Betty and Veronica: Difference between revisions

[[File:Archiesgirlsbettyandveronica347.jpg|link=Archie Comics|frame|Spoiler alert: {{spoiler[[Status Quo Is God|NoNope.}}]]]]

''She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers''|'''Taylor Swift''', "You Belong With Me"}}

Whom the hero will end up with varies according to media, story, and [[Values Dissonance|values of the time period and culture]] where the story was made. Traditionally, "Betty" stood a better chance because she conformed to more 'acceptable' moral norms, whilst choosing "Veronica" would only lead the poor sap into [[Downer Ending|ruin]]. Usually, the hero would [[Wrong Guy First|spend the story chasing "Veronica" only to realize that "Betty" was The One]] -- complete—complete with a convenient 'appreciate what you've got' or [[True Beauty Is on the Inside]] Aesop. However, as attitudes to what is 'appropriate' sexual conduct have liberalized, it's more accepted for "Veronica" to have a chance at winning a happy ending too. Movies have traditionally favoured "Betty", but video games, comics and TV shows (especially long runners) have played this trope for all it's worth.

** ''[[Macross Frontier]]'' has Ranka as the Betty and Sheryl as the Veronica. In the second movie, The Wings of Goodbye: The End of the Triangle, it's resolved. {{spoiler|Alto apologizies to Ranka for being unable to return her feelings and declares his love to Sheryl before going Missing In Action.}}

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' offers perhaps the best example of how subjective this trope can be. In Japan, [[Shy Blue-Haired Girl|Rei]] is seen as the Betty because of her gentle disposition and general [[Yamato Nadeshiko|reservedness]], whereas the [[Fiery Redhead|Fiery Redheaded]]ed [[Foreign Fanservice|foreigner]] Asuka is the cultural Veronica because her forceful and aggressive personality is just so strange to the [[Japanese Politeness|generally reserved]] Japanese public. Contrast this with more demonstrative Western audiences, who see the more outgoing, more human, more [[Badass Adorable|badass]], and more [[Cannot Spit It Out|overtly in love]] Asuka as the familiar Betty, and the [[Creepy Child|bizarre]], [[Emotionless Girl|cold]], and [[Uncanny Valley|strangely unsettling]] Rei as the exotic Veronica. Then add in [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Kaworu]], a [[Gay Option|Gay]] [[Third Option Love Interest]] so popular in [[Ho Yay|fandom]] that he was made ''canon'' in almost all the alternate continuities.

** It's played straight, however, in the [[Lighter and Fluffier]] spinnoffspin-off series, such as ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days]]'' and ''[[Ikari Shinji Raising Project]]''.

* In ''[[School Days]]'', the Betty is Sekai, the [[Girl Next Door]] friend of the main lead with simple short hair and a bubbly personality, while the Veronica is Kotonoha, the [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[The Ojou|Ojou]] who's shy but extremely popular among the boys because of her looks. Then both of them reveal [[Yandere (disambiguation)|surprising sides]] to their characters...

* ''[[ZeroThe noFamiliar Tsukaimaof Zero]]'' does this, with noblewoman [[Tsundere|Louise]] facing off against peasant girl [[Meido|Siesta]].

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', you get this trope [[Love Dodecahedron|in spades]] with Naruto. There's Sakura who seems to be choosing between Naruto (Betty) and [[Evil Former Friend|Sasuke]] (Veronica). Also in the above cases where Shikamaru and Sasuke are the Archies, we also have [[Lovable Alpha Bitch|Ino]]. With Shikamaru as Archie, we have Ino as Betty (same team, parents are friends) and Temari as Veronica (foreigner, older). With Sasuke as Archie, you really have Sakura as Betty, Ino as Veronica and Karin as the [[Third Option Love Interest]]. And with Naruto as Archie, you get [[Shrinking Violet|Hinata]] as Betty and Sakura as Veronica.

* In ''[[Psychic Academy]]'', this is played quite obviously through the Betty-esque Orina (AKA Sara), Ai's childhood friend, and the Veronica-esque Mew.

* Melfina from ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' gets an inverted version of this with Gene and Harry. Of course, when the "safe" choice is a foul-mouthed [[Badass Longcoat]], you just ''know'' the "bad boy" is [[Psycho for Hire|going to]] [[Stalker with a Crush|have some]] [[Yandere (disambiguation)|serious issues]].

** Akane's somewhat sheltered and naive due to being the youngest child in a middle-to-high-class and very traditional family. Well, at the same time, she's rather popular at school, shuns the boys who chase after her (specially Kuno), has a quick temper towards Ranma and despite her triesbest efforts has very few traditionally feminine traits. These are all Veronica-ish qualities/flaws, so Kuno is somewhat right with this one.

** Shampoo is a [[Supreme Chef]], works full-time in her grandma's restaurant, and can be almost kittenish when she's happy (pun intended). Also added is that she came from a lower-class setting than Akane, is a lot smarter than she looks, and is also multi-talented. She also pines after Ranma. That's quite a dosage of Betty-ness.

