Line #38 Main/IrislessEyeMaskOfMystery


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1411852639053200100
2	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3	%%
4	[[quoteright:168:[[ComicBook/{{Robin}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robin_hood_1171.png]]]]
5
6	-> ''"Awright, awright... Just point those creepy blank eyeballs somewhere else, okay?"''
7	-->-- '''Access''', ''ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC''
8
9	Thanks to the magic of [[LazyArtist creators cutting corners to save time and money]], a character's irises suddenly disappear when he puts on a mask. In {{Comics}} and WesternAnimation, this is all but omnipresent, and has been since around 1950.
10
11	Common reasons for this design include making characters appear mysterious and/or threatening. And then some simply do it for RuleOfCool.
12
13	Also compare with ExpressiveMask.
14
15	Note: Characters who have this incorporated into the design of their masks when it is off (e.g., ComicBook/SpiderMan and the [[Franchise/StarWars Clone Troopers]]) or already have MonochromaticEyes do not count for this trope.
16
17	----
18	!!Examples:
19
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
23	* Suiren from ''Anime/BattleSpiritsShonenToppaBashin'' wears this kind of mask.
24	* ''Anime/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.
25	%%* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'': A standard but not guaranteed property of the assorted Char's expies masks.
26	* ''Anime/HauntedJunction'': Red Mantle, being an expy of Tuxedo Mask, has a mask that has this effect.
27	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Tenya Iida projects this when he wears his Ingenium helmet. Averted occasionally, especially in close-ups.
28	** Subverted by Tenya's brother Tensei, whose helmet renders his eyes invisible behind its visor.
29	** Gran Torino's black domino mask does this in his 'senile old man' persona, but his iris appears when he gets serious, especially during Izuku's internship with him. Apparently, his mask was always irisless in his younger years as shown in some flashbacks.
30	** Other characters known to have this include: the hero Tiger of Wild, Wild Pussycats; the villain Twice; and the [[Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes vigilante]] Knuckleduster.
31	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Tuxedo Mask wears a mask that whites out his eyes in the anime adaptation. In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] (and by extension ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'', the artist {{averted\|Trope}} this by giving him fully visible eyes.
32	** Zigzagged with Sailor V: in (InUniverse) promotional images of her and the very first time the other senshi meet her, she plays this straight, yet the ADayInTheSpotlight episode focusing on Minako's past as Sailor V has her with visible eyes (as does a video game version of her). Again, ''Crystal'' and the predecessor manga ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' averts this altogether.
33	* In ''Anime/StarDriver'', all members of Kiraboshi wear this kind of masks.
34	* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'': As this is 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.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* The most notable hero to have this trope as part of their design is Franchise/{{Batman}}. He has this feature in all other adaptations as well, with the exception of live-action ones (since it'd be really hard for the actors to see otherwise) and recent video games.
39	** For most Batfamily members, this is explained by the fact that the cowls contain special lenses for GogglesDoSomethingUnusual purposes. This is a generally accepted fan theory, however, in close-ups we can see that there isn't anything in Batman's eyeholes. Either its artistic expression or it's just the way criminals see him because he's so damn scary. In the ''Franchise/{{Batman Arkham\|Series}}'' videogames is shown this is how his eyes look when he's using detective vision, suggesting it's a feature that can be turned on and off.
40	** Explicitly noted by Access during the ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC crossover (see the page quote), in contrast to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, also in the scene, who has much wider eye holes on his mask and fully visible irises.
41	** Batman has always been depicted like this (except when portrayed by Alex Ross, who averts this trope[[note]]Unless when he paints over the pencils of an artist who is fond of this trope. In such cases, Ross tends to respect the penciler's artistic choice[[/note]]), but a few artists (such as George Perez) have drawn Robin and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} with proper eyes under their masks.
42	** Usually (but not always) averted in ''ComicBook/Batman66'', as fitting the way Creator/AdamWest and Creator/BurtWard looked in costume.
43	** Usually (but not always) averted in historical {{Elseworlds}}, which adds credence to the theory there's some kind of lens in there that a 19th century Batman wouldn't have.
44	** Female characters, such as Batgirl and Harley Quinn, have wider eye holes on their cowls and their irises are full visible.
45	* Other DC Comics examples who are usually designed this way are Atom Smasher, Aztek, Crimson Avenger, ComicBook/DoctorFate, ComicBook/{{Firestorm\|DCComics}}, ComicBook/GreenArrow and Arsenal/Speedy (Roy Harper), ComicBook/GreenLantern (with a couple exceptions such as John Stewart and Kilowog, who don't wear masks), Grifter, Hawk and Dove, Hawkman, Orion, Steel, Wildcat, and various other Batfamily characters (Catwoman being a notable exception).
