as you'd expect from Cheryl.
- Androcles' Lion: In The Limited, Babou winds up unintentionally saving Archer's life by distracting a group of terrorists; Archer returns the favor a few seconds later.
- Attack Pattern Alpha: "Serpentine, Babou! Serpentine!!"
- Cats Are Mean: Babou has scratched Archer up twice. Archer justified the first time as Babou being bored and wanting things to play with, given Cheryl leaves it in an empty room.
- Meaningful Name: Named after the ocelot owned by Salvador Dalí.
- That Poor Cat: Though Babou winds up uninjured, several Canadian terrorists fire upon him while he's off-screen (pissing on them).
Ron Cadillac
Voiced By: Ron Leibman
Archer's milquetoast step-father and Malory's husband as of Season 4.
- The Bus Came Back: He and Malory enter couples' counseling partway through season five and have reconciled as of season six. He reappears on the show in "Drastic Voyage Part I", and appears again in "Motherless Child". After an entire five season gap, he finally makes a brief reappearance at the end of "Mission: Difficult", where he is seen relaxing with Malory at the beach, both retired from their jobs.
- The Charmer: By his first appearance, he's basically already won over the entire crew, and gets about as close as somebody dating Malory can get with Sterling.
- Dad the Veteran: Or step-dad at any rate. Appears to have commanded a tank in the US Army Armored Corps... which he then stole.
- Everyone Has Standards: He never would've hurt the war effort during World War II: He stole a tank, but only after the war was over.
- Friend to All Children: Ron shows he's very good with children in season 6. In episode 12, he's seen reading happily to baby A.J. the story of Goldilocks. And it also appears that A.J. has grown fond of her step-grandfather's presence.
- The Ghost: Ever since The Bus Came Back, he has been mentioned from time and time again ("On the Carpet", "The Archer Sanction") but doesn't make an appearance in-person until "Drastic Voyage Part I".
- Innocent Bigot: When trying to convince Malory to let competent employees do their jobs without Malory having to micro-manage, he references the head mechanic at one of his auto-dealerships, who is "a black".
- Hidden Badass: Appears to be the most milquetoast, boring old man you'd meet, as well as a former soldier, an extremely successful business owner and the former head of a car theft ring.
- Insistent Terminology: Archer insists on calling him "my mother's husband" rather than "my stepdad".
- Meaningful Name: He owns a half-dozen Cadillac dealerships and is starting to expand into White Plains (though he changed it from Kaczynski).
- Meaningful Rename: His original name was Kaczynski, but had his name changed to Cadillac when he started selling Cadillacs, presumably to distance himself from his past.
- Nice Guy: Ron is a sweet man.
- Out of Focus: Doesn't show up for the second half of Season 4.
- Retired Badass: He got his start in illegal chop-shops and is now paying hush money to his operation's imprisoned members.
- Racist Grandpa: Zigzagged. Speaks glowingly about his black employees at his dealerships and is a Benevolent Boss to them by all accounts, but he still calls them things like "a black", and his compliments are tinged with a definite You Are a Credit to Your Race vibe.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Leaves Malory in "House Call" after getting fed up with the cartel, the final straw being Malory's refusal to talk about Len Trexler. The two manage to patch things up later, though. The Season 12 finale reveals that he and Malory are fully back together, and are now enjoying their retirement on a remote tropical island.
- Tank Goodness: Stole an M4(75) Sherman during World War II, although it was in 1945 so it didn't really hurt the war effort.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His marriage to Malory caused Archer to forget his identity and think he was Bob of Bob's Burgers.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He makes no appearance in Season 11, and there's no mention of him from Mallory, though Season 12 reveals that he's still alive, and Mallory has run off with him for good after retiring.
AJ (spoilers)
Abbiejean "AJ" Malory Kane-Archer
Baby
Pre-teen
Voiced By: Kimberly Woods (Child)
The daughter of Lana and Archer, whose sperm sample Lana used through artificial insemination.
- The Ace: By season 13 her time in boarding school and activity camps has left her with a number of skills, including being proficient in Judo, marksmanship and Irish stepdance.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Season 11 reveals that AJ's quite intelligent, not to mention mature for someone that's barely five.
