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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Batman: The Adventures Continue Season II #3, on sale now from DC.
Since its earliest issues, Batman: The Adventures Continue has brought plenty of comic book elements into the DCAU which weren’t previously introduced. The series has been able to introduce darker pieces of the Batman mythos into the DCAU, that Batman: The Animated Series simply could not. In Batman: The Adventures Continue Season II #3 (by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Rick Burchett, Monica Kubina and Josh Reed), one of Batman’s darkest villains, Black Mask, returned to the DCAU.
In the context of the DCAU, Black Mask is much like his comic book counterpart. Roman Sionis is a major crime lord in Gotham City, who frequently clashes with The Dark Knight and his allies. During this particular issue, Black Mask battles Batman, who is trying to get the location of Jimmy “the Jazzman” Peake. However, Black Mask calls for his lawyer, who gets Batman and Batgirl to leave the premises before the desired information can be obtained. Fortunately, by the end of the issue the Jazzman is caught, and with his capture plenty of information on Black Mask and his mob is discovered.
It’s true that this isn’t the first time Black Mask has made his way into the DCAU. Roman Sionis made his DCAU debut back in 2003’s Batman Adventures #5 (by Dan Slott, Ty Templeton, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge and Phil Felix). During this story arc, Black Mask was the leader of the False Face Society, a major criminal enterprise in Gotham.
Inevitably, Sionis was stopped by Batman and his allies. Even though this was technically Black Mask’s first DCAU appearance, Batman: The Adventures Continue marks the first time the villain has appeared in the animated universe in his more traditional guise.
By the time of Batman: The Adventures Continue, Sionis is in his normal white suit, and his mask covers his entire head, just like his comic book counterpart. This is in stark contrast to his initial appearances, where Black Mask wore a fedora, pin-striped suit and a completely different mask, which only covered his face.
In bringing a more traditional looking Black Mask into the DCAU, Batman: The Adventures Continue resumes its ongoing practice of bringing darker elements into the animated world. Black Mask’s inclusion in this series stands alongside the introduction of Deathstroke, the Court of Owls and many others, taking advantage of the medium to bring more mature aspects to the DCAU.
This issue also alludes to 2020’s Birds of Prey film in several ways. In the movie, Black Mask was the primary antagonist, so it’s only fitting that he plays a relatively important role in this issue, which also bears similarities to the version of this character seen in the DC cinematic universe.
For one thing, both Batgirl and Huntress are featured in this issue, two key members of the Birds of Prey. Huntress, in particular, plays a similar role as her movie counterpart, hunting down all those responsible for the death of her family.
The overarching narrative revolves around finding the Jazzman, who is depicted in a similar light as Victor Zsasz. Both criminals leave markings on their bodies for each of their victims, whether it’s a cut from a knife or a tattoo of a musical tune.
This connects well to Birds of Prey, since Zsasz is working for Black Mask in the film. While this specific issue is focused on the Jazzman rather than Black Mask, the end goal does seem to be taking down Sionis, just like in Birds of Prey.
It’s only though the Jazzman that the heroes can get information on Black Mask. In this sense, both this issue and Birds of Prey feature Black Mask as a major antagonist. Overall, by bringing a more traditional Black Mask into the DCAU, Batman: The Adventures Continue has also brought some dark elements into the universe, following in the tradition of what it has done previously.
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