46	* ''Comicbook/{{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 ''ComicBook/BeforeWatchmen'').
47	* Averted and occasionally lampshaded by ComicBook/TheSpirit, who has big blue expressive irises to show.
48	* 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. However, Wally had iris-less masked eyes during the period between issues 50 and 130 and would return to this for a while in 2010, just a year before ComicBook/TheNew52. This trope was averted for awhile with Wallys return in ComicBook/DCRebirth, but is now played straight again with his suits from ''ComicBook/TheFlashInfiniteFrontier'' onwards.
49	* Some Marvel superhero examples:
50	** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica averts this, though Bucky Barnes zigzags this by being depicted with irisless eyes and normal eyes at other times.
51	** ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}: Though possibly justified as the character is blind.
52	*** It's often implied that the eye holes in Daredevil's mask are opaque, due to the fact that DependingOnTheArtist (Joe Quesada, for example), Matt Murdock's eyes are plainly non-functional.
53	** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} is an interesting case. During his earlier appearances, when unmasked, [[{{AvertedTrope}} his eyes were really]] [[{{MonochromaticEyes}} blank-white]] (seemingly also result of Weapon X treatment along with bad skin condition). Since character's popularity skyrocketed, though, he's been usually drawn as much less hideous and having normal human eyes underneath the mask.
54	** The original ComicBook/MsMarvel, though it was also zigzagged: in some stories, it did appear like this; in others, Carol's eyes were fully seen (in such cases, the mask didn't completely cover the area around her eyes). Averted with [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala]].
55	** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}: Plays this trope straight when in costume, though his first appearance subverted this trope, with some panels depicting with and without iris-less masked eyes.
56	** ComicBook/IronMan's older armors are aversions of the trope because the helmets didn't have computerized lenses. This is mostly seen in flashbacks in more recent issues, however.
57	* In all its forms, the mask of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' archenemy Doctor Doom 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 his brash action with that same metal mask that left Doom's face badly disfigured.
58	* The Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles were designed this way in [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage the original comics]]. The only other media to retain this look from the comics was the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 cartoon]] (though the last season gave them irises, and the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012 show]] uses them whenever [[LetsGetDangerous things get serious]]). The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 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 faces look. In the 2012 show, this is justified as their nictitating membrane, a quality independent of their masks also present in Leatherhead when he goes into an UnstoppableRage.
59	* ComicBook/{{Empowered}} has Empy herself and a few other heroes.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
63	* ComicStrip/ThePhantom, who is the TropeMaker, [[OlderThanTheyThink preceding Batman by three years]]. Lee Falk explained his choice with that it reminded him of the statues from Ancient Greece, and it made The Phantom more godlike. This would later turn into the Phantom Curse, that tells that anyone who sees the Phantoms Eyes will die a horrible death (and this meaning that to this Day there is always a convenient shadow covering the Phantoms Face whenever he shows his unmasked face to the reader.
64	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Calvin's two fantasy alter egos, Spaceman Spiff (a ComicStrip/FlashGordon parody) and Stupendous Man (a superhero parody) both have masks with blank irises.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
68	* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'': These films usually avert this trope, but on one occasion in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', he acquires this look via a [[TechnoBabble Sonic imager]] in his mask.
69	* Averted with Batman's main suit in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', but played straight with his armored suit.
70	* Averted with the first battle suit constructed by Tony Stark in ''Film/IronMan1'', which had open eyeholes in the helmet. Subsequent constructions of the Iron Man armor have this trope in play, as Stark prefers a heads-up tactical display to peeking out eyeholes. As a practical matter, eyeholes tend to funnel debris, shards and sharps toward the wearer's eyes, rather than deflect them like the rest of the headpiece. Preferable is a resilient, transparent material that blocks the eyeholes and shields the eyes; the blankness can be HandWaved as gloss from the shield's outer surface.
71	* Partly done in ''Film/GreenLantern2011'', where it's by design, as the mask's purpose is to hide Hal's identity ([[ClarkKenting however poorly]]). The eyes are still visible but are covered by a whitish glow. Additionally, the mask isn't real, being merely a Ring construct.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Video Games]]
75	* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': [[WickedCultured Relius Clover]] always wears an opera mask that makes him seem to have MonochromaticEyes.