- The Baby of the Bunch: AJ is the youngest recurring main character in the series.
- Dead Girl Junior: AJ is named after her mother's grandmother.
- Death Glare: She tends to wear Lana's scowl at times whenever she disapproves of something. She makes the same face during the group's slow escape on the water in Distraction Action.
- Embarrassing First Name: Not to her, but her father and paternal grandmother ask Lana at different times if "Abbiejean" is something they want to stick with.
- Establishing Character Moment: The moment that makes it quite apparent that she is, doubtlessly, Archer's kid. She's nursing on Lana, and Archer tries to talk to her, but she puts her finger up the same way Archer does when he's drinking and wants someone to wait. While still nursing.
- Generation Xerox: Season 11 reveals her entire childhood turned out pretty much identical to Archer's, being sent off to boarding school while her mother pursued her career as a spy, with little-to-no contact, or even knowledge of her biological father. Although she at least got lucky enough to not have Malory as a parent.
- In-Series Nickname: Instead of Abbiejean, she simply goes by AJ.
- Like Parent, Like Child: Right in her introduction she already displays some of the characteristics of her father when she holds up a finger to stop a person from talking while she finishes drinking. The background of a shot in "Sitting" shows her with a plush ocelot. Apparently, the fondness of the animal runs in the family. In Season 13 she develops an instant raport with Babou, just like Archer had, enough to use him as an attack animal when a mafioso tries to kidnap her.
- Little Miss Snarker: Definitely has her parents' sass.
- In Distraction Action, after Lana wins the custody battle, she wastes no time in telling off Robert for arranging the case as a Secret Test, going as far as calling her stepfather a "goddamn weirdo" much to Lana's immense disapproval. Lana and Archer later on in the episode weren't exempt, as AJ mocking imitates Archer's demands to hide somewhere during the impending firefight. Lana, again of course, is not amused.
- Morality Pet: To her father, mother, and paternal grandmother. They all don't act like their usual jerk-y selves when around her and several episodes are dedicated to her future/wellbeing.
- Nom de Mom: Shares the last names of her mother and father.
- Protectorate: It cannot be overemphasized what a terrible idea it is to try and harm AJ.
- Put on a Bus: It's revealed in Helping Hands that Lana sent AJ to a boarding school in Switzerland to study abroad. This happened sometime during the three year coma period. She does make an appearance later on in the penultimate episode though.
- Suddenly Voiced: After spending seasons 6-8 voiceless, she final speaks during Caught Napping. Justified since she's five years old now.
- Tuckerization: She is named after creator Adam Reed's grandmother.
Gypsy Woman
An unseen Gypsy fortune teller that Cheryl frequents. Has a frighteningly accurate track record.
- Fortune Teller: Deals out fortunes that seem strange but end up being accurate.
- The Ghost: Mentioned a lot, but never seen.
- Phrase Catcher: "Just like that old Gypsy woman said!"
Conway Stern
"He's a diversity double-whammy!"
Voiced By: Coby Bell
"You haven't seen the last of Conway Stern... which is not my real name!"
A new agent from "Diveristy Hire" brought in by Malory to replace three culturally diverse agents whom Archer had gotten captured. He's actually a Double Agent, working only for himself, who has infiltrated ISIS so that he could obtain the Whisper Drive. He reappears in Season 6, working for the CIA and again in Season 11 as The Dragon for a Villain of the Week.
- The Ace: It took him two phone calls to complete a mission Lana had been planning for months ("Salsa").
- An Arm and a Leg: His left hand is ripped off in his first appearance when Lana's harpoon pulls back the briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, detaching his hand in the process. While he gets a robotic left hand from Krieger, his other hand is ripped off when Lana slams shut a glass door on it in "Three to Tango" and his left foot in "Bloodsploosh".
- It's heavily implied Gilette's the recipient of one of the missing hands.
- Artificial Limbs: His new left hand.
- Call-Back: Much of his appearance in season 6 involves him and Archer referencing their previous run-in, right down to repeating the final scene to a tee, with Conway turning on them once again, and Lana ripping off his other hand.
- The Cameo: He makes one in Season 4's "Legs", in a flashback that shows Krieger building him a robotic hand to replace the one that Lana ripped off, technically making him a Cyborg.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He betrays Lana and Archer in both "Diversity Hire" and "Three to Tango".
