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This article is about Toni Topaz, who resides in Riverdale. You may be looking for her Rivervale counterpart, Toni Topaz.

Mr. Pickens, I know you're new here. But I have spent my entire life in service to Riverdale. After high school, I graduated college with a degree in social work. I then became guidance counselor at Riverdale High. I kept its doors open as Hiram Lodge fought to shut us down. I then used my position as a small business owner and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. To help with various charities and organizations. And if there's any doubt about my integrity, just know that I'm raising my son here, and I'm invested in Riverdale because of him. And I hope you all let me continue to advocate for you and this town. Thank you.
— Toni at the council meeting[src]

Antoinette "Toni" Topaz was initially a recurring character in the second season of The CW's Riverdale. She has since been promoted to a series regular for the third season onward.[1] She is portrayed by Vanessa Morgan.

Toni is the leader of Southside Serpents — the Serpent Queen. Prior to leading the gang, during her adolescence, Toni was merely a member, one of many. During her sophomore year, she met Jughead and acted as his guide into the world of Southside gang life after he transferred to Southside High and re-operated the school's newspaper, The Red and Black, for which he recruited Toni as the school photographer - such a venture ended with the eventual permanent closing of the school.

Not long after transferring to Riverdale High, Toni began to develop a relationship with Cheryl Blossom, which only strengthened when Cheryl joined the Serpents despite her Northside roots. However, both Toni and Cheryl would be exiled from the Serpents by Jughead after they failed to abide by Serpent code and burglarized the Pembrooke. In response, she and Cheryl created a gang of their own, the Pretty Poisons, which she ran for the remainder of high school. At the end of senior year, Toni's grandmother forced her to choose between Cheryl and her family, but she refused, determined to be able to have both. But Cheryl, not wanting Toni to have to choose and believing she needed to make up for her ancestors sins in order to be worthy of Toni and Toni's grandmother's approval, broke up with Toni.

Seven years later, after Toni has graduated from Highsmith College with a master's degree in social work and a minor in photography, she returned to Riverdale, took control of the Serpents, and moved in an apartment with Kevin and Fangs, and agreed to be the surrogate to their son. She and Fangs eventually fell into a relationship after he and Kevin broke up, but it was not meant to last.

In the new timeline, beginning in 1955, Toni and Cheryl got back together and eventually settle in the Oakland Hills, living as artists and activists. They would eventually have a son, Dale, named after Riverdale.

Character Description[]

Toni is a vivacious member of the Southside Serpents, who is known for her signature pink hair and impressive appetite.[2]

Early Life[]

Much of Toni's early life remains unknown, especially her time prior to moving to Riverdale. However, at some point, she moved to the Southside and joined the Southside Serpents.

Throughout Riverdale[]

Physical Appearance[]

Toni is a young woman who during her teenage years had dark brown hair with stand-out light pink highlights. She has a small frame, light brown skin, and almond-shaped, brown eyes. Toni appears to love wearing jewelry, as she often wears rings, earrings, and different types of necklaces. She also has a bellybutton piercing. She is also known to occasionally wear a hat sometimes, while at other times, a bandana. Years later, well into adulthood, she looks mostly the same, except she now has braided light brown hair.

Personality[]

Toni shares similar traits with Jughead, such as seeking out justice and the truth in journalism. For those reasons, Jughead offered her a chance to join Southside High's newspaper, the Red and Black, as their photographer.

Toni is both loyal and accepting to those whom she makes an instant connection with, as seen with Jughead. With him, she has shown a near instantaneous loyalty. Despite Jughead not being an official member of the Southside Serpents, Toni and the rest of the Serpents demonstrated that they are willing to protect him at all costs, as they considered him one of their own, identifying Jughead as a "Serpent by Blood." Although, Toni has exhibited more than just loyalty towards Jughead. Proven by a kiss they shared in the trailer, though the two never pursed a relationship, as Toni is more into girls.