76	* ''VideoGame/EverybodyEditsFlash'': While smileys usually have BlackBeadEyes, the [[BlatantBurglar Robber]] smiley's eyes instead appear as pure white, distinguishing them from the black DominoMask it's wearing.
77	* ''VideoGame/FZero'': Many of the playable characters don mask/helmets with these.
78	** [[Characters/FZero Captain Falcon]]: depending [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros on the]] [[Anime/FZeroGPLegend media]], hints about this trope have been zig-zagging around him for years. The trope is sometimes played straight as the visor has eyeholes, sometimes {{subverted\|Trope}} as the visor has no holes and the "eyes" are just a [[StylishProtectionGear stylized]] [[ExpressiveMask glow]].
79	* [[MaskedLuchador Tizoc]] (AKA Griffon Mask) from the SNK-produced games ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' and ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' series always wears a mask that gives him this look.
80	* While Franchise/{{Kirby}} already has MonochromaticEyes, there's a close relative of this trope in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': when using the Meta Knight sword, Kirby puts said warrior's mask on, which somehow leads to his eyes turning yellow. The mask clearly doesn't do the same for Meta Knight, however, as his eyes remain yellow when he is unmasked.
81	* ''Franchise/{{Mortal Kombat}}'': Scorpion is a unique example. His mask doesn't just blank out his eyes, it's responsible for making him look like he has a face at all; when he removes it, all that's left of his head is a skull. Which is [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]].
82	* VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe
83	* This is VideoGame/TheWonderful101's signature.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Web Comics]]
87	* In ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20190422093642/http://flyingsparkscomic.com/ Flying Sparks]]'', Chloë Anderson's mask has this effect when she is Meta-Girl.
88	** So does the mask worn by Meredith, the hooded black-haired woman who fought Meta-Girl.
89	* ''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 she wore it.
90	* Averted by some characters in ''Webcomic/MissMelee'' - MM herself has them, but Kid Melee’s eyes are drawn naturally behind bubble lenses in her mask, and Osakan Riot doesn’t wear a mask at all, preferring brightly-coloured face paint.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Western Animation]]
94	* The AmbiguouslyGay Duo from the animated ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' segments of the same name wear masks that white out their eyes.
95	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Zuko's alter ego of the Blue Spirit wears a mask of the completely black variety. His mask presumably has black glass covering its 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 universe.
96	** In the sequel series, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', [[BigBad Amon]] averts this by having barely noticeable pupils that are hidden within the shadow of his mask.
97	* ''WesternAnimation/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.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': Scrooge [=McDuck=], during a brief stint as the costumed vigilante in "The Masked Mallard", donned a mask that had this effect.
99	* ''WesternAnimation/{{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.
100	* 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.
101	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Some characters who don't have this design in the comics, most notably ComicBook/TheFlash (who is an aversion in the comics with visible and detailed eyes) in the original series and ''Unlimited'', have this design.
102	** However, this is likely just an artifact of it being Wally West under the mask (see under comic books above).
103	* ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'': When first unveiled to the public, the six Loonatics had irisless eyes while in uniform, as an indicator that these characters derived from WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes were being recast as DarkerAndEdgier superheroes, and when fighting villains, they would no longer play nice. However, fan backlash compelled Warner Bros. to modify the Loonatics' styling to include irises, except when using their MagicMeteor superpowers.
104	* WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost: Though the character was never shown unmasked on-screen, artwork by Alex Toth [[http://colsmi.tumblr.com/post/73094612609/alex-toths-designs-for-hanna-barbera-productions shows what he looked like without his cowl]].
105	** In the 2016 comic series Future Quest, this becomes averted when we see a young Space Ghost with glowing eyes before he had the cowl.
106	* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': While the character's irislessness is from GlowingEyesOfDoom via electrokinesis in the comics, but in the television adaptation this design is averted by giving the eponymous hero visible irises behind his mask. However, his older self as shown in Justice League Unlimited plays this trope straight by having white eyes without the GlowingEyesOfDoom.
107	* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Stripperella}}''.
108	* Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong have normal irises while working in Megakat City's scrapyard. However, when villains threaten Megakat City, they become the ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' Razor and T-Bone. They wear bandannas tied around the tops of their heads that make their eyes seem irisless, an understandable precaution to prevent Commander Feral or any of his Enforcers from recognizing them.
109	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', being a Batman animated series, naturally has this. A notable example, though, it's Batgirl, who is usually shown without this effect due to having larger eyeholes in her mask. The animesque style makes it easier, due to her normal face sporting large eyes.
110	[[/folder]]

Context Main / IrislessEyeMaskOfMystery