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If the two love interests are male instead of female, they are often characterized as the [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man|kind-hearted, polite]] [[Nice Guy]] and the [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|hunky 'Bad Boy']]. It's not unusual for the main character to fall for the [[Prince Charming|prince-like]] good guy who's probably rich but not in touch emotionally, and only later fall for the [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] romantic rebel.
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 with a convenient 'appreciate what you've got' or [[True Beauty Is
Comfortable and safe, Betty does not shake up your world. Picking Betty means you are happy with your life options and don't want to change things too much. Veronica is completely different from what you are used to. Veronica opens your mind to new possibilities and changes your world. Choosing Veronica suggests you are dissatisfied with the options life has given you and you want something else (even if you don't know what the "else" is).
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In case this wasn't complicated enough, sometimes a [[Third Option Love Interest]] makes their presence known to shake things up even further.
Do be aware that fans like to exaggerate potential relationships; [[Shipping]] would not exist without it. As a result there are likely to be multiple instances of an [[Official Couple]] (vindicated by [[Word of God]]) that has some sort of [[Fanon]]-based "romantic rival" mirroring this trope. Even shows without such romantic entanglements in-universe can inspire Betty/Veronica debates amongst the [[Fandom]]; hence, [[
Named for the two female leads of [[Archie Comics]], which made this plot famous ([[Older Than They Think|although it's far older than that]]).
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* ''[[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]] [[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]] spinnoff series, such as ''[[Angelic Days]]'' and ''[[Ikari Shinji Raising Project]]''.
** ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' varies it a bit. The Veronica enters the [[Love Triangle]] out of jealousy in response to the guy making advances on the clueless Betty but bails as soon as she realizes the Betty loves the guy back and therefore she doesn't have a chance. And then there's the ''Rebuild''-newcomer Mari ([[Cloudcuckoolander|hard]] [[Nice Girl|to]] [[Ax Crazy|classify]] personality-wise) who we don't know if she's interested in him AND the [[Stalker
* In ''[[
** [[Playing
* In ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'', Kazumi Yoshida is the Betty and Shana the Veronica.
* ''[[Full Metal Panic]]'' inverts this: Chidori is the Veronica despite being the [[Ordinary High School Student]], while Tessa, who is a captain in a covert paramilitary organization and has command of a submarine and several hundred troops, Sousuke included, is the Betty personality-wise.
** Also, one may count Kaname the Betty to Mizuki's Veronica, if only for one episode (the one where the latter insisted Sousuke acted as her boyfriend so her friends wouldn't know she had broken up with her real boyfriend). They later become friends and this subplot is never brought up again.
* ''[[
** The anime adaptation has them switch roles for the third season. As Saito grows more used to Louise's habits, his relationship with her normalizes somewhat culminating with their marriage at the end of the second season. Shortly thereafter [[Flanderization|the writers force Siesta to crank up the sex appeal]] to compensate because [[Status Quo Is God]].
* In ''[[Nana]]'', rock star Takumi would probably count as a male version of Veronica for Hachiko while Nobu serves as a male Betty.
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** Arguably a Deconstruction, in that Betty!Hikaru is the spoiled and child-like one, while Veronica!Madoka is the more reserved and selfless. The only true resemblence to a real Betty And Veronica is that Hikaru is middle-class and Madoka is rich, and yet both are as equally likable and deep as the other.
* In ''Psychic Academy'', this is played quite obviously through the Betty-esque Orina (AKA Sara), Ai's childhood friend, and the Veronica-esque Mew.
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' (particularly the manga), Anzu Mazaki is shown being torn over her feelings between shy [[Covert Pervert]] Yugi Mutoh (Betty) and his darker alter ego Yami (Veronica).
* 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
* Possibly lampshaded in ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''. To Spike there isn't much choice between Julia, (his long lost [[Love Interest]]), and Faye, ([[Ms. Fanservice]]) as he's madly in love with Julia and things with Faye never go beyond a proto-[[UST]] stage. However it's somewhat telling that when Jet asks [[Broken Bird]] Faye what Julia was like, Faye responds with "[[Femme Fatale|Ordinary. A beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you can't leave alone]]", which perhaps defines the roles of the two.
* The Kuno/Akane/Pig-Tailed Girl triangle of ''[[Ranma One Half]]'' is an interesting case. You could say Akane is the Veronica trying to be the Betty and Ranma is the other way around, but we're talking about the warped mind of Tatewaki Kuno here.
** 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 tries has very few traditionally feminine traits. These are all Veronica-ish qualities/flaws, so Kuno is somewhat right with this one.
** Shampoo 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
** 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|hypothenuse 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 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]].
** With Akane as the center figure, the bumbling [[Gentle Giant]] Ryoga can be considered the Betty to [[Jerk
*** And with Ranma as the snarky yet ultimately well-intentioned Betty to Kuno's delirious, hammy Veronica.
* In ''[[D
* In the 3rd OVA of ''[[Boku
* 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]].
** Arguably, if Mukuro is the Archie then [[Shrinking Violet|Chrome]] is the Betty to MM's Veronica. Both have shown to have feelings towards him, and MM has a one-sided rivalry with Chrome. Mukuro hasn't shown to have romantic feelings towards any of them, although he has quite a few [[Pet the Dog]] moments with Chrome.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[School Rumble]]'', Harima initially has his sights set on [[The Ditz|Tenma]] alone but it's clear from the start that he has no chance of winning her heart as she's already in love with [[The Quiet One|Karasuma]]. The two girls who do express interest in him are Tenma's sister [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Yakumo]] and local [[Ojou]] [[Tsundere|Eri]] who fit the Betty and Veronica dynamic well.
* In ''[[
** Also played with in that while personality-wise they ''are'' that way with Ren as the [[Dogged Nice Guy]] and Shou as the [[Jerkass]] who breaks Kyoko's heart, appearance and background-wise, Shou is the Betty and Ren the Veronica: Shou is the childhood friend and guy next door, whereas Ren is [[Troubled but Cute]], [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] and has a [[Mysterious Past]].
* Kallen and C.C. of ''[[Code Geass]]'' fill these roles towards Lelouch, although which one takes what role is subject to change over the course of the story.
** Shirley is a much more straight Betty, although then there's still the question of who between Kallen and C.C. is the Veronica.
** Euphemia would have Suzaku as Betty and [[Brother-Sister Incest|Lelouch]] as Veronica.
* In ''[[
* ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' has [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Shinobu]] as Betty and [[Clingy Jealous Girl|Lum]] as Veronica [[This Is Your Premise
* ''[[
** For the potential Austria-Hungary-Prussia triangle, fanworks will either depict it as Hungary having to choose between the [[Neat Freak|straightlaced]], [[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, fanworks are about evenly split on whether the Betty or Veronica wins. [[OT 3|And sometimes, they literally]] [[Take a Third Option]].
*** And now that [[Black Magic|Romania]] has appeared, fandom is shaping him up as a potential [[Third Option Love Interest]] du to being [[The Rival]] to Hungary.
** Canon-wise, Japan has a choice between [[Sleepyhead|sleepy]], [[Nice Guy|laidback]] [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]] Greece and [[Mask of Power|masked]], [[Jerk
** 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]] Veronica, with [[Bishonen|China]] ''and'' [[Team Mom|Ukraine]] as potential [[Third Option Love Interest|Third Option Love Interests]] (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 [[OT 3|OT3s]] than most other fandoms.
* ''[[Strawberry Panic
* ''[[
** A genderswapped version in the ''[[
* If Setsuna of ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'' is Archie, then Demon Princess Kurai is Veronica and sweet, kind-hearted Sara is Betty.
* ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' gives Kouta (Archie) the conflicting and very different love interests Lucy (Veronica) and Yuka (Betty).
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* ''[[Higashi no Eden]]'': Saki has Oshugi (Betty) and Akira (Veronica).
* ''[[Gakuen Alice]]'': Mikan has Ruka (The Prince) and Natsume (The Bad Boy).
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Kitchen Princess]]'': Najika has Sora (the prince) and Daichi (the bad boy).
* ''[[Vampire Knight]]'': Yuuki has Kaname (The Prince) and [[My Hero Zero|Zero]] (The Bad Boy).
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* An odd instance of this happens in ''[[Sakende Yaruze]]'', where the Betty is a [[Seme|disillusioned, embittered 35 year old man]] and the Veronica is a younger male [[The Vamp|Vamp]].
* 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 as 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]].}}.
* In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* Gender-flipped in ''[[Kimi wa Petto]]''. Sumire, the tall, smart and successful businesswoman, made a rule that she would only date her equal. One day, she finds a down-on-his-luck dancer sleeping in a box and... takes him on as a pet. She names him Momo and they form a relaxed, if unusual relationship. Soon after this, Hasumi (Betty), her tall, dark and intelligent ''sempai'' from university appears. He's everything she's been hoping for, but when they start going out, she feels that she has to present her best side at all times, instead of the unconditional, doglike affection offered by Momo (Veronica). The dramatic tension between "I can be myself around him" and "He's everything I ever wanted" drives the plot.
* In ''[[Tenshi
* ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'' has a male version where Kyoko has to choose between the awkward, indecisive, but fundamentally kind-hearted Godai (Betty) and the suave, flashy Mitaka (Veronica). Godai himself encounters an interesting variation on this trope: although he has romantic options that play the Betty and Veronica options straight (his good-natured fellow student Kozue and his outspoken, sexually aggressive pupil Ibuki respectively), his true romantic interest, Kyoko, is a blend of the two types, as she is both a responsible, supportive, somewhat traditional young lady AND an independently minded woman with a temper who is unafraid to criticize Godai or defy her parents when necessary.
* ''[[Kimi
* ''[[Voltron]]'' has a male version. Boy Scout Keith (Betty) and Evil Prince Lotor (Veronica) both love Princess Allura. But Allura only loves Keith- so this may actually be a subversion. Some fans try to pair up Allura with the rebellious Lance (Veronica)- but in the canon anime and other series they show absolutely no interest whatsoever in each other, though.
* Male example in ''[[
* ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' has a few possible instances of this trope, both male and female. Hikaru likes both Eagle Vision (Betty) and Lantis (Veronica). Umi is loved by Ascot (Betty), but she likes Clef as well (Veronica). And both Emeraude (Betty) and Alcyone (Veronica) are in love with Zagato- but he only loves Emeraude and dislikes Alcyone very much.
* ''[[Ayashi no Ceres]]'' includes a male example: [[Childhood Friends|Yuuhi]], the [[Badass Normal]], is Betty, while [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|Touya]] is Veronica, what with his dark and [[Mysterious Past]].
* ''[[Wandering Son]]'' had this early on, between siblings. It was between a [[Bratty Teenage Daughter]], her gentle ''crossdressing younger brother'', and the boy who the former was attracted to who had accidentally fallen for her brother when he was dressed as a girl.
* ''[[
* ''[[Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl]]'' has a [[Les Yay]] variation. Tomari is a tomboyish [[Tsundere]], while Yasuna is a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]].
* In ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]'', Hermione is Betty while Juliet is Veronica.
* Winry Rockbell and Rose Thomas in [[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* ''[[
** Alternatively, Kanba can be seen as the Betty to Himari's Archie and {{spoiler|Sanetoshi Watase}}'s Veronica.
*** Aaaaand later {{spoiler|Shouma becomes the Betty to the [[Face Heel Turn|Face Heel Turned]] Kanba's Veronica.}}
* [[GE - Good Ending]] has Shou and Yuki for Seiji, the protagonist. One is bubbly, the other one is more serious. One comes from a mid-class family background, the other one from a high class family. Heck, one is blond, one is black-haired.
* 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|tomboyish]] daughter of the Hero Association's president, and the two of them bond over their shared dream of being heroes.
* ''[[Nana to Kaoru]]'' tries its best to steer clear of this. Kaoru is the Archie, but A) Tachi, the supposed Betty, is the [[Secret Keeper]] of Nana & Kaoru's [[Bound and Gagged|'breathers']] and acts more like a little sister, continually trying to push them together; B) Kaoru has ZERO interest in Tachi; C) the titular couple are afflicted with [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious to each other's love]] on a Charlton-Heston-epic scale and D) the whole thing is skewed by the fact both get tied up by him.
* In ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'', [[The Ojou|Ayeka]] is clearly the Betty (traditional, reserved) to [[The Vamp|Ryoko]]'s Veronica (sultry, unreserved).
* ''[[Gantz]]'' has calm, reserved normal Tae as Betty to Reika's Veronica, {{spoiler|which it averts by Reika's cloning of Kei.}}
* ''[[Beelzebub]]'' has Aoi to Hilda, but their places on the scale are debatable.
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* [[Archie Comics]]' Betty and Veronica, [[Trope Namer|obviously]]. There have been storylines claiming to finally resolve the love triangle, but they [[Status Quo Is God|never seem to actually fulfill this]].
** Well, two series of comics - one where Archie married Betty, the other where he married Veronica - were published to show potential resolutions of this.
* Not dwelled 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
* John Romita, one of the artists on the ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' comic book, deliberately made Gwen and Mary Jane into a [[Homage]] to the Archie Comics' Betty and Veronica respectively. Gwen seemed to have won...until she died. Later, the comic briefly had Mary Jane as the Betty and Black Cat as the Veronica. Then <s>Spidey hitched up with MJ and spent the next twenty years of real time in marital bliss with an understanding supermodel</s> [[Cosmic Retcon|nothing happened]].
** 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.
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** The [[Ultimate Universe]] swaps them, making Mary Jane the Betty and Gwen the Veronica. Then Peter chooses Mary Jane and his relation with Gwen is [[Like Brother and Sister]]...until a recent issue where, post time skip, it's shown that he is dating Gwen.
*** Ultimate Kitty Pryde is the second Veronica of the post-Gwen Stacy I era (Black Cat was the first). The current Gwen (II) is a clone and rather Betty-esque.
**** As noted on it's page, USM seems to have these roles as balls. Since Gwen I both roles are always taken. [[Playing
* ''[[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 From the Dead]] is literally part of Jean's power set.
** In the earlier days, the Jean Grey love triangle had Angel in place of Wolverine, as Wolverine hadn't been introduced yet.
** Another example was the love triangle between Havok, Polaris, and Iceman with Havok as the Veronica and Iceman as the Betty. Havok and Polaris have been through hell and back together since the earliest days of the comic.
** Taking Rogue as Archie, she has Joseph (Betty) and Gambit (Veronica), then she has Gambit as the Betty and Magneto as the Veronica.
* ''[[Flash Gordon (
** Except that Baylin was more interested in Barrin than Flash in that series, and Dale and Barrin more or less hated each other. Aura did briefly fall in love with a sweet native of Mongo who could be the Betty to Flash's Veronica (seeing as Flash was an action guy from a different world), however {{spoiler|that lasted exactly one episode, with Ming strangling the poor native love interest in front of Aura}}. And then {{spoiler|it was sort of implied that Aura's long-lost brother had some... [[Brother-Sister Incest|affections]] for her, which she didn't seem to return}}. 'Twas a bit screwy...
