Black Mask was a prominent crime lord operating in Gotham City. Once the heir to a prominent family, Roman Sionis became a criminal after running their fortune to the ground and his subsequent exclusion from the family. Black Mask's activities would lead to the formation of the Birds of Prey, who were later responsible for his death.
History[]
Not much is known about Roman's early life, except that he came from the wealthy Sionis family, whose name is plastered on "about half the schools and hospitals in Gotham." While Roman himself claimed that he wasn't born into privilege and had to work for everything he has, the fact that he was cut off by his family due to excessive spending and poor business sense says that Roman is likely not the most unbiased narrator of his own life. At least 15 years before the events of Birds of Prey, he meets with Victor Zsasz and funds crime boss Stefano Galante's rise to power, which results in the murder of the entire Bertinelli line (sans Helena Bertinelli, who managed to escape). Since then, Roman has been building a criminal empire for himself in Gotham's East End, unifying crime families and keeping those under his sway out of jail.
Said to be an absolute narcissist and a homicidal psychopath, Sionis is also highly ambitious, power-hungry, sadistic, and emotionally unstable. He is also highly misogynistic and seems to see women mainly as objects for his use and amusement. He revels in violence, and can easily lose his temper when things do not go his way. However, he appears to care for both his right-hand man and best friend Victor Zsasz as well as his new driver bodyguard, Dinah Lance, who he appears to have some level of attraction towards. Still, he is ultimately a remorseless and chaotically malevolent psychopath, showing signs of unspeakable depravity.
After a fierce battle between his thugs and the Birds of Prey during his pursuit of the Bertinelli diamond, things came ahead at the Founders Pier, wherein a final confrontation, Black Mask meets his match. As Quinn fights him, Cassandra Cain plants a grenade on his person. Quinn then throws him off the pier as the grenade explodes and kills him, thus ending Roman's Empire and rule over Gotham City.