** [[Playing with a Trope|You can argue it both ways though.]] Akane is very [[Nice Girl|kind-hearted and nice]] when not being upset, and often stands up for others even if it brings her problems. And while Shampoo can cook and can be very demure around Ranma, but most of the time she's [[Tsundere]] bordering on [[Yandere (disambiguation)]] and can be very manipulative and even cruel, like with Mousse ''and'' sometimes to Ranma himself. Shampoo also has an exotic quality, and her sexiness is sometimes played up too, especially compared to Akane who is a tomboy[[Tomboy]] who attempts to be more feminine. So in this sense Akane may be the Betty instead.

** This becomes transparent when she's placed in contrast with Kodachi, whose upperclass lifestyle makes her a full-on Veronica, what with the [[Mad Love]] she feels towards Ranma pushing her to the point of being an active would-be [[Murder the Hypotenuse|hypothenusehypotenuse murderer]].

** Although this being an [[Unwanted Harem]] situation, it's not so much about Ranma being torn about which one to choose (though he is attracted to both girls, he feels much more attracted to [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased|Akane]]), but torn because he's engaged against his will to both women (Akane being an [[Arranged Marriage]], Shampoo an [[Accidental Marriage]]) and rejecting one in favor of the other [[Pillars of Moral Character|would bring lots of trouble for the THREE''three'' of them]]. This triangle also includes a [[Third Option Love Interest]], in the form of [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]] and [[Bokukko]], [[Childhood Marriage Promise|Ukyo Kuonji]].

* In the 3rd OVA of ''[[Boku no Pico]]'', Pico finds himself in a B&V situation when he catches (the Veronica) [[Caught with Your Pants Down|CoCo fapping]] (then {{spoiler|has sex with him}}). Later, he catches his boyfriend(?) Chico {{spoiler|HAVING''having SEXsex WITHwith'' the Veronica}}. Think, Pico. Think REALLY''really'' hard.

* In ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', Tsuna's main two canon love interests are Kyoko (Betty) and Haru (Veronica). But since he hardly interacts with them compared to all the manly (ahem) bonding he does with all his [[Ho Yay|male guardians]], [[Het Is Ew|most people don't support him with ]]''[[Het Is Ew|either ]]''[[Het Is Ew|of them]].

* In ''[[Skip Beat!]]'', it's [[Gender Flip|Gender Flipped]]ped with Kyoko's two competing love interests, Ren (male Betty) and Shou (male Veronica).

** For the potential Austria-Hungary-Prussia triangle, fanworksfan works will either depict it as Hungary having to choose between the [[Neat Freak|straightlacedstraight-laced]], [[White Prince|gentlemanly]] Austria and the [[Wild Child|free-spirited]], [[Hot-Blooded]] Prussia or Austria having to choose between the [[Cute Bruiser|tough-as-nails]] but ultimately [[Badass Adorable|sweet and dependable]] Hungary and [[Blood Knight|the much wilder and less predictable]] Prussia. In both cases, fanworksfan works are about evenly split on whether the Betty or Veronica wins. [[OT3|And sometimes, they literally]] [[Take a Third Option]].

** Canon-wise, Japan has a choice between [[Sleepyhead|sleepy]], [[Nice Guy|laidbacklaid back]] [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]] Greece and [[Mask of Power|masked]], [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|rough-talking]] [[Boisterous Bruiser]] Turkey. However, unlike with the Austria-Hungary-Prussia triangle, virtually all fanworksfan works featuring this triangle agree that the Veronica [[Hopeless Suitor|has no chance against the Betty]] - and, in fact, actually has a better chance of ''[[Foe Yay|ending up with the Betty]]'' than with the Archie! All of which leads to the ''real'' Betty and Veronica dynamic at work in fandom being whether Greece should be paired with [[Moe|cute]], [[Inscrutable Oriental|emotionally]] [[Yamato Nadeshiko|reserved]], and [[He Is Not My Boyfriend|romantically shy]] Japan who's already [[Birds of a Feather|good friends with him]] or [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man|manly]], [[I Shall Taunt You|openly critical]], and [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis|aggressive]] Turkey who [[Foe Yay|passionately hates him]].

** And then there's the [[Comedic Sociopathy]]-filled Baltic-Slav [[All Love Is Unrequited|Unrequited]] [[Love Triangle]], where Russia plays a [[The Fake Cutie|rather]] [[Psychopathic Manchild|psychotic]] Archie who has the [[Yamato Nadeshiko|kind and gentle]] [[The Woobie|Lithuania]] as his Betty, whereas [[Brother-Sister Incest|his sister]] [[Elegant Gothic Lolita|Belarus]] is a [[Yandere (disambiguation)]] Veronica, with [[Bishonen|China]] ''and'' [[Team Mom|Ukraine]] as potential [[Third Option Love Interest|Third Option Love Interests]]s (Russia ''has'' stalked him a couple of times, and Ukraine is the one Russia shows his [[Pet the Dog|dere]] side more often to...).

** And just in case your head isn't spinning enough yet, there are ''numerous'' [[Fanon]] combinations of other characters with many of them bouncing back and forth between the Betty and Veronica roles depending on who their designated romantic rival is. To list all of them would take up half of this page, especially since this fandom is ''way'' more prone to [[OT3|OT3s]]s than most other fandoms.

