'Riverdale' Introduces Another Archie Comics Superhero in "Shadow of a Doubt"

Riverdale's latest episode offered fans quite a lot of craziness -- but it dropped in a pretty cool bit of Archie Comics lore as well.

Spoilers for tonight's episode of Riverdale, "Shadow of a Doubt", below!

The episode saw Riverdale still dealing with the aftermath of Midge Klump's (Emilija Baranac) murder, which had increased the town's sense of worry about the Black Hood. As fans saw in last week's installment, that led to Tom Keller (Martin Cummins) being asked to resign as the town's sheriff, only for Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) to very quickly help appoint a replacement.

Early on in the episode, Archie (KJ Apa) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) were introduced to the new Sheriff, a man by the name of Michael Minetta. And for those who have kept up with the recent years of Archie Comics - or more specifically, Dark Circle Comics - that name is particularly noteworthy.

Michael Minetta is the fourth and most recent iteration of The Hangman, a vigilante superhero who first debuted in Pep Comics in the 1940s. While the Hangman has had a complicated publishing history over the years - even ending up in DC Comics for a brief stint - he returned to the Archie orbit in 2015.

Minetta's version of the character debuted in his own solo series in 2015, and with a pretty unique backstory. Minetta was a hitman, who was attacked by the original Hangman and woke up in hell. As Satan told Minetta, the Hangmen have been around for centuries, collecting the souls of those who are deemed unworthy to exist. Satan then offered the job to Minetta, and he reluctantly accepted, to make sure that his wife and daughter were kept safe.

While some Riverdale fans might regard Minetta's comic backstory to be a little dark, it actually doesn't feel too far off from what's taking part on the show. Sure, we don't know the exact story behind how Minetta took the Sheriff post. But he does appear to essentially be in Hiram Lodge's devilish back pocket, as a way to target the "unworthy" citizens of the town like Fangs Fogarty (Drew Ray Tanner).

What do you think about Riverdale's latest Archie Comics Easter egg? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.