* In Silver Age ''[[Superman]]'', Lois Lane was somewhat Veronica-ish compared to Clark's childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. In the early modern continuity, Lois, a brassy investigative journalist who wouldn't give Clark the time of day romantically, was the Veronica, while sensitive, feminine, openly-in-love-with-Clark Cat Grant was clearly the Betty.
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*** In fact, Lois and Cat were respectively the Betty and the Veronica in ''Superman: Secret Origin'', which once again re-established Superman's origin in the post-Infinite Crisis continuity.
** And later, after Lois fell in love with Clark and discovered his secret identity, she viewed Wonder Woman as the Veronica on several occasions. This was an unfounded worry on her part though, since Supes and Wondy are [[Like Brother and Sister]].
* [[Superman]]'s clone [[Superboy]] had to choose between journalist Tana Moon (the Betty) and his agent's daughter Roxy Leech (the Veronica). Then his cellular matrix started to decay, and he was recreated with Roxy's genes, making them [[Like Brother and Sister]]. Then he fell in with Knockout (another Veronica) before [[Dating Catwoman|realising she was evil]]. Then Tana went on sabbatical, and [[Back for
* Tim Drake (3rd [[Robin (Comic Book)|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 -- 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.
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** Luann also had to choose between the nerdy Gunther (Betty) and the cooler Aaron (Veronica). At least until Aaron moved to Hawaii, making Gunther win by default.
** Another example had a competition between Luann's brother Brad (Betty) and Dirk (Veronica) for the affections of Toni. {{spoiler|Brad won.}}
* The comic adaptation of ''[[Captain N:
* ''[[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 canononical quasi-[[OT 3]] 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 In 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.}}
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* ''[[Spy Boy]]'': Spygirl and Bombshell. Even their fake identities in Alex's high school parody this.
* [[Girl Next Door]] Cherry and [[Rich Bitch]] Lola from ''[[Cherry Comics]]'' (which is hardly surprising given it began life as an x-rated parody of [[Archie Comics]]).
* The [[Trope Namer]] example is deconstructed in ''[[
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* ''The Cincinnati Kid'' has a textbook Betty and Veronica love triangle, so much that the 2nd paragraph of this page sounds like it's describing this movie. Steve McQueen is the hero, a poker player dating Tuesday Weld (Betty) who is pretty, sweet, and kind of dull, but he's drawn to the wild and sexy Ann-Margret (Veronica), who is married to a friend of his but constantly flirts with him. True to form, Weld is a blonde and Margret is a redhead.
* A "color-coded" triangle exists in film 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 ''[[
** Hughes also played this trope straight in ''[[Some Kind of Wonderful]]'' - a red-haired "Archie" (Eric Stoltz) loves a popular girl (Lea Thompson) with brown hair, but can't see that his blonde best friend (Mary Stuart Masterson) loves him.
** This was also used in ''[[Sixteen Candles]]'', when the male love interest is dating the blond cheerleader (Veronica) but spends most of the movie trying to hook up with the red-headed plain but not-superficial girl (Betty). The cheerleader gets this herself, when she leaves said male love interest (Veronica) for a geeky but sweet kid she went home with while drunk (Betty). And since that geeky kid had a crush on the plain red head, he himself chose the Veronica over the Betty.
* Partially subverted in ''[[The Mask (
* The two fiances in ''[[
** Victor 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.
* Featured but skewed in ''[[Strange Days]]'', where the Betty is an ass-kicking tough-as-nails limo driver who is devoted to the (slightly skeevy) main character, and the Veronica is a flaky, self-centred punk rock singer who broke the main character's heart and who he's been obsessed with ever since. {{spoiler|The Betty wins out, mainly because the Veronica slept with the main character's best friend and conspired with him to frame the main character for two murders.}}
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* ''[[Star Wars]]''. Good-hearted, loyal, and friendly farmboy/Jedi Luke is the Betty. Roguish, rough, and experienced Han is the Veronica. Rather luckily (given the later revelation that she was Luke's [[Long Lost Sibling]]), she chose Han.
* Inverted in ''[[Forgetting Sarah Marshall]]'', where the protagonist chases after the wholesome, apple-pie blonde all-American girl and ends up with the wild, exotic boob-flashing brunette from Hawaii.
* Brutally subverted in ''[[Not Another Teen Movie]]'', where [[Beautiful All Along|Janey]], having to choose between [[Big Man
* The movie adaptation of ''[[The Phantom (
* ''[[Cat People (
* ''[[Queen of the Damned]]'' has:
** A genderswapped version with Enkil as the Betty and Lestat as the Veronica to Akasha's Archie. {{spoiler|Lestat most decidedly wins when Akasha murders Enkil in order to pursue Lestat. And then...}}
** Akasha as the Veronica and Jesse as the Betty to Lestat's Archie. {{spoiler|Jesse wins when Lestat turns on Akasha in order to save his Betty.}}
* ''[[Bram
** On the other hand, one could view Mina as the Betty and Lucy as the Veronica to 'The Man Himself'. As it's a matter of Death rather than love, and Dracula does try for both, this is probably a subversion (or even just a nod to the trope rather than an instance proper.)
* In ''The Age Of Innocence'', Newland Archer is engaged and eventually married to May Welland, a lovely but completely ordinary socialite (The Betty), while falling in love with her cousin Ellen, the family reprobate (The Veronica). This trope is played even stronger in the book, where May is blond and blue-eyed and Ellen dark-haired. Subverted somewhat in that in this case, the Betty is wrong for him, despite their similar backgrounds and upbringing.
* The 2010 Rupert Grint movie ''[[
* In ''[[Vicky Cristina Barcelona]]'', the blonde Cristina (Betty) and the brunette (Vicky) are involved in a love triangle with Javier Bardem's character.
* In ''[[My Best
* ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' sets up the protagonist with a sweet-natured blonde Betty, then shifts him to dating an increasingly unnerving dark-haired Veronica as the [[Dream Within a Dream]] kicks in. {{spoiler|Neither he nor the Veronica are [[Humanoid Abomination|even remotely human]], and he loved her before abandoning her for the Betty who by all rights should have been his prey. The plot of the film is based in her attempts first to snap him out of it, then to [[Woman Scorned|get revenge]].}}
* ''[[Spider-Man (
* In ''[[Clerks]]'', Dante Hicks is dating Veronica (Betty) when an old flame from high school comes back into his life, Caitlin Bree (Veronica). Veronica brings him lasagna at work and is trying to get Dante back in school. Caitlin is engaged (but calls off the wedding), and cheated on Dante in high school. {{spoiler|He winds up trying to go for Caitlin, and losing them both. Veronica dumps him, and Caitlin goes catatonic after screwing a random dead guy in the Quick-E-Stop's restroom, thinking it was Dante.}}
** In ''[[Clerks II]]'', Dante has another choice between his high-maintenance fiancee Emma (Veronica) and his boss, Becky (Betty). {{spoiler|This time he actually gets the girl and ends up with Becky.}}
* While the two female love interests in ''Cassandra's Dream'' aren't part of a love triangle, each being involved with one of the two brothers, their personalities fit perfectly the trope: Kate is the soft, reasonable girl next door, and Angela the sexy, intellectual actress.
* Betty Schaefer and Norma Desmond in ''[[Sunset Boulevard]]''.
* [[Batman]] and [[The Joker]] for Vicky Vale in ''[[Batman (
** Also, ironically, [[Secret Identity|Bruce Wayne and Batman]] in ''Batman Forever''.
* ''[[Sweeney Todd]]'' has the titular character as Betty and Judge Turpin as Veronica for Lucy Barker.
