Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Archie Comics who first appeared in the first Archie story, from Pep Comics #22 (December 1941). He is the drummer of the Archies and is a son of Forsythe Pendleton Jones II; in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he is identified as John Jugworth Jones III (and in one strip, likely due to a continuity error, as Forsythe Van Jones). He has a white sheepdog named Hot Dog and a younger sister, Forsythia "Jellybean" Jones.
Jughead (shortened to Jug or Juggie) is the best friend of vocalist/guitarist Archie Andrews. Jughead is a smart, sharp-tongued, laid-back, and eccentric high school student. He is obsessed with eating food and in some storylines is asexual. Most see him as being lazy. He can be identified by his long nose, half-closed eyes, "S" sweatshirt, and whoopee cap (a crown-like warped and trimmed fedora hat), generally referred to as his Beanie in the comics. Jughead is portrayed by Cole Sprouse in the live-action CW series Riverdale, and Mihir Ahuja in The Archies.
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.Erickson, 2005. p.92 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."
History and character 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 and Reggie 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. The earliest stories indicated that the mention of his name drove girls wild for him. The first of these appeared in Jughead #159 (August 1968). In Little Archie #49 (September 1968), Miss Grundy revealed his real name at the start of class, and it drove girls wild. In a later story (issue #1 of The Jughead Jones Comics Digest, June 1977) we find out he is named after his ancestor, Forsythe P. Jones, 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.
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. In Jughead #30 (1992), when his psychiatrist, Sara, asked him "why an 'S'?" he replied "I dunno! My third cousin was called skinny..." The triangular banner on the cover of issue 140 of Archie & Friends shows that the "S" stands for Silby, as in Silby High School, which he attended for a few months as a freshman. At one time after his sweater was filled with holes due to what he thought was a moth when it was actually a chemical accident caused in lab class, he reveals that he simply likes the letter S and finds it "compatible", because the letter can stand for "soup, sandwich, steak and all kinds of goodies!" after his friends ask him. Betty rolls her eyes at the explanation and adds, "S stands for "sorry I asked"!" Another theory is that, as he is a non-conformist, he wears an "S" as opposed to his classmates who wear sweaters adorned with an "R" which stands for Riverdale.
Appetite and love for food
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 Chock'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.e.g. ;
Despite his appetite, Jughead is not known to be stingey 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.
Because of his well-known food obsession, Jughead was shown eating a hamburger on the facades of the short-lived Archie's Family Restaurants.
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.Jughead and Friends No. 25 (February 2008) 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.
In the "Time Police" comic, there is a double of his beanie given to him by an unknown benefactor (later revealed to be himself) that allows him to travel in time.
Some stories showed him wear a unique pin on his hat which attracts many girls to him, so he hid it to avoid the crowd of girls rushing him.
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 is revealed that whatever hat he tried on changed his personality to suit the hat. When they had him try on a detective hat, he focused 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.
In Jughead and Friends Digest #25 story "The Secret of Jughead's Hat" his cap is destroyed in a laundry accident. Wendy Weatherbee (Principal Weatherbee's niece) replaces the lost hat by doing exactly as explained above when she takes an old fedora and cuts it and shapes it to remake the whoopee cap or crown.
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.