Sterling Archer will be the first to tell you that he is the world's best secret agent. Of course, since he will almost certainly be incoherently drunk as he screams this information at the top of his lungs while harassing women and citing pop culture references, one should probably question just how great he is at the "secret" part of being a secret agent.

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The one thing he is absolutely amazing at though is dredging up rare bits of trivia to use in elaborate metaphors, and quite a number of these involve comic books. In fact, it seems that he avidly reads both Marvel and DC (though he clearly favors one over the other). Whether or not he is the world's greatest secret agent, Sterling Archer is almost certainly the agent with the greatest knowledge of comic book references.

10 Hulk

Sterling Archer has never been known for his sensitivity toward other cultures, people, or basic human decency. When he is ordered to seduce Ramon Limon, a gay Cuban agent fleeing his country over Fidel's homophobia.

At the episode's end, Ramon laments that he must live a "life on the run" to avoid Fidel's assassins, "just like el Doctor, David Banner." Sterling asks how to say "the Hulk" in Spanish, and Ramon says "el Hulk." Sterling responds with a number of homophobic and racist comments, including this gem of a line: "Jesus, Spanish? Our jobs aren't enough? Now you gotta take our words?"

9 Cypher

It is hard to know just when Archer "jumped the shark," as the saying goes, but by the time the episode "The Papal Chase" launched, the plots of some episodes had gotten crazier than the crisscrossing timelines of the X-Men comics. The story involves a plot to replace the Pope with Sterling's butler, Woodhouse, who happens to look identical to the Bishop of Rome.

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At one point, Sterling describes Cypher as the gayest X-Man, presumably because Cypher's powers involve translating languages rather than something flashier like laser eyes or telekinesis. With such a close-minded attitude, Sterling is basically an X-Men villain.

8 General Zod

Zod and the Kryptonians invade Earth

While there are plenty of comics references throughout Archer, there are not a whole lot of mentions of DC Comics, as Sterling is apparently a loyal Marvel reader. When DC characters are cited, it is usually someone else who mentions them.

Such is the case when Archer tells Pam that he wants to help the cyborg Barry reunite with Archer's ex (and fellow cyborg) Katya. As they talk, Pam calls Barry a "psycho cyborg supervillain who's trapped in space like General frickin' Zod."

7 Adamantium

Archer season 4 space race door

The rare metal adamantium lines Wolverine's bones and is the same substance that was used to make his razor sharp claws capable of cutting through solid steel--a fact that even non-comics reader know, thanks to the Fox X-Men films.

During the two-part episode "Space Race," one of the astronauts aboard a space station tries without much success to cut through a sealed door.  When asked why he is having difficulty, the astronaut responds, "I didn't invent whatever this door is made of, which is apparently some alloy of adamantium and mithril." Mithril is a magical metal from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the book which inspired the modern high fantasy genre.

6 Wolverine’s Bones

Adamantium is referenced more than once throughout the series, as Sterling explicitly compares the ISIS mainframe's reinforced steel door to "Wolverine's bones" during the episode "Tragical History."

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He begins to try and explain his comment when he is met with blank faces, then angrily demands to know whether anyone else reads X-Men. Apparently, he is the only Marvel fanboy at ISIS.

5 Human Torch

Human Torch

One of the few things Sterling truly excels at (in addition to invoking comic book references and telling Lana she is in the "danger zone") is killing people. Once, while naked, Archer was surprised by an armed assailant pointing a gun at him. Having no clothes, and thus no gun holstered about him, Sterling turned an aerosol can of spray-on deodorant and lit candle into a flamethrower.

Later on, Sterling recounts the incident to Lana, he describes the man as "running around like Johnny Storm," the Human Torch.

4 The Dark Knight

Archer clowns bel panto

Archer: Vice was a weird but brilliantly original series, in which the remaining members of ISIS all move out to southern California and open a private detective agency. When they are attending a soiree with their client, the famed actress Veronica Deane, a group of criminals break into the event an try to kidnap the actress.

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Notably, all of the kidnappers are dressed as clowns. This is a clear homage to the opening bank heist scene at the start of The Dark Knight.

3 Shazam

Shazam playing with lightning

Somehow, Archer manages to be even more annoying than usual when suffering from amnesia. Just because he does not remember who he is does not mean he can't remember nerdy references and cite them ad nauseum.

When Lana tries to reignite Sterling's memories by mentioning the name of the"ISIS" spy agency, he is only reminded of the 70s Shazam! TV show which included the stories of The Secrets of Isis. Sterling even mentions the Billy Batson, who can turn into the hero Captain Marvel/Shazam, and shouts Batson's catchphrase: Shaazzaaaaam!

2 Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler sit roof - X-Men

Sometimes, there is just no understanding how Sterling logically arrives at a point, as is seen in the episode "Un Chien Tangerine."

While he and Lana are driving through the crowded streets of a Moroccan city, she asks what smells. Archer begins describing an animal with a prehensile tail, then somehow pivots to wishing he was just like his favorite X-Man with a prehensile tale, Nightcrawler.

1 Hulk Hands and Jennifer Walters

lana sterling - archer - amnesia "Fugue and Riffs"

Lana's large hands are a running joke throughout the series. When Lana punches Sterling, he describes her as having "Hulk hands." Lana objects to this, insisting she "does not have--" to which Arched interrupts, "She-Hulk, then."

When she yells at him, he calls her "Jennifer Walters. Alter ego of She-Hulk." Somehow, he manages to be a nerd and a total jerk all at the same time.

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