Batwoman is getting a deadly new foe for the rest of its second season.
Peter Outerbridge of V-Wars has been cast as Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, the notorious Gotham crime boss who will try to take over the city.
It’s another twist to the series, which is already enduring the shocking recasting of lead character Kate Kane.
Who is Black Mask?
Roman Sionis first appeared in 1985’s Batman #386 by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake as the owner of a major cosmetic company.
Originally growing up in wealth, Roman hated that world and ended up running his family’s cosmetic business into the ground by putting out makeup that disfigured hundreds of women.
After Bruce Wayne bought the company, Roman snapped, murdering his parents and embarking on a new career as a ruthless mob boss.
He took to wearing a dark mask to intimidate his enemies.
During a battle with Batman, Roman was caught in a fire, and the mask literally burned onto his face.
Driven mad, Roman became more horrible than ever in his attempts to take over the Gotham underground. The character was briefly killed off but continually returned to plague the Gotham heroes.
Roman appeared in the first season of the Fox drama Gotham, running a secret fight ring. He is arrested and later killed, attempting to restart his criminal empire.
Ewan McGregor played a role in the Birds of Prey movie, showing Roman as a volatile gangster, including wearing the mask.
Black Mask on Batwoman
Batwoman is already undergoing a huge shift as Wallis Day is replacing Ruby Rose as Kate Kane. The second season premiere had Kate seemingly killed in a plane crash and her suit used by Ryan Wilder to become a new Batwoman.
The most recent episode had the team discovering evidence Kate was dead, but the audience learning she was alive, now disfigured under a mask and being held prisoner in Gotham.
Roman will appear as the charismatic CEO of his company, attempting to clean up Gotham in public. In reality, he’s making a play to control Gotham with the mask hiding his identity to even his own underlings.
Roman also has a vendetta against the Crows police force, setting up a showdown with Batwoman.
Outerbridge is well known for scores of Canadian TV show appearances, including gangster Ari on the CW’s Nikita and recurring roles on The Expanse and The Umbrella Academy.
While not confirmed, rumors already abound that Roman may be the one holding Kate prisoner (Kate is shown wearing a mask, not unlike Roman’s).
While the series will show Kate’s escape and return to her team, Black Mask is such a powerful enemy that it may take two Batwomen to stop him.
Batwoman airing Sundays at 8 pm EST on the CW.