I've been watching Super Eyepatch Wolf's Riverdale video, and it's kinda interesting how Archie was light escapism in the war-torn 40s, and now in the 21st century where we don't really have many major Hitler-tier problems (other than climate change which we have the means to stop and just need to encourage the big guys to help out, and Covid which will probably be long gone in 2 years at maximum) Archie has had to turn into a more-shocking-than-life nightmare world to keep people's attention. I guess it must be a psychological thing: the human brain needs a balance of cynicism and optimism.