Villain Profile: Black Mask

It’s no real secret that Batman has some of the best villains in the DC Universe. Joker, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman being the most well-known. But, Batman also has the most “mirror” villains. You know, that baddies that share similar but still significantly different stories that shaped them into the various psychos that Batman now faces. Roman Sionis is one of these “mirror” baddies, and while I feel no remorse for this guy I can say that his history is rather tragic.

Classy looking bad guy.

The Sionis’ family was another incredibly wealthy and powerful family in the upper echelon of Gotham society, less so than the Waynes but still up there. They also paled in comparison to the Waynes in terms of child rearing. Their son Roman was dropped on his head moments after he was born. Rather than be upset at the potential brain damage their son had suffered, the Sionis’s were more concerned about covering up the incident so that it wouldn’t affect the family reputation. Day one and they potentially damaged their kid for life, classy.

Roman’s life was a confusing one. His parents were quiet vocal about their dislike for Thomas and Martha Wayne at home, but acted like the best of friends in public. They had the same feelings for young Bruce Wayne, but still insisted that Roman be friends with Bruce. For appearances. Roman grew resentful of both the Wayne family, via osmosis from his parents, and his parents, who he felt were hypocrites more concerned about their public masks than they were about their only son. After high school Roman was put into a high ranking position at the family cosmetics firm, Janus Cosmetics. Hurray nepotism. Roman started a relationship with a working class secretary named Circe. My goodness, the allusions to Greco-Roman myth are staggering. His parents were, shockingly, appalled that their son would pursue a relationship with a poor girl. What would the neighbors think? They gave him an ultimatum, either break up with Circe or kiss his job and inheritance goodbye. Infuriated that they once again put their social standing over his happiness, Roman burned down their mansion, killing them both.

I wonder if he can feel his face, or it's that level of pain
where your brain stops telling you it hurts.

Apparently the arson investigators found nothing, or more accurately found a large bag of money with a card that said “this never happened” from dear Roman, which allowed Roman to take control of the family business and still stay with Circe. The problem, remember the nepotism? Yeah, turns out Roman had no idea how to run a successful company. He shoveled money at projects hoping to save the business and his fortune. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a waterproof makeup that wasn’t properly tested before release. Apparently the make + skin = horrible burns and scars. Janus Cosmetics tanked.

Bruce Wayne stepped in. He wanted to help save Janus Cosmetics. I’m unsure if Bruce realized that Roman hated him or not. Regardless, Bruce knew that Roman was an incompetent business man and insisted that Roman surrender control to him and allow Bruce to appoint his own Board of Directors. Also, Circe broke up with him. Not a good day for Roman. He agreed, but was of course humiliated by the double slap of misfortune to his public and personal life. In a true sociopathic function, Roman refused to admit that his recent failures were his own fault and broke into the cemetery where his parents were buried to yell at his father’s corpse. Not one hundred percent on this, but I’m pretty sure a fair amount of liquor was involved this decision. Before he could break open the tomb, however, a lightning bolt struck him, knocking him into a nearby headstone. Somehow he survived despite the combination of electric shock and head injury. Take this experience as an omen and “rebirth” Roman decided to reinvent himself. He got into the tomb, and smashed his father’s ebony coffin with a big rock. He carved the chunk of black wood into a skull. He placed the new mask onto his head, dubbing himself Black Mask.

He could use a dentist.

Roman proved to be a much, much better criminal mastermind than business man. In a few months he amassed a huge criminal empire, created an inner circle known as the False Face Society, and started getting his vengeance. He used several masks laced with the toxic makeup that ruined him to murder several Wayne Foundation executives, and one with a weaker form of it to scar Circe. She was more or less forced to join Roman’s new little group, and was given a mannequin mask designed to look like her old face.

Batman, being a badass, figures out Roman is Black Mask, sets a trap in the form of a masquerade ball, and over powers the cocky Black Mask, forcing the crime lord to free. Robin (Jason Todd) followed Roman back to his base of operations in the cemetery. After smacking around most of the False Face Society, Roman fled to the ruins of his family mansion, intent on purging himself of the last remaining bits of Roman Sionis. He blamed that “part” of himself for his failures. He burns what’s left of his room, giving himself a confidence boost that lasted just long enough for him to walk outside and see all of his cronies knocked out at Batman and Robin’s feet. Still being a coward, Black Mask ran back into the burning house. Words cannot describe how stupid that is. He gets caught under a piece of burning wreckage. The heat horribly burns his face and fuses the mask to his face. Roman is sent to Arkham, where I’m sure he’ll be given the medical care he needs to recover. I couldn’t even write that with a straight face. Black Mask eventually escapes, set about ruining both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Black Mask is an accomplished marksman and hand-to-hand combatant. Best training money can buy and all that. He is also an extreme sadist that will do anything and everything to get the information that he wants. He tortures prisoners, and also insubordinate lackeys with the same zeal. He specializes in torturing and attacking the face. Shocking, right? He is a merciless crime lord, specializing in attacking the family and friends of his opponents.

Black Mask is a lesser known Batman villain, only appearing in a handful of titles outside the comic books.

He appeared in the TV series The Batman, portrayed by Diedrich Bader, better known as Dexter’s dearly departed Dad, Henry Morgan. This version, he has the Black Mask, but it doesn’t appear to be fused to his face. Guess they thought that was a little too gruesome for the kiddies.

Think he's on a liquid diet?

The best version of this character, in my opinion, appeared in Batman: Under the Red Hood. In this version he is a powerful criminal mastermind in the middle of a turf war with Red Hood. This version portrays him as having an incredibly burnt face rather than a wooden mask. He has a habit of smacking around his underlings (excluding his female assistant) when angered, which takes up about 80% of his screen time. It is revealed by the films climax that Hood had been targeting Black Mask to get the villain so desperate that he’d hire the Joker to take care of things, being that he was one of the few crime lords powerful enough to free Batman’s Antithesis. This, of course, backfires when Joker throws him, his assistant, and a few of his flunkies into the back of a dump truck to burn them. Good help is so hard to find. Batman saves them, don’t worry.

He was featured in Batman: Arkham Origins as the crime boss that hired several assassins to kill Batman for several million dollars. It’s revealed a short way into the game that this was, in fact, the Joker’s doing. He kidnapped Mask, stole his fortune, and hired the assassins to test Batman.

Black Mask is an interesting villain. As I mentioned before, Mask is one of a handful of villains that mirrors Bruce Wayne’s tragic past. Like the other Gotham socialite, he was greatly influenced by his parent’s actions. But while Bruce tries to live up to his parent’s legacy by being a hero, Mask’s hatred for his parents shaped his desires and his obsession with masks. And, much like Batman, a good part of Black Mask’s reputation comes from his reputation and intimidation. Then again, who wouldn’t be scared by a gangster with a black skull for a face? He is an angry man, intent on making the world burn because from the moment he came screaming into the world, he had no one. It’s sad, it doesn’t condone his actions, but it is sad. Next time, the JLA’s second most famous alien, J’ohn J’onzz, The Martian Manhunter.

Sick weirdo.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mask_%28comics%29

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Roman_Sionis_%28Batman:_Under_the_Red_Hood%29

 http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Mask_%28Batman:_Arkham_City%29

 http://arkhamcity.wikia.com/wiki/File:Black_mask_3.jpg

 http://dcmovies.wikia.com/wiki/Roman_Sionis_%28The_Batman%29