Face (New Earth)



Real Name: Unknown Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: Lian Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases

Status
Occupation: Assassin, Professional Criminal Legal Status: The Face is a citizen of the United States with an extensive criminal record. Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation Base of Operations: New York City

Origin
Place of Birth: Unknown Place of Death: Unknown Known Relatives: None First Appearance: Adventure Comics 44 (November 1939, later retconned and rendered apocryphal), Sandman Mystery Theatre 8 (August 1993, first appearace in current continuity) Final Appearance: Sandman Mystery Theatre 52 (July 1997, last chronological appearance),Starman Vol 2 23 (July 1996, last in-continuity appearance)

History
The Face is one of the earliest supervillains in the DC Universe both in terms of chronology and continuity. Born in the early to mid-1910s, The Face is a brilliant and mysterious master of disguise, capable of drastically altering his physical appearance through the use of conventional methods such as masks and prosthetics. In addition, he is also capable of precisely mimicing the voices and mannerisms of others. Finally, the Face is also an expert assassin, whose M.O. is, appropriately enough, decapitation. The Face's true appearance, including his face, remains a mystery; one can only speculate what he looks like underneath his disguises and masks. The Face is the Sandman's only recurring foe, although it is almost always by chance that the two come into conflict with each other. Further complicating their encounters was that, due to the Face's duplicitous disguises, the Sandman rarely who he was fighting until near the end of their battles. In early 1938 the Face was hired to murder individuals from two rival families in Chinatown, New York City with the goal of inciting war among the families. The plot was thwarted by the Sandman, who defeated the Face and apprehended his employer, Eldridge Benson. Benson wanted the two families to destroy each other so that no one would know that he had Asian heritage, a major taboo in World War II-era America. The Face was thought to have drowned during his battle with the Sandman, but in fact he survived and was hired a few months later to assassinate the wife of a wealthy businessman. Once again, the Sandman defeated him with the help of Rex Tyler, the Golden Age Hourman. However, the Face returned yet again, and was hired by a publishing company to send their rivals out of business. The Sandman eventually succeded in stopping the Face and his employers, but not before the villain critically injured Dian Belmont in an explosion and nearly murdered her while she was in the hospital. The Face once again managed to escape, vowing that they would meet again and that next time he would be prepared. Almost 60 years after their first encounter, Wesley Dodds would once again encounter the Face for a final time. The Face was hired by an investor of Warren Gayle who wanted the billionaire's new airship to crash so he could collect on insurance. Disguised as Gayle, the Face rigged "his" blimp with explosives and attempted to crash it into Opal City. Additionally, The Face now had a prodigal apprentice named Nobody, who disguised himself as the pilot. Jack Knight and an elderly Wesley Dodds worked together to expose the crime. While the Face managed to escape, Starman was able to confront, defeat, and unmask Nobody, whose face was revealed to be hideously scarred and deformed. Like many serial killers, the Face is utterly psychopathic (much more so than most of the other depraved characters in the DC Universe). He also appears to suffer from bipolarity, and may harbor multiple personalities. It is unknown whether the Face is still alive. If he is alive, he must be very elderly to the point where it would greatly inhibit his abilities.

Characteristics
Height: Unknown Weight: Unknown Eyes: Unknown Hair: Unknown Unusual Features: Unknown

Powers
Known Powers: The Face does not possess any superhuman powers. Known Abilities: The Face is a master of disguise, mimicry and deception. He is also a skilled hitman with "a proven track record". Strength Level: The Face possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in moderate regular exercise.

Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: The Face originally used a surgical axe to decapitate his victims. In later encounters, he uses a variety of switchblades and knives as his main weapons instead, which he wields with considerably more proficiency.

Trivia

 * None

Recommended Readings

 * Sandman Mystery Theatre
 * Starman Vol 2

Related Articles

 * Dian Belmont
 * Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
 * Tarantula