* ''[[Strawberry Panic!|Strawberry Panic]]'' has two of these [[Schoolgirl Lesbians]] triangles: Nagisa with [[Fan of Underdog|Tamao]] as the Betty and [[Onee-Sama|Shizuma]] as the Veronica, and Hikari with [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Yaya]] as the Betty and [[Bifauxnen|Amane]] as the Veronica.

** A genderswapped version in the ''[[Death Note]]'' spin off novel ''Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases'' is Beyond Birthday as the Veronica and Raye Penber as the Betty to Naomi Misora's Archie. Admittedly, the case for any feelings between Beyond and Naomi is debatable, but there is some fanfictionfan fiction that would maintain otherwise.

* Takemoto (Betty) and Morita (Veronica) both fall in love with Hagu in ''[[Honey& and Clover]]''. {{spoiler|Even though Morita wins Hagu's affections, neither of the guys end up with her.}}

* The ''[[Hellsing]]'' anime has a twisted, '"sort of'" affection triangle between Alucard, Integra Hellsing, and Seras Victoria that creates an animosity between the women. While Seras looks aslike the Veronica (being the one with sultry clothes and the newest addition to the Hellsing group) to Integra's Betty (long-standing bond with Alucard and with more tomboyish traits), personality and role wise could be switched: Integra's the Rich Veronica that has Alucard's affection while Reliable Betty Seras longs for it. [[Word of God|Studio Gonzo]] claims that in the Anime, Alucard actually [[Replacement Goldfish|turned Seras because her eyes reminded him to Integra during her youth]], but he was mistaken. The manga averts this situation with an emphasis on a platonic bond between Alucard and Seras, but curiously adding [[Les Yay]] subtext between Seras and Integra, and having Pip Bernadotte as Seras' [[Love Interest]]. However, {{spoiler|Walter can be debatably considered an unlucky Betty to Alucard's Veronica to Integra's Archie. It was implied that was one of the many things that made Walter hate the vampire... and then pull a [[Face Heel Turn]].}}.

* ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' ''could'' have had this, with [[Nice Guy|Kaoru]] between the sweet, innocent [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] Aoi (Betty), and the wilder, worldly [[Blithe Spirit]] Tina (Veronica). This would have also reversed the usual [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|color coding]], as the former is brunette ([[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|sorta]]), while the latter is blond. However, the Veronica [[Childhood Marriage Promise|never]] [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage|really]] [[Official Couple|had]] [[First Girl Wins|a]] [[Victorious Childhood Friend|chance]], in this case.<ref> Note that Tina is still "innocent" in one way (ie, still a virgin).</ref>

*** Aaaaand later {{spoiler|Shouma becomes the Betty to the [[Face Heel Turn|Face Heel Turned]]ed Kanba's Veronica.}}

* In ''[[Ratman]]'', Shuto's female admirers are both a mix of [[Betty and Veronica]] traits while still in stark contrast to one another. On one hand is Mirea Mizushima, his exotically gorgeous [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] classmate whom he's known for some time, however her family are the ones who turned him into the [[Anti-Villain]] [[Villain Protagonist|Protagonist]], Ratman. On the other hand is Rio Kizaki, who better fits the "cute and spunky" type, but is also the wealthy and [[Tomboy|tomboyishtomboy]]ish daughter of the Hero Association's president, and the two of them bond over their shared dream of being heroes.

* In ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'', [[The Ojou|Ayeka]] is clearly the Betty (traditional, reserved) to [[The Vamp|Ryoko]]'s Veronica (sultry, unreserved). Then they started [[Harem Anime|introducing other love interests]] and came up with a third option: [[Marry Them All|the "Tenchi Solution"]].

* [[Archie Comics]]' Betty and Veronica, [[Trope Namer|obviously]]. There have been storylinesstory lines claiming to finally resolve the love triangle, but they [[Status Quo Is God|never seem to actually fulfill this]].

* Not dwelleddwelt upon too much, but [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Kim Pine]] is Betty and [[Official Couple|Ramona Flowers]] is Veronica to [[Scott Pilgrim]]. In [[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World|the movie]], [[Stalker with a Crush|Knives Chau]] assumes Kim's Betty duties.

** Spider-Man writers seem to be fond of this trope. Originally it was a choice between rich somewhat stuck-up -ish Liz Allen (Veronica) and mature secretary Betty Brant (amusingly, the Betty). Then the choice was between sweet Gwen and frivolous party girl MJ. Then MJ swapped roles and became the Betty and Black Cat become the Veronica.

*** In recent{{when}} issues it seems to be going towards Carlie = Betty and Black Cat = Veronica.

** Ben ReilyReilly had the spoiled and sometimes selfish blonde fashion student and the twisted, down to earth gothic girl. She was also the daughter of uncle Ben's murderer. Which of the two is Betty and which is Veronica depends on your point of view.

**** As noted on it'sits page, USM seems to have these roles as balls. Since Gwen I both roles are always taken. [[Playing with a Trope|The situation has recently been reversed]] with Gwen II hugging the Betty ball (in Peter's thoughts, anyway) and MJ finally catching the Veronica one.

* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' had a long-running [[Love Triangle]] with Jean Grey, Cyclops (Betty), and Wolverine (Veronica)...which was turned on its head during Grant Morrison's early 2000s run, which introduced a [[Betty and Veronica]] love triangle with Cyclops as the center figure, Jean as the Betty, and Emma Frost as the Veronica. Then Jean dies, with [[Word of God|the writers]] claiming [[Blatant Lies|she won't be back]], but absolutely no readers believe that since coming [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]] is literally part of Jean's power set.

