Black Mask

BLACK MASK

Real Name: Roman Sionis

Class: Human

Occupation: Crimeboss, former owner of Janus Cosmetics

Group Affiliation: False Face Society of Gotham

Known Relatives: Charles Sionis (father, deceased), unnamed mother (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Sionis Family Crypt, Gotham City

First Appearance: Batman I #386 (August, 1985)

Powers: Black Mask was armed with an automatic, but he preferred to have his False Face Society do his fighting for him. His psychosis gave him an eerie charisma, and made him a natural leader. One of his favorite methods of murder was affixing a mask coated with poison to a helpless victim.

History: (Batman #386, 387, Detective Comics #553)-Heir to the Janus Cosmetics fortune, Roman was a troubled soul since his birth, when a doctor dropped him on his head. His parents were friends with the socialite Wayne's of Gotham, and Bruce Wayne remembered Roman as a distant boy whose emotions were always masked. His only interests seemed to be setting fires and playing with small animals. As a young man he started a relationship with a cosmetic model named Circe. His parents disapproved, and soon after they died in a fire of suspicious origin. Now the owner of Janus Cosmetics, he bought a house with Circe and started an obsessive collection of masks, ranging from archaeological relics to plastic Halloween masks. He then announced a new line of foundation named "Facepaint." This new product functioned more as a mask than as makeup, and sales were dismal. A completely waterproof makeup was marketed to recover from the loss, but the product was not thoroughly tested first. Users were affected with scars, rashes, and worse. Lawsuits piled up, and bankruptcy was inevitable. Bruce Wayne bailed Roman out, buying the company but putting in new WayneCorp-appointed executives. Circe then left the destitute Roman, and he was now a man alone with his masks. Roman went to his family crypt, smashed his father's coffin, and carved a dark mask from a fragment of the lid. He declared Roman Sionis dead and reborn as the Black Mask. His first agenda was vengeance, and he gathered a small army of criminals as his False Face Society of Gotham. One by one, they executed WayneCorp executives of Janus Cosmetics, and their ultimate target was Bruce Wayne. This inevitably led to Batman II fighting Black Mask. They met at the Sionis family home, and it caught ablaze in the battle. Batman rescued Black Mask, but found that the image of the ebony mask was now burned into his face. Black Mask was then taken to Arkham Asylum.

He later escaped and remains at large as a major figure in the Gotham City underworld.

(Batman I #565) - Black Mask assembled a cult, demanding they scar their faces to resemble his for their initiation. He burned his old gangster clothes and told his followers that they, humanity stripped bare, were the new face of Gotham City. The only buildings left standing in No Man's Land were Wayne buildings and they prepared to storm and destroy Wayne Tower to show that the old Gotham was dead. The remains of the GCPD and the new Batgirl confronted them.

(JSA #28) - Nevada; Black Mask went to Roulette's House to attend one of her gladiatorial contests. He was among the crowd of villains that watched members of the JSA forced to fight each other.

(Batgirl I #56) - Black Mask stood over Orpheus’ body, wondering if he was as important to Batman’s plans as Spoiler said he was. Black Mask was pleased to find a miniature batphone hidden in Orpheus’ helmet. Hush confronted Black Mask, who said he already had his chance to team up with him and tried to stab him. Hush easily disarmed Black Mask and said he had no interest in his power struggle, his only concern was ruining Batman. Hush offered a truce where they’d stay out of each other’s business and as a sign of good faith offered to give Black Mask the location of the Batcave.

(Batgirl I #57) - The Escabedo Family, Odessa Mob and Ghost Dragons got a message to rendezvous at Gotham Central. Black Mask told reporter Arturo Rodriguez he had quite a scoop for him and forced his cameraman to film him. Black Mask declared himself the undisputed crime lord of Gotham, a man with a heart as dark as the city, which proved they deserved each other. Black Mask said Batman was part of Gotham's darkness, as he’d beaten and crippled countless individuals in his war on crime, and claimed Batman was no better than those he fought against. Black Mask said Batman’s time was through, and said he was going to reveal the location of the Batcave.

