Archer

"It is as it is, right Moi Droog?"

― Archer's last words.^[src]

Daniel Robert Sloane-Suarez, callsign Archer was a Third Echelon Splinter Cell who was operating during the Third Echelon Conspiracy. He was part of a two-man joint operation with Voron field operative Kestrel to secure four stolen Russian EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) warheads.

Biography

Early life

Earning an Economics degree at Harvard, Daniel Sloane-Suarez joined the NSA to pursue a career as an intelligence analyst. While at the Agency, Daniel interpreted signal intercepts connected to dozens of terror plots, and personally identified the leadership of extremist group, the Grass Liberation Front. Though Daniel proved to be a highly capable analyst, his deeply-entrenched resentment of authority created considerable tension with his superiors at Fort Meade.

Daniel soon began to chafe against the bureaucratic confines of his job. Fortunately for him, his personnel file was flagged for potential field duty by recruiters for Third Echelon, and Anna Grímsdóttir quickly approved his admission to the group's gruelling training program. Eighteen months later, he was assigned his call-sign ARCHER.^[1]

2010/2011: Third Echelon Conspiracy

Before or during the events of the Third Echelon Conspiracy, Archer was paired with Voron operative Kestrel for a joint operation that involved disarming four EMP warheads. Third Echelon handler Ben Hansen assisted the two in their missions, but was later replaced with Maya Valentina for 'security reasons.' The last EMP device they had to disarm was in Russia, and after the two agents secured the device on the cargo ship the two went to separate areas on the aircraft. Tom Reed contacted Archer and told him to "eliminate Kestrel." Kestrel, who was present on another area of the cargo hold, became aware of this message as it was also displayed on Archer's OPSAT (which was left on a bag next to Kestrel). Archer and Kestrel briefly fought in the hold of the plane leading to Archer being fatally wounded. Kestrel kneeled over Archer and shared some last words before dying. Suddenly, Andriy Kobin appeared behind Kestrel and shot him, putting him into a coma. Archer's body was later placed in a body bag at Kobin's Mansion.

Profile

According to the notes in his personnel file, Archer is "stubborn", "overconfident" and "competitive".^[1]

Developer commentary

"We liked ‘Archer’ for our American since the character was imagined as a precise, agile killer. He has a bit of thrill-seeking dilettante in him; a contemporary version of the Ivy League spook archetype. So it made sense to give him a name that evoked both classical sportsmanship with a bit of Robin Hood thrown in."

― Patrick Redding, Splinter Cell: Conviction Co-Op Game Director^[3]

Trivia

Archer had no military background prior to becoming a Splinter Cell, according to his dossier.
Archer appears to be more sarcastic than Kestrel, as he makes snide remarks when he takes out an enemy with a hand-to-hand kill.
Archer's default outfit is the 3E Eclipse.
- He has similar attire to other Splinter Cells with a few exceptions: his Sonar Goggles are green, as opposed to the ones the other Splinter Cells and Kestrel wear, which have red lenses; the lenses are shaped and arranged in a slightly different fashion than those of other agents; his version of the suit does not bear Third Echelon's insignia, which is visible on the shoulders of other Splinter Cells.
His weaponry is also different, as he is not restricted to the SC3000 and MK.23. In addition, other Splinter Cells are seen carrying a knife on the back of their belts, much like Sam in previous games. Archer, on the other hand, reserves this spot for his Portable EMP device, just like Kestrel. His sidearm of choice seems to be the FN Five-seveN.
For the end of the co-op campaign, the two briefly fought in the hold of the plane (as an in-game event forces both players to fight each other one-on-one), and the victor sadly crouches over the body of his partner and they exchange last words, only to be shot himself and put into a coma as Kobin emerged from the shadows. Canonically, the former is Archer, with the latter being Kestrel.
If Archer loses the Face-Off match at the end of Prologue, his last words are, "It is as it is, right Moi Droog?" "Moi Droog" (мой друг) is Russian for "My Friend."
- This may indicate that Archer knows at least some Russian dialect.
Along with Kestrel, Archer's face is revealed during the Face-Off match at the end of the Prologue.
Archer's corpse can be found in one of two body bags in the foyer of Kobin's mansion^[4]. Due to the other body bag being zipped up, it is assumed that it contains Kestrel's body due to the guards calling the two bodies "spies" and "spooks". Also, if you listen to the three guards they'll talk about how they couldn't sell the goggles because they had brain matter and didn't work properly anymore despite the fact neither Archer or Kestrel died in full gear (they were wearing the bottom half of their armor).
In the credits of the main story, Archer is listed as "John Drake Archer". The exact reason why is unknown; likely this is his alias as shown on the dossier^[1], of which only the first and last letters are visible.
The shoulder blades of his suit have multiple scratch marks like all Splinter Cell suits.
Archer is briefly mentioned in Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
Kestrel being alive in Blacklist confirmed that Archer lost the face-off in Conviction and failed his final objective.
Like Kestrel's SV1 Akula, Archer's 3E Eclipse can be worn in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It is now the 4E Eclipse and is an exclusive to the Homeland DLC Pack.