History Main / CoolMask

* For Franchise/TheDCU and the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, it would be easier to list the heroes that ''don't'' have a cool mask or [[TheCowl cowl]], but the second ComicBook/{{Batgirl|2000}} took this to the logical extreme; her mask was skin-tight, designed to cover her entire skull, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Knightalone.jpg really about the last thing you'd want to meet in a dark alley]]. (Let's not even get into the pointy ears.) On the other hand, it's exactly the kind of thing you'd want to see in certain nightclubs.

* Korekiyo Shinguji from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' wears a mask with a zipper that covers the lower half of his face. He even has identical copies of it that can be used for eating, sleeping, etc.! [[spoiler: The mask helps to hide his SplitPersonality based off his deceased older sister. Underneath, he wears lipstick, [[DudeLooksLikeALady which makes him look more feminine.]]]]
* In ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateNinjaShadow'', Toru often shows up wearing a very cool-looking black mask [[spoiler: to hide his identity as Makoto's [[StrongFamilyResemblance very similar-looking]] [[CainAndAbel brother and opponent]].]]

* Dave of ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' fame begins with apparently opaque round glasses. But, [[spoiler:as he realizes his mad science abilities, his glasses turn transparent.]]

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'': Whisper the Wolf possesses a hi-tech, cat-shaped mask that increase her aiming with her [[MorphWeapon Variable Wispon]] It's also connected to it, as the left eye [[EyeColourChange changes color]] depending on what Wisp is currently in use. It's revealed later that it also allows the wearer [[UniversalTranslator to understand the language of Wisps.]] When the mask is not on her face, she wears it on the side of her head, Japanese-style.

* WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}: The terrorist group White Fang have masks made to resemble Grimm, the soulless monsters that have terrorised Remnant for it's entire history. While this makes most of them FacelessMooks, their leader Adam Taurus, who is implied to have started the tradition, is one of the most dangerous fighters in the series, not to mention [[KickTheDog one of the most cruel]].

* Before the director of ''Anime/GearFighterDendoh'' went on to direct ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'', he was already referencing that franchise's masked characters with a masked mentor (Vega) and masked rival (Altair).

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'': The members of the Order of Mages tend to wear them, in particular the first leader we see. [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic Not the protagonist though]]. [[spoiler: While they're ''being'' protagonists anyway, as the apparent leader [[DramaticUnmask turns out]] [[SchrodingersGun to be]] the one you weren't playing as.]]

** King wears a leopard mask, making him look like a man with a leopard face. And he always straps a tail on his pants for good measure. And his dialogue is always snarls. Same thing applies to his mentor, Armor King, whose mask also has different colored eyes, one of which is ''[[RedEyesTakeWarning red]]''. Sadly, Kunimitsu isn't quite as powerful in the games despite her own mask habits.

** Kunimitsu and her daughter wear kitsune masks to conceal their identities.

* Sara Gallagher, one of the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Five Pillars]] from ''Anime/MaiOtome'', sports a Meister Robe that gives her a decidedly Zorro-like appearance, complete with a black mask, black [[TheCape cape]], and black form-fitting tights.

* ''Manga/DGrayMan''

* Dynamis and Kagetarou in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. It seems to be common among [[CastingAShadow shadow mages]], and Takane's puppets also have similar-looking masks.

* Boy Blue from ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'' when he's infiltrating the Homelands, in a clear ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' homage down to the near-identical bandana-mask. Admittedly, he doesn't wear it for most of the series, but the magical artifacts he carries at the time and from that point onward make him pretty damn powerful.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Kabuki}}'', all eight Noh agents wear painted porcelain masks when "in character".

* The masks that LaResistance wear in ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}''. Made of Stealth Bomber material (as well as the rest of their armor), with voice distortion, and very intimidating. [[spoiler: It's no wonder they look like rampaging aliens during the first act.]]

* Naturally, since it takes place during Day of the Dead in 1870's Mexico, there are [[CoolMask cool masks]] everywhere in ''Literature/TheseSavageBones'', but the murderer's trademark Calavera mask - a skull with blue poppy petals around the eyes to look like tears - deserves a special mention.

