History YMMV / ArchieComics

* DorkAge: The years the Archie gang appeared in the ''Spire Christian Comics''.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In one 1990 strip, Miss Grundy was putting on a play about American heroes or some such theme. She assigned Archie and Jughead the part of Astronauts, and Betty the role of ''Florence Nightingale''.[[note]]For those who ''don't'' know, Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing, was ''English''.[[/note]]

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: A few readers know the series only for the beautiful girls drawn by Dan [=DeCarlo=], especially Betty and Veronica. There is a reason why they appear so often in bikini or other skimpy outfits..

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: ''Jughead's Diner'' was a bizarre story even by Archie standards. Jughead was the owner of a restaurant in Dinersville, which inhabited a parallel universe.

** Kevin Keller. On one hand, he has many followers who think of him as a surprisingly interesting character for being a positive portayal of an openly gay character. Others think that he is slowly usurping Reggie's place in the FiveManBand, noticing that he is appearing less and less in favor of Kevin, without having much in the wayb of a fleshed out characterization.

** In another variation of [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale double standards]], a story involved Ethel coercing Jughead into kissing her by threatening her with her robot dog.

** Kevin Keller. On one hand, he has many followers who think of him as a surprisingly interesting character for being a positive portayal of an openly gay character. Others think that he is slowly usurping Reggie's place in the FiveManBand, noticing that he is appearing less and less in favor of Kevin.

** And how! In fact, the original name suggested for this trope was [[TropeNamers Emo Jughead]]). Despite the fact that Jughead is usually the most offbeat and non-conformist of the group, he was always the one shown experimenting with new fads or subcultures of fashion. He has been an EmoTeen, a {{Goth}}, a skateboarder, a punk, etc. over the years, generally hopping on as a sign of his own counter-culture compared to the more milquetoast cast.

* HilariousInHindsight: There's some of this too, naturally. An example is Dilton saying that it would be years before anyone gets to the moon.

* SnarkBait: The company, due to its horrendous ScheduleSlip thanks to overextending itself incredibly badly. Whenever a new title comes out, expect comic readers to muse how long it will last until the comic either gets cancelled or gets put into DevelopmentHell

** A story involved Ethel coercing Jughead into kissing her by threatening her with her robot dog.
** The gags about the girls (already possessing the ImpossibleHourglassFigure) [[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/815644182489394266/ dieting]] haven't aged as well in the face of concern about body image and eating disorders.
** The gags about pretty girls being checked out by all the boys was benign (mostly peers) but whenever it shows a [[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/472526185883293181/ middle-aged or elderly man grinning in appreciation (flanked by a jealous wife)]] look creepier given that the girls in question are ''teenagers''.

** The gags about the girls (already possessing the ImpossibleHourglassFigure)[[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/815644182489394266/ dieting]] haven't aged as well in the face of concern about body image and eating disorders.

** Ugliness used for comedy doesn't fly as well anymore so Ms. Grundy, Big Ethel and Archie himself have been given subtle face lifts over the decades. With Archie it happened quickly but Ethel in particular looks unrecognizable.

** The much bigger values dissonance comes from any depiction of gender roles throughout the years. Mild stuff like what it means when a guy in the '50s gives a girl his class pin / class ring (that he wants to go steady with her), to more heinous things like how just the ''idea'' of a woman being a doctor or a lawyer is ''a punchline'', or how Jughead used to be called a "woman-hater", which sounds needlessly misogynist, while today he would be called asexual.
** Ugliness used for comedy doesn't fly as well anymore so Ms. Grundy, Big Ethel and Archie himself have been given subtle facelifts over the decades. With Archie it happened quickly but Ethel in particular looks unrecognizable.

** And how! (the trope was originally YKTTW'd as [[TropeNamers Emo Jughead]]). Despite the fact that Jughead is usually the most offbeat and non-conformist of the group, he was always the one shown experimenting with new fads or subcultures of fashion. He has been an EmoTeen, a {{Goth}}, a skateboarder, a punk, etc. over the years, generally hopping on as a sign of his own counter-culture compared to the more milquetoast cast.
** Sometimes digests include old stories reprinted with modern cultural references such as ''Series/AmericanIdol'' awkwardly inserted through text. The obvious change in lettering doesn't help.

** One old strip had Archie's dad flip out over Archie asking for ''ten whole dollars'' for gas.
** On the other hand, considering how notoriously cheap Archie's dad is, this joke might be [[HilariousInHindsight even funnier now]].

** Jughead is pretty popular, especially with nostalgic fans. And not only with them, as of the 2015 reboot, thanks to his [[DeadpanSnarker snark]], [[TheChessmaster smarts]], and [[DefrostingIceQueen personality]].

