Black Mask

Age
 Status
 Weight

**Roman Sionis**, better known as **Black Mask**, is a ruthless and successful mob boss in Gotham City, with a sadistic talent of torturing his victims, making him one of Batman's most dangerous adversaries. At various times he has risen to the rank of the kingpin of Gotham Organized Crime, but during the Joker's takeover he lost a big part of his criminal empire reducing his hold on the criminal activities. The mask that he wears was at one point during his time as kingpin burned into his skin to a point so severely that the mask had become indistinguishable from his actual face.

## Biography

Following the suspicious death of his multi-millionaire parents in a fire, Roman Sionis inherited their fortune and then went on to bankrupt their company. Saved by a buyout by Bruce Wayne, Sionis came to resent and hate Wayne. Fixated on the concept of masks, Sionis carved one from his father’s black coffin and sought revenge; his ensuing battle with the Dark Knight caused his mask to be burnt 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 of the Batman.

### Early Life

**Roman Sionis** was born to wealthy and utterly self-absorbed parents who cared more about their social status than their son; moments after his birth, the doctor carelessly dropped him on his head. Roman's parents were less concerned about their son's well-being than in covering up the entire incident so their high society friends would not find out. As a child, he was attacked by a rabid raccoon at the Sionis family yountry estate; his parents forbade him to mention the incident to anyone.

Further adding to the cauldron was his father's "friendship" with fellow Gotham City socialite Thomas Wayne; both of Roman's parents disliked Wayne and his wife Martha, and were quite vocal about it in private, but they continued to associate with them to ensure their social status, to the extent of literally forcing Roman to become friends with their son, Bruce. His parents' hypocrisy had a deep impact on him, and he grew to hate and resent them and the "masks" they wore in public.

### Starting in Business

After graduating from high school, Sionis was given a high-ranking position inside his father's company, Janus Cosmetics. There, he met and fell in love with Circe, a working class secretary. His parents did not approve of the relationship and made it clear that they wanted him to break it off. Enraged, Sionis burned down the family's mansion, killing both of his parents. Upon their deaths, he inherited the family fortune and business. Sionis lacked his father's business acumen, however, and eventually ruined Janus Cosmetics by funding a failed line of face-paint make-up. In desperation, he threw large sums of money at the staff chemists to create a product to save the company, and what came back to him was a kind of waterproof makeup. The product was rushed to market without proper testing, and once it hit the market, it turned out to be a deadly toxin which disfigured several hundred women.

### Birth of Black Mask

Circe, now Sionis' fiancée, broke up with him in front of his entire staff. Bruce Wayne, now the head of Wayne Enterprises, offered to bail out the company on the condition that Sionis give up control and allow Wayne to appoint his own Board of Directors. Sionis agreed, but was furious at the humiliation he had suffered. Unwilling to blame himself for his failures in life, Sionis broke into the cemetery where his parents were buried; seconds before he could unlock the Sionis crypt, however, a lightning bolt struck him, blasting the door open and hurling Sionis headfirst into a nearby stone. Sionis took the incident as an omen of his "rebirth", and entered the crypt, smashing his father's ebony casket with the stone. From the shattered pieces of the casket, Sionis carved a mask that symbolized his new identity: the crime lord **Black Mask**.

## Abilities

* **Criminology**: Black Mask is arguably the greatest criminal strategist and organizer in Gotham, having taken almost full control of the city's underworld on at least two occasions.
* **Business Management**: While Roman proved to be a poor businessman prior to becoming Black Mask, he eventually became skilled enough to maintain a massive criminal empire.
* **Tactical Analysis**
* **Disguise**: Black Mask is a formidable master of disguise as well as a highly gifted actor, as he was able to fool even the deductive skills of Batman when disguised as Orpheus. He most often uses face putty or plastic masks to hide his skull-head and look like someone else.
* **Marksmanship**: Roman Sionis is an excellent marksman who always carries at least two semi-automatic handguns.
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)**: Black Mask is a highly accomplished athlete and hand to hand combatant who has been shown fighting on par with the likes of Batman himself on at least one occasion.
* **Weaponry**: Perhaps Black Mask's most defining skill is his mastery of both physical and psychological torture, which he often uses either to extract information, or simply to torment his enemies.
* **Interrogation**: Black Mask is an expert on torture techniques that would make talk even the most strong-willed person.