(Catwoman III #49) - Xavier Dylan reported to Black Mask that Catwoman had driven Professor Hugo Strange's gang out of the East End, and suggested they strike while she was weak and kill her. Black Mask said she was not weak, as someone who'd cheated death himself he knew she probably felt on top of the world. Black Mask said the wise move would be to go after someone she cared about, and planned to target Holly Robinson.

(Catwoman III #50, 51) - Angle Man, who'd also been humiliated by Catwoman, reached out to Black Mask, and brought along Smart Bomb, secretly GCPD officer Sam Bradley masquerading as a villain. Black Mask was happy to see Angle Man was eager for Catwoman's demise, but said he had a plan to go after someone she cared about first. Once the idea of torture came up, Smart Bomb said he was out and left the meeting. Black Mask followed Holly in his car, but when he saw her talking to Slam Bradley, decided to kidnap him instead. . Black Mask tied up Slam in his dungeon, and had Angle Man film him as he prepared to torture Slam. Black Mask encouraged Slam to scream and beg, because that made Black Mask's work more enjoyable for him. Smart Bomb finnally got approval from Detective Lenahan to break his deep cover, having learned that Black Mask was after Holly. He broke into Black Mask's dungeon, and was shocked to see the nearly lifeless body of his father. He took down Black Mask and Angle Man, and cradled his father. Catwoman arrived in time to see the aftermath.

(Catwoman III #52, 58 (fb)) - Sam flew Slam to the hospital, and despite his injuries he was tough, and looked to pull through. Black Mask was suing the city because Sam was an active officer when he broke into his building and assaulted him. Sam visited Selina Kyle at home, and she wondered if he'd figured out her secret identity by himself, because he was very much his father's son. He said Slam had a GCPD officer guarding him at the hospital, but Selina said that wouldn't help her, and she'd have to be proactive taking down Black Mask. Selina received a number of surveillance photos of Holly in the mail, and went to warn her that she was being stalked. Holly told her to get a grip, and was convinced Catwoman could handle Black Mask and keep her safe. Catwoman asked Sam for help raiding Black Mask's penthouse. He was off the force for his previous break in, but agreed to help, breaking the Smart Bomb suit out of evidence. Angle Man had sabotaged the suit, and Sam made a crash landing into a rooftop, barely clinging to life as he was rushed to the hospital. Catwoman visited Slam in the hospital, and even though he was comatose she felt the need to talk to him. She'd almost decided that to keep her friends safe she'd have to take out Black Mask permanently. She broke into Black Mask's penthouse, and he kept her at bay with a tommy gun. He said he'd never lived up to his full potential as a Gotham-based villain, and had decided he needed focus, and had chosen Catwoman as a nemesis. He wouldn't kill her, because he needed an adversary, but he promised that all her friends would die slow, horrible deaths. Catwoman disarmed him, and put a gun to his head. Black Mask said he knew her, and she'd never pull the trigger. She shot Black Mask in the head, killing him, and fled the penthouse. Xavier Dylan discovered Black Mask's body, and said reprisal had to be swift and brutal. Catwoman overheard him ordering Martin and Lewis to Gotham General to kill Sam Bradley, Jr.

(Catwoman III #58) - Detective Lenahan was determined to convict Catwoman for Black Mask's murder, even though most of Gotham was glad the crimelord was dead. He arrested Holly Robinson, the new Catwoman trained by her predecessor, and showed her Black Mask's shattered skull. He said he'd happily pin the murder on her; hoping to draw out Catwoman.

(Catwoman III #63) - Detective Lenahan obsessively pursued his case against Catwoman, and kept Black Mask's skull on his desk to remind himself of his mission.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake

Black Mask received profiles in Batman Villains Secret Files #1 and Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993 #1.

Black Mask had a cameo in Catwoman III #54, 62.