* TabletopGame/DarkHeresy has a temple of the Scholastica Psykana called the Temple Calix. Its members and students, collectively known as the Templar Calix, are trained as much in controlling their psychic powers as they are in swordsmanship, leading to an order of [[KungFuWizard warrior-mystics]]. What makes them fit this trope is that they all wear tarnished silver masks. They aren't psychoreactive, they're just a badge of office for an order of badass psychic-swordsmen, and in some circles of the Calixis Sector that reputation precedes them.

* At least half of the appeal in {{Toys/Bionicle}}. Despite years of similar builds in the toys, there is ''always'' a new set of masks with each set of toys. Definitely in the "tropical mysticism" tiki-mask style, as the franchise had a number of Polynesian influences in its earliest days, though they were never without a certain sci-fi twist, with the characters being robotic and all. Being worn by our main heroes and gifted with all sorts of strange powers, they are very cool.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* Aoi "Zaki" Himezaki of ''[[VideoGame/RivalSchools Project Justice]]'' is almost always seen wearing a mask covering the lower half of her face. The supplemental board game reveals that she even refuses to eat in the presence of others since it'd require taking off her mask. A number of members in the Ladies Team, the [[{{Delinquents}} delinquent]] gang she leads, also wear [[http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z295/NeoChaosX/Seijyun%20HS%20story/ladies-team.png similar]] [[http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z295/NeoChaosX/Seijyun%20HS%20story/vs-gedo.png masks]], though whether they're following Zaki's example or just doing it for some other reason isn't clear.

** Sirius, [[spoiler: who's actually Camus BackFromTheDead and thus using the mask to hide his identity]], in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem]]''.

* Mask de Smith from ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' is a luchadore who has the most powerful weapon (dual grenade launchers) and largest health bar of any playable character in the game. He's physically strong enough to lift a semi-trailer truck. Near the end of the game, he receives an upgrade in the form of a new mask and costume that lets him fire [[BottomlessMagazines infinite grenades]] without ever having to reload. Also, his [[InfinityPlusOneSword ultimate upgrade]] not only makes him damn near invincible, but almost as terrifying as the monsters he's slaughtering with grenades.

* Sora of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series wears one of these in [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Halloween Town]], though [[GogglesDoNothing he wears it]] as an [[{{EyepatchOfPower}} eyepatch]] rather than over his face. In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', it is the only part of his outfit in that world that changes whenever Sora enters a Drive Form. A Cool Mask, indeed.

* Big "L" Lincoln in ''[[{{VideoGame/Lisa}} Lisa - The Joyful]]'' wears a wolf mask, and he spends the entire game staying in his fortress and murdering anyone who challenges him for the title of the strongest human in Olathe. [[ThatOneBoss He's pretty good at it]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': All the main characters have FightingSpirit representations of their own psyches (the eponymous Personas) that turn into personalized thief masks when not in use. Most of these Personas also sport masks of their own.

* ''Videogame/DarkestDungeon'': The Leper wears a metal mask over most of his face to cover the FacialHorror beneath. Only times it's removed are when he loses his mind, and when he purposefully lets it down to feel the air against his skin as a way to de-stress (while everyone else catches an eyeful and gets stressed out). It looks unusually solemn for the trope, yet doesn't detract from his intimidating look, fitting him quite well.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Dave of ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'' fame begins with apparently opaque round glasses. But, [[spoiler:as he realizes his mad science abilities, his glasses turn transparent.]]

* In ''{{Webcomic/Blip}}'', The Adversary wears a blank white mask. Apparently this is for everyone else's protection; even [[{{satan}} Lucifer]] would cease to exist if he were to see the Adversary's real face.

* [[{{Webcomic/Juathuur}} Weijuaru]] wears a mask whenever he goes out in public. This is half because it provides his political persona with a level of mystique that helps things work out better in his favor, and half because it hides the fact that [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld he hasn't aged a day during his reign thanks to his Shift magic]].

* The Placidus masks that switch dreamers between placid and lucid dreams in [[Webcomic/EndOfInfinity End of Infinity]].

