8/09/2018
'Birds Of Prey' Villain Revealed As Batman Enemy Black Mask
It's tough to make heads or tails out of the DCEU these days, but the Birds of Prey film with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn seems solid. And while we don't know what's up with Batman right now, one of his most sadistic villains is set to take on Robbie's all-girl gang of antiheroes.
According to The Wrap, it will be Black Mask taking on Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, Huntress, and young Cassandra Cain aka Batgirl. The character was created by Doug Moensch and artist Tom Mandrake, first appearing in Batman #386 in 1985. Black Mask, the criminal alias of Roman Sionis, born into one of the wealthiest families in Gotham. Neglected by his status-obsessed parents, he murdered them in a fire and took over control of the family business, Janus Cosmetics, until he ran it into the ground. Sionis turned to crime and targeted those he blamed for his failures, including Bruce Wayne. Donning a black mask crafted from his own father's casket, he becomes leader of the gang known as the False Face Society.
I can see Black Mask, no relation to the 1996 Jet Li film unfortunately, becoming the scariest villain in the DCEU. Of course, it's a pretty low bar.
Birds of Prey begins production in January with an eye towards a 2020 release.