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* The 1927 silent film ''[[wikipedia:It (1927 film)|It]]'' (not to be confused with Stephen King's ''IT'') has reserved, aristocratic blonde [[Proper Lady|Adela]] (the Betty) and sexy, fun-loving working class brunette [[Spirited Young Lady|Betty]] (the ironically-named Veronica) vying for Cyrus's affections. As Betty is the titular "it" girl and Cyrus is clearly attracted to her (even when he doesn't want to be) and [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious of Adela's feelings for him]] throughout the entire film, it should be obvious which girl wins in the end.
* The Olsen twins. Everything that they've ever been in. 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.
* ''[[
* The 1945 French classic ''Children of Paradise''. Amid its [[Love Dodecahedron]] is the triangle between the mime Baptiste, the sultry carnival performer Garance (Veronica) and Nathalie (Betty), daughter of the manager of the theater where Baptiste is a star. In a variation on the usual formula, Garance loves Baptiste, but his shyness and her many other suitors stand in the way of their romance (also, both women are brunettes). Eventually Baptiste marries Nathalie, only to have Garance re-enter his life.
== Literature ==
* This is a common theme throughout the novels of [[
** ''[[Sense and Sensibility (
** ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'': With Elizabeth, {{spoiler|Darcy}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Wickham}} is the Veronica.
** ''[[Mansfield Park]]'': With Fanny, {{spoiler|Edmund}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Henry}} is the Veronica; with Edmund, {{spoiler|Fanny}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Mary}} is the Veronica; with Henry Crawford, {{spoiler|Fanny}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Maria}} is the Veronica; with Maria Bertram, {{spoiler|Rushworth}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Henry}} is the Veronica.
** ''[[Emma]]'': With Emma, {{spoiler|George Knightley}} is the Betty and {{spoiler|Frank Churchill}} is the Veronica.
* ''[[Harry Potter (
** This trope is played with canonically on the {{spoiler|Lily/Snape/James}} triangle. {{spoiler|Snape's Pensieved memories show that Snape (who was in love with Lily all along) was originally Lily's best friend, while she wanted nothing to do with arrogant bully James. Of course, this changes and Lily eventually marries James, but interestingly it seems that this only happens once Snape switches to the Veronica (by insulting Lily and calling her "mudblood") and James to the Betty (by acting less arrogant and more mature once he left school). It's like a Betty and Veronica love triangle where Archie has no interest in the Veronica... whoever it may be at a given time.}}
*** [[
** Ron caught between his long time friend Hermione and the "fangirl" Lavender Brown.
** Harry goes from Cho Chang, the "very pretty" popular girl with long dark hair, to his team-mate and best friend's little sister Ginny.
<!-- %%Hermione and Pansy Parkinson do not belong here, as this trope is specifically about love triangles. Please do not add re-add them. -->
* In [[
* [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''Isle of View'' (say it out loud) in the ''[[
* [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]'s ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' has oldest brother Dmitri caught in a [[Love Triangle]] between the aristocratic Betty, Katerina Ivanovna, and the less-than-reputable Veronica, Grushenka.
* In R. Scott Bakker's ''[[Second Apocalypse]]'' the blonde, brainless, surprisingly-innocent Serwe is Betty and the dark-haired, intelligent prostitute Esmenet is Veronica.
* Victor Hugo's ''[[Les Misérables (
* ''[[The Man Who Laughs]]'', where Gwynplaine is torn between the extremely sweet Dea and the rather perverted Duchess Josiana.
* ''[[Stardust (
** Although you can argue that Victoria is actually the Betty (being the one Tristran was originally in love with and a normal human) and Yvaine the Veronica (being the magical, more 'exotic' choice and a bit of a [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]). It's a bait and switch of this trope, really.
* In Stephanie Meyer's ''[[Twilight (
* ''[[
** Notable in that Honor was aware of Hamish's feelings but he didn't know that she knew, and had ''also'' chosen to suffer nobly in silence. Emily's Clue Bat had to work a ''lot'' of overtime that week.
* ''[[Bridget Jones|Bridget Jones's Diary]]'' plays this fairly straight between Mark Darcy (Betty) and Daniel Cleaver (Veronica). The film version even describes them as "[[Wrong Guy First|too good to be true]]" and "[[All Girls Want Bad Boys|so wrong he might just be right]]", respectively. {{spoiler|By the end of the books, Mark has won, although when Helen Fielding continued the column, apparently Bridget was still torn between them and even ends up having Daniel's baby. Sigh.}}
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* In ''[[The Night Angel Trilogy]]'', Kylar finds that he has feelings for the pure and well-meaning Elene (Betty), but also finds himself drawn to the violent and fiery Vi (Veronica) as well. {{spoiler|In the end Elene sacrifices herself, leaving Vi and Kylar for each other...}}
* Played straight in Stephen Donaldson's ''[[The Mirror of Her Dreams]]'', with Terisa, who has to choose between Geraden (Betty) and Eremis (Veronica). {{spoiler|Geraden}} wins, since {{spoiler|Eremis is evil and has been trying to kill Terisa and Geraden for most of the book. For added [[Squick]], his intentions seemed to be to sleep with her, and ''then'' kill her.}}
* ''[[Girl
* ''Moonlight'' - which can be fairly described as "''[[Twilight (
* Noblesse Oblige and Yetta Samovar in ''Barefoot Boy With Cheek'' by Max Shulman.
* Subverted somewhat disturbingly in ''[[The Lover]]'' by [[AB Yehoshua]], {{spoiler|with the quiet day-in-day-out Adam intentionally fixing up his wife with young artist Gabriel as a lover}}, and {{spoiler|later doing it with his daughter’s friend Tali.}}
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "The Slithering Shadows", [[Conan the Barbarian]] tosses off [[The Vamp]] at the realization that his slave girl is watching.
* In [[Fyodor Dostoevsky|Dostoevsky]]'s ''The Idiot'', Prince Myshkin is forced to choose between Aglaia, a girl with a good reputation from a respectable household, and the scandalous, self-destructive Nastassya Filippovna. {{spoiler|He chooses...poorly.}} Somewhat subverted in that Aglaia is very much a [[Tsundere]] which makes her pretty far from the typical Betty prototype.
* Some [[
* Played straight in ''[[
* In ''Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie'', the hero Steven must choose between Annette Watson (Betty) and Renee Albert (Veronica). {{spoiler|He chooses Annette.}}
* In the later ''[[Vampire Academy]]'' books, Rose has {{spoiler|Adrian}} become her Betty and {{spoiler|Dimitri}}, her Veronica.
* ''[[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 beeen matched in the first place.
* ''[[
* Discussed in ''[[Faking It]]'' by Jennifer Crusie about choosing between the muffin (Betty) and the doughnut (Veronica). The doughnut is exciting and fun and gorgeous, whereas the muffin just kinds of sit there, "lumpy, looking alike, no chocolate frosting." But while the doughnut is good for a one night stand, its sticky and no longer crispy the next morning. Muffins, however, taste better the next day, and are there for the long haul.
{{quote| '''Davy''': What's Simon?<br />
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* In ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', Gale is the Betty with Peeta as the Veronica as Katniss's Archie. However, it is possible to see Peeta as the Betty - blond, meek, kind and had a crush on Katniss since they were young - with Gale as the Veronica - dark-haired, handsome and more "dangerous".
* [[Ivanhoe]] was fought over between Rowena and Rebecca.
* In [[The 39 Clues|The 39 Clues']] 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
* The quintessential flipped B/A/V love triangle has to be Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Rich, blond Linton being the Betty; dark, poor, dangerous (arguably psychotic) Heathcliff playing the Veronica; and selfish Catherine as the Archie.
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** Season 3 features an interesting dynamic. There's a triangle between Spencer, Ashley and Aiden. Which is which is unclear.