* {{WebAnimation/RWBY}}: The terrorist group White Fang have masks made to resemble Grimm, the soulless monsters that have terrorised Remnant for it's entire history. While this makes most of them FacelessMooks, their leader Adam Taurus, who is implied to have started the tradition, is one of the most dangerous fighters in the series, not to mention [[KickTheDog one of the most cruel]].

* [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad's]] wrestling mask.
* In ARG/DarkDreamChronicle, every Chosen has one.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter''

* Joachim in ''Shadow Hearts: Covenant'' actually actively parodies this with his Grand Papillion identity--in which he wears a large butterfly mask, but rather than magnifying his powers, it magnifies his tendency towards over-the-top posing and silly heroic pronouncements.
* Every member of the Chess Pieces in ''MÄR'' wears a unique mask. In fact, masks are quite telling of a Chess Piece's power, as the lowest ranked Mooks, "pawns" are only allowed [[FacelessGoons identical masks]], the same as every other pawn. If a Chess Piece has a unique mask, you're dealing with something a bit more worrisome.
** Their rank is also identified by their earrings, which ARE chess pieces.
** Once they get to the earring stage it doesn't ''have'' to be an earring though (at least one has it as a tongue stud). They still have the masks of pawns, they can just choose how to wear it or customize it.
* Blood Boy from ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' both uses and subverts the trope. Due to hideous facial disfigurations (and REMOVING the skin of his face in one of the game's first posts) he almost always wears a smiley face mask, and was until recently the biggest killer on the island, and is still the most psychotic and sadistic. While lacking physical strength, his surprising agility and knowledge of the body's weak points make him a very capable hand to hand combatant, and his sharp mind makes him even more dangerous. However, this ability doesn't actually come from the mask itself, and he can't see nearly as well with it on. This hinders his combat abilities and actually makes him a worse shot than normal, which inspires his normal gunfighting style of [[MoreDakka just trying to put as much lead in the air as possible]] because it means he can really only hope to hit someone at greater than point blank range by firing an insane number of bullets.
* Shows up many, many times in ''Film/TheFall'' (and on the cover of the DVD!).

* [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/0325.html Subverted]] in ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}!''.

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': All the main characters have FightingSpirit representations of their own psyches (the eponymous Personas) that turn into personalized thief masks when not in use. Most of these Personas also sport masks of their own.
*** Arsène becomes a black and white bird mask, and his own "face" is a semi-transparent horned mask.
*** Carmen becomes a red panther mask that she herself also wears.
*** Captain Kidd becomes a skull mask, matching the skull that serves as his head.
*** Zorro becomes the black bandana he wears on his own face.
*** Goemon becomes a traditional Japanese fox mask, and wears an armored facemask of his own that leaves his mouth and hair exposed.
*** Necronomicon becomes a pair of NightVisionGoggles that look like giant alien eyes.
*** Johanna becomes a metal mask, and Johanna's own face is a feminine mask on the front of the bike that serves as her body.
*** Milady becomes a black domino mask, and uses a ball gown mask for her "head".
*** Robin Hood turns into a red mask with a bird beak. [[spoiler:Loki, however, turns into crimson hellish crow mask complete with black helmet and neck brace.]]

* Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar series: The [[TheArchmage great mage]] Firesong horribly burns his face while helping to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt at the end of ''Winds of Fury''. When he reappears in ''Owlsight'', he's taken to wearing elaborate masks to hide his burn scars--not out of shame, but to spare others the pain of looking at his rather scary face. Being an AgentPeacock, he makes the masks into fashion statements, designing them himself and coordinating them with his outfits.

