Post by Word on Mar 16, 2009 7:13:00 GMT
Approved!
Full Name: Roman Sionis
Alias: Black Mask
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Occupation: CEO of Janus Cosmetics/ Crime Lord
Affiliations: Janus Cosmetics/ Criminal Underworld
Personality: One word defines Roman Sionis best. Ruthless. The man is literally willing to do anything to get what he wants, to manipulate anyone, to hurt, blackmail or kill anyone in his way, he doesn't care what pain he inflicts, so long as he achieves his goals. Actually, you could say any pain he inflicts serves as a bonus, Roman is a sadist, reveling in the infliction of pain, particularly pain caused in the course of one of his favorite activities, torture.
To the world at large, he's the debonair, handsome, charming CEO of Janus Cosmetics, a well-known beauty products company with offices all over the world. Most people would call him competent, savvy, but in truth Roman just manages to put a good face on things, he's really a terrible business man. It could be supposed that his desire to get what he wants no matter the cost has backlashed, with several products having to be withdrawn from the market due to various side effects thanks to a lack of testing, usually thanks to Roman wanting to rush out every innovative product before the competition is able to come up with something similar.
Janus Cosmetics is on the verge of collapse, but Roman is able to put a brave face on it, giving an image of strength and prosperity. Of course, he is not so inefficient in all matters, what very few people actually happen to know is that he leads a dual life, maintaining an identity as Black Mask, a criminal mastermind with a thirst for power and a predisposition toward acts of cruelty, keeping his underlings in line through fear and intimidation.
While arrogant, Roman tends to be quite shrewd and savvy, at least in his Black Mask identity, having a fair idea of his limitations and when to call it quits, a flair for manipulation and realpolitik means that he's quite capable of holding his own in almost any situation, playing off different sides against each other in a potential conflict while he bides his time. It is because of these talents that he has managed to bring so much of Gotham's criminal underworld under heel in such a short amount of time, taking advantage of their fractured and confused state to bring them under his aegis.
Unique Traits/Skills: In the business word, Roman Sionis is known as an extremely smooth talker, a master of spinning bad news into good, it's quite possible that if it weren't for this talent, Janus Cosmetics would have gone under quite some time ago, but as things stand, he's making a pretty decent show of things, keeping his company going, albeit barely at times, and managing to divert attention away from the various tell-tale signs of decay.
While he's charming and even likable in his public persona, it is as Black Mask that his many talents really shine through. Physically fit and trained in several kinds of martial arts, as well as extremely adept with firearms and melee weapons, he's a very deadly opponent, able to hold his own against almost any opponent, with his skill, endurance, determination and high thresh-hold for pain allowing him to best most combatants.
Roman has undergone training at the hands of various weapons experts and martial arts masters, he is extremely capable physically, but it is in his ability to torture that he really shines through. Having learned the craft from various interrogation specialists and even ex-intelligence agents from various agencies, he is experienced in the usage of torture, but it is quite fair to say he has a natural talent for it. He displays a mastery of both physical and psychological torture which he often uses either to extract information, or simply to torment his enemies. Sufficed to say, he considers it great fun.
Of course, as Black Mask, he is as renowned for his ability to organize and plan strategies as he is for his heavy use of torture. Highly calculating and very pragmatic, there are few situations he is not able to deal with and plan for, using his keen mind to take advantage of any opportunity and turn it into his ultimate benefit, no matter the cost in men or material, he understands that for all intents and purposes, his men are expendable when it comes to getting what he wants.
Appearance:
Roman Sionis
Black Mask
Celebrity name: Joaquin Phoenix
History:
Roman Sionis was born into one of Gotham City’s elite families, to wealthy and utterly self-absorbed parents, caring more about their social status than their son; moments after his birth, the doctor carelessly dropped him on his head. Roman's parents were less concerned about their son's well-being and more concerned about covering up the entire incident out of fear of how their wealthy friends would react to the news of their son's injury.
His parents would drag him around to parties, and force him to be friends with the children of other wealthy Gothamites like the young Bruce Wayne. His parents hated other people like the Waynes though, but put on almost social masks in public to seem like more charming people. Roman hated the masks his parents wore, growing to resent and hate his parents in turn.
After his high school graduation, Sionis was given a high ranking position inside his father's company, Janus Cosmetics. He would later inherit the prosperous Janus Cosmetics Corporation after his parents died in a suspicious fire, started, of course, by Roman, but the official explanation was a gas leak. Upon their deaths, he inherited the family fortune and business, becoming CEO of Janus Cosmetics.
While he was not nearly the businessman his father was, almost leading the company to ruin on several occasions, he managed to stave off disaster at several junctions, putting a good face on the various near-disasters and making Janus seem like a strong, prosperous entity to the public eye, quieting nay-sayers either with his charm and wit, those who tended to press too far tended to disappear without a trace, quietly and discreetly.
