Black Mask (character)

Black Mask
Cover of Batman #636 (January 2005)
Art by Matt Wagner
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman #386 (August 1985)
Created byDoug Moench (writer)
Tom Mandrake (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoRoman Sionis
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsFalse Face Society
Gotham Mafia
Secret Society of Super Villains
Black Lantern Corps
Suicide Squad
Notable aliasesThe Crime King, Orpheus, Black Head, Underworld Boss, Ted Kord
Abilities
  • Criminal mastermind
  • Expert hand-to-hand combatant and marksman
  • Business acumen

Black Mask (Roman Sionis) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.[1] Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386 (August 1985).[2] He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.[3]

Black Mask has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, such as the 2020 DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Birds of Prey, portrayed by Ewan McGregor,[4][5] and the second season of the Arrowverse series Batwoman, portrayed by Peter Outerbridge. Additionally, the TV series Gotham introduced the character's father Richard Sionis, portrayed by Todd Stashwick, who was later integrated into the comics during the 2016 relaunch DC Rebirth as The Mask.

  1. ^ "Gotham: Who Is The Black Mask?". comicbook.com.
  2. ^ Wallace, Dan (2008). "Black Mask". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1.
  3. ^ "It's BATMAN vs. the Black Mask's master plan in BATMAN #696". dccomics.com. 5 February 2010.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (November 1, 2018). "'Birds of Prey': Ewan McGregor in Talks to Play Batman Villain Black Mask (Exclusive)". TheWrap.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  5. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 1, 2018). "Ewan McGregor Joins 'Birds Of Prey' As Villain Black Mask". Deadline. Retrieved November 1, 2018.