Black Hood

"This is the Black Hood. I am the man who shot the adulterer at Pop's. I killed the child predator in Greendale. I shot the drug and sex addicted teenagers at Lovers' Lane. Riverdale is not innocent. It's a town of hypocrites, degenerates, and criminals. My wrath is the price of your lies, your secrets, your sins. I will not stop. I cannot be stopped. I am the wolf. You are the flock. This is the bloodletting. You will hear from me again."

- The Black Hood's letter to the town.

The Black Hood is an anonymous character and one of the main antagonists of Season 2 who carried out the shooting of Fred Andrews in Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, the murder of Geraldine Grundy in Greendale, and the gun attack on Moose Mason and Midge Klump somewhere in Riverdale. He is portrayed by Jay Clift.

The identity of the shooter has yet to be revealed, but his victimology has been established. All of the Black Hood's victims are or at one point were residents on the north side of Riverdale, and/or have committed some sin, such as being a child predator, committed by Geraldine Grundy, sex and drugs, committed by Midge Klump and Moose Mason, and adultery, committed by Fred Andrews. This has caused Polly Cooper to leave town out of fear of being that Black Hood could target her, due being an unwed mother, and being pregnant with her own cousin's children.

In a letter he sent to Betty Cooper, he admitted to her that he attended the 75th Anniversary Jubilee, and that Betty's speech inspired him to commit crimes.

First Appearance of the "Angel of Death"
The morning following the 75th Anniversary Jubilee, an event that was supposed to unite Riverdale, a masked gunman entered Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. He stood on top of the counter with a gun pointed to Pop Tate, making demands. While doing so, Fred Andrews looked over to his son, Archie, and told his son to stay back. The gunman then turned his attention to Fred and demanded his wallet at gunpoint. Archie panicked and ran out in between the gunman and his father. Despite Archie's frantic decision, Fred was shot in the stomach. After firing that single shot, the gunman ran out of the shop, leaving a critically injured Fred for dead.

Purge of Sinners
Late one night, he broke into Geraldine Grundy's house after she sent Ben, a music student, home from piano lessons. After she bid him goodbye, she realized her living room was in disarray. With her back turned to the Black Hood creeping upon her, he strangled her to death with a cello bow.

At night, in the woods of Riverdale, he found Midge Klump and Moose Mason using the new Jingle Jangle drug given to them by Reggie Mantle, and making out in their car, about to initiate sex. He walked up to their car window and quickly fired three shots at them with the intention of killing the two teenagers, before walking away from the scene.

Acknowledging Fred Andrews's recovering, and Moose and Midge surviving the shooting (Moose ended up in the hospital, due to him being Midge's human shield), the Black Hood wrote an open letter to the town, and sent it to Alice Cooper as a message to be published on The Register as a warning article about his intentions, affirming his presence in town as a vigilante hunting for what he deems to be sinners. He also promised to send more letters.

The Black Hood sent a second letter to Betty Cooper, revealing that her speech at the 75th Anniversary Jubilee had inspired him in targeting sinners. Attached to the letter was an encrypted message about the location of his next crime, which Betty later deduced to be at the town hall during a meeting. Fortunately, she had the meeting evacuated before the Black Hood could launch an attack.

Close and Closer
The same night, while Betty was on her bed, he anonymously called Betty on her smartphone to have a talk with her, informing her that this was the Black Hood speaking.

Speaking at the phone, the Black Hood revealed to Betty that he was at the Town Hall and had not attacked anyone because that night was all about Betty. He claimed he had the same goal of Betty: setting Riverdale on the righteous path again and cleanse it of sinners. He then informed Betty that knows that Polly is staying at a barn two miles out of town, and threatened to end Polly's life if Betty spoke with someone about their secret conversation to anyone, or warned the police.

The Black Hood called again later, while Betty was with Archie in her bedroom. The Black Hood asked Betty to publish a defamatory article on her mom, with the promise to reveal information about him to Betty in exchange. Since Betty lived up to her part of the deal, the Black Hood replied to her question, stating that Betty would recognize the face beneath the hood. Shortly after, the Black Hood ordered Betty to break her relationships with Veronica and Jughead, threatening her if she had not obeyed.

After Betty had done what he requested, the Black Hood lured Betty into an abandoned home where she found a gift box in an empty room; Once opened, Betty discovered a hood that the Black Hood ordered her to wear through a conversation on the phone. He then asked her to look herself in a mirror to see how similar they were.

Later that night, the Black Hood called again, saying there was an unfinished business to clarify. He revealed that he had watched Betty very carefully and knows that she shared their secret with Archie, which he is not happy about. The killer threatened to kill Polly and the rest of Betty's family unless she named another sinner for the killer to unleash his anger on. After an initial reticence, Betty said to kill Nick St. Clair, who had earlier attempted to rape Cheryl Blossom, and gave Black Hood his location at the Five Seasons. Impressed, Black Hood told Betty that they were the same, before hanging up.

Physical Appearance
This masked assailant is seen to be a tall man who appears to be 5'10" tall per Archie's testimony to the Sheriff. He has green eyes as Archie described to the cops, and as was seen. He wears a black hood.

Suspects

 * Hiram Lodge / Hermione Lodge (by Veronica; Disproven in Hermione's case since Black Hood is male)
 * Southside Serpents (by Alice Cooper)
 * Geraldine Grundy's ex-husband (by Archie Andrews; Disproven)
 * Southsider (by Southside Serpents)

Victims

 * Pop Tate - Threatened at gunpoint. (survived)
 * Archie Andrews - Threatened at gunpoint. (survived)
 * Fred Andrews - Shot in the stomach. (survived)
 * Geraldine Grundy - Strangled with cello bow. (deceased)
 * Moose Mason - Multiple shots in the chest and stomach. (survived)
 * Midge Klump - Shot at but was missed. (survived)
 * Robert Phillips (status unknown)

Gallery

 * -|Season 1 Screencaps=

Season 1 Screencaps

 * -|Season 2 Screencaps=