Jughead Jones

**Forsythe Pendleton** "**Jughead**" **Jones III** is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in the series who first appeared in the first Archie story, from *Pep Comics* #22 (December 1941). He is the son of John Jones II; in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he himself is identified as John Jugworth Jones III (and in one strip, likely due to continuity error, as Forsythe Van Jones). He has a white sheepdog named Hot Dog and a younger sister, Forsythia "Jellybean" Jones.

Jughead (sometimes shortened to Jug or Juggie) is the best friend of Archie Andrews. Jughead is a smart, sharp-tongued, laid-back, easy going and eccentric high school student. He is obsessed with eating food.

## Concept and creation

Bob Montana stated that Jughead was a character he imagined, unlike other characters in the series who were based on people he knew. Montana's widow, Peg Bertholet, stated that high school friend of Montana's named Skinny Linehan supposedly had some of Jughead's peculiar traits. Bertholet has stated that the "S" insignia refers to a location called Skunk Hill in Haverhill, Massachusetts which Montana turned into Squirrel Hill. The "S" alludes to a combination of the location and Montana's elementary school athletic team near Haverhill called the Tigers. Bertholet has stated that "S" stands for "'Squirrel Hill Independent Tigers,' and you couldn't abbreviate it any other way."

## Fictional Character Biography

Jughead generally has a characteristic wry and sarcastic sense of humor. He is considered a bit of an oddity, but prefers his nonconformism as opposed to going along with others' styles. His many quirks make him the butt of teasing and abuse from Reggie, Veronica, and even other classmates and teachers. Many episodes involve Reggie and Jughead trying to outdo one another with pranks and bets, and Jughead almost always comes out the victor. He is revealed to be extremely clever and creative when necessary and he often takes advantage of Reggie's and his other tormentors' weaknesses (and has fun all the while).

In the earlier comics, a running gag involved various characters trying to discover Jughead's real name, while Jughead thwarted their efforts. In one story, Archie Andrews andReggie Mantle go to the school office, where a woman tells them that Jughead's real first name is Steve. After Archie and Reggie leave the office, the audience learns that the woman is actually Jughead's aunt who has just lied as a favor to Jughead to help keep his real first name (Forsythe) hidden. In another story (issue #1 of "The Jughead Jones Comics Digest," June 1977) we find out he is named after his ancestor who is an American hero. For a brief time, Jughead started to use his given name in honor of his ancestor. After learning that this ancestor was married nine times, Jughead reverted to his nickname. In the Little Archie series, his real name is revealed by Miss Grundy at the start of class. He also believes his name attracts girls as in a strip, his name was mentioned and it made the girls crazed for him.

Another mystery that follows Jughead's character is the meaning of the "S" on his sweatshirt. This remains a mystery to this day, although many stories have hinted at a meaning.

## Food obsession

Jughead is known for his love of food, especially hamburgers, and his ability to consume absurdly large quantities in a single sitting without getting sick or gaining weight, although he often sports a pot-belly immediately after a particularly large meal. Jughead is a preferred customer of most of Riverdale's food establishments, especially Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe, except when he is behind on paying his usually lengthy tab. In one story, he was given a "Restaurant Club Card" and ate out at high-class restaurants until he found out how much interest the card charged, and Pop Tate loaned him the money on the condition that he eat exclusively at the Chok'lit Shoppe. His ability to eat so much food without gaining weight is attributed to a very rare and implausibly high metabolism. He once claimed that he weighed 300 pounds after a meal, although he is usually portrayed as slim and healthy.

Jughead's special abilities concerning food extend to being able to identify food in a sealed can by smell, and being able to detect the slightest flaws in food preparation by taste. As such, he is a respected food critic, as well as a gourmet chef himself. One time, when he sought out Miss Grundy's help with his creative writing, she suggested that he write about a subject he knew, leading to the "Forsythe P. Jones Cookbook".

