The Face is a fictional character, a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

that appeared in 1940s comics during what historians and fans call the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

. He was created by artist Mart Bailey and an unknown writer. The Face is radio announcer Tony Trent, who decides to fight crime after having witnessed a murder committed by gangsters disguised as cops. Having no innate superpowers, he instead uses a grotesque green mask to scare criminals, not unlike

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

. With issue #63, he no longer wears the mask and fights crime as himself.

Publication history

The Face first appeared in the

Columbia Comics Columbia Comics Corporation was a comic book publisher active in the 1940s whose best-known title was '' Big Shot Comics''. Comics creators who worked for Columbia included Fred Guardineer, on ''Marvelo, the Monarch of Magicians''; and Ogden Whi ...

omnibus title ''

Big Shot Comics ''Big Shot Comics'' was an American comic book series published by Columbia Comics during the period in the 1940s that fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of comic books. An anthology title, the series included a mix of superheroes, c ...

'' #1 (May 1940) and continued until issue #62 (January 1946). By 1947, the shock value had worn off. From issue #63 the feature continued as "Tony Trent" until ''Big Shot'' #104, the final issue of the series. Apart from appearing in ''Big Shot'', The Face also had two issues of his own title (1941–1942), as well as two as ''Tony Trent'' (1948). Originally created by Mart Bailey, the character wore a frightening green mask, with flaming red hair, a vampire's white fangs and ghoulish yellow eyes. Underneath the mask was a deep blue tuxedo, which gave him more class. His

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

was Tony Trent. Tony's outgoing personality made him perfect for his job at a broadcasting station. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "The Face fights ordinary criminals, gold-makers, the Hook, and even the Japanese when the Face frees the Flying Tigers from a Japanese ship". In the 1980s, new stories were published by Ron Frantz' Ace Comics. Three issues of ''What Is... The Face?'' were published. After the Face passed into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, a character heavily based on him, called Mr. Face, was introduced for the 2008 limited series ''

Project Superpowers ''Project Superpowers'' is a comic book limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning January 2008. It was co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, with scripts by Jim Krueger, covers by Alex Ross, and interior art by Doug Klauba ...

'', published by

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...

''Project Superpowers''

At some point after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, The

Fighting Yank The Fighting Yank is the name of several superheroes, first appearing in ''Startling Comics'' #10 (Sept 1941). Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enter World War II; during this period, comic book pu ...

persuades Trent to don his mask just one more time, immediately after which the Yank traps him in the mystical Urn of Pandora, as part of a misguided quest to end all evil on Earth. Decades later, the Urn is broken and all the prisoners are freed, although some of them are now changed. The Face discovers that anyone who looks at his masked face now experiences hallucinations of whatever they fear most.

Powers and abilities

The Face has no superpowers, usually relying on his masked appearance to scare his opponents. Later he developed an expertise in unarmed combat, and was an excellent marksman with a mastery with most weapons as well as being an expert swordsman. Mr. Face has the ability to make his opponents experience their worst fears while looking at his masked face.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Face, The American comics titles Comics characters introduced in 1940 Dynamite Entertainment characters Fictional swordfighters in comics Golden Age superheroes Vigilante characters in comics Public domain comics