Origin
Valiant Universe (VH1) – Pre-Unity
Obadiah Archer, a child from Kansas, is almost killed when he is tied up in a burning house by his preacher parents after discovering them molesting children. With death imminent, Obadiah promises God he will bring his parents to justice, and breaks free, but passes out from the smoke. After a near death experience, he wakes in a hospital bed, however fearing his parents, he flees the country. Arriving at a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas, Archer discovers he has abilities, allowing him to master martial arts and the use of weapons. After years of training, Archer returns to the States to exact justice on his parents, but discovers they are already imprisoned. Wandering the streets hopelessly, he meets a man named Armstrong.
Valiant Entertainment (2012)
With Valiant‘s relaunch in 2012, Archer was trained as a child assassin by his preacher/politician parents out of a theme park in Kansas. Along with several other children, Archer was adopted, but his true origin is unknown to him. His foster parents had told him that he was their real son, in efforts to make him more obedient. After winning a competition between his siblings, Archer is sent out into the world for the first time to find and kill a man whom his parents have led him to believe to be a demon. Travelling to New York City, Archer meets a man named Armstrong and learns that he is the man he was sent to kill. They fight, but are both captured by a secret society known as the Sect. While captive, Archer escapes but discovers he was lied to by his parents, who are actually members of the Sect, and teams up with Armstrong to stop them from destroying the world.
Creation
Obadiah Archer was created by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith in 1992. For the Valiant relaunch in 2012, the character was re-imagined by writer Fred Van Lente.