Summary

• Peppermint Patty and Marcie have a dynamic friendship, with Peppermint Patty being outgoing and sporty while Marcie is bookish and sweet.
• Despite their differences, Peppermint Patty and Marcie are loyal and devoted friends who share many funny moments together.
• Marcie is knowledgeable about many subjects except sports, which often frustrates Peppermint Patty, who is athletic and competitive.

Marcie and Peppermint Patty became a dynamic duo in 1971, as Marcie made her Peanuts debut when the pair were seen at camp together. However, Marcie did not originally have a name, and she didn't receive one until some time later. The two didn't form the warmest bond right away, with Peppermint Patty calling Marcie a dork shortly after meeting. Regardless, they end up sharing a close friendship that configures Marcie as Peppermint Patty's sidekick and best friend.

Peppermint Patty and Marcie offer very different personalties, making them an example of the tried and true comic trope of the big personality and the straight man, respectively. Positioning Peppermint Patty, who is outgoing, sporty, and extroverted, as a foil to the bookish and sweet Marcie provides endless funny situations for the girls to share — and for their fans to experience. They may be very different people, but one thing they have in common is their loyalty and devoted friendship. Here are 10 moments that celebrate their iconic friendship.

10 "A Humorous Game"

Marcie is not the best at sports, as this strip clearly points out. She stands in stark contrast to the athletic, sports-loving Peppermint Patty. Marcie is very smart about a number of subjects, but sports is not one of them. Peppermint Patty, being the helpful pal that she is, tries to teach Marcie how to kick a ball. Things don't go as Patty planned and Marcie finds her own way of playing.

Finding the humor in everything thanks to her good nature, Marcie finds her clumsy attempt at sports funny. Based on Patty's unsettled expression, the audience can guess that she does feel the same.

9 "Sleep More In Class"

Marcie loves school. On the other hand, Peppermint Patty does not. In fact, she hates school, and she is exceptionally lazy when it comes to her education. In Peanuts, it's been established that Patty frequently sleeps during class, which has been attributed to her dad coming home late from work and Patty waiting up for him. Regardless, Patty's attitude towards school is the polar opposite to Marcie's; Marcie is high achieving and loves to learn.

When Marcie has to go to the principal's office, she claims innocence, only for Patty to reply that sleeping during class ensures not getting in trouble. It often annoys Marcie that Patty doesn't try very hard at school, so it seems unlikely that Marcie will take her friend's words seriously.

8 "Billie Jean King"

A sports fanatic Marcie is not. Although, there is one sports superstar that Marcie is well aware of and is an active fan of: tennis player Billie Jean King. The former worldwide number-one tennis player, King is often referred to as one of the best tennis players of all time. She is also an advocate for women in sports and LGBTQ+ rights.

A major tennis star in the '60s and '70s, King's popularity in the era's zeitgeist was immense, making her way into the Peanuts comics strip. Marcie and Peppermint Patty are huge fans of King, with Patty even threatening to never introduce her to the tennis star if she doesn't help Patty with women in sports. Too bad for Patty, Marcie pokes holes in her threats, leaving Patty desperate for a change of topic — even if from the teacher.

7 "You Look Sophisticated"

All best friends look out for each other, including by giving some much-needed style advice. As readers of the Peanuts strip know, Marcie's eyes are almost always obscured by her glasses. In this strip, Peppermint Patty thinks Marcie's eyes deserve to be seen and that putting her glasses on her head will make her look sophisticated.

Unfortunately for Marcie, she needs those glasses on her eyes to see, sophisticated or not. What ensues is unsurprising; Marcie takes her glasses off and moments later walks directly into a tree. As helpful as Patty tries to be, she's better off sticking to sports tips than fashion advice.

6 "Basketball Rink"

Sports-challenged Marcie may not be a jock like Peppermint Patty, but there is one major exception: hockey. Marcie's grandfather plays in a hockey league, and, as noted in the strip, she and her father go to hockey games. While hockey is one of the very few sports Marcie is somewhat familiar with, she is still pretty clueless about some basic parts of the game. For instance, she thinks a hockey rink is called a hockey court.

Correcting her friend, Patty tells her it's a rink only for Marcie to get mixed up even further and call a basketball court a basketball rink. Marcie may excel at many subjects and even different languages, but she cannot seem to get a grasp on sports — something that is endlessly frustrating to Patty.

5 "A Driver and a Ball"

Marcie and Peppermint Patty have one of the best friendships in the entirety of the Peanuts strip. They are endlessly loyal to each other and are always each other's first pick for everything. As tight-knit as the pair are, they are complete inverses to each other when it comes to sports. There is the all around athletic, competitive Patty who differs greatly from Marcy, whose vast knowledge does not extend to sports.

When asked by Patty to fetch her a driver and ball, Marcy gives her a driver with no hesitation or issue. However, when it comes to which ball to give her friend, Marcie stumbles hard and hands her a soccer ball instead of a golf ball.

4 "I Loveth Instruction"

A bookworm of the highest order, Marcie loves to read and learn, which could not be in more opposition to Peppermint Patty. Marcie can speak French fluently and is well-read on many subjects... except for sports. Apparently, the little intellectual is also knowledgeable about the Book of Proverbs, reciting one to a perplexed Patty.

The ancient writing of the Book of Proverbs would be hard for most adults to grasp, let alone a child. As a result, it's not hard to blame Peppermint Patty for having no clue what she's repeating. Patty is lucky to have a best bud like Marcie who can always help her out when she's in some academic jam.

3 "Stop Calling Me Sir"

Marcie may be sweet and unassuming, but that doesn't mean that she isn't immune to fighting with her best friend. With two pals who spend as much time together as these, it's only natural for them to clash from time to time, as evident in this strip. When Marcie questions if Patty didn't do her homework yet again, Peppermint Patty gets defensive and complains about being called "sir."

Not one to back down, Marcie intentionally calls her "sir" over and over until Peppermint Patty can take no more and hits her friend on the head with a book. Some hair pulling ensues and the two girls are sent to the principal's office. Marcie, instead of acting like any normal kid would in the situation, feels elated after the fight and shows no trepidation about seeing the principal, much to Peppermint Patty's annoyance and confusion.

2 "The Six O'Clock News"

Peppermint Patty is ready for a sports game or a scrimmage at any time. Patty is also one to stand up for herself and others. When a peer makes fun of Patty by making a cruel joke about graduating from dog obedience school, which she was told to attend by Snoopy, Patty does not take kindly to it.

She delivers a line that would be just as fitting in an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie and bops the kid right on the nose. Marcie is very impressed and voices her iration. Although, she should be careful to not call Patty "sir" at the moment in case she gets a bonk on the head, too.

1 "Something Else"

Peppermint Patty is very particular about her appearance and what she likes to wear. In one show of activism, Patty fights against the school board and hires Snoopy as her attorney after her school requires her to wear a dress for the new dress code. Therefore, Patty will stick to her guns about what is right and fair, including when it regards clothing.

Patty is not immune to mixing things up, though. When she is competing in a skating competition, she is prepared to dress the part, hairstyle included. For the competition, she wants a new hairdo and asks Marcie for help. She should've kept looking, because Marcie comes up with a style that is not the most flattering, requiring the iconic Peanuts duo to go back to the drawing board.