* Tim Drake (3rd [[Robin]]) from the ''[[Batman]]'' series has had his own personal love triangle in the early run of his solo book. He was dating civilian Ariana Dzerchenko (Betty) but was attracted to vigilante Stephanie Brown (Veronica) at the same time. Ironic, because Ariana has Veronica's physical appearance and bitchiness, and Stephanie has Betty's physical appearance and tomboyishness. Ultimately, Stephanie wins the triangle, with her becoming his most high-profile (and longest) relationship in the series.

** Even after Stephanie and Tim's breakup, her fake '"death'", Tim dating a new girl called Zoanne and later Stephanie's subsequent return to Gotham -- StephanieGotham—Stephanie was still the Veronica, this time to Zoanne's Betty. And again, Stephanie wins the triangle (technically), with Tim breaking up with Zoanne on the phone, and then calling up Stephanie to try and patch things up with her.

** In ''Red Robin'', Tam is now the new Betty to Stephanie's Veronica. And Lynx is the [[Third Option Love Interest]].

* ''[[Sleeper (Comic Book)|Sleeper]]'' has a version of this with the main character Holden Carver, his former government coworker Veronica (Betty), and supervillain Gretchen/Miss Misery (Veronica). The end result is a truly spectacular and accidental {{spoiler|[[Murder the Hypotenuse]], with Veronica shooting Gretchen, thinking she was about to kill Holden, and Holden reflexively shooting Veronica dead. He then had an experimental surgery to cure his condition that left him in a vegetative state, with his superior creating a little mental world for him where he lives on a beach with both Veronica ''and'' Gretchen, making this a rare canononicalcanonical quasi-[[OT3]] solution}}.

* ''[[Lanfeust]]'' is a textbook example with the hero's fiancee Ci'an (the Betty) and her troublesome yet alluring twin sister Cixi (the Veronica). Note that the two are TWINS: gentle, proper Ci'an packs a mean right when angered, while sex-obsessed Cixi sometimes shows a softer heart than her sister, sometimes inverting their role. {{spoiler|He ends up with Cixi after she [[Took a Level Inin Badass|becomes totally awesome]]. Well, even more [[Most Common Superpower|totally awesome]]. Lanfeust and Ci'an actually split up before that due to Ci'an falling for the finally grown up [[Knight in Shining Armor|Or-Azur]] while Lanfeust realized he couldn't provide her with the stable life she aspired to.}}

* ''[[Sin City]]'' has Dwight as [[Archie]] with badass prostitute Gail as Veronica and sweetheart waitress Shellie as Betty.

* The [[Trope Namer]] example is deconstructed in ''[[Criminal]]: The Last of the Innocent'', where after years of unhappy marriage to the shallow, adulterous and manipulative "Veronica" [[Expy]], the "Archie" stand-in realizes he made the wrong choice and really should have stayed with the "Betty" [[Expy]]. Unfortunately, his solution to the problem... well, [[Film Noir|let's just say there's a reason the series is called ''Criminal''.]]

* A "color-coded" triangle exists in filmthe films noirs ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'', ''[[Tension]]'', and ''Out Of The Past'' (where the evil Veronica, Jane Greer, dresses all in white, as Lana Turner had in "Postman"). In the black and white film ''Dark Passage'', both the Veronica and Betty characters (Agnes Moorhead and Lauren Bacall respectively) are brunettes, but Moorhead's character loves and is coded by the color orange.

* [[John Hughes]] has used this binary triangle with some success. In ''[[Pretty in Pink]]'', the traditional "Betty/Veronica" triangle exists between two boys and a girl (Blaine, Ducky, red-headed Andi)... Yet the unpleasant "Reggie" archetype is played by the blonde, wealthy James Spader, who seeks to sabotage his friend Blaine, an "Archie" type nice boy. The character of Duckie is comic relief, like "Jughead," but unique in that he's also a love interest. Of course ''Pretty in Pink'' was originally shot to have her end up with the Betty (Ducky) as well, but thanks to ''[[Executive Meddling]]'', [[Revised Ending|that didn't happen]].

* The two fiances in ''[[Corpse Bride]]'' fit this trope--shytrope—shy, proper, living Victoria is the Betty and the lively-but-dead Emily is the Veronica. Except that Victor specifically wants to marry Victoria; Emily was in the picture thanks to a rather weird [[Accidental Marriage|Accidental Engagement]].

** Victor ALSO''also'' wants to marry Emily; but, knowing that doing so would kill him (literally) and would make Victoria as sad as she is herself without any chance of closure, she rejects him at the last moment.

* ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula|Bram Stokers Dracula]]'' has (although Bram Stoker's ''[[Dracula]]'' does not) a genderswapped version with Mina as Archie, Dracula as Veronica and her much more average fiance Jonathan as Betty. {{spoiler|Dracula dies, but it is not made entirely certain that Mina goes back to Jonathan.}}

* The 2010 [[Rupert Grint]] movie ''[[Cherrybomb]]'' has another genderswapped version, with Michelle as the Archie, having to choose between the (relatively) safe and dependable Malachy (Betty) and the rebellious, dashing Luke (Veronica).

