The Real Jughead

Meet Jughead Jones:
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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 nickname 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 remains 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 several stories in some of the Jughead digest magazines, 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 the early 1990's, Jughead had three girlfriends: Debi, Joani, and January McAndrews; the latter is Archie's descendant in the future. In another story, he describes that the reason why he does not chase after girls is because of a childhood heartbreak, sustained before he moved to Riverdale.

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, the occasional deep insight - and the odd chance he gets to upstage or outsmart Reggie Mantle.

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.

Jughead's intelligence is highlighted because I too was the second best in primary school (out of, I must admit, 9 pupils) but my sadly lackadaisical attitude has ensured that I never achieved a Diltonesque status.. However I've never had a Reggie Mantle to pit my skills against and use as proof of my brainpower.