Random Musings: Archie Comics and Betty Cooper

Three or so months ago my (formerly mentioned) friend Leo sent me a link to an article similar to this one. Years ago, around the time that we first met, I was enamored with the world of Archie Comics. I rooted for Betty and Archie, cursed Veronica when she foiled their dates, and generally spent a ridiculous amount of money collecting those comics. Now, as a twenty-year-old, I remember Archie and the rest of the Riverdale gang with the same fondness that previous generations remember Beverly Hills 90210 and Dynasty.

I decided that I wanted to read this new, purportedly more mature Archie storyline. So far only the first two comics in the six part series have come out, but spoilers for future issues are all over the internet. Basically Archie proposes to Veronica, marries her, gets a top job at her gazillionaire father's international conglomerate, and eventually has a pair of twins with her. Given that this is the Archie Comics universe, where things fall easily into place for the sake of telling a decent story in a limited number of pages, I shouldn't have been surprised that Archie lands a job (fresh out of college and with a degree in history) that will provide him with more money than he could spend in a lifetime; unemployment and mortgages and foreclosures are probably still a bit too "mature" for Archie's universe. What fascinates me more than the fluffily amusing "problems" Archie faces in marrying Veronica (purchasing a tuxedo that fits, etcetera) is how people on the internet (also, apparently, former Archie Comics readers) have rallied to the side of Betty Cooper: Archie's "other" girlfriend, Veronica's sometimes best friend, and the obviously "better" choice for Archie.

"You're just too good for the boy," concludes one blogger. Another fan reportedly sold off his rare copy of the first issue of the comic series in protest of the "pending" nuptials. Being a longtime Betty fan I almost joined their ranks, but then I had a thought: what about Betty made her so much better than Veronica? (I know this sounds a bit odd - putting all this thought into a comic book series - but bear with me.)

In some ways Betty Cooper is a very admirable female character. She's smart, athletic, and above all kind. She had goals and aspirations (often explored in her diary entries) that Veronica never seemed to possess. But at the same time one of Betty's trademark characteristics is that she allows Archie to use her over and over again. No matter how many times Archie dumps her sweet blond self for the sultry Veronica, she comes right back to him. Another thing that bothers me is the way in which the Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle pits two supposed best friends against one another in the pursuit of a commonly liked boy. I don't think Archie Comics are harmful (at all!) but I do think that young girls who read them should learn to examine the lessons that their characters teach at an early age. If I have daughters do I want to give them comic books where the “strong” female character’s lifelong goal is to become Mrs. Archie Andrews, no matter how many times he throws her over for another woman?

Veering off from the Betty-geared post: another commonly recycled plot line involves a big, slow-witted football player named Moose physically attacking other guys who date his "girl" Midge. I've always sort of wondered A) why Moose would stay with a girl who ran around on him so often and B) why Midge would stay with a guy who loses control of his temper when she hangs out with other boys. Once again, is this a social behavior lesson I would want my young daughter (0r son, for that matter) to learn? I'm not so sure.

This kind of deviates from my normal "Sam's life" oriented posts - but maybe I'll add more random musings about more random topics as time goes on. Hopefully I'll get better at organizing my thoughts, too. I realize that this post wanders a bit!