* ''[[She's Out of My League]]'' plays around with this. For Molly, Kirk is the [[Adorkable]] Betty and Cam, her ex-boyfriend, is the Veronica. Meanwhile for Kirk, the beautiful and worldly Molly initially seems the Veronica and his familiar ex-girlfriend Marnie is the Betty. However Molly is genuinely nice and Marnie is not.

* [[The Olsen twins.Twins]], Everythingin everything that they've ever been in together. Ashley's character might be interested in fashion and modeling or be the cool surfer chick but will always be the boy-crazy Veronica while Mary-Kate's character might be a serious student or serious athlete but always the down to earth one.

* In a deleted scene from ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', Mia Wallace runs a personality/pop culture test on Vincent Vega. One of the questions is "Betty or Veronica?", and Vincent chooses Betty, claiming never having gotten Veronica's appeal. Which is made interesting by the fact that Mia is a total Veronica.

** Ron caught between his long -time friend Hermione and the "fangirl" Lavender Brown.

* In Stephanie Meyer's ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' saga, gender roles are switched--theswitched—the protagonist, Bella Swan, wants to be with Edward (mysterious, pale, creepy) but Jacob (long-time best friend, genuinely cares about her), who she does have some romantic feelings for, wants to be with her.

* ''[[Kushiel's Legacy]]'' has Imriel torn between his dutiful love for gentle brunette wife Dorelei, and his socially inappropriate and fairly kinky attachment to glamorous, feisty blonde heiress Sidonie, a [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]. Arguably Phedre, Hyacinthe and Joscelin fall into this as well, if only because of the complicated nature of Phedre's relationship with [[Chaste Hero|Joscelin]].

* In the ''[[Stephanie Plum]]'' series, the protagonist of the same name is caught in a love triangle between her childhood friend Joe Morelli and the more mysterious Ranger. However, Joe Morelli isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill goody-two-shoes Betty.

* Some [[V. C. Andrews]] books gender-flip this trope: the ''Casteel'' series has [[Girl Next Door|Boy Next Door]] Logan as the Betty and [[Troubled but Cute]] [[Incest Is Relative|uncle]] Troy as the Veronica for Heaven, the ''Cutler'' series has [[Flirty Stepsiblings|devoted stepbrother]] Jimmy as the Betty and [[Stalker with a Crush|creepily obsessed]] [[Brother-Sister Incest|blood brother]] Philip as the Veronica for Dawn, and the ''Landry'' series has [[Brother-Sister Incest|half-brother]] Paul as the Betty and [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|bad boy]] Beau as the Veronica for Ruby. And yes, one of the suitors ''will'' turn out to be blood-related to the heroine. [[Signature Style|No exceptions.]]

* ''[[Matched]]'' by Ally Condie is about a dystopian society where everything you do, including your future spouse, is determined by statistics on you and your age group. Cassia has her "matching" ceremony where she is matched with her close childhood friend, Xander. However, the next day she sees that she is matched with Ky. She now must choose between Xander, the person society chose for her, and Ky, a rebellious "Aberration" who should not have beeenbeen matched in the first place.

* In ''[[The 39 Clues|The 39 Clues']]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> second series, ''Cahills vs. Vespers'', Evan - Amy Cahill's boyfriend - is the geeky, kindhearted, concerned Betty, while Ian - who had a [[Kissing Cousins|brief relationship]] with her in the previous series - is the Veronica, a [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky]], [[Tall, Dark and Handsome|handsome]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]. Newcomer {{spoiler|Jake Rosenbloom}} is a [[Third Option Love Interest]].

* The quintessential flipped B/A/V love triangle has to be Emily Bronte's ''[[Wuthering Heights (novel)|Wuthering Heights]]''. Rich, blond Linton being the Betty; dark, poor, dangerous (arguably psychotic) Heathcliff playing the Veronica; and selfish Catherine as the Archie.

* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' has a gay (male) [[Betty and Veronica]] played straight -- onestraight—one boyfriend is a timid neat freak, and the other one is clueless and selfish.

** Buffy and Faith had a strong [[Betty and Veronica]] vibe going, although the guy playing Archie changed regularly. Xander, Angel, Riley, Spike, and Robin all took turns - usually fairly brief - in the Archie seat. For those keeping score, Buffy was simultaneously the Veronica to Willow's Betty and the Betty to Faith's Veronica. There's probably a lesson here.

** Willow was also Oz's Betty, as opposed to sexy werewolf Veruca. Betty wins, but then {{spoiler|Oz leaves, realising that he's a danger to people and has to go figure out his condition before he can be around her.}}

** In season 8, {{spoiler|Willow's girlfriend Kennedy was her Betty, with Willow's mentor/lover Aluwyn, the snake lady from a magical dimension, as Veronica.}}

** Try not to be confused by the fact that the female lead's name is ''actually'' Veronica. The writers [[Lampshade|lampshadedlampshade]]d the fact by having Veronica assume a different identity, using the name "Betty" as an alias when she needed to infiltrate a rival school (and claims to have come from a Riverdale High).

