![]() It didn't matter what Batman did in the comics (which were also kooky as anything), all anyone remembered was Adam West boogying.Įnter: Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Just a few years prior, the hit 1966 TV series Batman left a permanent impression of Batman upon the masses. In this era, Spider-Man's girlfriend Gwen Stacy is murdered, the Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy gets addicted to heroin, and Iron Man becomes an alcoholic.īatman also underwent a radical shift during this time. Beginning in 1970, comic writers eschewed the science-fiction camp of the Silver Age for darker stories grounded in realism. Doug Moench's stint on Batman occurred in the last leg of the Bronze Age, a transformative period not just for the Dark Knight but for comics in general. That's a shame, because Black Mask is a legacy from one of Batman's criminally under-celebrated writers. You won't find him in The Dark Knight Returns or The Long Halloween, and in stories where he does appear like War Games and Under the Hood, you get the impression the writers used him as a different face just so they wouldn't have to write yet another storyline with Penguin and Riddler. Outside of his own origin in Batman #386 and #387 (published in summer 1985), Black Mask simply hasn't been a major fixture in many iconic Batman stories. Picturesīlack Mask isn't a cult character like Bane, and for good reason. Standing in their way is Roman Sionis, a crime lord also known as Black Mask.Įwan McGregor as Black Mask in 'Birds of Prey' Warner Bros. Ewan McGregor's Black Mask, a crime lord who keeps his face behind a black skull mask, is one of the most underrated creations from one of Batman's most underrated comic book writers, and he's finally getting his due.įriday marks the release of Birds of Prey, a Margot Robbie project that sees Harley Quinn break free from her ex, the Joker, and into a sisterhood of badass DC heroines. In Birds of Prey, DC's movie universe finally move on from familiar villains like the Joker, Penguin, and Bane in favor of a character more deserving of a place in the popular consciousness. And Black Mask (the latest comic book import into DC's cinematic universe) is the incarnation of an image- and status-obsessed culture, one that resonates more today in a world of social media influencers than it did when he was first invented in 1985. The Joker is any one person having a really bad day. The Penguin is capitalism given animalistic form. ![]() Two-Face is the hypocrisy of bureaucracy. Poison Ivy is the Earth's revenge against human pollution. The best villains in Batman's rogues gallery are all metaphors for life in Gotham City. ![]()
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