The man who would become the Black Mask was born Roman Sionis who from an early age was obsessed with masks and had parents who were wealthy and owned their own Company known as Janus Cosmetics. Roman Sionis inherited the prosperous Janus Cosmetics Corporation after his parents died in a very suspicious fire. It did not take long for Roman to drive the company into the ground,his last attempt at salvation was producing a failed product that resulted in disfiguring the people who had bought them,this led the company open to a Wayne Industries buyout. The loss of his legacy drove Roman mad and he turned his hatred on Bruce Wayne.

He donned a mask carved from the wood of his mother's coffin and set out murdering Wayne employees as a way of having revenge.

Batman soon caught on to this and in the ensuing battle between the two, Roman's mask became permanently burnt to his face as a living death mask.

Over time Black Mask's power in Gotham grew and he became the most ruthless and sadistic crimelord the streets of Gotham City had ever seen. He commands his own army of henchmen, the dreaded "False Facers". The False Faces had to choose their own mask of their liking. The name of the group being in relation to the false faces people would wear in the upper class society he grew up in as a child. Black Mask was sent to Arkhum Asylum and was one of the inmates that escape during the Knightfall story arc when Bane attacked the building.

Black Mask continued his revenge on Bruce Wayne,this time he burned down buildings owned by Wayne and also Kidnapped Lucius Fox. Batman was able to save the Lucius but failed to capture Black Mask. He eventually dropped his vendetta against Wayne and decided to gain more power for him self as a mob boss. This led him to move to Gotham East End where he caused the destruction of a community centre on Gotham's East End, the torturing and killing of Catwoman's brother-in-law and the driving of her sister insane. He was believed dead at Catwoman's hand when during the fight she threw him over the building, until he returned to take almost full control over almost all of Gotham City's organised crime.