Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of Roman Sionis AKA Black Mask in Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the best villain performance in the DC Extended Universe thus far. Although Birds of Prey isn’t setting positive box office records, it has at the very least broken the creative mold of its DCEU predecessors. One of the prime examples of this is through the inclusion of the evil Black Mask, who is without a doubt the most solid bad guy this DC universe has seen up to this point.

Roman Sionis’ alter ego has seen many different incarnations since his arrival to the pages of DC comics in 1985. Most often he has been characterized as a crime boss, and one of the most powerful in all of Gotham City at that. He’s often estranged from his family in some capacity or another which drives his desire to become rich and powerful as a way to get back at them. The version of Black Mask in Birds of Prey takes takes some core elements from the comics and weaves them into something very unique.

The direction that has been taken with the Sionis character was one of the standout parts of Birds of Prey and even the DCEU as a whole. Some creative liberties were taken in order for him to better fit the narrative, and this may not be for everyone. At the very least though his performance was incredible, so much so that he immediately finds himself in the running as one of the best villains in the continuity, unlike anything seen before.

The DCEU Has Struggled With Its Villains

Up to this point, the DCEU has had something of a villain issue, both in terms of personality and visuals. Though Shazam! and Aquaman worked to an extent to turn this trend around with Dr. Sivana and Ocean Master respectively, these efforts didn’t fully solve the problem. They both had their merits for sure, but were just on the cusp of being interesting, rather than being wholly memorable bad guys. The same goes for Ares in Wonder Woman, who was a big reason for the movie’s weaker final act.

Other DCEU entries such as Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League were even more severely lacking in the villain category. Theirs were all one dimensional and lacked any kind of unique aesthetic (at least in a good way). Doomsday was bland, Enchantress and Incubus were underdeveloped, and Steppenwolf was not at all a proper foe for the Justice League. Even Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor was baffling in terms of portrayal and appearance. They wound up doing more bad than good in the films they featured in.

Why McGregor’s Black Mask Is The DCEU’s Best Villain

Thankfully, Birds of Prey’s central villain has changed the game in regards to bad guys in the DCEU. First and foremost, Black Mask is interesting in regards to his personality and backstory. He has been established as a narcissist who can’t take criticism. He claims to despise his family and yet everything he does is to prove to them that he is a strong-armed businessman. He is insecure on the inside, yet feigns confidence on the outside. He has layers, which most of his counterparts in the DCEU do not.

As an accessory to his personality, Black Mask is a visually interesting person despite the fact that he is not a superpowered being. His flamboyant outfits, from the patterned dress shirts to the “R.S.” initialed gloves are a perfect reflection of his insatiable need to be the center of attention. Also his fixation upon masks and collecting them is further indicative of the man he is on the inside. Masks hide whatever is beneath them, which is a fitting allegory for what Sionis is doing with his lack of self-esteem at any given time.

He is complex and draws the viewer in, stealing the spotlight more often than not. His pairing with Victor Zsasz only aids in making him a more intriguing presence in the film. Ewan McGregor pulls off every trait that makes up Roman Sionis and the person he is beneath his Black Mask persona. Black Mask, unlike the Joker and many other DCEU villains before him, adds to the film and the heroes of it as opposed to detracting from them.

What Future DCEU Movies Can Learn From Black Mask

There is a lot that future DCEU movies can take note of in regards to how they set up their villains. It takes more than a scary face and some vaguely threatening superpowers to make a good bad guy. Sometimes all it takes is a personality that gets under the viewers skin and more than one angle from which the character can be understood. There are some great DC villains at WB’s disposal, and their gray CGI monstrosities of years past are not cutting it. Believe it or not it might be in the best interest of future DC films to rethink their strategy.

Black Mask worked because Bird of Prey brought him to a surface level. He wasn’t big or imposing, but he felt real, even if he was of course a comic book villain. He had charisma that made him feel like an individual with a functioning brain. He was cunning and arrogant yet clearly broken on the inside, which drove his actions. Simply put, Sionis was well rounded, which made him such a strong antagonist. Ewan McGregor pulled off his pompous attitude impressively, which made his portrayal all the more believable.

Though he met his demise at the hands of Cassandra Cain at the end of Birds of Prey, this version of Black Mask will be fondly remembered as a breath of fresh air in the franchise. McGregor has rewritten the code for what it means to be a villain in DC movies, bringing a level of corrupt humanity that left the viewer wanting more. For as demented as he was, he was a force to be reckoned with on screen. If Warner Bros. were smart they would see this and begin to treat their antagonists with more depth and development like what was seen in Birds of Prey. As it stands, it is difficult to dispute how good Ewan McGregor’s take on Black Mask was at being bad.

Next: Every Major Birds of Prey Character NOT From DC Comics

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