** And all that doesn't cover the relationships of their parents. Between Celeste Kane (Veronica)/Jake Kane (Archie)/Lianne Mars (Betty), Jake Kane (Veronica)/Lianne Mars (Archie)/Keith Mars (Betty), and Lianne Mars (Veronica)/Keith Mars (Archie)/Alicia Fennel (Betty), you've got this trope everywhere in the series. Interestingly, {{spoiler|Allall three of these were resolved by the single action of a 3rd party: Veronica (Mars) sending her own mother out of town to protect her father.}}

* In ''[[Dark Shadows (TV series)|Dark Shadows]]'', the original supernatural soap opera, [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire]] Barnabas Collins is torn between the memory of his fiancee, Josette du Pre, a Betty type, and the Veronica type (to the max) Angelique, the witch who gave him the vampire curse. At the end he gets over his torch for Josette, and avows to Angelique that he loves her. She is then killed (albeit [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|not for very long]]), and Barnabas ends up with neither.

* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' liveslived on this trope. In the first season, Rory is dating sweet, safe Dean (Betty) and being pursued by [[Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor|rich jerk]] Tristan (Veronica). When Tristan is [[Put on a Bus]], the Veronica mantle is taken up by [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|bad boy]] intellectual Jess. When Rory goes to college, she has to choose between [[Nice Guy]] Marty and wealthy alpha male Logan. After Rory chooses Logan, Jess returns, having turned himself around, and becomes the Betty to the new Veronica.

* ''[[One Tree Hill]]'' has a similar situation among three of the main characters. Lucas(Archie) continues to flip between Peyton (Betty) and her best friend Brooke (Veronica).

*** In all examples, the {{spoiler|the Betty}} wins.

* A double-sided version of this trope can be found in the re-imagined ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]].'' Starbuck is torn between [[The Hero|golden boy Lee]] (Betty) and ex-athlete/resistance fighter Sam (Veronica), while she herself is the Veronica to Lee, with Dee as his Betty.

* ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'' plays this trope straight for the second half of the fourth season with Jack (Archie) trying to choose between Nancy Donovan (Betty), a devout Irish Catholic and single mother who was his high school crush and Avery Jessup (Veronica), the fast-talking host of a political talk show who begins her relationship with Jack as a one-night-stand {{spoiler|and whom Jack eventually chooses after learning that she is pregnant.}} There's even an explicit reference to this trope when Nancy doesn't think it's possible to be in love with two people at the same time, and Jack says, "It's possible. Haven't you ever read Archie comics?"

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' does this quite a few times. First Dr Cox has to choose between his pregnant ex-wife Jordan (Betty), and Julia, the young, desired pharmaceutical saleswoman (Veronica). Played again when JD chooses between Elliot, one of his best friends, who needs comforting when a truck filled with her belonging is stolen (Betty) and Lisa, the pretty gift-shop girl (Veronica). And ''again'' when Elliot chooses between JD, her nerdy friend, who she's had an on-again off-again realtionshiprelationship with, (Betty), and her hunky, dolphin-trainer boyfriend, Shaun (Veronica). Also, [[Played for Laughs]] Turk continually has to choose between spending time with either; JD his dorky best friend JD (Betty) or his wife, Carla, the sexy Latina nurse (Veronica). [[Ho Yay|He always picks JD.]]

* The original ''[[V (TV series)|V]]'' took this up to [[Evil Is Sexy]] levels with earnest blonde Resistance leader Julie (Faye Grant) and gerbil-swallowing brunette vamp Visitor leader Diana (Jane Badler).

* The ''[[Community]]'' episode "[[Community/Recap/S1 /E25 PascalsPascal's Triangle Revisited|Pascal's Triangle Revisited]]" ends with Jeff (Archie) struggling to make a decision after both Britta (Britta) and Professor Slater (Veronica) confess their love for him. {{spoiler|He ends up taking a [[Third Option Love Interest]] in Annie (Cheryl).}}

* ''[[Switched at Birth (TV series)|Switched at Birth]]'' has set this up with Daphne (Betty) declaring her feelings for Emmett (Archie), who in turn professes to only want Bay (Veronica). Complete with original trope-maker hair colours.

* On ''[[Fringe]]'', Peter was arguably the Archie to {{spoiler|Fauxlivia's}} Veronica and Olivia's Betty. Of course, {{spoiler|Fauxlivia only became a love interest for Peter because she was pretending to be Olivia, but she was definitely the more exotic option.}}

* This dynamic is perfectly captured with the lyric [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513084446/http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/memphis.html "your debutante just knows what you need, but I know what you want"]

** It's interesting to note that in one of her lesser-known songs ("The Way I Loved You") [[Taylor Swift]] takes the role of Archie choosing between her current boyfriend (Betty) who she describes as 'sensible' and who 'calls exactly when he says he will' and her 'wild and crazy' ex who is 'just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated', who fills the role of Veronica. In the end, she chooses her ex.

