Pureheart the Powerful, Archie’s superhero identity, actually offered a rationale for superheroes that made a weird kind of sense.
If superheroes exist, why don’t we ever see them in action? Archie anticipated the Men in Black movies with his neat answer to that question.
Inspired by a self-help book, Archie uses the power of his pure heart to transform himself into a caped superguy complete with rocket belt (Archie Comics never liked the idea of people just “flying” without a visible motive power).
But the sheer telepathic force of Archie’s willpower wipes out everyone’s memories when his super deeds are done. That clever angle let Archie’s superhero adventures slip neatly into the comics’ teen humor continuity.
The weakness that robbed Archie of his super powers turned out to be the same sexual feelings that delighted and/or plagued him in his regular continuity. Another neat storytelling trick.
Penned by Frank Doyle and drawn by Bob White, Archie’s derring-do began in Life With Archie 42 (Oct. 1965), just ahead of the national Batman craze that followed the premiere of the TV show in January 1966.
“By 1965, the superhero revival in American comic books was in full swing, and even the funny guys were starting to get into the act,” comics historian Don Markstein observed. “That was the year Goofy became Super Goof, Herbie became The Fat Fury and Archie became Pureheart the Powerful.”
Soon Betty Cooper became Superteen and Jughead Jones a surprisingly effective Captain Hero. The trio would also become super-secret agents a la The Man from UNCLE in a similar evolution.
“Even Little Archie got into the act — Little Pureheart was first seen in Little Archie 40 (Fall, 1966),” Markstein wrote.
Their lighthearted adventures delighted me while they lasted, as did those of their Archie’s Mad House colleagues Captain Sprocket and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Even Archie’s rival Reggie Mantle had donned envy-green tights as Evilheart.
Odd name for a "superhero," I always thought.
Johnny Williams wrote, "I remember all of that quite fondly. Those were some fun stories. I firmly believe that at least some comics titles should be fun."
ReplyDeleteMark Staff Brandl wrote: My sister Marcia read Archies, so I would too. I enjoyed the superhero Archie and friends as a kind of light-hearted, playful adaptation of superhero-ness. But of course, everything now, even Riverdale TV is dark and depressing. Talk about decade-shock.
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