Jab's Builds: 2nd Edition Stuff (Kept in Reserve)

[Jabroniville]

BETTY COOPER
PL 2 (50)
ST 9 (-1) DEX 14 (+2) CON 12 (+1) INT 14 (+2) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 16 (+3)

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+7)
Craft (Mechanical) 4 (+6)
Diplomacy 3 (+6)
Drive 4 (+6)
Handle Animal 2 (+5)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 2 (+4)
Notice 1 (+2)
Perform (Tambourine or Guitar) 5 (+8)
Perform (Singing) 3 (+6)
Profession (Retail Bitch) 1 (+3)
Profession (Athlete) 4 (+6) -- Uses Dex
Profession (Homemaker) 8 (+10)
Profession (Teen Reporter) 2 (+4)
Sense Motive 2 (+3)
Survival 2 (+3)

Feats:
Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Dedication (Situations Involving "Archiekins"), Distract (Diplomacy), Set-Up, Teamwork

Saves:
Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Reflex +2, Will +4

Combat:
Attack +3, Damage -1, Defense +3, Initiative +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Loves Archie Andrews)
Obsession (Archie Andrews)
Responsibility (Best Friend- Veronica Lodge)
Rivalry (Veronica Lodge)
Rivalry (Cheryl Blossom)
Responsibility (Hometown of Riverdale)
Responsibility (Riverdale High)

Abilities: 17 / Skills: 48--12 / Feats: 6 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 3 / Combat: 12 (50)

-The Love Triangle here is one so intense, with so many aspects to it, that it may as well be the Ur-Example in all of fiction. 'Twasn't the first, not the last, and not the most complicated, but there's a reason Love Triangles are statted out by The Archie, The Betty and The Veronica. Poor Betty here represents The Betty: The less forceful, more needy, sad loner in the triad, constantly forced to watch as Ronnie wrests her easily-led "Archiekins" out of her grasp. Of course, complicating matters, both girls are BEST FRIENDS, and ultimately cheer for the other in any NON-Archie context. Now, how intense their rivalry and hatred for each other regarding Archie depends on the story, but most often, it's kind of a "we're best friends, but we hate stuff about each other, and fight over the same man" Frenemies-type thing. In real life, it'd probably be a WHOLE LOT less pretty than that, but remember what I said about Archie not really being an accurate reflection of actual teenage life. Then again, my sisters had all sorts of friends they told horrible stories about behind their backs. Maybe women are just a thousand times more evil than men. Nah, couldn't be .

-Now, Betty as a character APART from Archie is often just as interesting. Initially portrayed as a fairly dopey blonde in earlier stories (just read some of the clearly-50s-based bits in Digests), the Girl Power (better known as "Women's Lib") movement of the 60s hit, turning Betts into a wise, intelligent car mechanic with a plethora of skills. If it weren't for her never getting Archie, Betty would be the Mary Sue of a fanfic written by herself. Her "Betty's Diary" stories are among the best Archie stories around, because they have the classic "Self-Narrative" that's so popular in today's comics (it was way ahead of it's time in that regard), and often have the most poignant moments and storytelling. They dealth with alot of personal issues (obviously with a more kiddie bent) like dating, love, friendship, jealousy, etc., and were really a breath of fresh air from the "Whacky Antics" Archie gags. Oftentimes, her Diary issues didn't even have a joke at the end! They showed a lot more of the 'inner Betty' and her own family group (basically like Archie's, right down the hard-working chubby dad, but with SIBLINGS... both of whom are rarely remembered by modern-day writers. Poor Chick & Polly- they debuted in "Little Archie" stories, but only became "main continuity" characters since 1990 or so).

-I was always most fascinated with her relationship to Jughead, personally. Initially antagonistic (she was a "dame" and Jughead was VERY misogynistic in the early decades), they eventually became good friends, as Juggie was the only defender of Betty, often browbeating Archie for leaving her out in the cold. Jughead openly admitted Betty was the only girl he could see himself kissing (setting off a thousand Shipping sails- mine included!) back when that was an impossibility, and she similarly was closer to him than any other guy, admitting things that she never even told Archie. Betty rocks. I'm a big Betty supporter, and think Veronica supporters are sad people who have low self-esteem, so they want mean Ronnie to rule over them .

