Moose Mason
| Moose Mason | |
|---|---|
| Archie character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | Archie's Pal, Jughead #1 (January 1949) |
| Created by | Bob Montana |
| Portrayed by | Jeff Hochendoner (Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again) Cody Kearsley (Riverdale) |
| Voiced by |
Howard Morris (Archie's TV Funnies, The U.S. of Archie) Victor Erdos (The New Archies) Jerry Longe (Archie's Weird Mysteries, The Archies in Jugman) |
| Hometown | Riverdale |
| School | Riverdale High School |
| Information | |
| Spouse(s) | Midge Mason (#608-present) (wife) |
| Significant other(s) | Midge Klump |
| Relatives | Jerry and Marilyn Mason |
Moose Mason (often referred to as Big Moose) is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe. He attends Riverdale High School where he is typically depicted as the best athlete but the poorest student. His difficulties with school were later attributed to dyslexia. Mason is a Russian-American.
Moose is blessed with great strength. In one sequence, he slides under a car and, from his supine position, lifts it off the ground. As a result, people often have high expectations of him regarding athletics. He has helped Riverdale High School win many matches in basketball, baseball, football, ice hockey, and various other sports, though he seems to have a preference for football. Moose was originally created to serve as the personification and stereotype of the jock—all brawn and no brains. In the Spanish version of the comic, Moose is called Gorilón ("Big Gorilla"). In at least one story in the 1950s, Moose gives his real name as Merton Matowski.
His various tendencies may be inherited from one of his first ancestors to immigrate to the United States. In one story, a Russian named Lazslo Kharandashikov befriends Archie Andrews's Scottish ancestor Andy Andrews when they meet on the same ship immigrating to the US. Laslo protects Andy from another man who wants to thrash Andy. Andy shows gratitude by finding Laslo's immigration money for him after Laslo nearly loses it. Laslo's difficulty in speaking English leads him to give his name as "Mason" to the immigration officials who let him into the country.
In some stories one of the gang, usually Archie, asks for Moose's help with a problem that can only be solved by means of the big guy's strength or intimidating presence. In "Guardian Devil," Archie and Betty meet a runaway child whose hospitalized mother left the boy in her brother's care, but the uncle locked the boy in his room and had wild parties in the house—until Archie brought Moose over to straighten things out; after manhandling the uncle, the intimidating Moose sends the partygoers running with the simple exclamation "Scat!". In another story, Archie had tracked down two thugs who robbed the Chok'lit Shoppe, using a description given by Jughead, whom the cops had found in the store and initially accused. The thugs had just started beating Archie when Moose showed up; he picked the thugs up effortlessly and took them to the police station.
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