Black Mask

Roman Sionis, a former business executive who originally hated Bruce Wayne rather than Batman, wears a black wooden mask and leads the cult-like society of False Facers. Black Mask eventually became a mob boss controlling large sections of Gotham City's criminal underworld. Following the suspicious death of his multi-millionaire parents, Sionis had inherited their fortune and went on to bankrupt their company. Saved by a buyout by Bruce Wayne, Sionis came to resent and hate Wayne. Fixated the concept of masks, Sionis carved one from his mother's black coffin and sought revenge; his ensuing battle with the Dark Knight caused his mask to be burned into his skin, remaking him as the Black Mask. Sionis is now a feared gang leader and one of the most powerful mob bosses in Gotham, with a burning hatred for Batman.

Personal History
Young Roman Sionis came from a rich family, his father a successful industrialist. His parents would drag him around to parties, and force him to be friends with the children of other wealthy Gothamites like the young Bruce Wayne. His parents hated other people like the Waynes though, but put on almost social masks in public to seem like more charming people. Roman hated the masks his parents wore. He would later inherit the prosperous Janus Cosmetics Corporation after his parents died in a suspicious fire. Roman quickly drove the company into the ground, leaving the company open to a Wayne Industries buyout. Driven mad by losing his legacy, he turned his hatred on Bruce Wayne. Donning a mask carved from his mother's coffin, he began murdering Wayne employees. In the ensuing battle with Batman, Sionis's mask became permanently burned into his face as a living death mask. Over time he would become one of Gotham City's most ruthless and sadistic crimelords, commanding the "False Facers," a masked army of henchmen. With each subsequent loss to Batman, his empire shrank and his sadism grew. Among his many crimes were the destruction of a community center on Gotham's East End, the painstaking murder of Catwoman's brother-in-law, and driving her sister Maggie insane.

War Games
Believed dead at Catwoman's hands, Black Mask survived, and when Gotham City's gang wars erupted - part of a "war game" created by Batman that went horribly wrong - they created a power vacuum in the underworld that he could exploit to build a criminal empire. Murdering Orpheus, a costumed gang leader working secretly with Batman to end the unrest in Gotham, he took the tragic hero's identity and gained the trust of the teen hero Spoiler (who had triggered Batman's "war games" in a misguided attempt to prove herself), learning information vital to his cause before betraying and torturing her. Following Batman's plans, the faux Orpheus rallied all the factions, revealed his true identity and initiated a spree of carnage culminating with Spoiler's death. Black Mask became undisputed ruler of the entire Gotham underworld.

The End
Deathstroke later approached Black Mask offering him a place within The Society. Eager to strengthen his increasingly tenuous grip on the underworld (Batman and the new Red Hood had both been targeting his operations), he accepted, and Captain Nazi, one of the Hyenas, and Count Vertigo were sent after Batman and Red Hood. However, these villains were defeated, and Batman ultimately prevented the Society from securing a foothold in Gotham.

In an attempt to "improve himself" after this debacle, Black Mask threatened the most important people in Catwoman's life, from Slam Bradley to Holly Robinson.Still thinking that she adhered to a strict no-kill rule, Black Mask was caught by surprise when Catwoman retaliated by shooting him in the head and blowing off his jaw, seemingly killing him.

After the shooting, Selina Kyle passed the mantle of Catwoman to her friend Holly Robinson. Not long after, Holly was arrested for the killing of Black Mask.

Black Mask II

 * See: Jeremiah Arkham

In the "Battle For The Cowl" storyline, a new Black Mask surfaces. He has drugged several of Arkham Asylum's inmates, including The Great White Shark, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz, Firefly, Jane Doe, and the Scarecrow, with a substance that can kill when triggered. Black Mask is quickly acknowledged as the leader of the group when he blows up much of Arkham Asylum, and then prepares for his ascension by destroying Two-Face's and Penguin's reign and becoming Gotham City's crime lord once again. Eventually, the new Black Mask is revealed to be Jeremiah Arkham, administrator of Arkham Asylum. After being defeated by Batman, he is imprisoned in the rebuilt Arkham Asylum.

Powers/abilities
Peak physical condition: Black Mask keeps himself in top physical condition, being able to keep up physically with the likes of Catwoman, Nightwing, and Batman

Strategist: Black Mask is without a doubt one of the greatest crime bosses in Gotham history, almost taking over the entire Gotham underworld twice.

Marksmanship: Sionis is highly skilled with his weapon of choice: dual handguns.

Torture: Black Mask's most prominent ability is his one for "interrogation". He has shown a sadistic genius with torturing people, both physically and mentally. Close quarters: Being the mob boss that he is, Mask is an excellent fighter. Mask also has almost inhuman durability.

In Other Media

 * In the DCAU comic Batman Adventures, Roman Sionis was a businessman who turned his failing company, Sionis Industries, into a corporate juggernaut, but lost it all as soon as he took on Wayne Enterprises. Following this, an associate of The Red Hood approached Roman to become his personal Black Mask, to lead The False Face Society, which consisted of Sportsmaster, Gorilla Boss, Black Spider, Bronze Tiger, Firefly,and Deadshot. Unfortunately for Roman, he was unable to fulfill the Red Hood's first command--to take out the Batman.

Taking what little he had left, Roman charged into the Wayne Enterprises building and demanded Bruce Wayne--the man that had caused him to lose everything in the first place. What he didn't realize was that his own right-hand man, Matches Malone, was Bruce Wayne in disguise. The Phantasm assumed Black Mask's position and was poised to deliver the final blow against her former boss when Batman stopped her. Authorities found Black Mask cuffed to the railing in the subbasement of the Wayne Enterprises building and took him into custody.


 * Black Mask appears in "The Batman", voiced by James Remar. Unlike other incarnations of this character, this Black Mask's mask is unremovable. He is a major mob boss in Gotham City. He is later captured by Rumor in "Rumors".


 * In Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, the DCAU video game based on The New Batman Adventures, Commisioner Gordon found his emergency phone lines jammed with reports in the chaos covering Gotham, one of which was a desperate plea from a policeman named Bock, who reported he was trying to suppress an incident single-handedly: Black Mask and his gang were facing The Luckhand Triad Gang in Chinatown in a looming gang war. Black Mask is not mentioned again, nor does he make an actual appearance in the video game.
 * In the videogame Batman: Dark Tomorrow, Black Mask and his gang fought the Ventriloquist in a gang war, with weapons supplied by Ra's Al Ghul.


 * While Black Mask does not appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum, his original wooden mask is mounted on the wall of Dr. Young’s office in the old Arkham Mansion. A newspaper clipping about Roman Sionis before he became Black Mask also appears on a bathroom cabinet in the Patient Observation room of Arkham Asylum's Medical Facility. A giant "Sionis" sign appears in the trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum 2, implying that Black Mask may appear.