Masquerade (Earth-101001)

Masquerade (マスカレード, Masukarēdo) was a major antagonist in Kingdom Hearts before reforming his ways and assisting the Ultimate Avengers. He is a servant of Naga, the mastermind behind the Doom Beings.
However, he turns good after Osmosis Jones defeated him during their final battle in episode 95, and reveals himself to be the split male personality inside Bridget Verdant.
He initially used Darkus Reaper as his Guardian Bakugan, but later replaced him with Hydranoid after deciding the latter had more potential.
== Appearance ==
Masquerade wears a purple and blue visor mask made out of either plastic or glass (it seems to function like a Bakupod). He also wears a white cape-like coat. It is buttoned by straps on its chest however towards the waist it is unbuttoned. At the waist, if you look carefully you can see part of a blue shirt and two crosses something that seem to go together. Underneath the jacket, there is what appears to be armor on Masquerade's upper chest. The belt has a circular belt buckle. He had blond hair that is styled upwards. Masquerade also wears boots with small heels at the bottom. These boots have straps and buckles on them as well.
== Personality ==
Obsessed with power and becoming the powerful conduit around, Masquerade is ruthless in his objective to acquire the most powerful Bakugan. Despite having Bridget for a host, Masquerade's personality is the exact opposite of hers; during Exedra's trial, he tells the illusionary version of her that the battles in order to gain strength.
== Biography ==
Masquerade initially appeared to comment chimes all over the world and manipulating his victims into conduits. When Osmosis Jones battles him in an effort to halt this, Masquerade witnesses Drago's power and becomes interested in him. He has his minions battling anyone (lending his Guardian Bakugan Reaper to Darkus-using ones, notably Ryo and Kenji).
He is disappointed by Reaper and replaces him with the Bakugan of greater potential, Hydranoid, by sending Reaper to the Doom Dimension. Masquerade's goal was to make his Hydranoid evolve to make it the ultimate Bakugan, so he could acquire the Infinity Stones and the Blue Core and bring them to Naga. He did this mainly by using Doom Cards which send the opponent's Bakugan and people to the Doom Dimension.
To get rid of the Ultimate Avengers who started to become a problem, he recruited the strongest and powerful Inhumans: Klaus, Chan Lee, Julio, Komba and Billy. After they all failed in their task, Masquerade punished them by killing them and sending each of their Guardian Bakugan to the Doom Dimension, which evolved Hydranoid into Dual Hydranoid. He is shown to be very cruel as he killed Injustice as slicing Injustice from shoulder to waist, then with a flurry of slices, he chops Injustice into dozens of smaller pieces which collapse, Injustice's hat falling off and banished two of his Bakugan (Laserman and Reaper) to the Doom Dimension. During a battle, he sent Gear to the Doom Dimension because Gear didn't want his close friends to risk their lives. Later, he battled other Avengers, though they lost on purpose so they could join Gear and Drago.
He also battled Joey Lee and Wavern for the Blue Core but lost. After that, he went into the Doom Dimension himself to face the Darkus Legendary Soldier of Vestroia, Exedra, where he faced an illusionary Bridget. He defeated her and Dual Hydranoid evolved into Alpha Hydranoid. He later lost to Osmosis and reformed, having Bridget revealed as his host/alter ego.
Masquerade was born as Bridget's split personality when the negative energy of the Red Core affected Bridget's body through Michael Verdant's dimension transporter. Bridget was unaware that she was Masquerade, though she often experienced periods of time wherein she would appear in a place with no memory of how she came to be there.
After that, he made one final appearance to help Osmosis defeat Centorrior and Druman, after which he leaves Bridget, and his mask crumbles away. Before disappearing, he gives her his Alpha Hydranoid. However, the silhouette of Masquerade's shadow instead of Bridget's as she says goodbye to Hydranoid, indicating his presence is still inside of her.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Physical Abilities ===
Masquerade is capable of easily matching Osmosis's abilities in both speed and power. Although he is not as strong, Masquerade has superhuman strength; with effort, he can overturn large objects many times his weight and size with one hand.
Masquerade is extremely acrobatic, agile and an experienced athlete, capable of gracefully leaping over any obstacles that come in his way and performing various forms of nimble movements. He has as well radical reaction time to match his movements, being able to react to danger within a split second. Masquerade has the incredible resilience to damage, being able to survive otherwise fatal situations even by the standards of superhuman creatures, making him nearly indestructible. He is completely bulletproof and can take a lot of major punishment in battle before he starts to wear down. 
=== Umbrakinesis ===
Masquerade can specifically harness negative energy, depending on his state of mind. His powers are so potent, he becomes a walking dynamo of raw power, releasing such tremendous amounts of dark aura that it forms an impenetrable barrier around him. While in this state, Masquerade gains increased strength and speed, enough to overpower hundreds of Invisible and Angel Star at once. However, using his full power tires him out more quickly.
=== Combat skills ===
In combat, Masquerade is a lethal and extremely powerful force that very few can defeat. He never holds back his immense strength, making him a brutal fighter with a distinct killer instinct. Masquerade's skills are more than a match for even the strongest and have been able to take down some of the most fearsome foes.
=== Fighting style ===
Masquerade's fighting style focuses on brutal, unrestrained and powerful hand-to-hand combat. In line with his nature and potent abilities, Masquerade has adopted a fighting style where he fights his opponents using powerful blows, such as karate chops, swift punches, and roundhouse kicks. With the speeds Shadow can move at he can disable the opponent through the force of his blows alone, leaving them at the mercy of his incoming attacks.
== Trivia ==
* He is the only character to defeat all of the Human/Inhumans Hybrids; granted, they also threw their battles to follow Gear into the Doom Dimension.
Category:Former Villains
Category:Reformed Characters