History Main / IrislessEyeMaskOfMystery

* Franchise/{{Mortal Kombat}}: Scorpion is a unique example. When he removes his mask, it isn't simply obscuring his irises when he wears it, but that it gives him the appearance of having any sort of eyes as well as some amount of skin on his face when his head is but a fiery skull.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Tuxedo Mask wears a mask that whites out his eyes in the anime adaptations. In the original manga, the artist averted this design by giving him fully visible eyes.

* Franchise/{{MortalKombat}}: Scorpion is a unique example. When he removes his mask, it isn't simply obscuring his irises when he wears it, but that it gives him the appearance of having any sort of eyes as well as some amount of skin on his face when his head is but a fiery skull.

** {{Watchmen}}: All the masked characters play this trope straight with the exception of Rorschach, whose mask completely obscures his face, and Ozymandias, who (perhaps unintentionally) borders on ExpressiveMask (complete with the mask wrinkling when he frowns- in the original comic, at least. He's pointedly this trope in BeforeWatchmen).

-->'''Flash''': "Those white {{Batman}} eyes were never really me anyway."
-->--''{{Flash}} #133''

* The ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles were designed this way in the original comics. The only other media to retain this look from the comics was the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 cartoon]] (although the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012 show]] uses them whenever [[LetsGetDangerous things get serious]]).

* [[MaskedWrestler Tizoc]] (AKA Griffon Mask) from the SNK produced games Garou: Mark of the Wolves and TheKingOfFighters series always wears a mask that gives him this look.

* Some Marvel examples:

* In ''[[http://flyingsparkscomic.com/comic/ Flying Sparks]]'', Chloë Anderson's mask has this effect when she is Meta-Girl.

* WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey averts this. In the cartoon, the eye holes follow his eye movements (furrowed brow, etc.) but in the Charlton comics, the eye holes stay inert regardless of Phooey's eye movements.

* In all its forms, the mask of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' archenemy SelfDemonstrating/DoctorDoom constantly averts this trope. Doom's mask has a heads-up display both within the lenses and surrounding them. Not only are Doom's irises visible whenever Doom is roughly facing the viewer, but also some of the damaged tissue around his eyes, an allusion to the horrific accident with metaphysics that left Doom's face badly disfigured.

** {{Watchmen}}: All the masked characters play this trope straight with the exception of Rorschach whose mask completely obscures his face.

* ComicBook/TheFlash is an extremely rare subversion -- his eyes have always been drawn normally under that mask, and this has been consistent between the various {{Legacy Character}}s who have taken up the Flash mantle, as well as Wally West's kid sidekicks Jai and Iris.

** It is believed that creator Lee Falk designed the Phantom's mask with a sheer fabric to let him see out without letting baddies see his eyes. This is part of the Phantom's confrontation strategy: he often will smile genially at the villains just before he beats the stuffing out of them. Hiding his eyes is done to preserve the miscue, which would be otherwise thwarted by his passion-for-justice gaze.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o_TheBatman_Pic.jpg]]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o_TheBatman_Pic.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: [[CoolMask Cool Masks]] that have been making irises disappear since 1936.]]

* The ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles were designed this way in the original comics. The only other media to retain this look from the comics was the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 cartoon]].

* In ''[[http://www.flyingsparkscomic.com/ Flying Sparks]]'', Chloë Anderson's mask has this effect when she is Meta-Girl.

* In all its forms, the mask of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' archenemy SelfDemonstratingDoctorDoom constantly averts this trope. Doom's mask has a heads-up display both within the lenses and surrounding them. Not only are Doom's irises visible whenever Doom is roughly facing the viewer, but also some of the damaged tissue around his eyes, an allusion to the horrific accident with metaphysics that left Doom's face badly disfigured.

Thanks to the magic of [[LazyArtist creators cutting corners to save time and money]], a character's irises suddenly disappear when they put on a mask. In {{Comics}} and WesternAnimation, this is all but omnipresent, and has been since around 1950.

Note: Characters who have this incorporated into the design of their masks when it is off (e.g. Spiderman and the [[StarWars Clone Troopers]]) or already have MonochromaticEyes do not count for this trope.

* DarkerThanBlack: Hei as the [[RedBaron Black Reaper]] is of the completely black variety. It seemingly has no eyeholes and just have eyes and mouth seemingly painted on it, making it perfect for concealing his SecretIdentity and adding to his "Black Grim Reaper" persona's mystery.
* {{Gundam}}: Many a CharClone throughout the Gundam franchise wear masks that have this property, with one [[GGundam exception]].
* HauntedJunction: Red Mantle, being an expy of Tuxedo Mask, has a mask that has this effect.
* SailorMoon: Tuxedo Mask wears a mask that whites out his eyes in the anime adaptations. In the original Manga, this design was averted by giving him fully visible eyes.
* TigerAndBunny: Being an AffectionateParody of Superheroes, inevitably a few characters (those being Fire Emblem, Origami Cyclone and Mr. Legend) have this as part of the design of their Superhero alter egos.

