Archie Goodwin is one of the two
imaginary protagonists of a long series of
mystery novels by
Rex Stout. In some ways he is remniscent of
Watson in the
Sherlock Holmes novels, but there are several major differences.
Watson doesn't actually help much, he just provides a foil and writes about what happened. Archie does the leg work for Wolfe, who is not very athletic and tries not to leave his house on business. Archie is smart, although he can't follow
Nero Wolfe at his best. Archie's ability to get along well with women helps his boss out.
In my opinion the relationship and usually friendly conflict between the two characters is much more balanced and interesting as a result.