** There's also Spencer with Ashley (Betty) and Carmen (Veronica)
* Of course, ''[[
* The Original ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'' had Dylan (blend of Johnny Depp and James Dean) choose between Brenda (Betty) and Kelly (Veronica). He dated both for some time, until he finally choose Kelly. Some seasons later Kelly had to choose between Dylan and Brandon (Mr. [[Nice Guy]]).
** Also done a lot in the new ''90210'', where love triangles abound: Ethan has to choose between his on-again-off-again girlfriend Naomi and the newcomer Annie; when he chooser her, it's Annie's turn as she's torn between Ethan and her ex- from Kansas; later on, Ethan develops feelings for Rhonda (the new Betty) and finally for Erin Silver, who in turn has to choose between him and Dixon (the white WASP jock with a newfound sentimental side vs the black official boyfriend who's also the new kid in town). During the second season, it's Adrianna choosing between Teddy and Navid (the blond jock womanizer vs the Iranian-American brunet nerd with a crush on her since childhood), and later on it's Silver choosing between Teddy and Dixon (the former having become a Betty and the latter now being manipulative and Machiavellian). Liam was also Veronica in season one (with Ethan being Betty and Naomi being Archie) and became Archie in season 2 (with Naomi being Veronica and Ivy being Betty).
* Willow from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' was the Betty to Xander's Archie. She was a genuine love interest for Xander, but he was far more drawn, in different ways, towards two different Veronicas: Buffy and Cordelia. (This being [[Joss Whedon]], when Xander finally started to return Willow's interest, it trashed his relationship with Cordelia, nearly trashed Willow's relationship with Oz, and did ''not'' lead to Xander and Willow living together happily ever after.)
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** 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.
** Also slightly subverted in early seasons in that Cordelia, an obvious Veronica, was interested in a seemingly willfully oblivious Angel, who only had eyes for Betty: the "good girl" Buffy (who's actually much more physically dangerous at this point, being the Slayer and whatnot).
** A gender-flipped ''[[
** Wesley had this vibe with his [[Dating Catwoman]] relationship with Lilah Morgan, versus his crush on Fred. Eventually he dumps Lilah for Fred, only to have his chances killed prematurely when Fred finds out about Lilah. {{spoiler|Wes starts a brief relationship the following year, only for Fred to get killed.}}
** 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.}}
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', there's several instances of this throughout the entire series. Duncan (Betty)-Veronica-Logan (Veronica). Veronica (Veronica)-Duncan-Meg (Betty). Piz (Betty)-Veronica-Logan (Veronica). Even Wallace gets his brief moment of Love Triangulus. Not to mention, Weevil and a certain dead girl and their involvement in a past-tense love triangle, an example which is ''especially'' adequate for this trope.
** Try not to be confused by the fact that the female lead's name is ''actually'' Veronica. The writers [[Lampshade|lampshaded]] 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 ironically while as Betty she dresses preppy ala Veronica.
** 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|All 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 From the Dead|not for very long]]), and Barnabas ends up with neither.
* Unusually ''[[The OC]]'' had [[Cool Loser]] Seth end up with popular, beautiful, initially uninterested Summer (Veronica) while the seemingly kindred spirit Anna (Betty) was quickly dropped.
* ''[[Chuck]]'': For one or two episodes, Chuck has to choose between CIA [[Action Girl]] Sarah (Veronica) and sweet deli owner Lou (Betty). Later, there's a [[Gender Flip]] example when Sarah has to choose between Chuck (Betty) and her spy ex-boyfriend Bryce (Veronica).
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** Given ''[[My So-Called Life|MSCL's]]'' unusual complexity (for a teen show), there was another, even more subtle one with Brian himself, with [[Control Freak|Sharon]] as Betty and [[Troubled but Cute|Rayanne]] as Veronica. This essentially went nowhere as Sharon already has a love interest and Rayanne is a little too complicated for Brian to handle.
** Far more blatant was Brian's dynamic in "Life of Brian", between the new girl Delia (Betty) and his long-held lust with Angela (Veronica). In true ''MSCL'' fashion, he ends up killing any chance of a relationship with Delia for just a whiff of a notice from Angela.
* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' lives 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
* ''[[Grimm]]'': Looks like Rosalee will become Monroe's Betty while Angelina is clearly his Veronica.
*** Given that Angelina is alive and well this may surface in future episodes.
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* ''[[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).
* Done [[Aborted Arc]] style in ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]'' where the pilot introduces both the scholarly Amanda Wickwire (Betty) and saloon girl Dixie Cousins (Veronica) in what would seem to be an obvious set-up for a series love triangle. However, the chemistry between Brisco and Dixie was so immediate and obvious that the production team dropped Amanda for the rest of the series, even though her inventor father would appear throughout the series.
* The BBC series of ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' had (in its third season) the aristocratic Isabella as the Veronica, and peasant girl Kate as the Betty. The twist? Robin ends up {{spoiler|with the [[Third Option Love Interest]]; Marian, who was killed at the close of season 2 and who he is reunited with after his own death in the series finale.}}
** On the same show, in earlier seasons, Marian had the choice between Robin and Guy, who could fit into ''either'' trope. Guy was conservative and law-abiding (Betty) but also [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|dangerous]] and [[Troubled but Cute|tortured]] (Veronica), whereas Robin was an outlaw and a thief (Veronica) but also [[Victorious Childhood Friend|Marian's childhood sweetheart]] (Betty).
** A final example: Djaq had her choice between amoral, thieving Allan-a-Dale (Veronica) and straightlaced, sensitive Will Scarlett (Betty).
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* In the early seasons of ''[[Smallville]]'' in a gender-switched version, Lana is Archie with Clark as Betty and Whitney as Veronica even though Lana didn't want Whitney because he was a great football star and couldn't seem to see just how dangerous he was.
* ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]'' seems to fit this trope, as it features Sousuke as Archie to the sweet, unspoiled Saki (Betty) and the wealthy, shallow drama queen, Miu (Veronica).
** ''[[Choujin Sentai Jetman]]'' has Kaori in a love triangle with [[Troubled but Cute]] Ryuu (Betty) and [[Jerk
* ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' has a gender flipped version: [[Action Girl]] Summer is torn between [[The Hero|Hero]] and by-the-book Scott (Betty) and the brooding cyborg [[The Lancer|Lancer]] Dillon (Veronica).
** This is also [[Lampshaded]] outright by Dr. K (of all people):
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** And now Blaine is the Archie to Kurt's Betty and Sebastian's Veronica. So far, he's loyal to Kurt, but never really turned down Sebastian's advances.
** Then there's the unusual Cooter/Beast/Sue triangle with Sue as the Veronica or the "tall, pretty blond" as Beast puts it.
* An interesting version on the [[Soap Opera]] ''[[General Hospital]]'' (a very standard [[Soap Opera]] plot, as a matter of fact), which had Jagger being torn between Karen (The Betty) and Brenda (The Veronica). However, in this case, the trope is subverted, because (a) not only is the Veronica more of a [[Jerk
* ''[[Dollhouse]]'': Mellie (Betty), Paul (Archie), and Echo (Veronica). Subverted in that {{spoiler|Mellie turns out to be a sleeper active planted by the Dollhouse}}.
* ''[[30 Rock
* ''[[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 realtionship 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 (Betty) or his wife, Carla, the sexy Latina nurse (Veronica). [[Ho Yay|He always picks JD.]]
* ''[[The Nanny]]'' is a show told from the point of view of a Veronica. Fran is the wild, lower-class "risky" option that Maxwell falls for, whereas his business partner, C.C. Babcock, is the "safe" Betty option. Of course, the [[Love Triangle]] only exists in C.C.'s mind, but that's besides the point.
