Ethel Muggs is a character frequently featured in

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Riverdale High School, sometimes known to her schoolmates by the nickname Big Ethel, though this nickname has largely fallen out of use since the 1980s. She was first drawn by cartoonist

Samm Schwartz Samm Schwartz (October 15, 1920 – November 13, 1997)Social Security Death Index, for SS# 073-14-0718. was an American comic artist best known for his work in MLJ and Archie Comics, specifically on the character Jughead Jones. Biography Schwa ...

, probably modeled after a prototype designed by Bill Vigoda for a 1948

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Jane Webb Jane Webb Karyl, (August 13, 1925 – March 30, 2010) best known as Jane Webb, was an American film, radio, and voice actress, best known for her work on Filmation's cartoons. Early years Webb's mother was Estelle Sigrid Webb, a Swedish immigran ...

, Jazzmin Lausanne, and Michele Phillips.

Cindy Ambuehl Cindy K. Ambuehl is an American actress and real estate agent. Career Ambuehl was born in Los Angeles, California. Before becoming an actress, she was signed by the Judith Fontaine Modeling and Talent Agency as a model. She appeared in ''Wings'' ...

played Ethel in the television film '' Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again'', and

Shannon Purser Shannon Purser (born June 27, 1997) is an American actress. She made her acting debut as Barb in the Netflix drama series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–2017), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress i ...

portrays the character in a recurring capacity on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

's '' Riverdale''.

History and character

Ethel Muggs (originally Ethel Dinklehof) was portrayed in the early era as a tall, gangly, plain-faced, somewhat boy-crazy young woman that had a huge infatuation with

Jughead Jones Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Archie Comics who first appeared in the first Archie story, from ''Pep Comics'' #22 (December 1941). He is the drummer of th ...

. This was explained in her first appearance in ''Archie's Pal, Jughead'' #84 as the result of

Dilton Doiley Dilton Donald Doiley is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe, where he is considered the smartest teenager in Riverdale High School. History Characters resembling Dilton (in appearance and personality) appeared quite early in A ...

's "Electronic Mate Selector" selecting Jughead as "the perfect mate" for her. She usually resorted to devious means to get Jughead in her clutches, and would typically end up running after him. Ethel has also pursued Jughead by appealing to his appetite; the ''

Betty and Veronica ''Betty and Veronica'' (also known as ''Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica'') was an ongoing comic book series published by Archie Comics focusing on "best friends and worst enemies" Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. Betty first appeared in ''Pep Co ...

'' comic title often featured real recipes that Ethel used to make her way to Jughead's heart through his stomach. Earlier issues featuring Big Ethel show her bearing a strong resemblance to Jughead, also, with her prominent nose, dark hair, and angular build. In the late 1980s, Ethel was occasionally drawn with braces on her buck teeth. Although Ethel is usually portrayed as drab-looking and gawky, one story involving a

makeover A makeover is a radical change in appearance. When the word is used to describe a change in human physical appearance, it may imply a change in clothing, haircut, or cosmetics. A personal makeover might also include weight loss, plastic surgery, ...

Betty Cooper Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana an ...

and

Veronica Lodge Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies. She is from New York but currently resides in the town of Riverdale (Archie Com ...

in an attempt to attract Jughead's attention revealed her to be quite curvy and pretty (albeit still with buck teeth). Despite her new look, Jughead was as uninterested as ever. In the later era, she has been portrayed as an average, decent-looking, somewhat likeable teen girl, whose infatuation for Jughead has been considerably toned down. She now has other interests that keep her mind from Jughead, including Dilton and

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

, to keep her company. This actually tends to make Jughead a bit jealous. She and Dilton share mutual sympathy due to their few successes with romantic relationships, which is one of the reasons that they occasionally date. She has even been on one memorable date with Archie in one story. That date showed another side of Ethel, where she was funny, smart and attractive. The same story also introduces Hank, a friend of Ethel's who works at a local club Archie and Ethel visit on their date. It is later revealed that Hank was originally a pen pal of Ethel's, and she sent him a picture of Veronica instead of herself because of her low self-esteem. When Hank met Veronica standing in as Ethel, he dumped her because of her vanity. He soon ran into the real Ethel, and told her she was the most exciting girl he has ever met, and that Veronica could not hold a candle to her. When she questions his sincerity, he replies that he does mean it, and she is even more beautiful than Veronica. In another story, a merman (temporarily transformed into a teenage human boy) finds her enchanting due to her inner beauty, giving her self-esteem a huge boost. Although Jughead drives Ethel away when her affections are too obvious, he can often stand being around her when she keeps her calm. In a storyline that ran in ''Jughead'' in the early 1990s, Ethel told Jughead she is tired of chasing him, and begins a romantic relationship with Jeffrey, a blind boy. During this time, Jughead also had a semi-romantic relationship with Anita, a paraplegic African-American teen. Both Jughead and Ethel displayed jealousy at the others' relationship, but the storyline was eventually dropped. Various stories depict Ethel as a fan of science fiction, art, and trains. She also has a talent for making doll-house furniture, and often works as a babysitter. She is also a fine cook, which is one of the reasons Jughead occasionally submits to being around her. She is fond of dogs, and sometimes uses her attractive female poodle, Clementine, as bait to lure Jughead and