-Betty's more skilled and handy than Archie at just about everything, she just lacks in investigative Teen Spy skills. She's more "generic" a teen character without any Powers, but is altogether more useful than most of the Archie cast at various things. She's as pretty as Veronica (famously, they have identical figures and faces- one of the earliest and purest cases of Only Six Faces in the funny-books), but doesn't use it as much (she rarely goes all-out when she spiffies up, but WHEN SHE DOES...), and a much better team player, being as effective at getting people together and helping others out as Archie is.

[Arkrite]

I'd have dated Betty. ;~)

Liking the Riverdale builds. Hoping to see Forsythe Jones in the near future.

[Jabroniville]

http://www.the-isb.com/?p=308- An absolute must-see.

VERONICA LODGE
PL 2 (38)
ST 9 (-1) DEX 12 (+1) CON 10 INT 10 WIS 10 CHA 20 (+5)

Skills:
Bluff 2 (+7)
Intimidate 1 (+6)
Investigate 3 (+3)
Knowledge (Business) 4 (+4)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 6 (+6)
Language (French, Bits and Pieces of Various) 1
Perform (Keyboard) 3 (+8)
Perform (Singing) 1 (+6)
Sense Motive 2 (+2)

Feats:
Attractive, Benefit (Daddy's Wealth), Contacts (Daddy's Favours), Dedication (Situations Involving Jealousy), Distract (Bluff), Fascinate (Intimidate), Favored Opponent (Teenage Boys), Rage

Saves:
Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Reflex +1, Will +2

Combat:
Attack +3, Damage -1 (+0 Teenage Boys), Defense +3, Initiative +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Loves Archie Andrews)
Responsibility (Best Friend- Betty Cooper)
Rivalry (Betty Cooper)
Reputation (Spoiled Bitch)
Rivalry (Jughead Jones)
Rivalry (Cheryl Blossom)

Abilities: 10 / Skills: 24--6 / Feats: 8 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 2 / Combat: 12 (38)

-And we come to The Veronica of the Love Triangle. Ronnie is mean, vindictive, hyper-jealous and full of tremendous anger. She's relentlessly spoiled, tries to change Archie, thinks she owns him, flaunts her wealth, and is obsessed with her own image. She's controlling, dependent, rotten to others, and all-around is kind of unpleasant. But of course she's a hot brunette, so she's still got tons of male fans who "Ship" her & Archie. Stupid boys and their "Battered Woman Syndrome" (ie. "As long as she's hot, I'll put up with ANYTHING!")- way to prove that all those "Jerk With a Heart Of Gold" fans aren't just misguided women . Seriously though, Ron HAS her moments in the sun, and really tends to come to her senses after hurting Betty's feelings in most stories (unless it involves Archie- then things are basically "All's Fair"). Just HOW mean Veronica was has altered very much over the years, with her most selfish tendencies appearing early on. Nowadays, you actually see ads going "Are you a Betty or a Veronica" as if BEING VERONICA was an acceptable choice for a little girl to imagine herself being.

-Veronica has a few interesting relationships with other characters. Being best friends AND enemies with Betty creates some good stuff (where they argue but ultimately love each other). She pretty much DESPISES Jughead most of the time, having the same view of him that most girls have of their significant others' most lazy, annoying and vulgar friends. She & Reggie are usually comrades in arms, seeming to have more in common than her & Archie ever will (she frequently dumps poor Arch at a moment's notice when his car breaks down or he runs out of money, so she can go date Reg), but ultimately there's no love there.

