History Main / MalevolentMaskedMen

* If the mask covers the top half of the face, it emphasizes the mouth, aka [[EvilTastesGood gluttony]]: Never a good sign. Unless of course, it's to show a LanternJawOfJustice instead. Or the character wearing the mask is a {{Char Clone}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainLaserhawkABloodDragonRemix'': The dystopian corporate state of Eden is ruled by the mysterious Board of Directors, whose members wear faceless masks emblazoned with the red cross of the Knights Templar. [[spoiler:The design of their masks foreshadows the eventual revelation that they are the show's incarnation of the villainous Templar Order from the ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' series.]].

* {{Blackface}}, despite its obvious racial overtones, has also served this trope in particular contexts. It certainly wasn't unique to minstrel shows: throughout the nineteenth century and even earlier, it turned up in various lower-class settings and phenomena, from street parades to gang violence. And, of course, it was an integral element of the Boston Tea Party of the Revolutionary era. Like other ghoulish makeups, it was in its day a countercultural statement, like sporting a PunkRock Mohawk or a spiked dog collar. Painting one's face symbolized madness and anarchy, whether in the service of a radical political cause or not; often enough, it was just meant to frighten people. In this sense, blackfaced hooligans did not see themselves as promoting white supremacy any more than [[Music/SexPistols Sid Vicious]] thought he was promoting Nazism by wearing a swastika T-shirt.

** [[spoiler:Zuko]]'s Blue Spirit mask.

** Their leader Amon wears a WhiteMaskOfDoom.

* Hawk Moth, BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', wears a metal mask that covers his entire face save his eyes and mouth.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' has Slade and Red-X.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' has Slade and Red-X.

* If it covers a symmetric side of the face (left or right) then it's fairly neutral... except for the part where it is likely hiding a [[GoodScarsEvilScars decidedly nasty scar.]] See ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' (well, its adaptations). The same thing can be done with PeekABangs.

* ''Anime/BlackBullet's'' [[StarterVillain Hiruko Kagetane]] fits this to a T. He wears a white mask that covers his face and has black wide lines to represent the eyes and mouth, and he is a {{Troll}} dedicated to causing chaos.

* ''Fanfic/{{Asylum}}'' has the "plague doctor", a sinister-looking creature that appears in the shadows and can only be seen by Twilight. Though whether or not he's real or just in Twilight's head, is hard to say and the creator has teased with the idea, that he may not be evil.

* Boris from ''Anime/{{Beyblade}}''.

!!This varies by mask:

!!A full face mask is perhaps the most ominous of the lot, varying by type:

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[[quoteright:188: [[Film/TheDarkKnight https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JokerAndMasks.jpg]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:188:Reason to fear [[MonsterClown clowns]] #287.]]-]

* '''Ski masks:''' If worn anywhere other than on the slopes in winter, often associated with [[BlatantBurglar criminals or terrorists]]. Masks that cover everything except the eyes are also associated with {{Ninja}}s and can be either good or evil.