Autre projet avorté de Paul Kupperberg, Pop Tate était supposé intégrer une série d’one-shots consacrés à des personnages secondaires de l’univers Archie, en 2017. Le scénariste propose de raconter l’histoire de Pop, le tenancier du petit diner dans lequel les héros vont savourer des milk shake (et Jughead des burgers), du temps où il était jeune, où il s’appelait Terry et où Pop, c’était son père.
Mais au final, cet one-shot de quarante pages sera abandonné.
PAUL KUPPERBERG: 13 Comics That Might Have Been | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture
The proposal for the 40-page one-shot takes us back to before Terry became Pop, when he was being called Junior because his father was then known as “Pop” and still owned the Chocklit Shoppe. Much to his displeasure, Terry got stuck behind the counter while his siblings got to go off and have their own lives and he grew to hate the Chocklit Shoppe, turning to the bottle to drown his unhappiness.
But the thing he hates most becomes his salvation when he learns after his father’s death and he inherits the Shoppe, just how much the place, and the Tates, mean to the people of Riverdale. He finds himself honored to be crowned by them as the new “Pop” Tate.