Overview
In all versions the story initially revolves around a magical mask which gives anyone who places it over their face nearly limitless power and an altered appearance, characterized by a large set of teeth and green head. The mask affects the personality of the wearer by removing all personal social inhibitions. The book was conceived as a combination of comic characters The Joker and Steve Ditko's Creeper[1], as well as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the original comic stories characters who wore the Mask would become dangerous antiheroes with ultraviolent tendencies, even if this was not the original intention of those using its power. When adapted into a film, the violence was toned down to make The Mask only as dangerous as the wearer. Once the film was spun off into an animated television show, the character was depicted more as a mischievous superhero.
The title of the comic book originally referred to the mask itself and not the character it unleashed. In early stories, the character was referred to as Big Head; it was not until the films and television series that the character became known as The Mask.