** C.C. herself is the Archie in a triangle with Maxwell (Betty) and Niles (Veronica). Like Maxwell, she eventually chooses the Veronica; as noted, the Betty wasn't the least bit interested, so that was probably a factor.
* ''[[
* Soap opera ''[[The Young and The Restless]]'' has been doing this for the past few years with Nick Newman (Archie) and his current wife Phyllis (a red-haired Veronica) and his ex-wife Sharon (Betty). Athough {{spoiler|It appears Phyllis has left Nick for good because she's tired of fighting with Sharon over him.}}
* ''[[Tomica Hero Rescue Fire]]'' had Ritsuka (Archie) caught between Tatsuya (Betty) and Tsubasa (Veronica). {{spoiler|It's left open in the finale - the boys [[Bouquet Toss|wrestle over Tama-chan's wedding bouquet]] so that one of them can marry Ritsuka, but Jun rescues the flowers and gives them to her. We then see that Tsubasa is still hung up on her and carries her picture with him, but Ritsuka is very happy when Tatsuya sends a letter.}}
* ''[[True Blood]]'' has a male version, with Sookie (as an Archie) having to choose between her brunette boyfriend Bill (as Betty) and the [[Big Bad]] blonde Eric (as Veronica).
* Male version as well in ''[[
* In Hong Kong comedy drama ''To Catch The Uncatchable'', female lead Vivi was torn between choosing between her sweet, handsome but dull and clueless personal trainer Jim and Detective Mok, who's snarky, smart and enjoys teasing Vivi but incredibly loyal and always helps her out in a tight spot. She [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] to Detective Mok at one point, comparing the two to food. Jim was a plain tofu while Detective Mok was a tofu with more filling.
* While it never comes up as a matter of potential relationships the character dynamic is still in full swing and played straight in ''[[That 70s Show]]'' with literal the girl-next-door Donna (Betty) and Jackie (Veronica).
* ''[[Mad Men]]'' has shown instances of two such pairings. At work is the non-relationship version with simple, hardworking Peggy (Betty, or Mary Ann, if you prefer) contrasted to sultry, flirtatious Joan (Veronica, or [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Ginger]]). Outside of the office Don Draper's relationships tend to follow this pattern as well with wife Betty being cut more from the Veronica mold (cold, emotionally distant, former model) while most of Don's mistresses are typically more Betty-like.
* ''[[
* Reality TV dating shows in which a host of women try to win a man's heart will often set up the final two female candidates for the male's affections as this. Examples are Trista (Betty) and Amanda (Veronica) on the first season of ''[[The Bachelor]]'' and Paige (Betty) and Erin (Veronica) on the first season of ''[[For Love Or For Money]]''.
* The original ''[[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).
* ''[[
** Jeff as the Archie to Annie (Betty) and Britta (Veronica) in ''Community'' season 2.
* There's a clear example in ''[[Kyle XY]]'' with Amanda, Kyle's neighbor who's easy to talk to and plays the piano in a way that touches Kyle, compared to the heartless and ruthless Jessi.
** Also Charlie is the Archie who cheats on his virginal girlfriend with the vivacious blonde and thus ends up losing both Betty and Veronica.
* ''[[Switched
* 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.}}
* On ''[[Merlin]]'', {{spoiler|Lancelot du Lac (aka Lancelot brought back from the dead)}} is the Veronica to Gwen's Archie, with Arthur as Betty.
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== Theatre ==
* In ''[[Wicked (
* In Georges Bizet's [[Opera]], ''Carmen'', Micaëla and Carmen are, respectively, a Betty and Veronica for Don José.
* In ''[[Lady in
* ''The Rainmaker'' has File (a Betty-type) and Starbuck (a Veronica-type) as rival love interests for Lizzie (same goes for [[The Musical]] version ''[[
* ''Thirteen'' 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 Wildhorn musical adaptation of ''Jekyll and Hyde'' has the aristocratic Emma Carew as the Betty and prostitute Lucy as the Veronica. Several screen adaptations of the story have also used the trope, with Jekyll's fiancee (usually the daughter of Sir Danvers Carew) as the Betty and a prostitute/bar girl that Hyde picks up as the Veronica.
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== Video Games ==
* Remakes of ''[[
** With the major difference being that the game [[Guilt Based Gaming|beats you over the head with the idea that you should choose neither]] of them and marry [[Victorious Childhood Friend|Bianca]] instead. Most fans comply.
** Arguably, Bianca is the actual Betty, Nera was the Veronica in the original version, and Deborah is the remake's Veronica, with Nera being an odd mix of both.
* [[Playing
* An interesting example occurs in ''[[
* Occurs in ''[[
* 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--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 ''[[
* Interesting variation happens in ''[[Lufia]] II'', where the situation is set up as normal: Tia, the old friend with a crush on the hero as the Betty and Selan, the exotic and (somewhat) mysterious fighter as the Veronica. The variation being that {{spoiler|not only does Maxim ends up with Selan (the Veronica), it also occurs midway through (or even as far back as the ''prologue chapter'', arguably) the game}}
* In ''[[
** In ''[[
** ''[[
* 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 ''[[
** 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]] 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]].
** Either Innes or Tana can fall into this, too. Innes has Eirika as his Betty, with [[Action Girl]] Vanessa as an odd mix of Betty (have known each other since childhood) and Veronica (is very coolheaded and near-unemotional in battle)... and L'Arachel as the [[Cheryl Blossom]]. Meanwhile, Tana can end up either with dependable and kindhearted childhood friend [[The Ace|Ephraim]], or the also kind but very troubled (and sexy-looking) [[Defector From Decadence|Cormag]].
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* 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}}.
** And 17 years later, the second lead Celice has the [[Proper Lady]] Lana and the [[Action Girl]] Lakche as this. In a subversion, ''both'' of them are his childhood friends.
** ''Lakche'' has a similar predicament, too. Two Isaacsian noblemen, the brothers Johan and Johalva, have the hots for her: Johan is the Betty due to his [[Purple Prose]]-laden speech patterns and ultra-chivalrous view of their bond, while the hotheaded [[Jerk
** And ''then'', there's Princess Lachesis. Out of all her potential suitors (not counting [[Big Brother Attraction|Eltoshan]], that is), Beowulf is a cynical [[Punch Clock Hero]] Veronica and Fin is a [[Knight in Shining Armor]] Betty. {{spoiler|''Both'' of them might have won and then lost in ''Thracia'': it's all but stated that Lachesis's eldest son Delmud is Beo's kid, while her youngest daughter Nanna is Fin's, though Lachesis herself is missing in action.}}
** 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 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
** Zelda does play the role of Veronica in some of her incarnations though, with [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]] providing a prominent instance of this where either Malon or Saria play the role of Betty. Then again, if you include Ruto or Nabooru, Zelda once again becomes the Betty. The main theme isn't so much what role Zelda is playing, but that Link is a total [[Chick Magnet]].
* If all of the content had made it into the final game, the hero of ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' would have had the reasonable, down-to-earth Elanee (Betty) vs. the greedy and somewhat flighty Neeshka (Veronica) for male characters; and the kind and honorable Casavir (Betty) vs. the psychotic pervert Bishop (Veronica) for female characters. Arguably, as only the Betty characters made it into the final cut, they could remain in that role (though absent during actual play) to two new Veronica characters (the exotic golem-crafter Safiya for male characters and the textbook Casanova Gannayev for female characters) in Mask of the Betrayer.
