Archer

Archer
Gorgonites
Role	Emissary of the Gorgonites
Personality	Noble savage / Patient and cunning
Weapon	Crossbow
Homeworld	Trigonia
Topography	Forested
Climate	Chilly. A new ice age is dawning.
Society	Hunters living in balance with nature
Spoken Line	"Greetings, friend!"
Other
AKA	Arch-Fiend {Pre-production), {Marketing)
Gender	Male
Actor	Frank Langella

⚠ This article is a stub. You can help Small Soldiers Wiki by expanding it.

“Greetings. I am Archer; Emissary of the Gorgonites.” ―Archer to Alan Abernathy

Archer is an animatronic toy, leader of the Gorgonites, and deuteragonist of Small Soldiers. He was designed by Irwin Wayfair, an employee of Heartland Play Systems, for the Small Soldiers toy line.

Design

As head of the tribal Gorgonites, Archer leads his ragtag clan under a banner of pacifism, nobility, and kindness. With calm and thoughtful judgement, he aims to evade capture by the Commando Elite while seeking the Gorgonites' mythical homeworld-sanctuary of Gorgon.

“We tried to combine lion features with human features. I wanted to him a strong, majestic aspect. I thought a lion was very majestic, and since he's the leader of the Gorgonites, and a lion is the leader of the jungle, they worked together. Since I have a Native-American background, I incorporated some of that into Archer's overall design. He also has this really neat slider on his head that the other puppets don't have, that allows his head to lunge forward. It makes him look like he's on the prowl, ready for the attack.” ―Joey Orosco, designer at Stan Winston Studio

As explained by his designer, Archer draws inspiration from Native Americans; from his topless leathers, to an deep connection with nature.^{[citation needed]}

Small Soldiers (film)

Archer and the rest of the Gorgonites were created by Irwin Wayfair, a toy designer from a company called Heartland Play Systems which was bought out by Globotech Industries. In his box, Archer came with his trademark crossbow, three arrows, a quiver and a sword and could be activated by the words "Halt! Who goes there?"

Archer firing his armed crossbow up to the telephone pole.

Because Archer is a Gorgonite, he was ultimately programmed to hide and lose to the Commando Elite. This made Archer unhelpful in some cases. But still Archer tried to assist Alan Abernathy.

The first situation in which Archer helped was when the Commandos had taken Christy hostage and demanded that Alan surrender the Gorgonites to them. Alan set up a decoy for the Commandos and from there Archer was tied to a rocket. When the rocket flew upward, Archer jumped off and parachuted into the Fimple’s house. Archer unlocked the back door so Alan could slip in to rescue Christy.

Archer leading the way on the search for Gorgon with his fellow Gorgonites.

Another event in which Archer helped was when Alan was attacked by Chip while setting up an EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) with the telephone pole. Archer fired his crossbow upward and over the arm of the pole. From there, Insaniac helicoptered around so Archer could be brought up to the pole. When Archer attempted to attack Chip, he was kicked off the pole and fell to the ground.

“Even if you can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there.” ―Archer, saying farewell to Alan

However Alan jammed Chip into between the circuit breakers, creating an EMP which destroyed all of the Commandos for good. Afterwards, Alan found Archer and the rest of the Gorgonites hiding under the Fimples' huge satellite transmission satellite dish, which had protected them from the EMP. A couple of days later Alan gave the Gorgonites a wooden boat in which to set sail on a river in search for their home world Gorgon.

Other Appearances

The Gorgonites' Quest (Book)

Set directly after the film, this book follows the Gorgonites' adventure on their journey to find "Gorgon". As the leader of the Gorgonites, Archer plays a major role in this novel.

Top Secret Dossier (Book)

This in-universe book features profiles of every character, including Archer, and listing details about the Gorgonites' narrative universe that are never touched upon in the film. These profiles have been applied to the respective characters' pages on this wiki, as seen above, and include such details as their homeworld, its climate, and their race's social structure. Every character is also shown to have their own unique symbol; in Archer's case, a quadruple bladed V shape.

Small Soldiers (PS1) (Video Game)

Archer is the only playable character of the game, outside multiplayer, and drives the plot forward. The plot is centered around the Commando Elite's assault of Gorgon, and the Gorgonites (mainly Archer) defending themselves against it. Archer defends himself by using a variety of arrow types and effects from his crossbow, as well as calling in assistance from the other Gorgonites.

Small Soldiers: Squad Commander (Video Game)

During the Gorgonite campaign, Archer is one of the playable characters you can summon; during the Commando Elite campaign, he is one of the enemy units. In both cases, he attacks using his crossbow, and is not limited to a single instance.

Sam Winston Studios Archer figurine

Action Figures

Archer has received X physical toys in various forms, including: (incomplete)

Trivia

• Archer was originally known as "Arch-Fiend" during production, likely a pun on him being an archer. This name was later used in the Top Secret Dossier on a mockup box for Archer, supposedly designed by Larry Benson.
• A number of official digital illustrations are based on Archer's concept art, rather than the final design. These show him with a basic silver crossbow, a brown mohawk instead of a horn, orange ears and skin, red joints, and other inaccurate simplifications.
• After being captured and tortured by the Commandos, Archer sustains a wound to his shoulder that remains for the duration of the movie.^{[citation needed]}
• The sword that comes with the toys of Archer were based off the prop in the film, though it is never clearly seen on-screen.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

Film Stills

Archer's box
(front)

Archer's box
(rear)

Behind the Scenes

^{[citation needed]}

Archer with an alternate crossbow^{[citation needed]}

A close-up of Archer's crossbow

The animatronic and its cable system

Concept art from the Top Secret Dossier

Other Media

Archer's statistics in Small Soldiers: Squad Commander