Masquerade

**Masquerade** (マスカレード, *Masukarēdo***?**) was formerly a major villain in *Bakugan: Battle Brawlers* before abandoning his evil ways and assisting the Battle Brawlers. He is a Darkus brawler and was a servant of Naga, the mastermind behind the Doom Beings.

## Bakugan

### Bakugan Battle Brawlers

* Darkus Reaper (First Former Guardian Bakugan, sent to the Doom Dimension, fate remains unknown)
* Darkus Hydranoid (Second Former Guardian Bakugan, given to Alice in Episode 44)
	+ Darkus Dual Hydranoid (First Evolution - Evolved in Episode 26)
	+ Darkus Alpha Hydranoid (Second Evolution - Evolved in Episode 37)
* Darkus Laserman (Sent to the Doom Dimension, later freed)
* Darkus Mantris
* Darkus Centipoid
* Darkus Siege
* Darkus Wormquake
* Aquos Siege (Given to Rikimaru)

## Appearance

Masquerade wears a purple and blue visor mask likely made out of 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 cross 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 best Bakugan brawler around, Masquerade is ruthless in his objective to acquire the most powerful Bakugan along with Marduk. Despite having Alice for a host, Masquerade's personality is the exact opposite of hers. In each and every one of his battles, he would repeatedly show brutal, manipulative and borderline amoral behavior in the game. He had been shown to frequently banish Bakugan, even his own, into the Doom Dimension with absolutely no remorse or hesitance in order to obtain victory and would use brutal tactics that bordered on cheating, rationalizing his behavior as a constant state of life or death. As seen during Exedra's trial, he tells the illusionary version of Alice that he and Marduk battles in order to gain strength due to deeming it the only way they could survive.

## Biography

### Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Masquerade initially appeared to be stealing Bakugan all over the world by beating Runo Misaki and various other kids and manipulating his victims such as Tatsuya and the JJ Dolls whom he beat into using Doom Cards. When Dan battles him in an effort to halt this, Masquerade witnesses Drago's power and becomes interested in him. He has his minions battling the brawlers (lending his Guardian Bakugan Reaper to Darkus-using ones, notably Ryo and Kenji though reaper returns back to him). Later, Masquerade is shown to be working for a man named Hal-G, while they both plan to use negative energy to get the Infinity Core. Masquerade is then shown brainwashing Kosuke and Takashi and telling them if they win, their friend can see her brother again, and then he transports to a plane.

## Trivia

* He was ranked number 4 for the majority of Season 1 until losing to Dan and Grey in Behind the Mask of Masquerade and Marduk.
* He is the only character to defeat all of the Brawlers; granted, they also threw their battles to follow Dan and Grey into the Doom Dimension.
* Dan mistakenly calls him "Marmalade" in *A Feud Between Friends* when Dan was talking in his sleep.
	+ Jewels nicknames him "Mascara" in *Girls Just Wanna Have Fun*.
* Every time Masquerade used Hydranoid's Ability **Chaos of Darkness**, there was a close-up shot of his mouth. This is also the same when he activated **Black Is Darkness** for Centipoid in Episode 5.
* Several of Masquerade's traits are carried into other villains (or initial villains) in subsequent *Bakugan Battle Brawlers* anime seasons and games:
	+ Spectra Phantom is another masked brawler who is close to someone in the Resistance (Mira Fermin), refuses her initial offer to join them, and wants his Guardian Bakugan to become the Ultimate Bakugan. He also ultimately turns to the side of good and helps Dan fight a major antagonist (Zenoheld).
* His pride and constant attempts to be the best at the game resemble Seto Kaiba from *Yu-Gi-Oh!* and Vegeta from *Dragon Ball Z*. It is also worth noting that Masquerade's hairstyle is similar to the Super Saiyan hairstyles featured in Dragon Ball Z.
* Dan is the last person that Masquearde interacts with physically before leaving by shaking his hand.