-Veronica is much worse off than Betty with her talents- she's got Rage (she can get VERY angry VERY quickly, often scaring grown men), but has far fewer skills, street smarts, survivability or anything like that. She's pretty much just hot, and uses that to her best advantage with her ultra-high Charisma score. Having Teenage Boys as a Favored Opponent doesn't hurt (just watch what happens to Archie when Ron gets mad). Her Dedication is based entirely around Jealousy- if somebody else has something (usually Archie, but occasionally a new fancy dress or fashion-statement), she wants it- and gets boosts because of it.

[Jabroniville]

MISTER HIRAM LODGE
PL 2 (44)
ST 9 (-1) DEX 10 CON 10 INT 16 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3)

Skills:
Bluff 2 (+5)
Diplomacy 2 (+5)
Intimidate 3 (+6)
Knowledge (Business) 12 (+15)
Knowledge (History) 2 (+5)
Notice 1 (+3)
Profession (Chief Executive Officer) 10 (+13)
Profession (Gardener) 8 (+11)
Sense Motive 4 (+6)

Feats:
Benefit (Wealth) 4, Contacts, Minions 5 (Several Mansion Staffers), Sidekick 6 (Smithers), Ultimate Skill (Business)

Saves:
Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Reflex +0, Will +4

Combat:
Attack +0, Damage -1, Defense +0, Initiative +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Family- Hermione & Veronica)
Responsibility (Lodge Enterprises)
Rivalry (Archie Andrews)

Abilities: 15 / Skills: 44--11 / Feats: 16 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 2 / Combat: 0 (44)

SMITHERS
PL 2 (28)
ST 16 (+3) DEX 10 CON 12 (+1) INT 10 WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10

Skills:
Diplomacy 4 (+4)
Intimidate 6 (+6)
Knowledge (Current Events) 4 (+4)
Notice 3 (+5)
Profession (Butler) 8 (+8)
Sense Motive 3 (+5)

Feats:
Improved Grab, Improved Throw, Tough

Saves:
Toughness +2, Fortitude +1, Reflex +0, Will +2

Combat:
Attack +2, Damage +2, Defense +1, Initiative +0

Abilities: 12 / Skills: 28--7 / Feats: 3 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 0 / Combat: 6 (28)

-Good ol' Mister Lodge is the best 'parent' character in Riverdale. No disrespect to Fred & Mary Andrews, who are nice characters (and Mrs. A was quite the Hot Shonen Mom back in the "Little Archie" years) with quite a few facets, but Lodge is the man. A mix of wealthy business magnate and "Overprotective Dad", Lodge despises Archie for the destruction he causes (though occasionally sees the brighter side of the well-meaning boy), and is frequently aghast ("Egad!" is his favourite saying) at the antics of Ronnie and her friends. He likes Betty (a grounding influence on Ron), but can't stand the layabout slob Jughead, and he just doesn't 'get' his daughter, either. The shopping bills probably don't help. A frequent schtick of Hiram's is to get annoyed at either Ronnie's spending, or depressed at how much his wealth has made her spoiled.

-Lodge is a pretty standard businessman (though with high-level Skills and Wealth to back him up), with Smithers as a Sidekick. Smithers is much better at fighting than Lodge (who usually has to spend a Hero Point from one of his Complications), as he's easily able to heft up Arch or Jug and launch them twenty feet out the front door.

[Dreaming Psion]

Ya know, if you stat up Red Fever, then with your Punisher writeup you can reenact Archie Meets the Punisher.

Also, nice touch on the Clumsy "Blast".

[Jabroniville]

Jughead Jones: Super-Pimp. Who knew?

FORSTYHE PENDLETON "JUGHEAD" JONES III
PL 2 (50)
ST 10 DEX 10 CON 11 INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10

Skills:
Bluff 7 (+7)
Diplomacy 4 (+4)
Escape Artist 3 (+3)
Handle Animal 4 (+4)
Investigate 3 (+5)
Knowledge (History) 8 (+10) -- Flaws: Limited to Involving Chefs
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 6 (+8)
Notice 2 (+4)
Perform (Drums) 8 (+8)
Profession (Chef) 5 (+7)
Search 3 (+5)
Sense Motive 5 (+7)
Stealth 2 (+2)

