Archie Andrews dies in Wednesday's issue of the iconic comic book, "Life with Archie," after jumping in front of an assassin's gun in order to save his friend, an openly gay senator.
While the death of the character who's been around for 73 years doesn't eliminate him from the comic scene completely — he lives on in other series —
Archie Comics chief executive officer Jon Goldwater told The Associated Press that his demise is true to the character's do-good nature.
"We wanted to not only grab people's attention but really show the heroic nature of the character," Goldwater told the AP. "He's willing to literally die to save his friend, Kevin. Archie would have died to save any of his friends. I think Archie would've even died to save a stranger."
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The plot of "Life with Archie" No. 36 centers around an assassination attempt on Archie's friend and the series' first openly gay character, Sen. Kevin Keller. The politician becomes a target because of his gay rights and gun control agendas.
"Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters," Goldwater told the AP. "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 Comics first announced that its lead character would die in "Life with Archie" back in April but did not reveal the circumstances surrounding the death or when it would happen.
Rolling Stone magazine reported that Goldwater refused to give away the identity of the character that kills Archie, but did add that the person is a stalker who wanted to stop Keller at all costs.
E! News reported that "Life with Archie" No. 37 will examine how Archie's friends are dealing with the character's death one year later as they honor him.
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