| First appearance | Pep Comics #22 (December, 1941) |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Riverdale |
| School | Riverdale High |
| Job | various part-time jobs |
| Family | Chic Cooper (brother), Polly Cooper (sister), Hal Cooper (father), Alice Cooper (mother) |
| Hobbies | Sewing, collecting stuffed bears, cooking, auto repairs, writing |
| Main love interest(s) | Archie Andrews, Jason Blossom, Adam Chisholm |
| The Archies instrument | Tambourines, occasionally guitar |
Betty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown. Chic moved to New York and Polly to San Francisco, but both occasionally appear in flashbacks to Betty's childhood, and both occasionally visit their family.
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Betty is a nice, sweet and funny girl with blonde hair. Her eyes are typically described as blue, but are only drawn as such in later years and during close-up shots of her face; at all other times, her eyes are simply drawn with black ink.
Betty is interested in astrology, particularly the Zodiac. The official Archie Comics website lists her birthday as June 29 and her sign as Cancer. While Betty is a Cancer under the Tropical Zodiac, she is a Gemini under Sidereal astrology and astronomical observation. In at least one comic book story, Betty is identified as a Libra and/or an Aquarius.
The quintessential 17-year-old girl next door, Betty's middle class upbringing is a world apart from the flashy lifestyle of her wealthy frenemy (combination of friend and enemy), 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).
In the late 1960s, the two girls joined Archie's band, a garage band appropriately named The Archies. Both sang (usually backup), and Betty played tambourine, while Veronica played organ. This implies that Veronica is more musically talented, but this is not necessarily true. Some stories indicate that Betty is the better vocalist. Additionally, there is little consistency in the instruments she is able to play. Betty has played the tambourine, maracas, guitar, banjo, keyboard, saxophone, cello, and the bongos.
Betty's hobbies include sports, repairing cars (mostly that of her crush Archie Andrews), cooking, and making her own clothing. She is also known to take karate lessons. She also has a doll hospital in her garage. Betty has a talent with animals (she owns a cat, Caramel) and often operates small businesses concerning them no matter how troubling they turn out. She is very concerned with the environment and other social issues and encourages the rest of the gang to clean up after themselves. She keeps a small garden in her backyard, to which she tends occasionally. She loves children and sometimes babysits Jellybean with Jughead as well as other children in Riverdale. Occasionally, families hire Betty to keep their elderly members company.
She does very well in school and is considered one of the smartest girls at Riverdale High. Unlike the stereotypical dumb blonde, she has an above-average IQ; she is very intelligent and has won many awards. In one story she won an award and was sent to compete in New York and has won numerous academic awards. At one point, she gained ESP when an encyclopedia accidentally fell on her head. This ability took away all hope for the future; Archie asked her on a date but she knew Archie would dump her for Veronica. She lost her ESP power when a ball that Reggie kicked accidentally hit her; in her gratefulness, she gave him a thankful kiss.
Betty appears in all of the current Riverdale-related titles that are published by Archie Comics. Specifically, Betty stars in Betty, Betty and Veronica, and Betty and Veronica Spectacular.
Betty is always involved in a love triangle with Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge, and sometimes she becomes a second fiddle to Veronica. Archie cannot decide which girl that he prefers, but often chooses Veronica over Betty (although in the love showdown, he chose Cheryl Blossom). Archie says on many occasions that he considers Betty to be his best friend (occasionally comparing her to a sister, which does not please her), someone that he can confide in, and is more comfortable with her. That does not stop him from seeing Veronica or other girls. Deep down inside, Betty will always hope that, in the end, Archie will choose her. Betty, however, as much she tries to break up with him and stop being a spare fiddle to Veronica, cannot bring herself to do so.
By far, however, Betty's best friend is Veronica. Although the two are constantly involved in disputes over Archie or something else that evokes jealousy between the two, they have remained the best of friends since their childhood. Once, the two even said that Jughead and Archie's friendship couldn't compare to theirs. In many stories, Betty and Veronica are team up or help each other in any way they can. However, deep down, each is jealous of the other. Her other female friends include Ethel Muggs, Midge Klump, and Nancy Woods, and they all share common interests and group activities such as shopping and cheerleading.
Frequently, Betty dated Reggie Mantle early on in the titles' runs and occasionally still, more often than not as a casual date when Veronica beat her to the punch to have Archie take her out. Sometimes, Reggie and Betty seem flirting with each other; when Betty was feeling sad, Reggie always tells her that she won a date with the most handsome man in the world, which Betty only replied that she would even consider to date Reggie instead if he was free. Although Reggie never admits it, he genuinely likes Betty, but his self-image sometimes is more important as the most popular jock in school, and he's afraid to damage their friendship, so they date frequently but without any attachment.[1]
Betty's relationship with Jughead Jones has mostly been that of close confidant and close friend, as they normally discuss their issues more candidly with each other than anyone else, as Jughead will provide commentary on her feelings for Archie, and she will attempt to "better" Jughead, by getting rid of his slothful attitude and laziness. Once when she had a sprained ankle, Veronica told both Archie and Jughead to visit her. The four of them were having dinner together, when guys from the school mistaken Jughead as Betty's boyfriend because he was carrying chocolates to her house. However, Jughead cares more about Betty than other girls, and there have been hints of a potential romantic relationship between them. In one story, Jughead even says that if the time ever comes that he would willingly kiss a girl, it would be Betty. A happy tear is seen sliding down Betty's face at this comment.
She had a friendship with an elderly woman named Lydia Wyndham, whom she found when doing research about World War I. With this acquaintance Betty got to know an accomplished writer and poet with a sharp mind (and a sad past—Betty's research had turned up a beau of Ms. Wyndham's who was killed in combat), but after a while Ms. Wyndham herself died.
At times, Betty gets jealous or even angry at Cheryl Blossom for flirting with Archie, even though Cheryl Blossom is friends with Betty. However, Betty and Veronica often unite against Cheryl when she tries to lure Archie away.
Jason Blossom, Cheryl's twin brother, has genuine interest towards Betty instead of the popular Veronica, which makes Archie jealous. But Cheryl Blossom, being one of Betty's best friends tells her that sometimes her brother is not good for her. Betty, always seeing other people's good side, chooses to date Jason anyway.
Currently, Betty has a 'relationship' going on with Adam Chisholm, her new boyfriend. It is thought by some people that Betty has chosen Adam over Archie when in truth, she is still choosing. This event has made Archie jealous and he concentrates his attention to Betty, ignoring Veronica, if he thinks there is a chance that Adam might take Betty away from him. Though in actuality, Adam has rarely been seen in the last couple of years, and Betty has always been shown to prefer Archie.
Betty enjoys writing and keeps a diary that is featured in the miniseries Betty's Diary. She wants to be a famous writer someday, an aspiration that her teacher Ms. Grundy approves of. She submits her work to writing magazines and has been published a number of times. At the same time, she takes various types of employment, including some work as a mechanic, which is also a career that she is interested in.
In some stories she finds employment as an assistant teacher at the local elementary school. In the TV movie Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again, and a comic book based on it, the characters are depicted as adults 15 years after their high school graduation. Betty is shown to be an elementary school teacher and aspiring novelist, engaged to a jerk named Robert, who is jealous of Archie. In the end, she breaks up with Robert, and switches to teaching at Riverdale High.
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