Laughing Mask

Laughing Mask, born Dennis Burton and also known as Purple Mask, is a hero, assistant district attorney, and amateur scientist in New York City. Born into a large law-enforcement family, Burton developed a distaste for the politics surrounding the justice system, and decided to take matters into his own hands as a vigilante. He is known for his especially brutal and direct methods, not hesitating to kill criminals at a moment's notice, as well as the eerie visage of his signature mask.

Biography

Laughing Mask's first known case came in early 1940. After five train wrecks in a short span of time, Burton investigated and discovered that the most recent train's wheel had been sprayed with corrosive acid, suggesting foul play. Spying on the goings-on at the local railroad yard, Burton caught wind of a pair of suspicious men and trailed them back to their hideout. There, crime boss Lester Deeks discussed with his men their scheme to sabotage trains; this would cause the Public Service Commission to revoke the train company's license, allowing Deeks to buy them for cheap.

Burton was spotted by one of Deeks' thugs, and they captured him and tied him up in the attic. But Burton was able to escape, removing his outer clothes and donning his eponymous mask. Climbing back down to the ground floor, Laughing Mask used a pair of guns to mercilessly dispose of the gang, including Deeks himself. Several other thugs had gone off to their next target; a two-pronged attack on a train and a bridge; but Laughing Mask caught up to and stopped them as well. He killed several of them, sparing one on the condition of confession and dropping his unconscious body at the police station.

For unknown reasons, Burton also sometimes disguised himself as the Purple Mask. While meeting with police commissioner Herrick, Burton met Frederick Swabert, who was receiving extortionary death threats. The unknown criminals demanded to know the location of Swabert's father's hidden fortune, which was supposedly somewhere in his home, but Swabert had no knowledge of its whereabouts. Burton, donning the Purple Mask, identified the criminals as Renard Harr and Maurice Bellos, along with various lackeys including Blakie. The criminals infiltrated Swabert's home and found the fortune in a hidden room surrounded by a pool of acid. Purple Mask was able to thwart them however, killing Bellos and convincing Harr to confess.

While driving around the city, Burton witnessed a bank robbery. Chasing the culprits to the outskirts of the city, Burton again assumed his Purple Mask identity. He attempted to apprehend the criminals, but was quickly overpowered by their numbers, allowing them to escape. Returning to his office, Burton met with Will Whalen, president of the recently robbed bank. Through a series of espionage tactics, Burton discovered that Whalen had staged the robbery himself. Trailing Whalen to his hotel, Burton confronted him and his men as Purple Mask, successfully apprehending them and convincing them to confess their crimes.