Who was Archer?


Who was Rin's servant Archer in Fate Stay Night? In the anime, it shows no
reference to who he is or how he became a heroic spirit. But in the Manga, it
only shows how he became a heroic spirit.

The Holy Grail takes the soul or spirit from people of legends and myths. So
who was Archer in Fate Stay Night?

  * Only answer from Fate Stay Night, anime or manga. It would get confusing if somebody gives an answer that is true from a different universe or timeline.




Unlike the other herioc spirits (Aurthur, Alexander the Great, etc), Archer
is:

> Shirou Emiya of an alternate future timeline who made a contract with
> [Gaia](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Gaia) and became the Heroic Spirit
> _Emiya_ , acting as the [Counter
> Guardian](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Counter_Guardian#Counter_Guardians)
> of the world to fulfill his contract.

There were hints about this when Archer sees Shirou for the first time
because:

> He purposely wanted to be summoned into an era where the young Shirou Emiya
> would be around for the Grail war so that killing the younger version of
> himself may cause a paradox that would break his contract.

So the simple answer to your question is that:

> Archer is the future version of Shirou Emiya.