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': All the main characters have GuardianEntity representations of their own psyches (the eponymous Personas) that turn into personalized thief masks when not in use. Most of these Personas also sport masks of their own.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': All the main characters have GuardianEntity representations of their own psyches (the eponymous Personas) that turn into personalized thief masks when not in use. Most of these Personas also sport masks of their own.
** Arsène becomes a black and white bird mask, and his own "face" is a semi-transparent horned mask.
** Carmen becomes a red panther mask that she herself also wears.
** Captain Kidd becomes a skull mask, matching the skull that serves as his head.
** Zorro becomes the black bandana he wears on his own face.
** Goemon becomes a traditional Japanese fox mask, and wears an armored facemask of his own that leaves his mouth and hair exposed.
** Necronomicon becomes a pair of NightVisionGoggles that look like giant alien eyes.
** Johanna becomes a metal mask, and Johanna's own face is a feminine mask on the front of the bike that serves as her body.
** Milady becomes a black domino mask, and uses a ball gown mask for her "head".
** Robin Hood turns into a red mask with a bird beak. [[spoiler:Loki, however, turns into crimson hellish crow mask complete with black helmet and neck brace.]]

[[quoteright:317:[[Series/{{Zorro}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zorro1.jpg]]]]

*** Also Quattro Bajeena, a ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'' expy of Char who just happens to be... Char himself, sans mask, but with sunglasses that cover just as much. Said sunglasses did jack since everyone already knew that he's Char. He finally outs himself publicly in his speech to the Earth Federation parliament at Dakar denouncing the Titans.

* In the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga, Mask of Ice's takeover of Team Rocket in ''Gold/Silver/Crystal'' leads to all the grunts wearing masks and making them naturally more badass. Plus said Mask of Ice himself, who is the primary driver for bad stuff happening in about half of the arc.

** Ethergaunts are a race of (evil) [[EldritchAbomination alien supergeniuses]] dwelling on the ethereal plane whose faces are entirely covered by [[TheFaceless blank, bisected masks]], with the color of said masks indicating their rank. Especially the black ethergaunts, which are some of the most intelligent monsters out there, and cast spells as a 17th-level wizard. [[GoMadFromTheRevelation And you do NOT want to see what's underneath the mask.]]

** "Marth" and Gerome in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]''. [[spoiler: "Marth" (or better said [[BiFauxnen Lucina]] has her mask destroyed early, however, and from then on she goes without it. Gerome (the one who made said mask) keeps his own save for counted exceptions, though.]]

* Mask de Smith from ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' is a luchadore who has the most powerful weapon (dual grenade launchers) and largest health bar of any playable character in the game. He's physically strong enough to lift a semi-trailer truck. Near the end of the game, he receives an upgrade in the form of a new mask and costume that lets him fire infinite grenades without ever having to reload. Also, his [[InfinityPlusOneSword ultimate upgrade]] not only makes him damn near invincible, but almost as terrifying as the monsters he's slaughtering with said [[BottomlessMagazines infinite grenades]].
* King from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''. He wears a mother-flipping LEOPARD MASK, and not just leopard print, no, he looks like a man with a LEOPARD FOR A FACE. And he always straps a tail on his pants for good measure. And his dialogue is always snarls. Same thing applies to his mentor, Armor King, whose mask also has different colored eyes, one of which is ''[[RedEyesTakeWarning red]]''. Sadly, Kunimitsu isn't quite as powerful in the games despite her own mask habits.

* Even in his non-Gundam works, Tomino still can't resist a CharClone combined with this trope. The wandering mercenary in Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine known only as "The Black Knight" wears a modified knight's helmet with a mask on the front which obscures both his voice and his ''Aura'' [[spoiler:so that the hero won't recognise him as his former mentor]].

* Turkey in ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', though he loses his mask during/before the ChristmasEpisode.

* Persona from ''Manga/AliceAcademy''. The mask is what keeps his Alice in control. Otherwise it would [[spoiler: ''eat his own skin off'']].

* ''Franchise/SailorMoon''

* The mask of the ''Film/{{Predator}}'' features (at least) IR vision, EM vision, "preda-tech" vision, optic zoom, breathing apparatus and a targeting module for the [[FrickinLaserBeams Plasma Caster]].

* At least half of the appeal in {{Toys/Bionicle}}. Despite years of similar builds in the toys, there is ''always'' a new set of masks with each set of toys. And the being worn by our main heroes and gifted with all sorts of strange powers, they are very cool.