Editor's note: This article contains spoilers for episode 6 of Watchmen.
Fans of HBO's Watchmen series have taken to social media to applaud the show's clever introduction of Hooded Justice - a vigilante character who only of the original 12-issue comic book series, written by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in 1986.
In the comics, Hooded Justice is presented as the original superhero - never identified, but inspiring a whole trove of other masked crime-fighters after appearing on the news.
However, the writers of HBO's Watchmen have managed to breathe new life into the mysterious character, expanding upon - but not altogether altering - the show's source material.
In episode 6, titled 'This Extraordinary Being', detective Angela Abar a.k.a. Sister Night takes some magic memory pills, allowing her an unprecedented glimpse into the life and experiences of her grandfather, William Reeves. Through these flashbacks, it's revealed to Abar not only that Reeves - her grandfather - is the Hooded Justice, but that the reason he was unable to reveal his identity was that he was black.
Painfully, it's also shown that he was only able to fight crime if he painted the hollows of his eyes - the only part of his skin visible in costume - white. That's because Reeves was the first African American police officer in the city of Tulsa and was marginalised by his peers.
This narrative detail helps explain why, in the only close-up of his face in the original Watchmen comic, his skin appears light.
Taking to the streets of Tulsa, Hooded Justice attracts the attention of another costumed hero, Captain Metropolis aka Nelson Gardner (played by Jake McDorman), .
The pair soon begin a tumultuous, at times abusive love affair.
"The superhero genre feels pretty stretched thin these days, but I gotta say, the Hooded Justice reveal in Watchmen felt really satisfying and fresh," one social media user wrote.
Another added: "The hooded justice reveal is simultaneously a major plot development and a radical re-thinking of the original source material and a meta-textual commentary on superheroes. It is brilliant."
Others addressed the intricacies of the character's storyline, with one fan writing: "Hooded justice is a black dude playing a white dude playing a hero dude while playing a straight dude when he was really a gay dude."