* HoYay: Frequently with Archie, as Jughead's famously not interested in girls. Jughead dating a future descendant of Archie doesn't help matters. With Jughead the woman-avoider, though, this is usually more on Jughead's side.
** The most closeted character is probably Reggie, a classic over-compensator whose obsession with Archie frequently turns into an open man-crush. Reggie becoming attracted to Archie in drag a few times doesn't help.
* HollywoodHomely: Big Ethel can be this, depending on the artist.
* LesYay: Betty and Veronica have quite a bit between them. Which in modern times has had many a fan wonder why they don't just forget Archie.
** One particular issue from the 60s involved a predator on the loose, kissing all the high school girls and running off before they can be identified. Archie and Reggie assume it is Jughead until the person kisses Archie. Reggie [[MistakenForGay still thinks it us Jughead]] however Archie thinks it is a girl. It turns out it was Betty. She wanted to secretly kiss Archie but devised a plan to kiss random girls and throw him off. Yes, including Veronica. Betty's plan doesn't make much sense but she has at least kissed girls in canon.

*** Also, his obsession with Archie. Some fans believe he is in love with Archie but hiding it. Others insist that every action Reggie takes towards him, no matter how violent or cruel, is actually his reaching out to Archie in his own twisted way. It is hinted in-series that Reggie is [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of how Archie is loved by everyone for who he is while Reggie has to put on a strong front.

** Jughead has been interpreted as asexual by many, or as being in love with Archie but hiding it. The latter got especially popular when Kevin appeared, and he and Jughead got along easy. However, there was a story arc that addressed this directly; it turns out it is a case of TheOneThatGotAway.
*** Has now been confirmed in the reboot that Jughead is canonically asexual!

* CharacterTiers: [[http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/13171/tiers-for-non-fighting-games/p28 Yes, one exists.]]
* DorkAge: The years the Archie gang appeared in the Christian fundamentalist ''Spire Christian Comics''.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Jughead is pretty popular, especially with nostalgic fans.
*** Not just with the nostalgic fans, as of the 2015 reboot, thanks to his [[DeadpanSnarker snark]], [[TheChessmaster smarts]], and [[DefrostingIceQueen personality]].

** A recent comic had Sabrina switch everyone's gender. Fans really want more of Reggie's DistaffCounterpart, Regina, who is a proper AlphaBitch.
*** Archina, Billy, and especially J.J. are very popular (a picture of them and Regina can be found [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yKw3LNA8R5A/UDVEUqWkmQI/AAAAAAAAArQ/HRn5YVJh0yU/s1600/gang1.jpg here]])''. Archina has cute GirlishPigtails and people enjoy her reverse harem more than the usual version, while J.J.'s fashion choices, apathetic personality, and BigEater qualities make her attractive to people (much more so than normal Jughead).

* BaseBreaker:

** Also, Kevin Keller is the odd combination of this and EnsembleDarkhorse. On one hand, he has many followers who think of him as a surprisingly interesting character for being a positive portayal of an openly gay character. Others think that he is slowly usurping Reggie's place in the FiveManBand, noticing that he is appearing less and less in favor of Kevin.

** Believe it or not, arguments have popped up surrounding Betty: Is she a {{Housewife}}[=/=]ProperLady in waiting (pro) or a {{Yandere}} in waiting (con)? This [[http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/06/03/it-puts-the-lotion-on-its-skin/ article]] from [=MightyGodKing=] is definitely in the Beyond-Yandere column. A large portion of this is due to CharacterizationMarchesOn.

** ComicBook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch became so popular as to get her own comic series and several TV shows.

** One story called "Overbooked" has it that Riverdale High requires mandatory hours of community service from all students. Mr. Weatherbee forces Veronica to serve as a replacement librarian at the city library, since one of the regular librarians is on sick leave. In part, he hopes to stop her from flirting with all the high-school boys. At the library, Veronica receives unwanted romantic advances from prepubescent boys, nerdy young men, and dirty old men (some of which are more than 70 years older than her and are touching her without permission). Veronica exits the library while being pursued and sexually harassed by a small army of boys and men). Weatherbee blames her for supposedly flirting with everyone. The supposed comedy of the story involves her obvious discomfort at being treated like that, and at Weatherbee blaming the victim. It has not exactly aged well as a concept.

** An old story, set in the summer, has Hiram Lodge noticing Betty and Veronica window shopping while wearing short pants. He scolds them for wearing shorts in public, and punishes them both by having them clean the pool. Later in the story, Hiram leaves on an errand with his car, while wearing the short pants he uses to relax within his home. When the car breaks down, he has to walk in these shorts. Entire crowds laugh at his supposed humiliation, and he is very embarrassed by the time he returns home. How many people would currently be bothered with men or women wearing short pants atound town? There is not much shock value in them.

* MomentOfAwesome: One for each of Mr. Lodge and Mr. Andrews. When the kids drag them along on a horseback riding expedition in the mountains, the two fathers ''really'' don't want to go along, but do so at the insistence of their kids. As they ride along, a snake frightens Veronica's horse and causes her to fall. Mr. Lodge enters full PapaBear mode and whacks the snake away with a nearby stick, crediting his many years of playing polo. The snake lands by their guide ranger, who also falls off his horse. Mr. Andrews picks up the ranger's pistol, fires a shot that severs the snake ''cleanly in half'' before revealing he was the best shot in his army unit and has multiple medals to back it up.