* A Brazilian <s> country</s> ''sertanejo'' song called "[[Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor|O Grafino e o Caipira]]" that tells the story of a [[Upper Class Twit|rich city guy]] (the Veronica) and a [[Country Mouse|hick]] (the Betty) fighting over a [[Shallow Love Interest|pretty girl]]. {{spoiler|In the end, she gets tired of their fighting and [[Take a Third Option|goes for]] [[Third Option Love Interest|the cowboy]]}}

* ''Thirteen[[13 (musical)|13]]'' has Brett in a [[Love Triangle]] with Kendra (Betty) and Lucy (Veronica). Meanwhile there's a friendship version of the trope where Evan has to decide between being friends with Brett and the cool kids (Veronica) or with the losers Patrice and Archie (Betty). Then there's a subtle one of Kendra liking Brett (Veronica) while being [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious]] to Archie (Betty).

* The musical ''[[Anything Goes]]'' has Hope Harcourt (Betty) and Reno Sweeney (Veronica) for Billy Crocker. Coincidentally, the actress who originally played Hope was named '''Betti'''na Hall; the original Reno, of course, was Ethel Merman.

* The musical ''Girl Crazy'' (now best remembered for being Ethel Merman's stage debut as well as introducing the song ''I Got Rhythm'') centers around a [[Betty and Veronica]]: Danny is stuck between simple mail carrier Molly (Betty, played by Ginger Rogers) and the saloon owner's glamorous daughter Kate (Veronica, played by Merman).

* According to the author, the potential love interests for the player character in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', Annah-of-the-Shadows and Fall-From-Grace, were inspired by Betty and Veronica. Weirdly, they both have a blend of features--Gracefeatures—Grace, the wealthy, worldly, educated, glamorous one is by far the more personable of the two; the guttersnipe, relatable Annah is more brash and sharp-tongued, but also younger and more inexperienced.

* If one has two or more of the female love interests in the party in ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II'', ''multiple'' Betty and Veronica scenarios can exist. Sweet, innocent Aerie is definitely the most Betty-ish, with no-nonsense old friend but world-wise warrior Jaheira being somewhere between the two, and darkly exotic rogue drow Viconia being firmly a Veronica. (Alternatively, with all three--andthree—and it is possible to start a romance with all three, though obviously not finish it that way--oneway—one might be said to have a Betty, Veronica, and [[Third Option Love Interest|Cheryl]] situation, except there are no three-way fights over you, just two-way.)

* Otacon's love interests in the first two ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games fit this trope: in ''MSG I'', he has an unrequited crush on [[Dark Action Girl]] Sniper Wolf (Veronica), and in ''MSG II'', it's revealed that his stepsister Emma (Betty) has been in love with him since childhood.

** Also, in ''MSG III'', Naked Snake/{{spoiler|Big Boss}} has Paramedic (Betty) and EVA (Veronica).

* In ''[[Fire Emblem: theThe Sacred Stones]]'', lead character Ephraim can choose between sweet, innocent, determined Tana or upbeat, cheerful, crazy (and rich!) L'arachel. [[Cheryl Blossom|but don't underestimate the fact that he can have an ending with]] [[Twincest|his twin sister Eirika]] too.

** Ephraim's sister Eirika actually plays this trope a bit more straight: her main options are Seth, the calm, collected and hunky bodyguard, or Innes, prince of another country whose personality and tongue are as sharp as his arrows (In a variation, the one whom she has known since childhood is ''Innes''.) There are also two potential [[Cheryl Blossom|Cheryl Blossoms]]s who ''in themselves'' fit here well too: Saleh is a soft-spoken [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] magic user, whereas Forde is a [[Chivalrous Pervert]] [[Sleepyhead]].

* The "main" [[Love Triangle]] of sorts in ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Fire Emblem Seisen no Keifu]]'' had {{spoiler|Diadora}} as the Archie, with the kind and knightly {{spoiler|Sigurd}} as Betty and the deeply troubled {{spoiler|Alvis}} as Veronica. {{spoiler|It ended '''horribly''', when Alvis '''killed''' Sigurd before decimating his army.}} At thre same time, Prince Levin had his own [[Betty and Veronica]] in Fury (serious [[Lady of War]] whom he knows since childhood) and Sylvia (sexy dancer who's been travelling with him lately) - you can choose whom he picks as his girlfriend/wife, alongside [[Badass Princess]] Tiltyu as a [[Cheryl Blossom]]. {{spoiler|Though Thracia 776 has a clear slant towards Fury}}.

** It's hinted in the Seisen game that {{spoiler|Sigurd's sister Ethlin}} ''might'' have been the Archie at some moment, with {{spoiler|Duke Cuan}} as the Betty (and the canon winner) and {{spoiler|King Trabant}} as the Veronica. {{spoiler|It didn't matter in the end: Trabant, despite whatever he thought of Ethlin, ''killed them both''.}}

* In the ''[[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|Zelda]]'' games, Link has several cases of these, usually with Zelda as the Betty. The most obvious example is in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', where Midna served as the Veronica.

* Played straight in ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In FamousInfamous]]'' with Trish (Betty) and Sasha (Veronica) to Cole (Archie). {{spoiler|He loses them both with the former's death and the latter's capture by Kessler}}.

* ''[[Ar tonelico]]'' series uses this on the twin token [[Love Interest|love interest.]] Aurica is sweet and quiet, while Misha is easy-going, cheerful, and has [[Fountain of Youth|an exotic problem with her body.]]

** ''[[Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica]]'' has a local dive therapist Luca as Betty and the lady knight princess Cloche as Veronica. But after the series of [[Character Development|Character Developments]]s their traits, personality wise, can be swapped.