Feats:
Dedication (Food), Distract (Bluff), Favored Opponent (Dark-Haired Rich People), Sidekick 1 (Hot Dog), Taunt

Powers:
Speed 2 (Flaws: Limited to Situations Involving Food or Big Ethel) [1]
Immunity 1 (Seduction) [1]
Matter-Eater 4 (Flaws: Limited to Actually Edible Materials, No Poison Immunity) [6]

Saves:
Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Reflex +1, Will +4

Combat:
Attack +2, Damage +0 (+1 Dark-Haired Rich People), Defense +4, Initiative +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Loves Debbie & Joani)
Responsibility (Best Pal- Archie Andrews)
Responsibility (Gal-Pal- Betty Cooper)
Rivalry (Veronica Lodge)
Rivalry (Reggie Mantle)
Rivalry (Trula Twyst)
Obsession (Food)
Secret (The "S" Sweater)

Abilities: 6 / Skills: 56--14 / Feats: 5 / Powers: 8 / Saves: 4 / Combat: 12 (50)

HOT DOG
PL 2 (5), Sidekick Rank 1
ST 10 DEX 10 CON 10 INT 8 (-1) WIS 10 CHA 8 (-1)

Skills:
Sense Motive 4 (+4)

Feats:
Attack Focus (Melee) 2, Improved Grab

Powers:
Super-Senses 4 (Low-light Vision, Track, Scent, Ultra-Hearing) [4]
"Bite" Strike 1 (Feats: Mighty) [2]
Speed 2 (Flaws: Limited to Situations Involving Food or Girl Dogs) [1]

Saves:
Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Reflex +0, Will +2

Combat:
Attack +0 (+2 Melee), Damage +0 (+1 Bite), Defense +2, Initiative +2

Drawbacks:
No Hands [-4]
Mute [-4]

Complications:
Obsession (Food)
Responsibility (Owner- Jughead)
Obsession (Female Dogs)

Abilities: -4 / Skills: 4--1 / Feats: 3 / Powers: 7 / Saves: 2 / Combat: 4 / Drawbacks: -8 (5)

-Oh, Jughead, how you are my favourite. I think Jug appealed to me as a kid because I, too, hated dames (cooties, and all). Nowadays, he's just spectacular for so many OTHER reasons aside from horrible misogyny. His backstory (revealed in the early 90s) is utterly fascinating: he had a childhood crush on a little girl named Joani Jummp, and it broke his heart when she moved away. So to this day, he keeps her picture in his wallet, reminding himself that love only brings pain, and the simpler world of food is so much more rewarding. This is DEEP STUFF for an Archie book, people. Frickin' Daredevil has a lamer origin story than that! This allows him to be the "Straight Man" to Heterosexual Life Partner Archie the Girl-Crazy, despite being a comparative goofball with a famously odd dress sense.

-About the hat: Kids actually ONCE DRESSED LIKE THAT, cutting up their father's old discarded fedoras into jagged-edged beanies- oftentimes, it symbolized that the wearer was a mechanic. Nowadays, Juggie is the only person in the universe still wearing one. The "S" Sweater is more mysterious- another storyline by the same artist & writer as the "Joani" one that had the Jones family moving away featured Jug ALMOST telling Archie the secret of the "S", only to have it revealed at the last second that the Jones family WASN'T moving after all.

-Jughead's relationships are varied and complex. With Archie, Jug tries to rein in his excesses (and vice-versa), keeping him on a path away from girls (especially Veronica). Jug, as stated, feels that women bring only trouble, so he tries to protect his good buddy. Plus, women leave Archie with no time or money for Jugs. With Veronica, Jug has his worst rival, and she can't stand the slob. Reggie is even worse, being a prankster with the target often on Jughead, so they have a massive prank war going. With Betty (as I've gone into before) we have a very interesting and unique partnership, where if Jughead tries to push ANY girl on Arch, it's Betty. It helps that she's one of the top cooks in Riverdale. The adults tend to view him differently. The teachers admit he's intelligent, but hate his laziness and slovenly behavior. Pop Tate loves his service, but hates his tab. The only one who loves him unconditionally is Hot Dog.

