Jughead Jones

Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones is a fictional character in Archie Comics, first appearing in December, 1941. Though his full name is given as Forsythe Pendleton Jones, he rarely uses it and is better known by his nick-name Jughead Jones, or simply as Jughead to his friends. He is the son of Timothy and Gladys Jones. He has a white sheepdog named Hot Dog, and is occasionally portrayed as having a younger sister Forsythia "Jellybean" Jones.

Jughead, who is almost always seen wearing his crown-shaped gray felt hat with has two pins on it, is Archie's best friend and the 'weird one' of Archie's social circle. Though he's only regularly pursued by Big Ethel, Jughead does his best to avoid girls- unless a free meal is involved. Except for hassling Reggie Mantle, eating is Jughead's number one hobby. Though he sports a pot belly after particularly large meals, Jughead is as skinny as a twig. As a consequence of his eating habits, Jughead is also a preferred customer of most of Riverdale's food establishments, especially Pop Tate's Choklit Shoppe, and a very respected food critic.

One of the common misconceptions about Jughead is that he is a misogynist. This is not so. In one of the stories in a Jughead digest magazine, there are quite a few girls who are after Jughead (and not just Big Ethel), probably attracted by his aloof and uninterested attitude towards them. In another story, he describes that the reason why he does not chase after girls is because of a childhood heartbreak, before he moved to Riverdale.

He plays drums in a band with Archie and Reggie called the Archies (sometimes featuring Betty or Veronica). He has also professed a love for jazz music, once detailed in an issue of Jughead Magazine where he develops an obsession with an obscure jazz drummer named "Crazy" Willie Jim. First collecting all of his records, he finally meets Jim (who is by now at least 80 years old) playing on a street corner with a jazz trio, avoiding social workers. Jughead convinces him that he is not out to get him and they become fast friends. Jughead convinces him to play with the Archies at one of their gigs, and he is a hit. Later, Jughead discovers that Jim has died, and Jughead takes his place at his drum kit on the corner to play one last mournful version of "St. James Infirmary".

It has been revealed several times over the years that Jughead has an IQ which is well above average. In one particular Little Archie story it was revealed that he was the second best student in the school, Dilton Doiley being the first. His intelligence is displayed by his sharp wit and the occassional deep insight.

In one of the Archies television programs (a live action one), Archie and Reggie attempt to find out Jughead's real first name. They go to the school office and a woman there tells them that Jughead's real first name is Steve. Only after they leave the office it is revealed that the woman is in fact Jughead's aunt and that she had just lied to Archie and Reggie as a favor to Jughead to help him cover up the fact that his first name is Forsythe.

In the TV movie and subsequent comic book "To Riverdale and Back Again," which portrayed all the characters 15 years after their graduation from high school, Jughead has become a psychiatrist. He has a successful private practice outside of Riverdale, but is divorced and is raising his young son Jordan, who Archie jokingly refers to as Jughead Junior.

Trivia

• He is the star of a popular Archie magazine spin-off, Jughead Magazine and another spin-off, Jughead's Diner, where he runs a diner with an eclectic cast of patrons.
• In the Spanish versions of the comic book, Jughead's name is Torombolo.

External links

• A more detailed profile of him (http://westview.tdsb.on.ca/STUDENTS/MLY/jughead.html)
• Trivia on the character (http://www.geocities.com/jughead_p_jones_12/jughead_jones.htm)