** ''[[Ar Tonelico 3]]'' playplays this straighter. Saki is very [[Moe]], while Finnel is a [[Tsundere]] and [[Tomboy|tom boyishtomboyish]] club mascot who spends some times at the beginning trying to get close to the protagonist's best friend for a [[McGuffin]].

* ''[[Pibgorn]]'': Pibgorn (Betty) and Drusilla (Veronica) both love Geoffrey, but when he chooses Pib, Drusilla [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|goes along with it]]. Unusual in that Dru is a [[Horny Devils|succubus]].

* ''[[College Roomies from HellCRFH]]'': While Dave seems to have chosen Veronica (rich-girl-with-issues Blue) over Betty (survivalist-psycho-chick Margaret), Dave remains close to (and admittedly emotionally attached to) Margaret.

*** And recently{{when}}, we have Marigold (Betty) and Faye (Veronica) to Angus. Which even more recently appears to have been resolved by a pairing of [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1735 Angus and Faye].

** Actually, calling any ''[[Questionable Content]]'' character other than Marten himself a "Betty" is quite a stretch.

* ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'' gives us the male version, with Dr. Horrible ([[Villain Protagonist]]) as the Betty and Captain Hammer ([[Hero Antagonist]]) as the Veronica.

* Parodied not subtly at all in ''[[South Park]]''. In the two -parter "Do the Handicapped Go To Hell?"/"Probably", Satan has to choose between his two gay lovers, and the Veronica happens to be Saddam Hussein. And the two rivals keep killing each other, but they're in Hell already, so they just keep coming back. Eventually, Satan [[Take a Third Option|just says "forget it"]] and dumps them both, deciding to forgo having relationships at all for a while. [[God Karting with Beelzebub|Based on advice from God]].

** Though this is also somewhat subverted as PocohontasPocahontas isn't torn between the two, she clearly doesn't want to marry Kocoum, it's more of a choice between her fathers's wishes and her own desires.

* In ''[[The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]'', [[Ugly Cute|Tootie]] is the Betty and [[Alpha Bitch|Trixie]] is the Veronica to Timmy Turner's Archie.

** Ironically, the character who is actually ''named'' Veronica (and [[Third Option Love Interest|has a crush on Timmy too]]) was sidelined pretty quickly. Probably because she was a [[Yandere (disambiguation)|nutcase who wanted to take Trixie's place in Timmy's affections]].

* ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' has [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Gwen Stacy]] as the Betty, similar to some of her comic book presentations, but it is [[Lovable Alpha Bitch|Liz Allen]] who is given the status of the Veronica whom Peter goes out with first. Mary Jane only fits the Veronica role for a quick bit of [[Ship Tease]]--she—she went on one blind date with Peter, but during the first and second seasons at least she doesn't harbor much serious interest in him [[Just Friends|other than as a friend]]. Whether this would have changed if [[Too Good to Last|the show had continued]] is unknown.

* ''[[Spider-man: The Animated Series]]''. Rich popular snobbish born with a silver spoon in her mouth Felicia Hardy as the Veronica and down-to-earth girl next door Mary Jane as the Betty. {{spoiler|And then Felicia gets [[Character Development]], a convoluted deal with Morbius... and becomes Black Cat.}}

* In ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'', both quiet, reliable [[Hospital Hottie|Jane Foster]] and sexy, dangerous [[Dark Magical Girl|Enchantress]] seem to love [[Thor]]. However, he just doesn't like the Enchantress.

* ''[[Robbie the Reindeer]]'' has Donna (kind, sensible and voiced by Jane Horrocks) as Betty and Vixen (who lives up to her name) as Veronica.

* In ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas]]'', you have Marina, who is [[Arranged Marriage|engaged to be married]] to Proteus (the Betty), but develops [[Belligerent Sexual Tension|a romantic interest]] in his old roguish friend Sinbad (the Veronica). While she may not have been IN''in LOVElove'' with Proteus, she cared about him enough to go with Sinbad to ensure that he retrieves the Book of Peace from Eris so that Proteus won't have to die for his screw-up. {{spoiler|In the end, when Proteus realizes that Marina loves Sinbad, [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|he privately breaks off the engagement and lets her leave Syracuse with Sinbad and his crew.]] }}

* ''[[Adventure Time]]'' has the [[A Worldwide Punomenon|sweet]] [[Hot Scientist|scientist]] Princess Bubblegum as the Betty and the [[Chaotic Neutral|radical]] [[The Power of Rock|musician]] Marceline the Vampire Queen as the Veronica to [[The Hero|Finn's]] Archie. However, things get a little more complicated with the introduction of the [[Tsundere|quick]]-to-[[Yandere (disambiguation)|anger]] Flame Princess as the [[Third Option Love Interest|Cheryl Blossom]].

* More famously, Debbie Reynolds (Betty) vs. [[Elizabeth Taylor]] (Veronica). After Liz was widowed suddenly, ReynoldReynolds's husband Edwin "Eddie" Fisher (father to [[Carrie Fisher|Carrie]], and the best friend of Taylor's dead husband) left his family to be with Liz. The nation sided against Eddie and Liz, until Liz came down with a near -fatal case of pneumonia.

[[Category:AlwaysUsually Female]]