-Jughead and Women: Like I said, he rejects women. Most of the time. However, the same strip that introduced his backstory also brought Joani Jummp BACK to Riverdale, at the exact same time Jughead got a crush on ANOTHER woman (named Debbie). So Jughead now all of a sudden had not only conflicted feelings, rejecting his old food-only days, but had TWO women to pick from. Oh, the IRONY was sweet. These remarkably adult, morose stories are easily my favourite Archie strips of all time, dealing with irony, sadness, misanthropy, love, hate, rivalry and indecision. Of course, Jug and those girls resulted in some ignoring of poor Big Ethel, who up to this point had been a Gonk-ish hideous trollbeast who was always chasing Juggie in one of the series' longest running gags. To avoid hurting her feelings (he claims to hate all women, but all of a sudden he's got TWO? The CAD.), she was written out for a while.

-Circa a couple years later, both Joani & Debbie were written out (*sob*) and never heard from again, as we all know that in Archie Comics: Status Quo IS GOD. Still, though, it was nice while it lasted. Honestly, the only bad thing I can say about that whole thing was that the girls were kind of Flat Characters. No outstanding characteristics beyond being in love with Jughead, major flaws, etc.

-Jughead is one of the odd ones to stat up. He's a worse fighter and weaker than Archie unless a Rich Dark-Haired Person is invovled (Reggie fits the bill), but his wall-to-wall Complications can give him a TON of Hero Points in any encounter. He's got lower Abilities than most of the gang (but is pretty high in Wisdom for THIS group), but makes up for them with Betty-like skill at various things. He's knowledgeable on all things Food-related, is a great Drummer, and has various investigative skills picked up from Archie. Hot Dog as a Sidekick isn't really a boost, as he's got lower stats than your common Wolf across the board (despite being nearly as intelligent as some people- and MORESO than Big Moose)- I'm not giving him his giant Super-Science Dog House that he had in that crack-induced "Archie" period that involved the R/C Racers, Jughead's Diner and Time Police, but he's still pretty bright- able to understand and react to people accordingly.

-Jughead, like Archie, gets honest-to-God powers. He can run like the wind if food is involved (or Big Ethel is chasing him)- so he can blast off at Speed 2 if he sees a "Pop Tate's Special" sign or something like that. He is totally 100% immune to a single Interaction- Seduction. No woman can properly seduce him (one time, a cousin of Ronnie's decided to "test" Archie's loyalty to Ron by attempting to seduce him... mistaking Juggie for Arch, she left frustrated a few minutes later after putting on her absolutely Fanservicey display ever going "That boy would be safe in a HAREM!"), which makes him the sole possessor of that ability in all Archie Comics. Last of all is his Matter-Eater power. Jughead has frequently proven able to consume ANY amount of edible matter (he once prepared for a Hamburger Eating Contest by eating 50 burgers earlier in the day) no matter what- easily giving him a Power- but he doesn't get any of the Immunities or Non-Edible Eating powers that it normally bestows, meaning he pays the first 5 pp, then pays 1 for the next four.

[Jabroniville]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the definition of "Art Evolution/Fail Polish".

BIG ETHEL MUGGS
PL 2 (40), PL 3 (40) to Over-Eaters in Funny Hats
ST 15 (+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 12 (+1) WIS 10 CHA 12 (+1)

Skills:
Bluff 4 (+5)
Craft (Structural) 8 (+9) -- Flaws: Limited to Doll-Sized Accessories
Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 4 (+5)
Notice 4 (+4)
Profession (Chef) 6 (+7)
Profession (Athlete) 4 (+6) -- Uses Dex
Search 5 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Feats:
Endurance, Favored Opponent (Over-Eating Kids With Funny Hats), Fearsome Presence 2 (Flaws: Limited to Males), Improved Grab, Improved Pin