She and Jughead also share a sense of humor, a particularly sarcastic one, as seen when she suggested that Betty loosen up her ponytail to help her think better. Above all else, Toni is very outspoken about her feelings towards the negativity in which they are viewed by Northsiders, while she, on the other hand, sees them as the privileged - a group constantly looking down upon and blaming the Southside community for the rising crime in Riverdale.

In spite of her sour streak for the Northside, Toni's relationship with Cheryl brings out her compassionate and nurturing side. Toni saw through her "mean girl" act and was able to recognize that there was more than what met the eye with Cheryl. At one point, Toni encountered Cheryl at the movies and comforted her afterwards when the latter opened up about her sexuality. Toni was able to sense something was wrong with Cheryl during the pool party at Thornhill, at which Cheryl began to discuss her suicide attempt at Sweetwater River. This all goes to show how much Toni looks out for the people she cares about, viewing them in a non-judgmental light.

Toni is also quite witty, creative and somewhat artistic. While a member of the Red and Black's staff, Toni displayed an interest in journalism and writing. She was once very into photography and was seen multiple times with a camera.

Relationships[]

Fangs Fogarty[]

RD-Caps-5x19-Riverdale-RIP-128-Toni-Fangs-Fogarty

Toni and Fangs

Toni and Fangs' have been friends since at least their adolescence, during which they both joined the Southside Serpents along with Sweet Pea, and together, they three of them often acted as Jughead's smaller clique within the Serpents. After high school, however, they all went their separate ways, with Toni going to Highsmith College and Fangs attending the University of Pittsburgh, where he and Kevin continued their relationship. After graduating, the three of them all moved back to Riverdale, where they got an apartment together, and Toni agreed to be Fangs and Kevin's surrogate mother. However, by the time the baby arrived, Kevin and Fangs were no longer together, leaving Toni and Fangs to raise Baby Anthony together as a couple. They married in Biblical to help with their custody case, though were both almost immediately killed by the plague of the firstborns.

In 1955, the two are close friends, and Toni supports Fangs in his relationship with Midge and his musical career. When they get their memories back, they do not get back together.

Cheryl Blossom[]

Main article: Cheryl and Toni
RD-Caps-5x01-Climax-118-Toni-Cheryl

Toni and Cheryl

Toni and Cheryl first met at the Riverdale Drag Race, when Cheryl took Toni's place as flag girl. They later met again in the school bathroom shortly after the Serpents transferred to Riverdale High, with Toni confronting Cheryl about telling Jughead that Betty and Archie had kissed. Toni recognized the pain Cheryl was holding in and called her on it, though Cheryl stormed off after telling Toni to "get her sapphic, serpent hands off her body". Later that week, Toni found herself in Cheryl's presence once more. Both left without a date, Toni invited Cheryl to the movies and afterward, they went to Pop's, where Cheryl opened up about how everyone hated her and a friend named Heather in Junior high that she had lost touch with. In this moment of vulnerability, Toni comforted Cheryl, and from there, a relationship developed, which led to Toni joining the River Vixens and Cheryl joining the Serpents. When Cheryl was sent to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where her mother attempted to reform her for her daughter's "deviance", Toni teamed up with Veronica and went on a rescue mission to save Cheryl. Once the group succeeded, the two shared a kiss, and then escaped. From there, their relationship only continued to grow, but it would come to an end following their graduation, with Cheryl deciding that they should part ways to avoid Toni having to choose between her family and Cheryl, who her family disapproved of because she was a Blossom. The two had an on-and-off friendship following Toni's pregnancy, with Cheryl eventually learning from Heather that they are soulmates.

In 1955, Toni pursues Cheryl and helps her come to terms with her identity. They begin dating, though in secret at first but later publicly. Some time following their graduation in 1957, they moved out west and settled in the Oakland Hills, where they eventually had a son named Dale.

