Just Stay at Home

Well well well. I'll be if this isn't some interesting news. The return of dead titles? That's a clever bit of trickery. A great idea, really. If they have to skip a month (and I'm going to cut Ivan Reis some slack because it looks like he's actually going to finish this big event without any help) this is certainly a clever way to do it. Let us exam each resurrected title in turn:

The Power of Shazam! #48: Black Lantern Osiris? Yes please. But could that really be all? Do the members of the Marvel Family have any other serious dead adversaries? I can't think of any... But there's always Billy and Mary's parents...

The Question #37: Ah, I've been waiting for this since Blackest Night was announced. No one else could write it but Greg Rucka. I'm wondering how exactly they'll do the Black Lantern Question. Most of the Black Lanters are distinguished by their gruesome faces. That won't work with the Question...

Suicide Squad #67: Booyah! More John Ostrander Suicide Squad is always good. And there are a lot of dead guys on that team...

Phantom Stranger #42: I loves me the Phantom Stranger. And Peter Tomasi does good work. This is a definite buy.

Catwoman #83: Black Lantern Black Mask, eh? I suppose it was inevitable... But I didn't see it coming. Sometimes my prognostication skills are better than other times.

The Atom and Hawkman #46: Oh, this oughta be fun. The Atom stuck up against three Black Lanterns? One his loopy, loony, murdering ex-wife? Craazy.

Weird Western Tales #71: Black Lantern Jonah Hex will be worth the price of admission alone.

Starman #81: This is the biggest surprise, I;d say. I never thought James Robinson would ever return to Jack Knight. But there you have it. I hope it lives up to the standards of the original series.

Which one are you looking forward to the most?

Battle for the Cowl has -- somewhat unsurprisingly -- left us with more questions that answers. To top it off, the answers it gave us were pretty much expected. Dick Grayson will be Batman, Damien will be Robin, and Jason will be completely insane.

But if the answers are a bit predictable, the questions are far more intriguing. There aren't many of them, but that doesn't stop them from being somewhat important. Let us consider them each in turn.

#1 - Jason's Mysterious Past? Uh oh. Looks like Jason's been retconned a particularly trouble past. And I'm talking one beyond even his delinquent life on the street. Batman's message clearly insinuates that Jason's insanity isn't just the result of a botched resurrection. Something bad happened to him before he came under Batman's care.

What was it? Abuse is probably the most likely. Was Jason abused physically? Sexually? Whether it was abuse or something else it drove Jason to act out violently in later years. There's no question that this will be addressed down the line.

#2 - Where is Batman? This is a question that has a halfway answer. We know that Batman's in the past. But how far, exactly? Where? Though we readers are the only ones who definitively know that Batman's alive clearly Tim suspects. It'll drive him to be Red Robin.

I for one would like to see a miniseries about Batman's adventures in the past. I want to him team up with Anthro and fight Vandal Savage in the Ice Age. How awesome would that be?

#3 - Whose Body? This one goes along with the previous question. If Batman is alive -- and we know he is -- then whose body is that in Bruce Wayne's grave? It's not a construct or an imaginary story. It's a real corpse in a Batman costume. It belonged to somebody.

#4 - Who is Black Mask? This is the most interesting question to me. Some of that has to do with my macabre fascination with Black Mask. But some of it has to do with the fact that it's the one real mystery we got in Battle for the Cowl. The other mysteries were either irrelevant or predictable. Not this one.

So who is the new Black Mask? We know that it's not Roman Sionis. It's made clear that Catwoman killed him, and he hasn't come back. It was indicated that Jason knows. There's even some hint that Jason could be Black Mask. But I think that unlikely. Jason wanted to be Batman. He would have gained nothing from the dual roles.

Whoever Black Mask is, he (or even she!) is someone with the requisite knowledge of Gotham City to engineer a takeover after everything falls apart (that seems to have become Black Mask's modus operandi as a Bat-villain). It's someone who benefits from the chaos of it all. It'll probably be obvious in the end, but right now... I have no idea.

So those are the questions I took away from Battle for the Cowl Do you have any of the answers?

This is it: Batman #387 and part three of the origin of Black Mask! Yesterday we reached point the where things seemed to be coming together. Black Mask had found his "queen" and Batman was fed up with trying to ferret out his masked adversary.

Oh yes, and I promised you a masquerade, didn't I?

Indeed. It is the most obvious trap available. And Black Mask agrees. But Black Mask doesn't know that Batman is trying to bait him; he thinks it's just Bruce Wayne. And Black Mask assumes that Bruce Wayne is setting an obvious trap that he believes Black Mask will see through and therefore pass up. Which is exactly why Black Mask decides to go.

Confused yet? That's okay. All you need to know is that Bruce Wayne is having a masquerade ball and Black Mask is attending. With a date, of course.

Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, attends alone. But there's a crasher at this party... And it's not Black Mask! After all, he received a fancy invitation.

Yes, Bruce Wayne -- as he was wont to do in the 80's -- bumps into one of his many exes. It doesn't go particularly well. Lots of soap opera back in those days... But at least he eliminates another guest as Black Mask.

