Masque

Masque, aka the Midnight Stalker, is an unidentified mental patient driven mad by contact with supernatural forces. Tainted by demonic possession, he has developed uncanny telepathic skills which allow him to unerringly distinguish the innocent from the guilty. Due to his mental instability, he now believes himself a demon from hell, sent upworld to 'collect' the souls of the evil. Escaping from Dunwich Asylum, he descends on the nearby city of Radcliff, home to the most vile and corrupt creatures to ever walk the earth in human form. At the present time, Masque is around 26, has been operating as a 'hunter' for over 2 years and has already gained a fearsome reputation amongst the city's criminal element. He has no recollection of his former life, his memory having been completely erased by demonic forces.

Personality
During his incarceration at Dunwich Asylum, Masque was diagnosed as a bipolar psychopath, incapable of forming relationships or integrating at any level of society. Since his escape, he has avoided human contact as much as possible, the sole exception being Dr. Rose Morrison, his former therapist from Dunwich Asylum. Despite her medical training, Morrison has come to accept the existence of supernatural forces, and acts as Masque's personal surgeon during emergencies.

As a general rule, he holes up in condemned buildings during the day, preferring to hunt his quarry after sunset. When necessary, he ventures out in daylight disguised as a panhandler, often to reconnoiter unfamiliar locales. To cover his living expenses, he mugs thieves, hoods and other petty criminals, relieving them of whatever they have on them at the time. Subsequently, he has money and supplies stashed all around the city, usually in near inaccessible places. Being clinically insane, Masque is totally devoid of fear, granting him a unique advantage over the horrors lurking the backstreets of Radcliff. Following no clear moral code, Masque never hesitates to kill the guilty; for this reason he is universally feared by Radcliff's criminal population. Even minor demons have been observed to flee in terror at his appearance.

In face-to-face confrontations, Masque uses martial arts to subdue single foes, firearms to take down multiple (human) opponents, and silver plated knives to deal with supernatural threats. Considered a serial killer by the law, he tends to avoid the police (and vice-versa) as far as possible. His sole taboo is against killing infants, even those of the demonic variety. For this reason, he never harms pregnant women or pre-adolescent children under any circumstances.

Virtually anyone else is 'fair game.'

Powers
Having survived a brief (but near-lethal) encounter with The Beyond, Masque is capable of withstanding physical attacks that would instantly kill any other living creature. Under normal conditions, he is twice as strong and fast as a normal human male; this has been known to rise by a factor of three during an adrenaline rush. In short, when gripped by uncontrolled rage, Masque is roughly six times as powerful as any ordinary man.

In terms of physical combat, Masque is a superbly trained martial artist, employing a combination of techniques including kick-boxing, kendo, aikido and taekwon-do. His fighting style is violent in the extreme; when engaging any foe, he aims to kill from the first strike. He is known to use lethal force against his enemies when defending the innocent, particularly young children.

In addition to superhuman levels of endurance, Masque can also see in total darkness and sense supernatural evil at a glance. His danger sense can be used to either avoid imminent harm or to 'home in' on particularly malevolent beings. This sense is so finely honed that he can track supernatural entities at a distance and follow their 'trails' like a bloodhound.

Crossover storyline
A demonic force has overwhelmed the ghettos of Radcliff, inspiring madness and slaughtering everything that crosses its path. Largely indifferent to the growing violence, the authorities have simply abandoned the Westside to its fate, unaware that the floodgates of hell itself are about to burst open. The only thing standing between the city and a horror beyond description is Masque the Midnight Stalker - and even he may not survive a confrontation with The Book Master and his faceless minions.

The Purge
Following the destruction of Gallows Hill, Masque is the first super-human to confront Nergal in single combat. While physically out matched, his raw courage and iron resolve allows him to withstand the Arch-Demon's vicious attacks for several crucial minutes. Eventually, Nergal "tires of the game," literally beating Masque to death and leaving his body for "the rats to gnaw on." This contemptuous act proves to be a mistake: The Inquisitor quickly possesses the Masque's broken corpse, healing is wounds and restoring it to full power.

Team Affiliations
While generally mistrusted by the superhero community as a whole, The Masque is a card-carrying member of The Chamberlain Knights, having earned the trust of Major Triumph, Power Patriette and The Moon Maiden.