Forsythe is known as Jughead, Juggie, or Jug. He stands at 6 ft (1.8 m) and 140 lbs (64 kg) and can be identified by his long nose, half-closed eyes, “S” sweatshirt, and beanie hat.

Jughead is typically seen as lazy and obsessed with food, especially hamburgers. Unlike his other male counterparts, he also demonstrates very little interest in girls, claiming to like food better. He generally has a very unperturbed and easygoing demeanor, often accompanied by his characteristic wry and sarcastic sense of humor. He is considered a bit of an oddity, but prefers his nonconformism.

Jughead is a very fast runner and is shown to have a few other unexpected athletic talents. His speed is due to is constant evasion of Ethel, as well as his race to be in the front of the lunchline everyday. Many of his other athletic abilities are side effects of other such hobbies and activities. Because of this, Riverdale High School’s Coach Keats often tries to recruit him for various school teams, usually without longterm success.

In spite of his reputation as slow and lazy, Jughead is in reality extremely intelligent, and often surprises his skeptical friends (notably Reggie Mantle and Veronica Lodge) with his vast knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, including history, Shakespeare, sports, and science. He is also an extremely good student, second only to Dilton Doiley, which exasperates his teachers because he seems to do well without paying any attention.

His many quirks make him the butt of teasing and abuse from Reggie, Veronica, and even other classmates and teachers. Many episodes involve Reggie and Jughead trying to outdo one another with pranks and bets, and Jughead almost always comes out the victor. He is revealed to be extremely clever and creative when necessary, often taking advantage of Reggie’s and his other tormentors’ weaknesses while having fun all the while.

In the earlier comics, Jughead’s real name was a running gag mystery, and many episodes involved various characters trying to discover his real name, and Jughead thwarting their efforts. In one story Archie and Reggie attempt to find out Jughead’s real first name. They go to the school office, and a woman there tells them that Jughead’s real first name is Steve. After Archie and Reggie leave the office, the audience learns that the woman is actually Jughead’s aunt and that she has just lied to Archie and Reggie as a favor to Jughead to help him cover up the fact that his first name is Forsythe. He is named after his ancestor who is an American hero. Jughead started to use his given name for a brief time in honor of his ancestor, but after learning that he was married nine times, reverted to his nickname.

Another mystery is the meaning of the “S” on his sweatshirt, which has still not been revealed to this day, though many stories have come close.

He is a member of The Archies.