Examining Archie’s life, one insane thing at a time

Life with Archie is never dull. Earlier this year, Archie Andrews was actually killed during an assassination attempt on his best friend. Not long before that, he was involved in a zombie apocalypse and bonded with the cast of Glee. Now comes news that things are going to get even more insane for the Riverdale crew.

An Archie Meets Predator series has just been announced for 2015. Yes, Archie’s meeting that Predator—the one who fought Arnold Schwarzenegger and a big old alien. According to the comic’s writer, Alex de Campi, Andrews will battle the big old monster while on spring break in Costa Rica, after Betty gets lost in the jungle.

Why put Archie through this ordeal? “It’s just completely insane,” Di Campi told USA Today. “Let’s take this gentle, beloved, classic teen cast and hunt them down and slaughter them one by one. Seriously, if you wouldn’t jump at the chance to write something like this, you need your head examined.”

Battling a giant man-eating beast isn’t totally comical, but it’s not the first time Archie and his gang of friends have been put through some pretty bizarre events. Here are some of the craziest (and best) things the Riverdale gang has gotten into:

1. When they ate each other’s flesh

The “Afterlife with Archie” series turned Archie into a zombie horror comic. And it was really strange and wonderful. His classmates ate each other, he bashed his zombie father’s head in with a baseball bat, Reggie ran over Hotdog (the dog, not the meat) and Cheryl and Jason Blossom formed an incestuous relationship. Things took a major turn for the bonkers with this one.

2. When Archie turned religious

“Life with Archie” was never super religious. . . until it was. The Spire Comics line of Christian Archie stories (the same line that brought us “Hansi: The Girl who Loved the Swastika“) had Archie and his friends spreading the good word. The crazy part isn’t the religion part. It was just probably the first time a comic strip has mentioned the Bible, and then told readers to look up a previously published issue for reference.

3. When a canoeing trip almost turned deadly

Archie and Betty had no chance against the raging rapids in “Ride the Raging River.” They capsized, Betty drowned, then she un-drowned and was almost murdered by crazy hillbillies. Archie blamed himself, naturally.

4. When the gang went to alternate universes

There are numerous issues that involve Archie and his friends being put into the future and the prehistoric past. So, realistic stuff.

5. When the library was haunted

The ghost of a dead librarian haunted the citizens of Riverdale in “The Haunting of Riverdale.” In particular, she haunted Jughead, whose books had been overdue for 10 years. 10 years! That’s reason enough to haunt someone, I’d say.

Featured images via Mic, Mashable, Comicsalliance, USA Today