A character who became the name of the company who publishes his books. Archie Andrews has been through so many adventures since his creation in 1941. He’s gone from deciding which girl to date, to fighting off heroes, working with them, dealing with aliens and zombies, solving mysteries, and so much more. So who is this kid? Let’s find out!
Archibald “Archie” Andrews is the son of Fred and Mary Andrews and resides in the town of Riverdale. Riverdale was originally in New York, based off a real place in the Bronx, but soon became its own entity that could belong to any larger land mass. Archie is a typical high schooler from a middle class family, his biggest troubles were meeting school demands and figuring out whether he wanted to date the wealthy, Veronica Lodge, or the girl next door, Betty Cooper. This would lead to all sorts of hijinx along with adventures with his burger-loving best pal, Jughead Jones.
Having all manner of love triangle foibles and melodrama, Archie would end up in silly teen comedic adventure for decades, but as time passed, things got weirder and weirder in Riverdale and especially for Archie and company. Riverdale is neighboring Greendale, a town that houses Sabrina Spellman, a teenage witch, so many magical adventures could be head when Archie crossed paths with Sabrina. This would include zombies in which Archie and his friends would have to deal with the forces of the undead.
Not only was there magic, but sometimes superheroes would come into Riverdale. One time, Archie shared the visage of a known criminal that the Punisher, yes, that Punisher, was searching for. Frank Castle had Archie in his sights until he realized the mix up and things were able to play out as they do for the gun-toting vigilante. At other times, Archie has found himself working with the Caped Crusader himself, Batman. There’s a whole slew of masked heroes and villains that have been a part of Archie’s life at one point or another.
There’s even been alien invasions to Riverdale where Archie would face off the likes of the premiere hunter species, the Yuatja, commonly referred to as the Predator. Sometimes picking between two girls isn’t nearly as much trouble, but what if you add another girl like Cheryl Blossom to the mix? Probably the Predator is still a bigger threat. Archie often finds himself in a dangerous life for such a simple little town like Riverdale.
Despite all those dangers, even Archie can have his luck run out. In a possible future, where he’s finally settled down, he stands up for a friend, for the last time. Archie’s friend Kevin Keller has become a senator who is working for gun control. Archie stands by his friend and his work, until he has to stand in front of him to stop a gunman. Archie dies a hero, protecting his friend. This is one possible ending for kid from Riverdale.
There you have it! Archie Andrews is one endearing character and has had many incarnations over the decades. He’s been on the small screen several times, animated and in live action. His most recent exploits are in a soap opera of murder and intrigue. What will Archie and the rest of the Riverdale gang get into next? We literally have no idea. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Archie
Little Archie
Life with Archie
Afterlife with Archie
Archie Versus Predator
Dr.
Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