Saves:
Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +2

Combat:
Attack +2, Damage +2 (+3 Favored), Defense +2, Initiative +0

Complications:
Obsession (Jughead Jones)
Reputation (Hit Every Branch On The Ugly Tree On The Way Down)

Abilities: 17 / Skills: 28--7 / Feats: 5 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 2 / Combat: 8 (40)

-Oh Big Ethel, how things are funny when you're involved. See, she was initially just a one-note gag: the unwanted Lena Hyena/Sadie Hawkins-style admirer of the LAST guy in town likely to fall for her (not only was she hideous, but he didn't even like HOT girls!). And ugly she certainly was- an elongated face, a single tooth at the front of her mouth (a la Miss Grundy back in the day), a bob that was out of fashion even in 1963, a body that made Olive Oyl look like Scarlett Johannsen, and the fashion sense of a schoolmarm. Pretty much the MAJOR exception to the "Every chick in Archie Comics has the same body type" rule. Most of the time, she was a mix of sympathetic and funny- she chased Jughead, cried when she couldn't get him, but it was kind of darkly humorous because it was all so hopeless.

-Fast forward a few dozen years, and plenty has changed. There's more pathos to her character, and she has traits OTHER than chasing Jughead and trying to wile him. She builds miniature dollhouse stuff, she's athletic, and she even dated a blind boy for a while (it was supposed to be an Aesop about not judging by appearances, but it's kind of broken when you think about what it says- She's so ugly that only a BLIND BOY could love her). As Jughead warmed to women over time, he also went on a few willing dates with Ethel, and treated her more like a human being. Of course, when they gave him his OWN Love Triangle, they skipped poor Ethel, who was left as a hanger-on, because nobody could believe her as a reasonable symbol of love (note: the recent "New Look" storyline featured Jughead semi-hooking up with ANOTHER girl, when nary a mention of the poor Gonkish Ethel).

-What's REALLY funny is nowadays Ethel's merely "odd-looking" instead of "hideous man-beast". She's drawn with actual lips, all her teeth, semi-modern hairstyles (as modern as they get in ARCHIE COMICS, anyways), she actually has bosoms (more like A-Cups, but still better than "shaped like the inside of a spoon"), and her only hints of being ugly come from her still-long face. One of the more notable art shifts over the years (arguably the biggest- most of the mom characters are now pretty hot, and Jughead's mom went from "Jughead in Drag" to "attractive older woman" to "OK looking woman with "Jones Nose").

-This is a mid-range Ethel, covering most of the bases. She's actually one of the most athletic and strong members of the cast- she's able to capture and hold down guys like Jughead, and one story had her kick some serious ass on the wrestling team (against MALES). She's got some moderate Skills (often based on chasing poor Jughead), Endurance, Favored Opponent (with a rather narrow focus), two ranks of Fearsome Presence against Males (just LOOK AT HER in the old stories), and some grappling talents to hold unwilling boys down. Ethel can be rather scary.

[Jabroniville]

"Superfluous Black Character..!"
"My name is CHUCK."

CHUCK CLAYTON
PL 3 (35)
ST 14 (+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 WIS 12 (+1) CHA 12 (+1)

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+4)
Craft (Art) 7 (+7)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 4 (+4)
Notice 2 (+3)
Profession (Athlete) 4 (+6) -- Uses Dex
Sense Motive 1 (+2)

Feats:
Accurate Attack, Attack Focus (Melee) 2

Saves:
Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +2

Combat:
Attack +2 (+4 Melee), Damage +2, Defense +3, Initiative +0

Complications:
Obsession (Art)
Responsibility (Girlfriend, Nancy Woods)
Responsibility (Riverdale High)

Abilities: 16 / Skills: 20--5 / Feats: 3 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 1 / Combat: 10 (35)

-Chuck is probably the most successful of all the 'side characters' added to the Archie books over the years. See, the 1970s was the era of comics where "Token Black Guys" were showing up ALL OVER THE PLACE- Dennis the Menace, Charlie Brown, Archie Andrews, etc. were all finding black friends to hang out with in the interests of equality (people make fun, but in this era, that was pretty much necessary), while black superheroes were becoming the rage in the 'manly' books. Chuck is arguably the one with the most staying power out of all of them, despite never headlining his own series (he's only had a handful of major stories to his name as well- the "Animal Krackers" story that imagined the gang as animal-people, and the recent cartooning-themed run)- he's been around since the '70s in roughly the exact same position (ie. "Main friend of the gang except for all the other main characters").

