9 Archie Crossovers That Need to Happen

Archie Comics

When Archie Comics announced their plans for a Riverdale TV series that writer/Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa describes as “Archie meets Twin Peaks” last week, it was the latest intriguing move from a company that has been working overtime to reinvent themselves of late. The past couple of years have seen such headline-grabbing moves as the Afterlife with Archie horror comic, this past summer’s recent “Death of Archie” storyline (which saw an adult Archie take a bullet intended for his gay Senator pal, Kevin Keller), and a collaboration with Dark Horse Comics on a, prepare yourselves, Archie Meets Predator miniseries next year. All of these projects attracted the attention of longtime fans and novices alike, illustrating how Archie is determined to prove that they are on the cutting edge of the industry, and that no idea, no matter how silly it may seem on its surface, is beyond consideration.

This willing to experiment is part of Archie’s current success. It seems ludicrous to think that there’s a monthly comic in which Archie fights zombies. But there is, and it’s incredible. If Archie can make that high-concept work, then just about anything seems possible. And don’t even get me started about the possible wonders that a Lynchian-inspired TV show can bring us…

Which brings us to today’s list. As a lifelong Archie fan myself, I am thrilled about the company’s output and creative future. So much so that I want more. Much more. With that in mind, I thought I’d take a look at nine other pop culture crossovers that seem plausible in the wake of the Riverdale and Archie Meets Predator announcements. Some of these are a no-brainer; others are somewhat of a stretch. But hey, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from today’s Archie it’s to never say never.

9) Archie Meets Tron

Archie Comics

The plot: When Archie gets into a Veronica-based scuffle with Reggie during the opening ceremony of Riverdale High’s new computer lab, Mr. Weatherbee forces up to stay behind and clean up. Ever the klutz, he accidentally knocks some apple juice onto the high-tech new data processor Dilton invented and gets sucked inside a strange and wonderful computer world. Once there, he meets Tron (who is still fighting for the users as opposed to whatever silliness he was up to in Tron: Legacy) and a variety of characters who look surprisingly familiar…including a new Master Control Program that is Mr. Weatherbee’s doppelganger.

Why it needs to happen: Archie did a Tron-esque story in the Cyber Adventures trade paperback, but that never quite gelled. It’s a premise that is worth doing right. How? By pairing up occasional Archie artist Tania del Rio and writer Jai Nitz (who did the underrated Tron: Betrayal two-parter a few years back). Del Rio’s whimsical art and Nitz’s gritty storytelling would make a bizarre pairing, something that would be full of the off kilter coolness that is the world of Tron itself.

8) Archie Meets Friday the 13th

Archie Comics

The plot: Always looking for his next real estate deal, Mr. Lodge decides to purchase the rundown Camp Crystal Lake. Dismissing the camp’s bad reputation as a bunch of “superstition and hooey,” he enlists the help of Veronica, Betty, Archie, Jughead, Reggie and Dilton to spend a weekend there to check it out…much to the dismay of one Jason Voorhees. Soon the barbecues and youthful fun are replaced by terror as the campers are stalked one by one. Will any of the Riverdale gang be able to survive a few days in Jason’s domain?

Why it needs to happen: With Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Archie has shown than they are more than adept handling different types of horror stories. There’s no reason to believe that they wouldn’t be able to handle a slasher tale just as skillfully. The mash-up seems like a natural idea given how the Friday the 13th franchise’s bread and butter is unchecked teenage hormones. There’s an opportunity here to deconstruct the slasher genre in a comic format, something that has never been attempted before. Done right, the book could be for comics what Scream was to the horror genre (which is intended as a compliment, and not a backhanded one at that). Besides, even if this story was terrible it would still be nowhere as awful as Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

7) Archie Meets Futurama

Archie Comics

The plot: Remember Archie 3000!? It was a short-lived title from 1989 that had a strangely mulleted Archie and the gang living in the future. As a matter of fact, the comic takes place at the exact same time as Futurama. This miniseries would have Archie 3000! (not the character’s real name but my favorite member of Outkast) and his pals and gals visiting New New York on a school trip. But when Veronica hires the Planet Express crew to transport all of her Tiffany’s purchases back to Riverdale, the gang gets launched into an interplanetary battle involving Mom and Zapp Brannigan…who becomes torn between Betty and Veronica. Also, Fry becomes obsessed with having a waffle cut like Archie.

