'Riverdale' Name-Drops a 'Justice League' Cast Member in "When A Stranger Calls"

Riverdale might bring the world of Archie Comics to the screen, but it just dropped a reference to [...]

riverdale justice league

Riverdale might bring the world of Archie Comics to the screen, but it just dropped a reference to one of the biggest comic book movie actors around right now.

Spoilers for tonight's episode of Riverdale, "Chapter Eighteen: When A Stranger Calls", below.

Tonight's episode of the hit The CW series saw the introduction of Nick St. Clair (Graham Phillips), an old classmate of Veronica's (Camila Mendes). He held a party to attempt to impress Veronica and her friends, and began telling stories of his various celebrity encounters. He mentioned running into "Gal", and when someone at the party became confused, Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) clarified that he was talking about Gal Gadot.

In the grand scope of things, this name drop to the Diana Prince/Wonder Woman actress means very little. Riverdale does share a network with an array of DC Comics shows, which have very little canonical connection to Gadot's portrayal of Wonder Woman. If anything, this reference is along the lines of previous mentions to celebrities, such as Veronica comparing her and Archie to Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Still, the name drop is worth mentioning for a few reasons. For one thing, it's very closely timed to the release date of Justice League, which will be Gadot's next appearance in the Wonder Woman role. While the Riverdale reference isn't necessarily meant to promo the upcoming film, it does put Gadot's name in the heads of those who saw her solo turn earlier this summer, but might not be as consciously aware of Justice League's debut.

The name drop is also significant because of Riverdale's unique ties to DC Comics. During a visit to the Riverdale set last year, ComicBook.com made note of the wide array of comic covers displayed in Archie Andrews' (KJ Apa) room. Aside from a few hidden Archie Comics titles, most of the comics shown -- either in posters and in actual comics -- were new DC titles.

In its sophomore season, Riverdale has since shifted these references away from DC towards a focus on Red Circle superheroes. But this subtle reference to Gadot does indicate that DC Comics, and some form of its live-action media, probably still exists within the show's world.

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

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