Claim: Friday the 13th's main character is the villain Jason Voorhees.

Jason Voorhees is the main character from the Friday the 13th series . He first appeared in Friday the 13th -LRB- 1980 -RRB- as the young son of camp cook-turned-murderer Mrs. Voorhees , in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman . Created by Victor Miller , with contributions by Ron Kurz , Sean S. Cunningham , and Tom Savini , Jason was not originally intended to carry the series as the main antagonist . The character has subsequently been represented in various other media , including novels , video games , comic books , and a cross-over film with another iconic horror film character , Freddy Krueger .   The character has primarily been an antagonist in the films , whether by stalking and killing the other characters , or acting as a psychological threat to the protagonist , as is the case in Friday the 13th : A New Beginning . Since Lehman 's portrayal , the character has been represented by numerous actors and stuntmen , sometimes by more than one at a time ; this has caused some controversy as to who should receive credit for the portrayal . Kane Hodder is the best known of the stuntmen to portray Jason Voorhees , having played the character in four consecutive films .   The character 's physical appearance has gone through many transformations , with various special makeup effects artists making their mark on the character 's design , including makeup artist Stan Winston . Tom Savini 's initial design has been the basis for many of the later incarnations . The trademark hockey goalie mask did not appear until Friday the 13th Part III . Since Friday the 13th Part VI : Jason Lives , filmmakers have given Jason superhuman strength , regenerative powers , and near invulnerability . He has been seen as a sympathetic character , whose motivation for killing has been cited as being driven by the immoral actions of his victims and his own rage over having drowned as a child . Jason Voorhees has been featured in various humor magazines , referenced in feature films , parodied in television shows , and was the inspiration for a horror punk band . Several toy lines have been released based on various versions of the character from the Friday the 13th films . Jason Voorhees 's hockey mask is a widely recognized image in popular culture .