Since news dropped that Archie Andrews will be killed off in one of the summer issues of the “Life with Archie” series, there’s been buzz about how exactly it was going to go down. Archie Comics co-CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater stated that he would die selflessly as a hero in a way that “epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us.”
It has now been revealed that Archie will sacrifice himself in an assassination attempt on the life of Kevin Keller, the military veteran and newly elected senator whose own husband was involved in a shooting. Via Mashable:
“We wanted to do something that was impactful that would really resonate with the world and bring home just how important Archie is to everyone,” said Goldwater. “That’s how we came up with the storyline of saving Kevin. He could have saved Betty. He could have saved Veronica. We get that, but metaphorically, by saving Kevin, a new Riverdale is born.”
The 37th issue of the series will jump one year later and show how the cast and Riverdale is coping with the loss and honoring Archie’s legacy. And while Archie will live on in other series, Goldwater emphasized that the character will not be retconned in Life with Archie.
“Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters,” said Goldwater. “He’s human. He’s a person. When you wound him, he bleeds. He knows that. If anything, I think his death is more impactful because of that. We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can — in some way — learn from him.”
Archie has consistently been making some huge strides in social commentary, and it’s cool to see the publishers take such a firm stand on gun control.
Image via AP.