Jughead often participates in eating contests, usually winning outright, or else easily coming from behind after comic distractions, and often with room to spare while the competitor retires unwell. In a citywide eating contest, he ate a colossal burger made up of sixteen different burgers. Jughead also set two world records for eating pizza; one for speed-eating a pizza, and another for eating the most pizzas in one sitting: twelve. Jughead's appetite is so large that even if he eats shortly before such contests, it does not affect his performance. For example, a rival high school once sent a girl, Jane Dough, to take Jughead to various restaurants and feed him as much as possible. Amazingly, Jughead still managed to win the contest. He explained to Jane that top athletes need to train constantly in order to stay in shape, and she actually helped him "train" for the contest.

One running gag depicts Jughead visiting restaurants that promise "all you can eat" special deals, with the devastated restaurateur closing down as Jughead leaves.

Despite his appetite, Jughead is not known to be stingy with food, or to let others go hungry. When a store selling penny candy opened in Riverdale, he spent his whole allowance on a huge bag of candy, only to meet a penniless young boy outside the shop. Jughead wrestled with his desire, but he chose to give the candy to the boy. In a similar story, Jughead met a homeless person who liked the same kind of pizza as he did, and decided to give him the pizza he had just purchased. In another story, after winning three pizzas a week for six months for being a pizzeria's one-millionth customer, he donated them all to a soup kitchen where he volunteered.

## Jughead's Hat

Jughead is almost always seen wearing his trademark beanie with both a round and square pin. This type of crown-shaped cap, called a whoopee cap, sometimes a "jughead cap" or "crown", was popular among boys in the 1930s and 1940s. It was made from a man's felt fedora hat with the brim trimmed in a zig-zag and turned up Bottle caps could be "pinned" in place using the cap's removable cork lining. In the 1920s and 1930s, college freshmen were sometimes required to wear them for initiation purposes, and such caps were often worn by mechanics. Similar caps have appeared on other comic book/strip, cartoon, and children’s book characters such as Eddie Stimson in *Little Lulu*, Melvin Wisenheimer in *Little Audrey*, Skuzz in The Berenstain Bears, and Bugs Meany in *Encyclopedia Brown* as well as on Goober Pyle on *The Andy Griffith Show* and Jeff Goldblum's character "Freak #1" in *Death Wish*. Jughead's hat was recolored in black in the Filmation cartoons and pink in *The New Archies*. Over the course of the character's publication, Jughead's hat has evolved from a modified fedora to its more recognisable "crown" appearance.

Though some view the hat as strange and immature, Jughead considers it a good luck charm and when it is taken from him, misfortune comes his way. While on the school baseball team, Jughead was pulled aside and reprimanded by school principal Mr. Weatherbee for wearing the hat instead of a proper baseball uniform cap. Jughead complied, but then started performing so badly that Weatherbee was forced to relent.

The hat also seems to define part of Jughead's personality. One story has the gang try to convince him to try a different hat, but it's revealed that whatever hat he tried on changed his personality to suit the hat. When they had him try on a detective hat, he zeroed in on clues that would have gotten Archie in trouble with Betty and Veronica, and took a hair from Reggie's sweater that implied that he sneaked a date with Midge behind Moose's back (the look on both of their faces imply he was on to something). Jughead also stated that he felt naked without a hat. Finally, Veronica gave him a special hat to try on. When he did, everyone said it suited him (it was an ugly thing but looked comical. She said she was saving it for a Mad Hatter party). Jughead tried wearing it for a day at school, but scared several students, teachers, and even Miss Beazly the cafeteria lady) they begged him to go back to his trademark hat. When he asked what they'd do if he did, they offered him a platter of hamburgers and he happily agreed.

## Family and friends

Jughead's best friend is Archie Andrews, despite their personality difference. Archie was the first person that Jughead met upon moving to Riverdale, and he is often dragged into Archie's schemes and antics. Jughead is usually the first one to bail Archie out of trouble (though some times he only makes things worse). Jughead, extremely loyal, is willing to do almost anything to help his friend, something that Archie occasionally takes for granted.

Reggie Mantle is another one of Jughead's close friends, though his and Jughead's relationship is defined by their constant competition. Reggie never loses an opportunity to insult Jughead ("needle-nose" being his favorite nickname) and Jughead often responds with tricks to aggravate Reggie. Though it often appears they hate each other, and neither will admit otherwise, they really do care for one another. Jughead will even help Reggie escape being injured when Moose Mason is angry with him.