* The most notable individual to have this trope as part of their design is Batman (to the point that he, along with Robin and Batgirl, provide the image for this article). By extension, he has this feature in all other adaptations as well with the exception of Live-Action ones.
** For most Batfamily members this is explained by the fact that the cowls contain special lenses for GogglesDoSomethingUnusual purposes.
** Batman has always been depicted like this, but a few artists (such as George Perez) have drawn Robin and/or Nightwing with proper eyes under his mask.
* Other DC Comics examples who are usually designed this way are Atom Smasher, Aztek, Crimson Avenger, DoctorFate, {{Firestorm}}, GreenArrow and Arsenal/Speedy (Roy Herron), GreenLantern (Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner specifically, but John Stewart averts this by default of not wearing a mask), Grifter, Hawk and Dove, Hawkman, Orion, Steel, Wildcat, and various other Bat family characters (with CatWoman being a notable exception).

* Averted and occasionally lampshaded by TheSpirit, who has big blue expressive irises to show.
* TheFlash is an extremely rare subversion -- his eyes have always been drawn normally under that mask, and this has been consistent between the various {{Legacy Character}}s who have taken up the Flash mantle, as well as Wally West's kid sidekicks Jai and Iris.
* Some Marvel examples include:
** CaptainAmerica averts this though Bucky Barnes zigzags this by being depicted with irisless eyes and normal eyes at other times.
** {{DareDevil}}: Though possibly justified as the character is blind.
** {{Deadpool}}: [[BreakingTheFourthWall Cause I wouldn't look as BADASS otherwise]].
** The Original MsMarvel
** {{Wolverine}}: Plays this trope straight when in costume.
* In all its forms, the mask of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' archenemy DoctorDoom constantly averts this trope. Doom's mask has a heads-up display both within the lenses and surrounding them. Not only are Doom's irises visible whenever Doom is roughly facing the viewer, but also some of the damaged tissue around his eyes, an allusion to the horrific accident with metaphysics that left Doom's face badly disfigured.
* ThePhantom, who is the TropeMaker [[OlderThanTheyThink preceding Batman by three years]].
** It is believed that Creator Lee Falk designed the Phantom's mask with a sheer fabric to let him see out without letting baddies see his eyes. This is part of the Phantom's confrontation strategy: he often will smile genially at the villains just before he beats the stuffing out of them. Hiding his eyes is done to preserve the miscue, which would be otherwise thwarted by his passion-for-justice gaze.
* The TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles were designed this way in the original comics. The only other media to retain this look from the comics was the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 cartoon]].
** The TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles originally had Irisless eyemasks to simulate GlowingEyesOfDoom, without actually making their eyes glow. When they gave the turtles visible irises? They looked cute instead regardless of how menacing they make their face look.

* TheDarkKnightSaga: These films usually avert this trope, but on one occasion in the Dark Knight he acquires this look via a [[TechnoBabble Sonic imager]] in his mask.

* ''WebComic/MagickChicks'': Tiffany's mask typically has the effect of whiting out her irises whenever she wears it, as [[PaperThinDisguise her MMAA disguise]] (which makes her look similar to ''WebComic/{{Spinnerette}}'') The mask itself is [[ExpressiveMask still expressive]], which is [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/omigawd best seen here]], though there was [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/a_superhero one occasion]] where her irises were visible while wearing it.

* AvatarTheLastAirbender: Zuko's alter ego of the Blue Spirit is of the completely black variety. His mask presumably has black glass covering it's eyeholes, since they appear black even when fully illuminated. this of course helps hide his SecretIdentity, since major characters tend to be very good at seeing through disguises in this verse.
** In the sequel series, TheLegendOfKorra, [[BigBad Amon]] averts this by having barely noticeable pupils that are hidden within the shadow of his mask.
* DarkwingDuck: the eponymous character's design generally averts this. However in one episode in which he became a KnightTemplar NinetiesAntiHero in a BadFuture after [[MoralityChain Gosalyn]] disappeared, he was given a design with a mask to fit his DarkerAndEdgier outlook and appearance.
* DuckTales: Scrooge McDuck during a brief stint as costumed vigilante in one episode donned a mask that had this effect.
* {{Gargoyles}}: All of the Hunters of the present time of Gargoyles wore masks that have this effect. The Hunters of the past however were shown to avert this.
* JusticeLeague: Some characters who don't have this design in the comics, most notably TheFlash (who is an aversion in the comics with visible and detailed eyes) in the original series and Unimited, have this design.
* ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'': When first unveiled to the public, the six Loonatics had irisless eyes while in uniform, as an indicator that these LooneyTunes-derived characters were being recast as DarkerAndEdgier superheroes, and when fighting villains, they would no longer play nice. However fan backlash compelled Warner Brothers to modify the Loonatics styling to include irises, except when using their MagicMeteor superpowers.
* SpaceGhost: Though the character was never shown unmasked on-screen, artwork by Alex Toth [[http://blog.brendanmckillip.com/2007/01/space-ghost-unmasked.html shows what he looked like without his cowl]].
* The eponymous character of {{Stripperella}}.

* SailorMoon: Tuxedo Mask has this in the anime adaptations.