-Personality-wise, he's altered a bit. Initially he was pretty much just a generic kid, a dumb teenager like most of the others, but a bit more athletic (his dad WAS the gym coach and all...). Eventually a Token Relationship was born when Nancy (who's last name is Woods, believe it or not- and if you think CHUCK was a flat character, think about his GIRL. She couldn't BE more generic!) arrived in Riverdale, and they've been the most standard couple of the whole universe since then; their only arguments coming up when Chuck ignores her for his art. Yeah, that's right, the "school athlete" thing was deemed too obvious for a black kid (even though at the time it was probably rather unique and timely), so they made him the official stand-in for all the would-be artists out there, focusing on his graphical skills. Not a bad switch, I guess.

-I kinda like Chuck. He lacks many of the bizarre flaws the rest of the gang have to make him stand out more (Archie's foolishness, Jugs' weirdness, Reggie's ego, Betty's niceness, Ronnie's bitchiness, Dilton's genius, Moose's brawn/stupidity), which actually makes him pretty unique. He's a good enough character that he outlasted every other silly "Added character" to the Archie mythos since then- you think it's hard for Marvel and DC to successfully introduce new heroes? Tell that to Jinx Malloy, Cricket O'Dell, Adam the Alien, Frankie Valdez, Maria Rodriguez, Cheryl Blossom, Debbie, Joani Jummp and Wendy "Double-W" Weatherbee, all of whom have appeared and disappeared since then.

-Chuck's fairly simple and straightforward, but boosted a bit given his time as the school's resident jock and boxer (I've read enough stories featuring him boxing to make it Build-worthy, I think), plus some artistic skills. He's devoid of many character flaws beyond overly-focusing on his art, which leads him to some duncey decisions (and an angry girlfriend), but otherwise is a PL higher than the 'normal' gang and not really bad at anything.

[Jabroniville]

In a universe full of perky, curvy women, SHE stands out as "The Hot One!" Dan DeCarlo, you certainly are missed.

CHERYL BLOSSOM
PL 2 (30)
ST 9 (-1) DEX 12 (+1) CON 10 INT 10 WIS 10 CHA 20 (+5)

Skills:
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 8 (+8)
Perform (Acting) 2 (+7)
Profession (Socialite) 4 (+4)
Sense Motive 2 (+2)

Feats:
Attractive 2, Benefit (Daddy's Wealth), Contacts (Hollywood), Dedication (Situations Involving Fame), Distract (Bluff), Favored Opponent (Teenage Boys)

Saves:
Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Reflex +1, Will +1

Combat:
Attack +2, Damage -1 (+0 Teenage Boys), Defense +2, Initiative +0

Complications:
Obsession (Getting Famous)
Responsibility (Crush on Archie Andrews)
Rivalry (Pembrooke Versus Riverdale)
Reputation (Spoiled Bitch, even by Ronnie's Standards)
Rivalry (Veronica & Betty)

Abilities: 10 / Skills: 16--4 / Feats: 7 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 1 / Combat: 8 (30)

-Cheryl Blossom's an odd part of Archie history. She debuted in the mid-80s alongside her more generic brother Jason, as a pair of preppies from Pembrooke, a rival town of Riverdale. Disrespecting the others as "Townies", Cheryl was nonetheless rather taken with Archie, competing with both Betty & Ron for him. Now what Archie would have that attracts ALL THREE women is unknown to science, but the evidence is right there. Now Cheryl was sexy. As in, sexy by ARCHIE standards, when every woman ALREADY has the "Dan DeCarlo"-drawn body-type down to an exact science. Every girl was thin and perky, with big boobs and nice, round butts. But Cheryl? Cheryl was basically Pamela Anderson in her prime, but with red hair. Even her FACE was a little different, having extra-big lips and more seductive, long-lashed eyes compared to the other girls. Pretty much Fanservice incarnate.