Alongside Archie, Betty Cooper slips into the best friend role for Jughead in the comics. Their mutual love and appreciation for food (she cooks, he eats), and continuously going to bat for each other have made their friendship a stronghold in the comics. While generally disinterested in matters of the heart, Jughead frequently stands up for Betty when Archie breaks her heart.

Jughead and Veronica Lodge are constantly arguing. Veronica cannot stand his laid-back attitude witticisms, and Jughead enjoys teasing her and making her lose her temper with clever insults. Their relationship would be considered that of "frenemies". Although at times, he relishes causing her to get angry because sometimes he sees her as an uncaring selfish snob. He once told Veronica he was "mad with passion" for her, and began popping up wherever she went, to get her off his back after she criticized him publicly. They were once cast together in a school play, which required them to kiss. Due to the way Jughead kissed her, she was caught up in the moment and fell in love with him for a while. However, Jughead managed to get her over her crush, with the help of a garlic and onion sandwich.

Jughead's other friends include Dilton Doiley and Moose Mason. Other than Dilton, Jughead probably gets along with Moose better than the other boys because of his non-confrontational attitude (and his lack of interest in Moose's girlfriend Midge). Jughead’s nerdy ways and lack of interest in sports and girls probably account for how well he gets along with Dilton.

Jughead's family includes his father, also named Forsythe, his mother Gladys, and in later comics, his younger sister Jellybean. He also has many eccentric relatives including slightly-addled Uncle Herman, or "Doc Jones", a daffy and slightly pompous inventor whose creations usually wreak havoc on Jughead and/or his friends and his lookalike younger cousin, Souphead. Other one-time relatives appear frequently. Jughead also tells many stories of his ancestors, who prove to be quite as interesting as himself. A 1970s "Archie" cartoon episode "Jones Farm" featured Jughead's paternal grandparents—*both* of whom resemble Jughead.

Another acquaintance of Jughead's is Trula Twyst, Riverdale High's budding pop psychologist, who is constantly trying to analyze Jughead to determine what makes him so odd. The two share a strange love/hate relationship that would have gone much smoother had they not met the way they did- Trula tricked Jughead into dating her in order to become more popular.

## The Archies

Jughead was the drummer for *The Archies*. In one four-part story, which included many flashbacks of Jughead's life, Archie had commented that the reason he'd chosen the position of drummer was that he was too introverted to play at the front of the stage. Another reason was that he could put food in his drums to eat while he played.

## Special abilities

In spite of his reputation as slow and lazy, Jughead is frequently shown to be extremely intelligent, and often surprises his skeptical friends (notably Reggie Mantle and Veronica Lodge) with his vast knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, including history, Shakespeare, sports, and science. In several issues, Jughead has demonstrated that his IQ is well above average. He is an extremely good student, which exasperates his teachers when he sometimes pays them no attention.

His intelligence varies from story to story. In many cases, he has trouble keeping decent grades, but was once given an award for being the best student in the school. Once, in Little Archie, it was revealed that as a student, Jughead was second only to Dilton Doiley. His intelligence is displayed by his sharp wit, the occasional deep insight, and the odd chance he gets to upstage or outsmart Reggie Mantle. In one issue, Mr. Weatherbee tries to cut down on Jughead's food consumption, only to realize that Jughead's brain stops functioning without massive amounts of food. Professor Flutesnoot implies that Jughead's brain burns all the calories, which keeps him thin.

Jughead is also a talented artist, and refers to his works as his "Dipsy Doodles", which feature in one-page comic strips. Often, what he paints comes to life or becomes a real, three-dimensional object. Another recurring gag, featured in the 1960s, was "Professor Jughead", where he would wear a gown and mortarboard and lecture to his fellow teenagers about subjects he considered relevant. However, the content of the lesson was often nonsensical and useless in real life. *Professor Jughead's Loony Laws* was a strip in which he presented various dumb laws. One strip explores the fact that Jughead is seldom drawn with his eyes open by noting that Jughead has the unusual ability to "see" with his eyes completely shut, and not see with them open.