Why it needs to happen: Archie 3000! was a fun comic that had a Galaxy High by way of Riverdale vibe. Unfortunately it was never given the chance to develop an audience like it should have before it was abruptly cancelled. Sound familiar to anybody?

6) Archie Meets Star Trek

Archie Comics

The plot: The crew of the Starship Rivda (as featured in 1970s issues of Life with Archie and deserving of a comeback) gets sucked into a parallel universe, where they encounter James T. Kirk and the Enterprise. Together, they must fight foes ranging from Romulans to a mutant tapeworm Jughead got from eating a targburger.

Why it needs to happen: Archie and Star Trek are two American pop culture icons that have never been paired together, save for George Takei’s cameo in an issue of Kevin Keller. The occasional stories featuring Archie and company as a starship crew have a nostalgic warmth to them that recalls the original Star Trek (of which they were substantially inspired by). Admit it, you want to see Kirk hit on Betty and Veronica too.

5) Archie Meets Wolverine

Archie Comics

The plot: As teased at the end of Archie Meets the Punisher (which if you haven’t read then what are you even doing here), Wolverine goes after a Jughead doppelganger who is, apparently, the most dangerous mutant alive. Chaos ensues before the inevitable conclusion in which the real Jughead beats Wolverine in an eating contest.

Why it needs to happen: Archie Meets the Punisher was the original high-concept book that was a pre-cursor to everything the company is doing so well these days. Although writer Barton Lash only included the above panel as a throwaway stinger joke, it seems like an idea that is ripe for exploration. Sadly, the death of Wolverine in mainstream Marvel comics will probably put this would-be masterpiece on ice for awhile longer. Boo.

4) Archie Meets Bob’s Burgers

Archie Comics

The plot: The Belchers travel to Riverdale for the Best Burger in America contest. Once there, Bob finds himself squaring off against his biggest rival ever: Pop Tate. Meanwhile, Jughead finds his loyalties divided when he discovers that Bob’s burgers are better than Pop’s, while Tina develops an obsession with Jughead’s hat and Louise discovers a kindred spirit when she pulls a prank on Bob with the help of Reggie.

Why it needs to happen: The Bob’s Burgers comic is the increasingly rare example of a licensed book done right. Dynamite is a smaller company that could really grab some traction in the industry through collaborating with Archie – and outfit that shares a similar worldview.

3) Archie Meets Star Wars

Archie Comics

The plot: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, moisture farmer Archie Andromeda dreams of a better life. When he intercepts two droids meant for local hermit Waldobi Weatherbee, he embarks on an adventure that will put him in contact with a familiar group of rebels and the evil force that they will unite to fight together.

Why it needs to happen: Veronica with a bun hairdo. Need I say more?

2) Archie Meets Doctor Who

Archie Comics

The plot: In the 29th Century, the Time Police notice a strange blue box doing all sorts of damage to space and time. They bring Deputy Marshall Jughead Jones out of retirement to investigate. Fascinated with Jughead’s time adventures and desperate to meet his descendent January McAndrews, Archie decides to tag along and together the trio meet the enigmatic Doctor…and the alien forces who will stop at nothing to make sure that every universe is destroyed forever.

Why it needs to happen: Of all the Archie comics that have come and gone over the years, none is as rich with potential as Jughead’s Time Police. Its mix of adventure and comedy is a natural fit for fans of a certain Gallifreyan, and a combining the two could result in some chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter/peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate brilliance. Also, I’m pretty convinced that Missy is actually Jughead’s arch nemesis, Morgan Le Fay

1) Archie Meets Alien

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The plot: After Dilton designs a revolutionary deep space rocket for NASA, he and his Riverdale pals head to Cape Canaveral to watch it launch. But when Archie accidentally sends it hurtling into outer space during a pre-flight tour, our heroes suddenly find themselves drifting through the cosmos. After landing on a mysterious uncharted planet, the pals discover alien life when a facehugger attaches itself to Reggie. Realizing that figuring out how to return to Riverdale is the least of their problems, our heroes face off against the only thing in the universe that is scarier than an angry Big Moose: the Alien.