** Though thanks to the original game [[Dropped a Bridge
** ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]: Hordes of the Underdark'' gives us the choice between technically dead paladin Aribeth (Betty) and exotic drow [[Defrosting Ice Queen]] Nathyrra (Veronica) in the second/third chapters. Though they both could technically be either, given the fact that your character has been adventuring with Nathyrra for quite a long time by the time you meet Aribeth.
** The ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' community module ''A Dance With Rogues'' gives us two Betty characters and two Veronica characters, along with a fifth who could be either. On the Betty side we have the honorable and compassionate Anden and the kind and friendly bisexual Pi; on the Veronica side we get the psychotic pervert Vico and the drow noble Rizzen who thinks you are his slave. Bran is difficult to qualify, being far more in the Betty camp when compared to Vico and Rizzen but having many more Veronica characteristics than Anden or Pia.
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* In ''[[Jade Empire]]'', the player gets to choose between childhood friend Dawn Star (Betty) and {{spoiler|pampered princess Sun Lian}}/Silk Fox (Veronica). In an interesting twist, there is also a [[Take a Third Option|third option]] where you can have them ''[[Tenchi Solution|both]]''.
** Female characters have the [[Lovable Rogue]] Sky, the more conventional option (Betty) or the lesbain choice Silk Fox (Veronica)
* Also from Bioware, ''[[Mass Effect]]'' allows the player to choose from empathic and scholarly Liara T'Soni (Betty) and spunky [[Action Girl
** ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' also has Kelly and Tali (Betty) vs. Miranda and Jack (Veronica) for males, and Jacob and Kelly (Betty) vs. Thane and Garrus (Veronica) for females.
* In ''[[Breath of Fire]] 2'', there's Ryu's two love interests, Nina (Betty) and Katt (Veronica). Interestingly enough, Ryu actually has more opportunities to have romantic moments with Katt than Nina (even though both like him).
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*** A bisexual character's choices can throw out the Betty-Veronica dynamic. A bisexual female may be between two Bettys, Alistair and Lelianna, or set up a Veronica through Zevran. A bisexual male may be between two Veronicas through Morrigan and Zevran. And Isabela (see below) adds a throwaway quickie Veronica for characters of either gender - which can involve half the party depending on what the player has done.
* In ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'' this trope applies to the two female characters who can be romanced; Merrill and Isabela. Merrill is sweet, innocent, and rather naive. While Isabela is an exotic, voluptuous, sexually promiscuous pirate queen. Both of the male romance options in the vanilla game, Anders and Fenris, are brooding, [[Troubled but Cute]] Veronica types, whereas chaste, devoutly religious DLC-only Sebastian is decidedly Betty.
* Depending on what you choose and [[Relationship Values|social links]], the main character of ''[[
* In ''[[Fading Hearts]]'' Ryou is stuck in a [[Love Triangle]] between Rina (Betty) who loves him and Claire (Veronica) who he loves. [[Bonus Points]] here since the girls' personalities and even hair colours parallel those of the [[Archie Comics]] characters.
* Both [[Heroes Want Redheads|redheaded love interests]] in ''[[The Witcher]]''; Shani, [[The Medic]] who wants to protect the [[Living MacGuffin|child]] and Triss the high society mage who wants to use him, but is better capable of controlling keeping his power under control.
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* Subverted in ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' where Niko has Michelle as Veronica, {{spoiler|she betrayed him when it turns out she is working for Liberty News}}. He can continue his relationship with Kate, the Betty. {{spoiler|That is until her death or refusal to be in Roman's wedding}}.
** There's also Roman the Betty and Vlad the Veronica to Mallorie's Archie. {{spoiler|Until Niko murders Vlad}}.
* ''[[Bully (
* Gender-flipped example in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'': Kairi has two love interests who are both childhood friends to her, [[Nice Guy|Sora]] and [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|Riku]]. [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man|You know who wins pretty early in the series]].
* Played straight in ''[[
** In the second game, we get another straight example with Kuo and Nix.
* ''[[Resident Evil]]'''s Leon gets this in absolutely ''stupifying'' amounts due to the number of appearances he's made in the series and the fact that he's equal parts [[Casanova]] and [[Chick Magnet]]. In ''[[Resident Evil 2 (Video Game)|RE2]]'', he has Claire (Betty) and Ada (Veronica), although a [[Dating Catwoman|long-lasting attraction]] is ultimately seen to exist between him and the latter (on the opposite side, he and Claire end up as good friends). In ''[[Resident Evil 4|RE4]]'', he has Ashley (Betty) and Ada (again, the Veronica), with his [[Mission Control]] Hunnigan functioning as the [[Third Option Love Interest|Cheryl]] at the end. The movie ''[[Resident Evil: Degeneration|Degeneration]]'' has Claire (Betty) and Angela (Veronica). The only real exception to this is ''[[Resident Evil:
* [[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 2 (Video Game)]] 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]] their traits, personality wise, can be swapped.
** [[Ar Tonelico 3]] play this straighter. Saki is very [[Moe]], while Finnel is a [[Tsundere]] and [[Tomboy|tom boyish]] club mascot who spends some times at the beginning trying to get close to the protagonist's best friend for a [[McGuffin]].
* Ok.... in the game called [[Catherine]] Vincent (Archie) has to decide between his longtime girlfriend Katherine (Betty, note the "K") and sexy stranger Catherine (Veronica, note the "C"), and the choice kicks off the plot of the game. '''K'''atherine is hinting that she might be pregnant and its time for them to get married while '''C'''atherine might be stringing Vincent along and is hinted to be {{spoiler|causing nightmares in which men die in their sleep}}. Get all that?
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== Visual Novels ==
* ''[[Fate/stay
** Has Shiro mimic the [[Trope Namer]]'s storyline right down to the [[Two-Timer Date]] in one [[Hilarity Ensues|hilariously disastrous]] episode of [[Carnival Phantasm]].
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* ''[[Rip and Teri]]'': The 'Betty' is Teri, a meek and somewhat nerdy English teacher. The 'Veronica' is Tatyana, a glamourous and gorgeous ex-super spy and TV station CEO. However, whilst Tatyana ''thinks'' that the hero still has a thing for her, he's actually madly in love with Teri. It kind of helps that, in their brief romance, Tatyana manipulated and betrayed him, however.
* Cindy (Betty) and Dusk (Veronica) in ''[[Faux Pas]]''. They're both vixens, but Dusk's fur is darker.
* ''[[College Roomies
** Oddly enough, Margaret, the so-called Betty, was the one that barely knew Dave existed at the start of the comic, whereas Blue, the Veronica, was in love with him off the bat.
* ''[[Arthur, King of Time and Space]]'': In the "space arc", Arthur has to choose between the outspoken but basically nice [[Action Girl]] Guenevere (Betty) and the ambitious and amoral enchantress Morgan La Fay (Veronica). The [[First Girl Wins]], although only after the Second Girl is [[Incest Is Relative|disqualified]].
* ''[[Megatokyo]]'': Piro (Archie)'s current girlfriend, Kimiko, is an emotionally insecure struggling actress (Betty), whereas Miho, his ex, is a very dark and [[Epileptic Trees|enigmatic]] Veronica.
** Inversely, Erika's former fiance was a close friend from high school (Betty), while her current beau, an [[Cloudcuckoolander|insane]] American hacker genius / zombie slayer, is most certainly the male equivalent of the Veronica.
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** A more recent love triangle involves Esther's friend Sarah, with Ryan Beckwith as the independent, older Veronica. Carrot would be a safer Betty here if his chances of success weren't those of [http://www.scarygoround.com/?date=20081210 the Isle of Wight trying to invade China].
* Jean Poule and Princess Voluptua in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]].''