-This may have led to her disappearance within a few years, actually, as no doubt mothers would be unimpressed by Ms. Sexpot steaming up the pages of the 'innocent' Archie books (never mind the fact that the bikini spreads of Betty & Ronnie were condusive to many a sticky bedsheet for many prepubescent boys...). It was the mid-90s before they brought her back as a HUGE shock ending to the "Love Showdown", one of the very first Archie "Event" stories. Returning to Riverdale to win over Archie once and for all, Cheryl became a major Archie character. A MAJOR one. To the point where she was appearing in a Limited Series every month (one series would end, and another would begin), get tons of covers, then her own recurring series, etc. Her publicity in the Archie-verse nearly rivaled Wolverine's in Marvel, let's just put it that way.

-Ultimately, it wouldn't last. As the character was always basically "Veronica Plus One", a bitcher, sexier, harsher variant of the Rich Bitch archetype, her OWN shift into "Jerk With a Heart of Gold" status (which you pretty much have to do when she's the protagonist) really just made her "Veronica As Before". They shifted her character focus from "girl stealing Archie from his intended" to "girl who wants to go Hollywood", and that lasted a while, but people grew tired of her. Before a couple years had passed, her own book was cancelled and she 'retired' from Archie Comics again, this time announcing her moving away and "giving" Archie up to Betts & Ron. She'd return in less than a year, but was done as a main character, instead showing up from time-to-time flirting with Reggie, e-dating Dilton (seriously), and finally getting a new boyfriend via some reader poll. So she's around, but not as anybody important.

-Cheryl stats up as a cheaper, less-skilled Veronica, but with an extra rank of Attractive (in a world where every single woman is built in a way that makes normal girls green with envy, SHE stands out as "The Hot One"). Very much the same thing, which is kind of the problem with her character.

[TroyXavier]

Ahh, Archie's problem summed up in a few words.......repetition is good, change is bad. However when they do change, they tend to go overboard.

Love the builds...Cheryl was a lot of fun for a while but they dropped the ball on her. Of course I liked both Cricket (she wasn't the typical Archie girl) and Maria (who probably could outfight any guy there and still act like girl), but in the end, they always go back to the core 5 plus Moose, Midge and Dilton.

[MorningKnight]

Jab - you're too on the spot about young male Archie fans and the gorgeous gals of Riverdale. *sigh* If only Ronnie had Betty's attitude. (What can I say? I like brunettes.)

[Davies]

Um, unless you're house-ruling, Cheryl effectively has 8 ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy from her Attractive, so she has to be PL 3.

Chris Davies.

[Jabroniville]

I tend to ignore Skill-modifiers and such vis-a-vis PL, especially for NPC or gag-character types. Never made sense to me that someone like a Genius Scientist with no combat ability would be PL 6 or 7 with a bunch of ranks in Physical Sciences, y'know?

But I think the PL limits only apply to Ranks in skills- she gets her boosts from Attractive, so I'm not sure if that even counts.

[FuzzyBoots]

I tend to ignore Skill-modifiers and such vis-a-vis PL, especially for NPC or gag-character types. Never made sense to me that someone like a Genius Scientist with no combat ability would be PL 6 or 7 with a bunch of ranks in Physical Sciences, y'know?

I completely agree with you on that point, at least for NPCs.

But I think the PL limits only apply to Ranks in skills- she gets her boosts from Attractive, so I'm not sure if that even counts.

Nope, although Green Ronin usually gets the question wrong too in their books (Silver Age was an exception, amazingly, although other errors made it through), Attractive counts against your PLs.

[Davies]

Nope, although Green Ronin usually gets the question wrong too in their books.

Sometimes to an insane degree. (I'm looking at you, Time of Vengeance!)