Why it needs to happen: An Archie Meets Alien comic is not only the coolest possible crossover on this list, it’s also the most plausible. Dark Horse owns the licenses for the Alien and Predator, and with a collaboration involving the latter franchise already in place an Archie/Alien meetup feels inevitable. And that’s not even mentioning how at the New York Comic Con Archie panel the company’s Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was asked about such a possibility and (perhaps not so jokingly) mused about seeing Veronica take on a Ripley-esque role. In space, no one can hear syngery.

Previously by Chris Cummins:

10 Casting Suggestions for the Archie Film

The 25 Most Awesomely Melodramatic Archie Comics Covers

The 10 Best Things About the First Three Issues of Afterlife with Archie
9) Archie Meets Tron

Archie Comics

The plot: When Archie gets into a Veronica-based scuffle with Reggie during the opening ceremony of Riverdale High’s new computer lab, Mr. Weatherbee forces up to stay behind and clean up. Ever the klutz, he accidentally knocks some apple juice onto the high-tech new data processor Dilton invented and gets sucked inside a strange and wonderful computer world. Once there, he meets Tron (who is still fighting for the users as opposed to whatever silliness he was up to in Tron: Legacy) and a variety of characters who look surprisingly familiar…including a new Master Control Program that is Mr. Weatherbee’s doppelganger.

Why it needs to happen: Archie did a Tron-esque story in the Cyber Adventures trade paperback, but that never quite gelled. It’s a premise that is worth doing right. How? By pairing up occasional Archie artist Tania del Rio and writer Jai Nitz (who did the underrated Tron: Betrayal two-parter a few years back). Del Rio’s whimsical art and Nitz’s gritty storytelling would make a bizarre pairing, something that would be full of the off kilter coolness that is the world of Tron itself.

8) Archie Meets Friday the 13th

Archie Comics

The plot: Always looking for his next real estate deal, Mr. Lodge decides to purchase the rundown Camp Crystal Lake. Dismissing the camp’s bad reputation as a bunch of “superstition and hooey,” he enlists the help of Veronica, Betty, Archie, Jughead, Reggie and Dilton to spend a weekend there to check it out…much to the dismay of one Jason Voorhees. Soon the barbecues and youthful fun are replaced by terror as the campers are stalked one by one. Will any of the Riverdale gang be able to survive a few days in Jason’s domain?

Why it needs to happen: With Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Archie has shown than they are more than adept handling different types of horror stories. There’s no reason to believe that they wouldn’t be able to handle a slasher tale just as skillfully. The mash-up seems like a natural idea given how the Friday the 13th franchise’s bread and butter is unchecked teenage hormones. There’s an opportunity here to deconstruct the slasher genre in a comic format, something that has never been attempted before. Done right, the book could be for comics what Scream was to the horror genre (which is intended as a compliment, and not a backhanded one at that). Besides, even if this story was terrible it would still be nowhere as awful as Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

7) Archie Meets Futurama

Archie Comics

The plot: Remember Archie 3000!? It was a short-lived title from 1989 that had a strangely mulleted Archie and the gang living in the future. As a matter of fact, the comic takes place at the exact same time as Futurama. This miniseries would have Archie 3000! (not the character’s real name but my favorite member of Outkast) and his pals and gals visiting New New York on a school trip. But when Veronica hires the Planet Express crew to transport all of her Tiffany’s purchases back to Riverdale, the gang gets launched into an interplanetary battle involving Mom and Zapp Brannigan…who becomes torn between Betty and Veronica. Also, Fry becomes obsessed with having a waffle cut like Archie.

Why it needs to happen: Archie 3000! was a fun comic that had a Galaxy High by way of Riverdale vibe. Unfortunately it was never given the chance to develop an audience like it should have before it was abruptly cancelled. Sound familiar to anybody?

6) Archie Meets Star Trek

Archie Comics

The plot: The crew of the Starship Rivda (as featured in 1970s issues of Life with Archie and deserving of a comeback) gets sucked into a parallel universe, where they encounter James T. Kirk and the Enterprise. Together, they must fight foes ranging from Romulans to a mutant tapeworm Jughead got from eating a targburger.

Why it needs to happen: Archie and Star Trek are two American pop culture icons that have never been paired together, save for George Takei’s cameo in an issue of Kevin Keller. The occasional stories featuring Archie and company as a starship crew have a nostalgic warmth to them that recalls the original Star Trek (of which they were substantially inspired by). Admit it, you want to see Kirk hit on Betty and Veronica too.