Jughead Jones[]

Main article: Jughead and Toni
RD-Caps-2x06-Death-Proof-134-Toni-Jughead

Toni and Jughead

The friendship between Toni and Jughead began when Jughead transferred to Southside High after being forced to leave Riverdale High School. They quickly became good friends. Knowing that Jughead was a Southside Serpent, bonded by blood, the son of FP Jones, Toni volunteered to be his tour guide of both Southside High and the Serpents. Since then, Toni has consistently had his back along with the rest of the Serpents, as they consider Jughead family. She's shown a great amount of loyalty towards Jughead while also giving him advice when needed, especially when it came to surviving Southside High and the Ghoulies.

Sweet Pea[]

RD-Caps-2x06-Death-Proof-106-Sweet-Pea-Toni

Sweet Pea and Toni

Toni and Sweet Pea are good friends within the Southside Serpents, who are often seen together, and due to their gang ties, the two are expected to be willing to die for one another. It is currently unclear how they met or how long the two have known each other. Despite their friendship, Sweet Pea and Toni appear to be polar opposites, with the former being hot-headed and often irrational, while the latter is far more even-tempered and collected. Toni has displayed a capacity to calm Sweet Pea on occasion, as shown when she stepped in the middle of an altercation between him and Jughead that unfolded in the Red and Black offices, which ended with Toni escorting Sweet Pea out after Jughead refused to join them until he had decided to more or less take up his father's legacy.

Betty Cooper[]

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Toni and Betty

The relationship between Toni and Betty was initially rather complicated. When they first met with each other at Southside High inside The Red and Black office, they appeared to be on good terms with each other. However, the two had an argument when they were at Sunnyside Trailer Park with Kevin and Jughead, trying to decipher the coded message written by the Black Hood over his potential status as a Southsider - specifically a Serpent, culminating in Toni revealing that Jughead had begun to associate himself with the gang. Later on in the series, they've since resolved any tension that was between them and remained friends.

Tabitha Tate[]

RD-Caps-6x10-Folk-Heroes-46-Tabitha-Toni

Toni and Tabitha.

Beyond their working relationship as two of the most prominent business owners in town, with Toni running the Wyrm and Tabitha owning Pop's, they initially began to develop a genuine friendship after they were both appointed to the Riverdale Town Council, where Tabitha came to Toni's defense no shortage of times as she found herself under scrutiny by Percival Pickens because of her position as the Serpent Queen. This led to Toni being voted off the council with a nearly unanimous vote, except for Tabitha, who spoke in Toni's defense. Given their growing friendship, Toni looked to Tabitha for assistance in dealing her with problems with the Ghoulies. And not only did Tabitha agree to watch over Baby Anthony, she even warned Toni that she walked into a trap, more specifically a "turkey shoot," and that it would be in her best interest to surrender. And within hours, not only did Tabitha save Toni's life, she posted her bail as well. This loyalty extends to their respective businesses as well, proven when Toni and Tabitha joined forces to increase revenue in order to combat the Babylonium, which was stealing their customers until they came to a three-way agreement with Veronica to benefit all of their businesses.

In 1955, they are close friends, and both participate in Black Athena.

Appearances[]

Riverdale[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Season 5[]

Season 6[]

Season 7[]

Katy Keene[]

Season 1[]

Trivia[]

  • Although, Toni didn't make her official debut until the second season, her character's existence has been known since the first season, when she commented under Chuck Clayton's post of him and Veronica Lodge, in which he claimed to have given her a "sticky maple". In response to this post, Toni commented "No gracias". Notably, the spelling of Toni was different, being spelled in its masculine form, Tony.[3]
  • She is Riverdale's first (openly) bisexual character.[2]
  • In the Archie Comics, Toni has short bubble-gum pink dyed hair.
  • Most of the nicknames that Toni has obtained throughout the series have been given by Cheryl.

Gallery[]

See also: Category:Images of Toni Topaz
Riverdale symbol
Toni Topaz's Gallery Can Be Found Here. The Gallery May Consist of Promotional Images, Screencaps, and Video Clips Released By Network Officials

References[]

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