A masked villain, also seen as masked mystery villain, is a

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of s ...

genre fiction Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A nu ...

. It was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in ''

The House of Hate ''The House of Hate'' is a 1918 American film serial directed by George B. Seitz, produced when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The serial was originally announced at fiftee ...

'', (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery villain of the movies, and frequently used in the

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

stories Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (Briti ...

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

and sound-era

movie serials A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

in the early twentieth century, as well as postmodern

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

s where the character "hides in order to claim unsuspecting victims". They can also appear in

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

to add to the atmosphere of

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being Decision-making, undecided, or being Doubt, doubtful. In a Drama, dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the wikt:outcome, outcome of a plot (narrative), plot or of the solution t ...

and

suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

. It is used to engage the readers or viewers by keeping them guessing just as the characters are, and suspension by drawing on the

fear of the unknown Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

. The "Mask" need not be literal (although it often is), referring more to the subterfuge involved. He or she is the often main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...

of the

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

, often acting behind the scenes with

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

confronting the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s directly. Usually, the protagonists must discover the

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

's true identity before they can be defeated. Often, the villain will turn out to be either one of the protagonists themselves, or a significant

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

. The

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

may give the

viewer Viewer may refer to: * File viewer, application software that decodes and displays the data in a computer file * Image viewer, a computer program capable of displaying digital images * Pocket Viewer, a range of personal digital assistants markete ...

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

clues, with many

red herrings A red herring is a figurative expression referring to a logical fallacy in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question. Red herring may also refer to: Animals * Red herring (fish ...

, as to the villain's identity - sometime as the

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

find them and sometimes for the

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), o ...

alone. However, the identity is not usually revealed to the

before it is revealed to the

of the story.

Examples

Serials

*"The Clutching Hand" in ''

The Exploits of Elaine ''The Exploits of Elaine'' is a 1914 American film serial in the damsel in distress genre of '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914). ''The Exploits of Elaine'' tells the story of a young woman named Elaine who, with the help of a detective, tries to ...

'' *"The Hooded Terror" in ''

'' *Fur-coated Mystery Man in ''

The Phantom Foe ''The Phantom Foe'' is a 1920 American fifteen-chapter adventure film serial directed by Bertram Millhauser and starring Warner Oland. A partial print of 14 episodes is in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection while the 15th episode ...

'' *"Monsieur X" in ''

The Trail of the Octopus ''The Trail of the Octopus'' is a 1919 American mystery film serial directed by Duke Worne. A print of ''The Trail of the Octopus'' which is missing episode 9 is in the Library of Congress. The surviving film serial has been released on DVD. ...

'' *"The Frog" in '' The Mark of the Frog'' *"The Wolf Devil" in ''

Queen of the Northwoods ''Queen of the Northwoods'' is 1929 American silent Western film serial by Pathé, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Storey, with a story by George Arthur Gray. Known cast members were Walter Miller, Ethlyne Clair and Frank Lackteen ...

'' *"The Hidden Hand" in '' The Hidden Hand'' *"The Iron Claw" in '' The Iron Claw'' *"The Faceless Terror" in '' The Fatal Fortune'' *"The Purple Shadow" in ''

The Purple Riders ''The Purple Riders'' is a 1922 American silent Western film serial directed by William Bertram and starring Elinor Field, Ernest Shields and Charles Dudley.Connelly p.402 Cast * Joe Ryan as Sheriff Dick Ranger * Elinor Field as Betty Marsh ...

'' *"The Claw" in ''

The Mystery Rider ''The Mystery Rider'' is a lost 1928 American silent Western film serial directed by Robert J. Horner and starring William Desmond. Horner produced and released through Universal Pictures. AFI has the film listed as a five-reel feature (a pos ...

'' *"The Iron Hand" in '' The Invisible Hand'' *"Phantom Face" in ''

The Mystery Mind ''The Mystery Mind'' is a 1920 American crime drama silent black and white film serial directed by Will S. Davis and written by John W. Grey and Arthur B. Reeve. An homonym novel is based on this film, also written by Grey. In the story a var ...