Hot Dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

Other versions

Afterlife with Archie

In the second issue of the 2013

Archie Horror Archie Horror is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Archie Comics, Archie Comics Publications, Inc. focusing on the company's Horror comics, horror-related titles. Prior to the creation of the imprint the titles were published under the normal A ...

series ''

Afterlife with Archie ''Afterlife with Archie'' is a comic book published by Archie Comics beginning in 2013, depicting a zombie apocalypse that begins in the town of Riverdale in an alternative reality. It is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa,

'', Ethel attends the Halloween dance dressed as Snow White and after an attempted flirtation, a zombified Jughead bites and infects her. When the reanimated Ethel goes after

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

, Veronica blasts and hits the zombie with a fire extinguisher. When she doesn't stay down, the kids realize that a

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

is upon them.

Archie's R/C Racers

In the '' Archie's R/C Racers'' series (which takes place outside the regular Archie continuity), Ethel was a member of Archie's team who was traveling across the United States racing radio-controlled cars. She was given her own subplot in the series when she chose to leave Archie's team and join Babette and her henchmen, one of whom had a crush on Ethel and whose feelings were returned. They promised to help Ethel's aspiring country music career. Gradually, she became a starlet, known as "Ethel Sue". Ethel eventually learned the truth about the trio when Babette convinced her to pose for some publicity photos. Standing in front of a large metal target, Ethel suddenly became strapped to the target and Babette prepared to shoot her with a ray gun, which Ethel believed was a camera. Babette explained that the ray gun was a device that can give the recipient mental powers and she planned on using it on herself after testing it on Ethel. Before she could be zapped, Archie's team saved her. Babette instead zapped a tour guide, who became a villain in the series. Ethel left Babette and returned to Archie's team.

Life with Archie: The Married Life

Ethel Muggs appears in Life with Archie: The Married Life.

Prototypes

An early unnamed prototype for the Big Ethel character drawn by Bill Vigoda appeared in ''

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.

Titles

Ethel has never had her own series, but has been a supporting character mainly in the various ''Jughead'' series, as well as some of the ''Betty'' series, as she has a close friendship with

. She also has solo stories in the various ''Archie'' anthology titles. In 1982, she co-starred in the

Spire Christian Comics ''Spire Christian Comics'' was a line of comic books published by Fleming H. Revell starting in 1972. In the 1980s, Barbour & Company, founded by Hugh Revell Barbour, acquired the rights to republish many of the titles in the Spire Christian Com ...

title ''Archie and Big Ethel''. In October 2021, a series created by Keryl Brown Ahmed and Siobhan was published on

Webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

under the name ''Archie Comics: Big Ethel Energy,'' in which Ethel is the main character of a future Riverdale where everyone has graduated since long.

In other media

Television

Animated

* Ethel made her television debut in the early

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...

Archie cartoons, most notably in the "How to Catch a Man" segments on '' Archie's Funhouse'', where she is voiced by

Jane Webb Jane Webb Karyl, (August 13, 1925 – March 30, 2010) best known as Jane Webb, was an American film, radio, and voice actress, best known for her work on Filmation's cartoons. Early years Webb's mother was Estelle Sigrid Webb, a Swedish immigran ...

. Webb went on to voice the character, among several others, in numerous Archie-based television projects from 1968 to 1977. * Ethel appears in ''

The New Archies ''The New Archies'' is an American animated sitcom produced by DIC Animation City, based upon the characters by Archie Comics. The series, originally produced for NBC's Saturday morning schedule and broadcast from September 12 to December 5, 198 ...

'', voiced by Jazzmin Lausanne. * Ethel appears sporadically in ''

Archie's Weird Mysteries ''Archie's Weird Mysteries'' ( French: ''Archie, mystères et compagnie'') is an animated television series based on the characters by Archie Comics. The series premise revolves around a Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of ...

'' voiced by Michele Phillips. This incarnation is visually based on older versions of the character, but like in the newer comics, she also has other interests, such as beekeeping and magic.

Live-action

* Ethel appears in the 1990 television film '' Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again'', where she is portrayed as an adult by

. Ethel is now a gorgeous fashion model, having been a late bloomer, and still has a crush on

. By the end of the movie, Jughead and his son decide to stay in Riverdale so that he can pursue a relationship with Ethel. * Ethel is portrayed by

television series '' Riverdale'', which debuted in 2017. In the series, Ethel is not shown to be obsessed with Jughead and is actually good friends with his girlfriend,

, and later

after their shared experiences with harassment by

Chuck Clayton Charles Clayton is a teenage fictional character published by Archie Comics. Chuck lives in the fictional town of Riverdale, and is the friend of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, and other students at Riverdale High School. Chuck fir ...

. However, in season 3, it is revealed that Ethel is infatuated with Jughead and even convinces him to kiss her while playing a game of Gryphons and Gargoyles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muggs, Ethel Comics characters introduced in 1962 Characters created by Samm Schwartz Archie Comics characters Fictional chefs Fictional singers Animated human characters Female characters in animation Female characters in comics Female characters in television Teenage characters in comics Teenage characters in television