The Black Hood is on the loose in Riverdale, and so far, the pool of suspects seems to be limited to the Cooper family: Both Betty's dad, Hal, and her long-lost brother, Chic, are frontrunners for the gun-wielding vigilante. But what about Alice Cooper? Could Betty's mom be the Black Hood?
According to a theory circulating on Reddit, there's some compelling evidence that she is. A user under the name of sexual_orientation postulates that Mrs. Cooper, perhaps the most vocal advocate for decreasing crime in Riverdale, has begun taking matters into her own hands and killing off the residents she's deemed a threat to the town's virtue. That would certainly fit with the Black Hood's mission to flush out local sinners, and for Alice, it's on-brand. This is the woman who scathingly asked if Jughead had "defiled" Betty, and implied to Fred that he'd set a bad example for Archie by having an affair. If you're looking for someone intent on cleaning up Riverdale, Alice Cooper is as self-righteous as they come.
As the town's resident busybody, she's also intensely aware of all the goings-on in the town: She's one of the few, if not only, people who knew about Fred's adultery, Miss Grundy's proclivity for underage students, and Midge and Moose's drug use (In Season 2's second episode, she took pictures of Reggie delivering the couple Jingle Jangle in Pop's parking lot.) She even once referred to Miss Grundy as a "child predator" — the same language used in the letter Black Hood sent to The Riverdale Register. For reference, it read:
"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 Lover’s Lane. Riverdale is not innocent. It’s a town of hypocrites, degenerates, 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 blood letting. You will hear from me again."
Of course, there's the fact Alice Cooper is a woman, and the Black Hood both looks like and refers to himself as a man. But the reddit user who posted the theory posits that she's recruited someone else — potentially Hal, who's one of the few characters who resembles the Black Hood — as her gunman, and is simply pulling the strings from behind scenes.
Thus far, there have been a handful of potential clues. Alice has been pushing hard to put the onus on a Southsider, which could be a ploy to throw others off her scent. In Episode 4, "The Town That Dreaded Sundown," Fred even outright says, "Talk about this town being divided? Alice, you’re the one holding the cleaver.” Could that be a sly hint that she's actually the one holding the gun? (Metaphorically, in this case, since she'd have to have a male accomplice).
Plus, the Black Hood says he was inspired by Betty's speech, and crafts his cipher around Nancy Drew And The Secret Code. Who might know which detective novel Betty checked out obsessively as a kid? Her mom. And being the Black Hood would serve triple purpose for Alice: She'd make Riverdale a "safe" space for her daughters, lure Betty away from Jughead and the Southsiders she's implicated, and boost her own ego in the process. We've certainly seen parents turn bad in Riverdale before (looking at you, Clifford Blossom), is it possible that Alice is the next to go full dark?
Knowing Riverdale, it will be some time before the Black Hood is unmasked, but right now, there are a lot of fingers pointing Alice's way.