- Cyborg: He is technically part-robot, having received a mechanical hand from Krieger.
- Double Agent:
- Played with in "Diversity Hire". Archer and Lana theorise that he is this, but when Archer and Conway travel to Miami on a mission, Conway saves his life twice before revealing himself to be this after all seconds later, when he literally stabs Archer In the Back.
- In "Three to Tango", Archer and Lana are understandably concerned about this, but Slater reveals that he was working for the CIA the whole time, and the Whisper Drive was a fake. However, after taking the microfilm, he reveals himself as a mole once again.
- Even Evil Has Standards: After double-crossing Archer again and shooting him in the back, he refuses to shoot Lana on the grounds that she's a mother now.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: He pulls a Face–Heel Turn at the end of "Diversity Hire", then a Heel–Face Turn at the start of "Three to Tango", then another Face–Heel Turn at the end of said episode.
- In the Back: He (literally) stabs Archer in the back in "Diversity Hire", and then shoots him in the back in "Three to Tango". Both are representative of actual backstabbings.
- No Name Given: His last line in "Diversity Hire" is him confirming that "Conway Stern" is not his real name. In Three to Tango, his last line is him averting this by saying he lied before and Conway Stern IS his real name, which is apparently a lie in "Bloodsploosh" in which he says he isn't sure about it and will never give his real name.
- Pet the Dog: Chooses not to shoot Lana upon learning she has a daughter (despite wanting vengeance for Lana severing his hand), as he doesn't wish to deprive an infant of its mother.
- Phrase Catcher: "CON-way! That was AMAZING!"
- Riddle for the Ages: Is Conway Stern his real name or an alias? In "Bloodsploosh", even he's not sure.
- Running Gag
- Whether or not "Conway Stern" is his real name.
- Each of his appearances (barring a single cameo) involves him losing a limb. He's up to two hands and one foot lost now.
- Twofer Token Minority: Black and Jewish. It was literally the only reason Mallory hired him. Well, that and because he's hot.
- Villain Ball: He had no reason to stick around and tell Lana that she needs to "lose the baby weight", which resulted in him losing another hand and the microfilm.
Robert
Voiced By: Stephen Tobolowsky
Lana's billionaire husband, who she married while Archer was in his coma.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Robert is a genuinely kind-hearted man who bought a number of weapons (illegal as well) to rescue a kidnapped AJ.
- Big Fun: Downplayed. He's pretty mellow but he's shown to be friendly and loves to have a good time. He also has a noticeable gut.
- Complexity Addiction: Him seemingly taking a level in jerkass in Season 13 and threatening to take custody of AJ is revealed to have been a Secret Test of Character to prove to Lana beyond a shadow of a doubt that AJ loves Lana more than him. AJ rightfully calls him out for putting her and her mother through something so needlessly arduous and complicated.
- Covert Pervert: Robert is relatively decent man but he also happens to be a horn dog.
- Dirty Old Man: Is revealed to be quite the horn dog in his double date with Archer, with a long history of sexual escapades, several ex-wives, and a dirty sense of humor. In spite of this, he does seem to genuinely love Lana and tries his best to make her happy. His hornier side ends up rearing its head in an ugly way in season 12 where their marriage has deteriorated to the extent that he's willing to cheat on her under the (admittedly not completely unfounded) assumption that she's been cheating on him.
- Happy Marriage Charade: While Robert does his best, it's made pretty clear that despite Lana's initial insistence that they are Happily Married, he and Lana have nothing in common and actually know very little about each other. Over the course of season 12, their marriage deteriorates more and more, culminating in Robert cheating on her in the season finale. By Season 13, they have broken up offscreen.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He looks exactly like his voice actor, Stephen Tobolowsky.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed. While he can come off as incredibly smug, he is ultimately a kind-hearted person. He does his best to keep Lana happy and acts as a devoted father to AJ. Even Archer gradually begins to warm up to him in his own way. After the two are divorced in Season 13, he begins leaning into Jerk with a Heart of Jerk as he contends with Lana for custody over AJ, to the point of trying to get Lana's career as an agent seen as proof against her, all while keeping up his smug, soft-spoken demeanor...which only makes him all the more insufferable. Ultimately Double Subverted when he accepts AJ choosing Lana over him in the custody battle, revealing that he knew this would happen all along but wanted to show Lana that AJ specifically chose her over Robert and it isn't just a default. It's weird and needlessly complex and manipulative, but ultimately well-meaning. And he didn't even tip off the authorities to Archer and Lana (both whom are wanted by the FBI and CIA for the IIA's illegal activities) being in the courthouse during the proceedings.
