Frank Archer

Frank Archer (フランク・アーチャー, Furanku Āchā) is a character exclusive to the 2003 anime, introduced as the replacement of Maes Hughes. Archer first appeared in a cameo in Episode 26 accompanying Major General Hakuro, but was not properly introduced until Episode 29. Lt. Colonel Archer is cool, calm, and collected, with a love for violence and war. He dreams of becoming a hero on the battlefield, viewing it as a way to rise up the ranks of the military. To this end he does whatever is necessary to please his superiors and always ensures that his actions earn him some publicity. As the series progresses, Archer develops an interest in the military's various projects, such as the homunculi, the chimera, and the Philosopher's Stone. His ambitions of gaining the latter cause the left half of his body to be used in its creation, forcing him to undergo automail modification to regain his mobility. The operations leave him mentally unstable, after which he rages through Central while carrying out Führer King Bradley's ordered executions. Archer fights against Izumi Curtis, and later Maria Ross and Denny Brosh with a small military task force in battle, surprising Archer that lower ranked officers are opening fire on him. In the end, Archer witnesses Roy Mustang exiting the Führer's mansion, only to be gunned down by Riza Hawkeye who opened fire on him from behind, but not before Mustang is injured and lost his left eye in the process.

Lt. Colonel Archer is one of the few military figures that know of the Führer's secret. He doesn't mind that his country's leader is a homunculus and merely takes orders as if he were taking them from a human. Colonel Archer is all for war, and dedicates himself to starting another. After meeting the sadistic Solf Kimblee at the Southern Military Headquarters, he gives him an offer to have Kimblee exonerated for his past crimes and being reinstated back into the military. Ultimately, Kimblee accepted the offer when he leaks info on Greed's hideout, and Lt. Colonel Archer sends his troops to the Devil's Nest. Archer then makes Kimblee his assistant, along with recruiting Shou Tucker, and Pride later sends the Crimson Alchemist after Ed.

Given the rank of Colonel, Archer was the one who led the military assault on Reole which caused the deaths of thousands when the city itself turned out to be a giant transmutation circle. He also lost 7,000 troops, as well as half of his body.

Trivia

 * Despite having the same canon for Automail as the manga (in which it says it takes at least 2-3 years for mere limb rehabilitation, half a year at the absolute least), Archer is somehow able to replace more than half of his entire body in a very short amount of time. It could possibly be the reason as to why he became so unstable, but he technically shouldn't even be able to move his new body.