* ''[[
** Then there's the current generation of Sparks, with Klaus's son as Betty, the son of Lucrezia's most fervent supporter (besides the spider-riding people who worship her as a goddess...) as Veronica, and Bill and Lucrezia's little girl as Archie.
* Played with/deconstructed/ripped apart/critically examined (it's the way of their tribe) in [http://xkcd.com/584/ this strip] of ''[[
* In ''[[General Protection Fault]]'', there is initially a love triangle between Ki the Betty and Trudy the Veronica over Nick, who is torn between his feelings for the two of them and his lack of experience in dating and romance. He eventually goes with Ki.
* In ''[[Questionable Content]]'', Dora being mentally healthy and straightforward<ref>though she eventually turned out to be more screwed-up than she appeared</ref> would be the Betty to Marten's Archie. Distant, emotionally impaired and mysterious Faye would be the Veronica. Dora wins.
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** Similarly, quiet, bookish Duane is the Betty, and rough-edged sk8er boi Rich the Veronica, to Penny.
** Also, theoretically, the original point of the comic is that Penny is Veronica and Aggie is Betty (or the other way 'round, arguably, as Aggie's goth-ness could make her seem dark and mysterious). Their animosity stems from this difference, though there's no Archie between them.
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[The Dreamer]]'', Bea finds herself trying choose between 21st century Ben and 18th century Alan, with Alan as the Veronica and Ben as the Betty. However, the twist is, that Ben is the "safe" one, but family-loving, apple farmer, puritan Alan probably has more Betty characteristics than Ben, so which is Betty and which is Veronica depends on your interpretation and the situation Bea is in.
** It is also worth noting that even in the 18th century segments of the comic there is still a Betty and Veronica dynamic with Alan (Betty) and a young Alexander Hamilton (Veronica). Although, it's pretty obvious which one Bea loves best/chooses.
* Gender-flipped in ''[[Goblins]]'', with the cowardly Dies-Horribly and the Heroic Gremm both vying for the affections of Saves-A-Fox.
* Sandra and Larisa from ''[[
* In ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'', [http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0255.html Angelika, being the Veronica, trashes Emily as mousy.]
== Web Original ==
* ''[[
* ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' has Anara (Jedi) and Kith (Sith) being the love interests for Tantor.
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* Applies to ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', where Danny is infatuated with Paulina, the shallow, beautiful "Veronica" of the school, ignoring the pretty, intelligent "Betty" at his side, Samantha Manson. The love triangle isn't clear at the beginning of the show, when Samantha and Danny are [[Just Friends]], but eventually their feelings do grow for each other.
** Later on, Danny's crush on Paulina fades, and [[Dating Catwoman|one of his arch-enemies, Valerie, becomes the "Veronica" instead]]. A bit of a subversion, in that the biggest strike against Valerie is that she's trying to kill Danny, [[Loves My Alter Ego|though she likes his secret identity just fine]].
* 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
** [[The Movie]] has a gender flip version with Wendy as the Archie, Stan as the Betty and Gregory as the Veronica. It may have been [[Imaginary Love Triangle|imaginary]], though, since Wendy chooses Stan at the end with no hesitation.
* [[Disney]]'s ''[[Pocahontas]]'' also genderswaps this with Kocoum as the Betty and John Smith as the Veronica, although the contest clearly ends when {{spoiler|Kocoum dies}}.
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** 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|nutcase who wanted to take Trixie's place in Timmy's affections]].
* ''[[Ace Lightning]]'' has Heather and Sam who both date Mark at one point or another and have seemingly conflicting personalities and yet are best friends. Kind of like the [[Archie Comics|original]] Betty and Veronica, really.
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider
** Which is pretty true of the original ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Amazing Spiderman]]'' comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
** One could argue that leading up to the dance Gwen was the Betty and Betty (ironically) was the Veronica, being the unattainable older woman. Black Cat might also count as the [[Cheryl Blossom]].
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* ''Archie's Weird Mysteries'', natch. In one episode, a sea monster tries to woo Archie by taking on the guise of a girl combining Betty and Veronica's best features, prompting Betty and Veronica to form an [[Enemy Mine]] as they think [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You|they're the only ones who will fight for Archie]]. In the finale, a time-travelling future version of Archie is about to tell his past self who he finally got together with, only to be zapped away at the last moment.
* In ''[[The Critic]]'' episode "Lady Hawke", Jay Sherman (the Archie) got into a triangle with Alice (the Betty) and his best friend Jeremy's twin sister Olivia (the Veronica). {{spoiler|He chooses Alice at the end of the episode.}}
* In ''[[Total Drama Island
** Also, [[Dogged Nice Guy|Cody]] could be the Betty and [[Chick Magnet|Trent]] the Veronica for Gwen in season one, and Trent the Betty and Duncan the Veronica in season two.
** Also in World Tour, Cody is the Betty and Duncan is the Veronica to Gwen. And then you have [[Stalker
** In Revenge of the Island, Zoey is the Betty and Anne Maria is the Veronica to [[Split Personality|Mike]]'s Archie
* In ''[[The Secret Saturdays]]'', Doc Saturday could to be the Betty and Leonidas Van Rooke the Veronica for Drew Saturday.
* In ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'', Tony has Pepper (Betty) and Whitney (Veronica). Pepper has Tony (Betty) and Gene (Veronica).
* In ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'', arguably Jean Grey is the Betty and Rogue the Veronica for Scott Summers/Cyclops.
** Also, Cyclops could be said to be the Betty and Gambit the Veronica for Rogue in this series.
* In ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'', Mitsuki is the Betty and Lily is the Veronica to Mikey's Archie.
* ''[[Hey Arnold]]'' has Arnold having a crush on Lila (Betty) and admired by Helga (Veronica).
** In "Arnie visits Arnie", Arnold is admired by Arnie's girlfriend Lulu (Veronica) and falls in love with Hilda (Betty). In turn, Arnold is the Betty to Arnie's Veronica for Hilda.
* This occurs a few times in ''[[The Simpsons (
** Several hypothetical/future episodes have Lisa involved with [[Hollywood Nerd|Milhouse]] (Betty) while attracted to [[Troubled but Cute|Nelson]] (Veronica).
* ''[[Monster Allergy]]'' has Elena the Betty and Lay the Veronica when it comes to Zick. Lay has this with Zick as Betty and Teddy as Veronica.
* ''[[Jimmy Timmy Power Hour]]'' has Jimmy as Betty and Timmy as Veronica to Cindy.
* ''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.}}
* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' would have Hawkgirl and Vixen in these roles... but the challenge here is [[Playing
** Also they play this trope a step further making them [[Friendly Enemy|frenemies]] rather than downright rivals. To the point that {{spoiler|Mari is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to rescue herself and Hawkgirl from some enemies... via pretending that she wants to [[Murder the Hypotenuse]].}}
* In ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
* [[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 LOVE 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.]] }}
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
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* More famously, Debbie Reynolds (Betty) vs. [[Elizabeth Taylor]] (Veronica). After Liz was widowed suddenly, Reynold's husband Edwin "Eddie" Fisher (father to 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.
* Blonde [[Jennifer Aniston]] as the Betty, brunette [[Angelina Jolie]] as the Veronica, [[Brad Pitt]] as... Archie? The tabloids had many, many field days with this, as did the [http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article6609795.ece broadsheets... ]
* [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] and his well-known triangle with [[Lil' Kim]] and [[Faith Evans]]. Which is Betty and which is Veronica is not as clear as it seems, as he and Kim were intimate for years before he met Faith.
* [[John Lennon]] (Archie)/Cynthia Lennon (Betty)/[[Yoko Oh No|Yoko Ono]] (Veronica, in the "exotic and edgy" sense).
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