Still, at this party it's Alfred doing all the detective work. He eliminates guest after guest until...

I don't have to tell you who's wearing the raccoon mask, do I? This is a Batman comic, after all. Roman Sionis takes a shot... But this is Batman and Robin we're dealing with. Things don't go according to Black Mask's plans.

Bruce Wayne and Robin tag team Roman Sionis, who flees the scene in a classic "jump through the window" move. The guy has style, I'll give him that.

But Roman doesn't get away scott free. Robin trails him back to the cemetery where he discovers that Black Mask is headquartered out of the Sionis family crypt. Robin quickly summons Batman.

Oh yeah, the Batman is on the case! Very soon he meets up with Robin at the phone booth by the cemetery. (it was the 80's! no cell phones!) Together the Dynamic Duo enter the graveyard, intent on putting an end to Black Mask's reign of terror.

But Black Mask didn't get where he was by being completely stupid. He's got help as well:

Still, Batman and Robin make short work of the False Facers. After all, they're only flunkies, right? Guys like that are a dime a baker's dozen in Gotham City. After taking out the thugs, they approach the crypt. Batman warns Robin to "stay sharp."

Black Mask disappears into the coffin! What a crazy guy! He can't get away there! Unless...

Yeah. False bottom, tunnel. Which obviously leads to...

Yes, he drives a hearse. I said the guy had style, didn't I?

Batman and Robin pursue in the Batmobile. Black Mask retreats to the old Sionis family estate, vacant since Black Mask abandoned the identity of Roman Sionis.

But for Black Mask, abandoning that identity isn't enough. He's decided that he has to completely and irrevocably kill Roman Sionis.

I told you he was crazy.

Really crazy.

Really, really crazy.

So as Batman and Robin struggle against the last of Black Mask's thugs, the man himself sets out to destroy Roman Sionis once and for all.

With the False Facers finally put down, it's time for the final, climactic showdown with the leader of the False Face Society: Black Mask!

Perhaps I should have said anti-climactic. Faced with the defeat of his minions, Roman Sionis flees wildly into the flames.

Still, Batman and Robin are able to save Roman Sionis from the fire. But not from himself.

The heat and the flames have burned the mask onto his face. As Batman puts it, Roman Sionis has been "masked for life." He is taken away to Arkham Asylum... Where he receives one final visitor.

Thus ends the origin of Black Mask. Obviously, Black Mask escapes. He continues with his petty vengeance and crime lord activities off and on for years. He's never really much of player. That is, until Ed Brubaker brings him back in the pages of Catwoman.

In Catwoman Black Mask is a wholly different animal. Smarter, more sadistic, and far more compelling. It's never explained how he gained his now iconic "death's head" look. But he wore it until the end. And since this is a post about the beginning of Black Mask, it's only fitting that I should show you his (apparent) end:

With that, Black Mask dies. He had a long strange journey as a villain in Gotham City. He started with a gimmick and gained an army. He became Catwoman's archfoe and ruled Gotham's underworld not once but twice. He killed a Robin and then was killed himself.

And now he's back. Which version of Black Mask will we see? Is it Roman Sionis behind that leering skull? Only time will tell...

Tonight: Detective Comics #553 and part two of the first appearance of Black Mask! When we last left our story, a man had been murdered with poison makeup in a mask. Not unlike this:

Yes, Black Mask has struck again, sending his "False Facers" to slay another new member of Janus Cosmetic's board of directors. But neither of these murders have passed unnoticed by Gotham City's vigilant defender... The Batman is on the case!

Despite the comic's title, no detective work is necessary. Batman knows exactly who has been comitting these murders. Black Mask isn't exactly discreet.

But it's worse than simply murder (if any murder is simple). Black Mask is raising an army, and in a short span has risen to be the central figure in Gotham's underworld. It seems that you just can't cut it as a mobster in Gotham anymore without a gimmick, a mask, or a name like "Dr. Fang." What is the world coming to?

Black Mask's murders have had repurcussions not just for Gotham City and Batman -- Bruce Wayne has also been affected. After all, both of the murdered men were members of the Wayne Foundation. And the aura of fear surrounding Janus Cosmetics is threatening to pull the entire foundation down with it.

In order to keep things running smoothly, Bruce Wayne agrees to attend a big benefit dinner. Really, he only does it so the reader gets a good look at the latest dame to attach herself to Bruce Wayne's arm. While the benefit goes on, Black Mask's secondary revenge plan is set in motion. It's time for Black Mask to move on the woman who spurned Roman Sionis.

Yes, she made him lose face. So in a logical extension of that Black Mask locks her in his mother's coffin. For a whole day. Craaaazy. Then he prepares for her a very special mask...

Meanwhile, Batman and Robin have tracked down a pair of Black Mask's "False Facers." The dynamic duo promptly beat the crap out of the thugs and demand answers. No answers are forthcoming. Black Mask has been far too careful at covering his tracks.

Back at the Sionis family crypt Circe hides her face and weeps in shame. Her face has been ravaged by the poison makeup. Black Mask forces her to make a choice: die or wear a mask. She makes a choice.

