Who is Toni Topaz on ‘Riverdale?’

Tonight saw the introduction of Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz on Riverdale. Before she ever stepped onscreen, she was one of the most controversial new character additions of the season, with angry fans sending her death threats because there were rumors that Toni might stand between Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones.

So far, it does not look like that is in the cards, but what is Toni’s deal?

In the world of Archie Comics, Toni shares many of Jughead’s personality traits – as well as his love for food. The two actually meet in a competitive eating contest, and she then goes on to interact with both Archie and Betty.

At one point, she was a member of Betty Cooper’s band The Bettys, debuting at a date where most of the Archies were delayed. In the “New Riverdale” continuity, she sang for Betty & the Waves, and was bisexual, as evidenced by having romantic interests in both Veronica Lodge and in Betty’s onetime boyfriend Sayid Ali.

In the TV series, she is a student and Southside High and a member of the Southside Serpents — someone who is basically Jughead’s “handler,” helping to keep him out of trouble at his new school.

…He doesn’t like that, and gets into trouble without her, but it looks by the end of tonight’s episode like he might be more willing to work with her in the future.

“She’s a Southside Serpent,” Morgan explained during a recent interview, “a gang member, and Jughead’s first friend.”

Morgan went on to reveal that Toni will also function as a foil for the fan-favorite ‘Bughead’ relationship, but hinted that Riverdale fans might be surprised by her arc on the show.

“Who knows if [my character coming between Bughead] is even going to happen? People are just jumping to conclusions,” she said.

For her part, she said she would rather see Toni hook up with Cheryl Blossom, in part because she would love to have more scenes with her real-life friend Madelaine Petsch.

“My character is bisexual,” Morgan explained. “This is one hundred percent important.”

Riverdale airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.