Top 10 Unbelievable Riverdale Details You Never Noticed

With so many women chasing Archie, his longest running nickname wasn't far behind. Lovingly dubbed Archiekins by Veronica, Archie can barely hold back smiles when he hears the moniker. The name goes back decades, as Veronica has used it in and out of the comics endlessly. Always up to something, Veronica even uses the endearing title to manipulate Archie long before they date in the show. Cheryl also controls Archie with the name, even trying Pollykins on Betty's sister. Compared to the rare Archibald thrown around in the series, Archiekins rolls off the tongue naturally.

When Veronica gets harassed online by footballer Chuck Clayton, even the most obscure Riverdale students jump on her. As Veronica's picture with Chuck goes viral, she gets tons of mean comments on Instagram from her classmates. In these comments however are some of the many teens of Riverdale that the series had yet to bring to life. Watching Veronica scroll through the comments, comic regulars like Toni Topaz, Frankie Valdez, Marie Rodriguez and Cricket O'Dell appear below her photo. Offering fans even more characters, Toni eventually appears in the second season, while Cricket's money obsession has led her to the Blossoms.

As the series begins, Veronica and her mother move into Riverdale at the Pembrooke apartment building. Like many locations within the town, the building's name is a clever allusion to the series' history. In the comics, Pembrooke is actually a neighbouring town to Riverdale and home to the Blossoms. Cheryl and Jason even attend the Pembrooke Academy, transferring to Riverdale High School depending on the storyline. With decades of comics to reference, the apartment's name is one of the more clever takes on the source material. While its address of 330 seems like another Easter egg, it's actually the apartment's address in Vancouver, British Columbia.

While Archie's best friend will always be Jughead, his dog Vegas still gets a lot of love on the show. Vegas has actually been part of the series since the sixties, making him one of its longest running characters. Appearing in multiple versions of Archie's stories over the years, Vegas has even gotten to speak in the books. One zombie storyline in the comics also featured Vegas making a heroic sacrifice to save Archie's life. While Vegas is more of a background detail in the first season of the show, his background is explored more in season two, to the delight of Veronica.

Even on 'Riverdale', Archie and Betty have a long history together that predates their teenage romance. When their love and even friendship is on the line, Archie confides in Veronica about their childhood. Archie says that as kids he proposed to Betty, but Betty simply said "Oh Little Archie." While the line fits the story well, it's actually paying sneaky homage to the 'Little Archie' comics. Following Archie's childhood mischief, 'Little Archie' ran for nearly 30 years along with the core comics. One of most interesting references in the series, it's unlikely we'll be getting a “Little Archie” spin-off series any time soon.

Josie and the Pussycats' halftime show for Riverdale High featured tons of modern electronics and dancing. Covering Inner Circle's "Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)" the Pussycats are also updating the 1969 hit "Sugar, Sugar." Topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1969, the track is by none other than the Archies. The band featured Archie, Reggie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica and even Hot Dog, becoming one of the most successful virtual bands in history. While they eventually died out in the music world, the show continues to honor them through Archie's music career and work with the Pussycats.

Riverdale High School has always been one of the staple locations of the comics, and was a natural setting for the show. While giving Veronica a tour of the school, Betty mentions that it was founded in 1941. Archie himself debuted in 1941, appearing for the first time in Pep Comics issue 22. Watchful viewers may have already seen Pep subtly celebrated in Riverdale's motto, "The Town With Pep." Pep Comics' original publishers MLJ Comics were even honored with a store in Riverdale, while the police station itself bears the number 1939, to commemorate the year MLJ was founded.

Archie and friends’ good looks must be genetic considering all their parents were teenage heartthrobs. Before playing Fred Andrews, Luke Perry was Dylan on 'Beverly Hills, 90210' for nearly a decade. Molly Ringwald was one of the biggest stars of the eighties, appearing in multiple John Hughes films ahead of her role as Mary Andrews. Mrs. Cooper actress Mädchen Amick got her start playing Shelly on 'Twin Peaks,' returning to that role after 'Riverdale's' first season. Skeet Ulrich appeared in 'Scream' prior to playing FP Jones, while Marisol Nichols appeared in 'Scream 2' before taking on Hermione Lodge.

For the gritty and mysterious update to the 'Archie Comics' series, 'Twin Peaks' provided a lot of influence. The shows have plenty in common, with the most obvious example being Alice Cooper actress Mädchen Amick. Amick's days serving cherry pie at the Double R Diner became iconic moments on 'Twin Peaks.' Old habits die-hard, however, as Alice serves up her own cherry pie to Archie and Betty. Along with the moody look of the 'Riverdale' intro, the 'Welcome To Riverdale' sign is also a sly visual reference. Given the shows' comparable plots, fans have even speculated Betty's owl bookends are an Easter egg themselves.


Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:

Titles For Each Episode Nod To Classic Films

A Hat Tip To "Black Mirror"
"Chapter Twelve: Anatomy Of A Murder"

Milkshake Love
"Chapter Two: A Touch of Evil"

With his iconic crown, Jughead Jones was always going to be one of the series' more interesting characters to adapt. On top of his new beanie, Jughead's updated wardrobe featured a few of his signature S's. To match his classic sweater look, Jughead has an S on his shirt in multiple episodes. The S also found its way onto Juggy's laptop to cover up an Apple logo. One dream sequence even gave us his cardboard crown with the sweater as well. The origins of the S remain a mystery in the comics, while creator Bob Montana's widow claims it stands for Squirrel Hill.