However, Roman knew that his company was losing money, and thusly he turned to less than legal methods to begin to stave off bankruptcy, dabbling in the criminal underworld, making connections and generating illicit funds for Janus, funds that allowed his company to recover somewhat, but that was not the greatest effect of his illegal ventures.
Finding he possessed a flair for dealing with underworld elements, Roman created an identity for himself with which to interface with that criminal element, donning a grim skull-mask and taking the name "Black Mask", setting himself up as a criminal mastermind, taking controlling of various underworld enterprises and muscling his way into every venture he could.
Recently, he has returned to Gotham after living in various places across the world for the last few years, venturing back to the city of his birth to attend the funeral of Rachel Dawes, a childhood friend of his. Of course, this was merely a cover, an excuse for Black Mask to set up shop in Gotham, taking advantage of the fractured nature of the organized criminal element to work his way toward the position of absolute dominance among the Gotham underworld.
And Roman has heard of the Batman, the masked vigilante who almost single-handedly managed to bring down the mob in Gotham. Such a man has piqued his interest and if he attempts to get in the way of his play for ultimate power in Gotham's underworld? Well. Roman would enjoy finding out how much about this Batman is fact and how much is fiction...
Sample Post:
"N-n-no more! Please!"
"You disappointed me Paulie. I hoped I'd at least get to the pliers before you gave in."
The room was dark, only a single light hung from the ceiling, illuminating the wooden chair set in the center of the room as if it was in a spotlight on some sort of stage somewhere, like this whole thing was some sort of macabre show. In a way, it was.
Tied to that chair, arms bounded tight by duct tape, unable to move, was the mobster, Paulie Porrello, one of the leading figures in the current day Gotham mob, one of the ambitious men looking to step up and fill the gap left by the sudden lack of leadership the organization was experiencing in the wake of the police crack-down and, of course, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Batman. And the Joker. It was hard to say who had done more to upset the established power-bases in Gotham City.
Standing before Paulie, watching the man as he struggling to speak through battered and swollen lips, missing a few teeth at this stage, was the man who had been lavishing him with his attention. Dressed in slacks, black loafers, a shirt and tie, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, hands covered in black leather gloves, the man appeared to be something similar to the classic interpretation of a mobster.
Except for the black skull mask he wore, that is.
As ever, Black Mask was thoroughly enjoyed his work. Truth be told, this man had no information he needed, nothing he wished to know, nothing he felt important. He was a potential rival, a man who had made a lot of noise about putting him down, about taking him out before he could set up shop in Gotham. It pleased him to know that his reputation was so wide-spread.
Setting down the scalpel he'd held in his hand, it was slightly bloody now, placing it on a metallic cart that wouldn't have looked out of place at a dentist's office, though the various tools on display there probably would have. A shame for Porrello that anesthetic was not offered, he'd screamed more than a few times, saying that he wanted the pain to stop.
Pity for him Black Mask had a clear schedule this evening. Yes, the man had offered up some apologies, a few pieces of information, some details on drug shipments down at the harbor, nothing very valuable. He was simply here to be made an example of, for any potential rivals to hear about, to remember and to recall this incident if they ever even considered moving against Black Mask in the future.
Glancing over the tools on offer, his hand hovering over the little collection as he tried to decide what to use next, he paused when his fingers brushed against the handle of a small bone-saw. Nodding his head slightly, he picked it up, grasped it in hand, tested the weight, nodding once more, satisfied with his choice, he turned back to Porrello.
The man was a wreck, face a mess, the front of his white shirt covered with blood, it really wasn't a pretty sight. Except that it was. Oh it really, really was. Black Mask always enjoyed the opportunity to admire his handiwork, and this time was no exception. Porrello should take some solace in knowing he was being made into a work of art.
Taking a few steps toward the bound man, feel a sense of satisfaction at the frightened look in his eyes, "You think I need something from you, don't you? You think this is... for information? You think there's something you know that I want to know."
Strolling around the chair, bone-saw held in one hand, making no attempt to hide it from the man's vision, "You're wrong you know. I don't want anything from you. I don't need anything from you. There's nothing you know that would be of any value to me. Not. One. Thing."
Pausing when he was behind Porrello, out of his field of vision, he stepped up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder in an almost calming manner, his voice quieter now, almost a whisper, as if he were disclosing a secret, "You're practice. That's all you are. Something to keep me busy for a few hours."
Squeezing his shoulder in a friendly sort of way, he moved around to Porrello's front once more, "I have a free evening. Lots of time to kill. You and me? We're going to have a fine old time."
Turning over the bone-saw, glancing over it's jagged edge, "You a rightie or a leftie?"
Chuckling, he shook his head, "Ah Hell, doesn't matter, I'll just guess."
And guess he did.
The evening was far from over, but already Black Mask could tell he was going to have a lot of fun yet.