'' *"The Black Hawk" in ''

The Air Mail Mystery ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' *"The Scorpion" in '' Blake of Scotland Yard'' *"The Tiger Shark" in ''

The Fighting Marines ''The Fighting Marines'' is a 1935 movie serial. It was the last serial produced by Mascot Pictures before the studio was bought out and merged with others to become Republic Pictures. This new company went on to become the most famous of the ...

''. *"The Ghost" in ''

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. ''Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.'' (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of ...

'' - "One of the most memorable of all the masked villains of serials" according to William C. Cline. *"The Dragon" in ''

Ace Drummond ''Ace Drummond'' is an aviation comic strip scripted by Eddie Rickenbacker and illustrated by Clayton Knight. In its run, it followed aviator Ace Drummond on his adventures around the world. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ra ...

''. *"The Lightning" in ''

The Fighting Devil Dogs ''The Fighting Devil Dogs'' (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by William Witney and John English. While not often co ...

''. *"The Skull" in ''

Deadwood Dick Deadwood Dick is a fictional character who appears in a series of stories, or dime novels, published between 1877 and 1897 by Edward Lytton Wheeler (1854/5–1885). The name became so widely known in its time that it was used to advantage by ...

'' *"Don Del Oro" in ''

Zorro's Fighting Legion ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'' is a 1939 Republic Pictures film serial consisting of twelve chapters starring Reed Hadley as Zorro and directed by William Witney and John English. The plot revolves around his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against ...

'' *"The Wasp" in ''

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk before he created '' The Phantom''. Ron Goulart, ''The Encyclopedia of American Comics''. New York: Facts on File, 1990. . pp. 91, 249–250. ''Mandrake'' be ...

''. *"The Scorpion" in ''

Adventures of Captain Marvel ''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain ...

''. *"The Octopus" in '' The Spider's Web'' *"The Gargoyle" in ''

The Spider Returns ''The Spider Returns'' is a 1941 15-chapter Columbia movie serial based on the pulp magazine character The Spider. It was the fourteenth of the 57 serials released by Columbia and a sequel to their 1938 serial '' The Spider's Web''. The first epis ...

''. *"The Crimson Ghost" in ''

The Crimson Ghost ''The Crimson Ghost'' is a 1946 American film serial directed by Fred C. Brannon and William Witney. Produced by Republic Pictures and written by Albert DeMond, Basil Dickey, Jesse Duffy, and Sol Shor, it was the last serial that Witney dir ...

'' *"The Wasp" in ''

'' *"Captain Mephisto" in '' Manhunt of Mystery Island''. *"The Rattler" in '' Mystery Mountain'' *"The Wizard" in '' Batman and Robin''. *"The Master Key" in '' The Master Key''. The following villains were not actually "masked" but remained hidden from view: *"The Voice" in '' The Vanishing Legion'' *"The Black Ace" in ''

The Mystery Squadron ''The Mystery Squadron'' (aka ''Mystery Squadron'') is a 1933 American pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot film serial, directed by Colbert Clark and David Howard. The film was produced by Nat Levine, and stars Western star Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" ...

''. *"The Lame One" in ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (character), Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''De ...

''. *"The Black Tiger" in ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

''. *"Mr. M" in ''

The Mysterious Mr. M ''The Mysterious Mr. M'' is a 1946 Universal Pictures movie serial, the 137th and last serial produced by Universal. Plot Anthony Waldron intends to steal a new submarine invention from Dr. Kittridge while blaming a fictitious mastermind he cal ...

''. *"Dr. Vulcan" in ''

King of the Rocket Men ''King of the Rocket Men'' is a 1949 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed Fred C. Brannon, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven ...

''.

Television

The Hooded Claw ''The Perils of Penelope Pitstop'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show ran for one season with a total of 17 half-hour episodes, the last first-run e ...

" from ''

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop ''The Perils of Penelope Pitstop'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show ran for one season with a total of 17 half-hour episodes, the last first-run e ...

''.

Films

* Michael Myers from ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

'' *

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

from ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' *Yokai (Robert Callaghan) from ''Big Hero 6''https://news.disney.com/

References

{{Stock characters Stock characters Characters in pulp fiction Superhero fiction themes Villains