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A masked villain, also seen as masked mystery villain,^[1]^[2] is a stock character in genre fiction. It was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in The House of Hate, (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery villain of the movies, and frequently used in the adventure stories of pulp magazines and sound-era movie serials in the early twentieth century,^[3]^[4] as well as postmodern horror films^[5] where the character "hides in order to claim unsuspecting victims".^[6] They can also appear in crime fiction to add to the atmosphere of suspense and suspicion. It is used to engage the readers or viewers by keeping them guessing just as the characters are,^[3] and suspension by drawing on the fear of the unknown.^[7]^: 135 The "Mask" need not be literal (although it often is), referring more to the subterfuge involved.

They are the often main antagonist of the story, often acting behind the scenes with henchmen confronting the protagonists directly.^[3] Usually, the protagonists must discover the villain's true identity before they can be defeated.^[8] Often, the villain will turn out to be either one of the protagonists themselves, or a significant supporting character. The author may give the viewer or reader clues, with many red herrings, as to the villain's identity - sometime as the characters find them and sometimes for the audience alone. However, the identity is not usually revealed to the audience before it is revealed to the characters of the story.^[8]

Examples

Serials

"The Clutching Hand" in The Exploits of Elaine
"The Hooded Terror" in The House of Hate
Fur-coated Mystery Man in The Phantom Foe
"Monsieur X" in The Trail of the Octopus
"The Frog" in The Mark of the Frog
"The Wolf Devil" in Queen of the Northwoods
"The Hidden Hand" in The Hidden Hand
"The Iron Claw" in The Iron Claw
"The Faceless Terror" in The Fatal Fortune
"The Purple Shadow" in The Purple Riders
"The Claw" in The Mystery Rider
"The Iron Hand" in The Invisible Hand
"Phantom Face" in The Mystery Mind
"The Black Hawk" in The Air Mail Mystery
"The Scorpion" in Blake of Scotland Yard
"The Tiger Shark" in The Fighting Marines.^[7]^: 133
"The Ghost" in Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. - "One of the most memorable of all the masked villains of serials" according to William C. Cline.^[7]^{: 133, 135}
"The Dragon" in Ace Drummond.^[9]^: 99^[7]^: 133
"The Lightning" in The Fighting Devil Dogs.
"The Skull" in Deadwood Dick
"Don Del Oro" in Zorro's Fighting Legion
"The Wasp" in Mandrake the Magician.^[7]^: 133
"The Scorpion" in Adventures of Captain Marvel.^[2]^[7]^: 129
"The Octopus" in The Spider's Web
"The Gargoyle" in The Spider Returns.^[7]^: 133
"The Crimson Ghost" in The Crimson Ghost
"The Wasp" in Mandrake the Magician
"Captain Mephisto" in Manhunt of Mystery Island.^[7]^: 129
"The Rattler" in Mystery Mountain^[7]^: 129
"The Wizard" in Batman and Robin.^[7]^: 133
"The Master Key" in The Master Key.

The following villains were not actually "masked" but remained hidden from view:

"The Voice" in The Vanishing Legion
"The Black Ace" in The Mystery Squadron.
"The Lame One" in Dick Tracy.
"The Black Tiger" in The Shadow.
"Mr. M" in The Mysterious Mr. M.
"Dr. Vulcan" in King of the Rocket Men.^[9]^: 129

Television

"The Hooded Claw" from The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.

Films

Michael Myers from Halloween^[5]
Darth Vader from Star Wars^[10]^[11]
Yokai (Robert Callaghan) from Big Hero 6

References

^ Van Hise, James (1990). Serial Adventures. Pioneer Books. p. 46. ISBN 9781556982361.
^ ^a ^b Lupoff, Richard A.; Thompson, Don, eds. (1970). All in color for a dime. Arlington House. p. 92. ISBN 9780870000621.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brasch, Ilka (October 12, 2018). "4. Detectives, Traces, and Repetition in The Exploits of Elaine". Film Serials and the American Cinema, 1910-1940. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 145–182. doi:10.1515/9789048537808-005. ISBN 9789048537808. S2CID 239227958 – via www.degruyter.com.
^ Brasch, I., & Mayer, R. (2016). Modernity management: 1920s cinema, mass culture and the film serial. Screen, 57(3), 302-315.
^ ^a ^b Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (2019). Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces. University of Wales Press. pp. 52, 68, ?. ISBN 978-1-78683-496-6.
^ Jess-Cooke, Carolyn (2009). Film Sequels: Theory and Practice from Hollywood to Bollywood. Edingburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-7486-2603-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Cline, William C. (2000). Serials-ly Speaking: Essays on Cliffhangers. McFarland. ISBN 9780786409181.
^ ^a ^b Bah, Aisha (2018). "Cultural Transgression and Subversion: The Abject Slasher Subgenre". The Mall. 2 (1): 72–83. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
^ ^a ^b Benson, Michael (2000). Vintage Science Fiction Films, 1896-1949. McFarland. ISBN 9780786409365.
^ Milligan, Cindy Ann (2015). Sonic Vocality: A Theory on the Use of Voice in Character Portrayal (PhD). Georgia State University. p. 5. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
^ Rutherford, Paul (1994). "The Cannes Lions, Etc. (1984-92)". The New Icons? - The Art of Television Advertising. University of Toronto Press. p. 142. ISBN 0-8020-2928-0.

[JVH-1] Van Hise, James (1990). Serial Adventures. Pioneer Books. p. 46. ISBN 9781556982361.

[RAL-2] Lupoff, Richard A.; Thompson, Don, eds. (1970). All in color for a dime. Arlington House. p. 92. ISBN 9780870000621.

[serials-3] Brasch, Ilka (October 12, 2018). "4. Detectives, Traces, and Repetition in The Exploits of Elaine". Film Serials and the American Cinema, 1910-1940. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 145–182. doi:10.1515/9789048537808-005. ISBN 9789048537808. S2CID 239227958 – via www.degruyter.com.

[4] Brasch, I., & Mayer, R. (2016). Modernity management: 1920s cinema, mass culture and the film serial. Screen, 57(3), 302-315.

[AHN-5] Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (2019). Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces. University of Wales Press. pp. 52, 68, ?. ISBN 978-1-78683-496-6.

[CJC-6] Jess-Cooke, Carolyn (2009). Film Sequels: Theory and Practice from Hollywood to Bollywood. Edingburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-7486-2603-8.

[WCC-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Cline, William C. (2000). Serials-ly Speaking: Essays on Cliffhangers. McFarland. ISBN 9780786409181.

[slasher-8] Bah, Aisha (2018). "Cultural Transgression and Subversion: The Abject Slasher Subgenre". The Mall. 2 (1): 72–83. Retrieved 2021-04-19.

[MB-9] Benson, Michael (2000). Vintage Science Fiction Films, 1896-1949. McFarland. ISBN 9780786409365.

[10] Milligan, Cindy Ann (2015). Sonic Vocality: A Theory on the Use of Voice in Character Portrayal (PhD). Georgia State University. p. 5. Retrieved May 10, 2021.

[11] Rutherford, Paul (1994). "The Cannes Lions, Etc. (1984-92)". The New Icons? - The Art of Television Advertising. University of Toronto Press. p. 142. ISBN 0-8020-2928-0.

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Masked villain

Examples

Serials

Television

Films

References

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