With his "queen" now at his side, Black Mask prepares to set his final plan in motion. Revenge against the man he blames for all his misfortunes: Bruce Wayne!

Tomorrow: the stunning conclusion of Black Mask's origin story in Batman #387. And of course there's a masquerade ball!

Battle for the Cowl hits on March 11, and I'm looking forward to it. I love events like this, especially when they involve the Batman universe. There's such a huge variety when you consider Gotham City, the Bat Family, and Batman's Rogues. There really isn't anything else quite like it in comics.

Everybody is going to be in it. The solicitations have told us so. They also say that Battle for the Cowl will feature the return of a villain thought dead. This preview shows us who:

Black Mask is back.

I don't know how or why he's coming back. And though it's not clear that this is the original, there's no sign that it's not.

For a long time Black Mask was a bit of an also ran among Bat-villains. That all started to change a few years ago when he showed up in Catwoman with a new look and a new modus operandi. He murdered Selina Kyle's brother-in-law and tortured her sister into insanity.

Selina let Black Mask slip off a roof, and he didn't show up again until War Games. He burst out of nowhere, and in the process he seized control of Gotham's underworld and murdered a Robin. That's a pretty exclusive club.

To be fair, Stephanie Brown didn't stay dead. But then, neither did Jason Todd. Black Mask continued to be a thorn in Batman's side as Gotham's sole crime boss until Catwoman decided to put an end to his reign of terror. She shot him in the head.

That seemed to be the end of the story. And maybe it was. Maybe this Black Mask is not Roman Sionis. But I wouldn't bet on it. The really nasty villains never stay dead.

Almost everyone who has read Batman comics in the past few years knows who Black Mask was and how he met his end. But how many people know his origin? After all, Black Mask as a character is over twenty years old. So let us travel back to 1985 and Batman #386, the first of the three part story introducing Black Mask.

Woo boy. That's quite a legacy to live up to. Is Black Mask truly "crazier than the Joker" and "deadlier than Ra's al Ghul"? Decide for yourself!

The story of Roman Sionis begins at his birth. Mere moments after coming into the world, little Roman gets dropped on the floor.

Yes, Black Mask's sinister origin begins with his being dropped on his head. Surely things can only get better? Right? After all, Roman Sionis is not just any child. He is the son of Gotham nobility, heir to the valuable Janus Cosmetics makeup firm.

As he grows up in Gotham high society Roman learns about masks. The masks his parents wear when they try to impress influential people they hate. People like Thomas and Martha Wayne. Indeed, Roman is forced to wear a mask of his own when his parents make him be friends with the Waynes' son, Bruce.

Time passes, and Roman Sionis takes a trip to the country with his parents. There, he has a fateful encounter with... A raccoon.

But like all of young Roman's relationships, this one is doomed to end poorly. The raccoon is rabid... And it bites him. Then he goes nuts.

Wow. That's quite a hallucination. Roman is rescued, but that isn't the end of the story. Just like when he was dropped as a baby, they say that the encounter has changed Roman Sionis.

The years go on and eventually Roman's father brings him into the family business. Nepotism works wonders for one's career, and soon Roman rises through the ranks of the company to a position of power. Then he meets a woman.

Her modeling name is "Circe" and Roman Sionis falls under her spell. His parents do not approve of the relationship and demand that Roman break it off. He dutifully does so. Then he burns them alive.

Roman begins to waste his fortune. He wastes it on many things, but mostly on masks:

Roman Sionis then bets everything on a new line of face-paint. It fails miserably, and Janus Cosmetics is headed towards bankruptcy. Desperate to save the company, Roman rushes a line of waterproof makeup to stores without proper testing. It disfigures hundreds of women. Circe leaves Roman and Janus Cosmetics is ruined.

But at the last minute, Roman Sionis' company receives a reprieve from an unexpected quarter: the Wayne Foundation.

It is the ultimate humiliation for Roman Sionis. He loses everything and is saved by someone he has always despised. But more than Bruce Wayne, Roman Sionis has come to despise Roman Sionis. An identity that he hates more than anything. Filled with hatred towards his parents and himself, Roman Sionis goes to his family's crypt.

The crypt is thrown open and Roman Sionis enters into the blackness. There, he surrenders to his rage...

And finally snaps. From the broken lid of the coffin he carves an ebony mask. Then Roman Sionis vanishes. His home is found empty. Nothing is missing but cash, a gun, and... Masks.

The scene changes, returning to that lonely graveyard. There a pair of street toughs approach the Sionis family crypt. They've heard that there is money to be made by those willing to pay another price. They enter into the dark crypt and come face to face with... Black Mask.

Roman Sionis, like his mother's corpse, is gone. The only one remaining is Black Mask.

A few days later a man is discovered murdered. The murdered man was the new chairman of Janus Cosmetics and a member of the Wayne Foundation. He was murdered by poison makeup... In a mask.

Thus ends part one of Black Mask's origin! The story continues tomorrow with Detective Comics #553 and "The False Face Society of Gotham!"