Black Mask (character)

Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Tom Mandrake, the character first appeared in Batman #386 (1985) and has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring enemies, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

Black Mask is the alter ego of Roman Sionis, a ruthless businessman and one of Gotham City's most powerful crime lords with a fixation on masks and torture. Abused and neglected by his wealthy but narcissistic parents as a child, he developed a deep-seated hatred for the "masks" they wore in public and the artificiality of Gotham's social elite. After murdering his parents and carving a black ebony mask from his father's coffin, he formed an organization called the False Face Society and became a brutal and sadistic crime boss vying to take control of Gotham's criminal underworld, bringing him into conflict with Batman. Black Mask also harbors a personal grudge against Batman's alter ego of Bruce Wayne, due to the Wayne family's association to his parents, and his mask was burned onto his face during a battle with Batman, causing him to permanently resemble his namesake. Aside from Batman, Black Mask has also fought Catwoman and the Red Hood.

Black Mask has been adapted in various media incarnations, having been portrayed by Ewan McGregor in the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey and Peter Outerbridge in the Arrowverse television series Batwoman. James Remar, Wade Williams and Brian Bloom, among others, have provided the character's voice in animation and video games.