- May–December Romance: Much older than Lana, which Archer can't stop mocking him and Lana about. It ends up being deconstructed later on, as it's clear that this age difference is just one of the many indicators that he and Lana ultimately have little in common, which contributes to their marriage falling apart.
- Offscreen Breakup: As of the start of Season 13, he has broken up with Lana.
- Papa Wolf: Robert used his vast wealth to buy legal and illegal weapons to rescue AJ from her kidnappers. He even drugged the crew (minus Archer and Lana) in order to ask for their help.
- The Team Benefactor: For a period in Season 12, Robert single-handedly bankrolls the entirety of the Agency's activities.
Diedrich and Harris
Voiced By: Keegan Michael-Key (Diedrich) & J. K. Simmons (Harris)
Two LAPD officers who make irregular appearances throughout Archer P. I. They are almost incompetent enough to work for ISIS.
- Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Harris is the bad, snapping violently the moment anyone questions his orders only to revert back a moment later. Diedrich is the incompetent, trying to get an autograph from a murder suspect.
Agent Bruchstein (spoilers)
Voiced By: Jamie Lee Curtis
An Interpol Special Agent that the team briefly collaborates with to protect a priceless sculpture from the international art thief Peregrine. She ultimately is revealed to be Peregrine herself and had intended the team to take down a decoy as a distraction.
- Asshole Victim: After kidnapping AJ for ransom out of revenge against Archer and Lana, then deciding to go back on the deal when she has the money to take AJ away permanently, while also having no problem trying to kill Lana in front of her child, she honestly got what was coming to her when Lana pumps her full of bullets.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Sees herself as a master criminal on the rise, yet she's thwarted in the most undignified manner possible. In her second appearance she's managed to kidnap Abbiejean for no reason other than spiting Lana. When that goes belly-up, Bruchstein tries to make a getaway, only to be seriously injured. She then tells Lana that they'll become sworn enemies after this, engaging in a constant cat-and-mouse game, only for Lana to just shoot her. Repeatedly. With more than one gun.
- Character Death: Meets her end in "Caught Napping", after she attempts to get back at ISIS by kidnapping A.J. Lana kills her with extreme prejudice.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Her appearance is modelled on Jamie Lee Curtis.
- Jerkass: Even before she was outed as a villain, she was just as frigid and elitist as Malory.
- No Name Given: It's not clear if Peregrine is her name or just an alias, nor is it clear if Bruchstein is her real last name.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Possibly the least competent criminal the ISIS crew have had to deal with. Her plan to steal a scuplture took longer than anticipated because the team slacked off, showing that she doesn't think about multiple scenarios before executing complicated plans.
Sandra
Voiced By: Pamela Adlon
A UN liasion who initially worked with the team to deal with a murder at an Antarctic research station. Later returns assisting an anti-poaching squad in Central Africa, to later contract with the spy agency as a favor to Lana.
- The Bait: Played with. Sandra tricks a poacher by stating that she uploaded his Motive Rant to be sent to journalists across the world. When the poacher returns with there was no way she could arrange such a thing so quickly, she agrees: She was just the distraction for Lana to attack him.
- Nice Girl: Subverted. While initially fairly reasonable, even in the face of Lana's typical Alpha Bitch tendencies, but falls off this in season 12 when she has an affair with Robert.
- Remember the New Guy?: She and Lana went to college together, but it had never been mentioned until Sandra's introduction.
- Unknown Rival: At first. She and Lana went to college together, but Lana doesn't remember her at all. This may be why she seemed to have visibly no qualms about having an affair with Robert.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After being last seen having an affair with Robert in the Season 12 finale, she's not seen nor heard of in Season 13.
