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So Archie is getting married. To Veronica. Interesting. My gut reaction to this piece of news was “What!? But Veronica is such a snob! And Betty is, well, Betty! Sweet, innocent, doting Betty!” And heaps of people feel the same way. Archie comic readers everywhere are “outraged” according to the Globe and Mail article on the subject and when I posted the marriage notice on Facebook, I got similar reactions.

But then I took a second.

See, I always actually liked Veronica more. When I was little it was because she seemed more exotic than Betty’s good-girl-nextdoor image. She had better clothes, better hair, and all the boys were after her. Plus she had all this money!! As I got older though I started liking Veronica for different reasons. Veronica knew what she wanted and always got it. She was ruthless and authoritative. And Betty, well Betty did good things like help drowning puppies and plant trees and whatnot. But she was so….boring. And she was always whining about Archie and trying to win him over. That’s not the right image to be sending to girls (or boys for that matter) – “Keep nagging and pining and convince them to like you”? Ick. So I disagree with those who suggest that Archie only wanted Veronica for her money. I like to think that Archie wanted Veronica (and clearly still does) because she’s a stronger woman than Betty.

And despite what some people say, I think Veronica genuinely liked (likes) Archie. I don’t think that she wanted him because Betty wanted him or because he fawned all over her or because her dad didn’t like him. I like to think that Veronica liked Archie because he was a nice guy – because he was real. Reggie was always a dick and didn’t balance Veronica out in the right way. But Archie was a balanced fellow, with his average-good marks, his jalopy and his all-round good guy nature. And he didn’t put up with all of her crap (although he probably put up with more than he should have). I don’t understand why people aren’t happy that the nice guy won. Are we forgetting the competition between Reggie and Archie? Now what WOULD be outrageous is if Betty married Reggie. Then Betty is a bigger idiot than I thought.

Of course, there is always the idea that Archie was the real dick in this ridiculous (and yes, I realize, fake) love triangle. He kind of strung both girls along and really, got the best of both worlds in the process. Both girls longed for him and wanted to make him happy – and now he has deigned to choose one of them (implying that they did not have a choice in the matter – can Veronica say “No you tool, I will not marry you because it took you too bloody long to figure out just how fantastic I am”? No, she cannot). How very 1950s male. A raging feminist like myself should be upset that either girl would want to marry Archie – but I would be more upset if he chose Betty, only because then he’s choosing the steady girl who will do shit for him and, likely, having an affair with Veronica on the side. And Betty would say yes without thinking it through. Because she’s a good wifey type.

Anyway, that’s my opinion. Archie and Veronica = good pair. Thoughts?

Update: Just talked to A. and he thinks I’m like Betty. Because I’m nice. I don’t know how to take that. On the one hand, Betty IS nice. But on the other hand, she’s a wimp. Hmmm.