Betty Cooper

Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. The character was created by Bob Montana, and first appeared in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941), on the first page of the first Archie story, serving as a love interest to Archie Andrews. Betty's infatuation with Archie making her strive for his attention using whatever means possible has been one of the longest running themes in the comics. In 2011, Betty Cooper was ranked 66th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Character and publication history

Creation

Betty was named for, and originally based on, Betty Tokar Jankovich, a Czech immigrant who briefly dated Archie creator Bob Montana in 1939 when she was 18. She is portrayed as a nice, beautiful, smart, sweet, tomboyish and funny girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was created to serve as a love interest for Archie Andrews.

History

Betty Cooper is the daughter of Hal Cooper and Alice Cooper. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown. Chic moved to New York City and Polly to San Francisco, but both occasionally appear in flashbacks to Betty's childhood, and both occasionally visit their family. The quintessential 17-year-old girl next door, Betty's middle class upbringing is a world apart from the flashy lifestyle of her wealthy friend and rival, Veronica Lodge. Nowhere is this more evident than when she and Veronica are competing for Archie Andrews' heart, and yet they remain best friends (Veronica once told Archie that she and Betty are only rivals in unimportant matters, like boys.)