In his spare time, he enjoys playing video games, reading comic books, and skateboarding. It was also noted in one issue that he has an interest in Japanese anime and manga as well, with titles such as Sailor Lunar, Dragon Tall 33, Tech Robo, and Tragic Knight Sayearth. In the late 1980s, Jughead became obsessed with the skateboarding subculture, and his interests and taste in fashion were revamped to fit this. A number of short-lived characters were added to the *Jughead* comics, including his paraplegic African-American crush Anita; blind rival for Ethel's affections Jeff and his guide dog Spike; and heavy metal band The Potholes. However, this makeover only lasted for a few years.

Jughead rarely takes an interest in sports, but has a few unexpected athletic talents. These are often side effects of his other activities. For example, he is a very fast runner due to his constant evasion of Ethel and his determination to be at the front of the lunchline every day. Coach Kleats often tries to recruit him for various school teams, usually without longterm success. Over the years, he has been seen as a basketball player, baseball pitcher, martial artist, swimmer, dancer and gymnast.

Many stories revolve around other characters making comments about Jughead's appetite. One story has Dilton Doiley making calculations to scientifically prove that it's impossible for Jughead to eat the way that he does, and even convinces Pop Tate to cook everything Jughead ate earlier to prove it. When the entire gang isn't paying attention, Jughead ate all the food and ended the story by saying that if they didn't believe it they could make the food and he'd eat it again. Another story has Jughead going against a guy from another group in an eating contest. The rival gang sends a girl to feed Jughead to fill him up the night before in an effort to cheat but he manages to win anyway. In still another, Archie expresses concern over Jughead's eating and lack of exercise, which prompts Reggie to show off lifting a single crate of Pop's bottles over his head. Jughead helps Pop by effortlessly lifting three crates at once and carrying them to the back room, stunning Archie and Reggie. Unnerving them even more, he rips out a stool that Pop said he could take for a souvenir (he was replacing his counter stools later that day) with one hand again with no effort. In that story, he says he eats to get strong, cracking up Archie and Reggie, but they change their mind when they see he's very strong, and even take up eating in an effort to get strong, with no success.

Often, when Jughead attempts to join a team, he ends up with an undesirable menial task, such as water-boy or equipment manager. However, he often takes part in less strenuous school activities, such as the school newspaper, *the Blue and Gold*. His reputation as a food critic and his unbiased views of the school teams make him a valuable member of the staff. In some stories, Jughead has been shown to have supernatural abilities that are never seen again. These include controlling weather, giving the evil-eye, learning the skills presented in any book he reads, and predicting the future.

## Hot Dog

Hot Dog is a long-haired mutt who resembles a white Old English Sheepdog. He belongs to Jughead, although when he first appeared in *Pep Comics* #224 (December 1968), he belonged to Archie. Hot Dog switched owners frequently in his early appearances, but was eventually given a permanent home with Jughead.

Hot Dog usually thinks like a human, in that his thoughts are presented in thought bubbles. He is lazy, constantly hungry, and, much like Jughead, has a dislike for Reggie Mantle.

Hot Dog is usually considered a member of Archie's Gang. He tends to be attracted to Veronica Lodge’s pedigreed dogs, and even had a litter of puppies with one of them, a poodle named Lucretia. In the 1970s series, *Sabrina the Teenage Witch*, Hot Dog has a sidekick, Chili Dog, who is smaller and red-haired. A running gag is the two dogs' "battles" with Sabrina's cat Salem Saberhagen.

## Appearance

Jughead is casually shown to have black raven hair with thick eyebrows, black eyes, and light skin. His outfit consists a dark gray whoopee cap upon his head. He wears a green shirt, black vest with the middle part cutted, black belt, brown jeans, and darkest gray loafers.

## Trivia

* Jughead was featured in a Filmation-animated segment for *Sesame Street* spotlighting the letter J.
* On *The Archie Show's* "Jughead's Double", he has his double that looks precisely like himself with a different voice
* On 1 segment of *The Archie & Sabrina: Surprise Package,* he has a cousin named "Ace"