Black Mask vanishes at the beginning of Batman: Arkham City, but the comics and DLCs prove he is more involved in prison than it seems.
Black Mask disappears almost as soon as he shows up in the beginning of Batman: Arkham City, when he is seen fighting off TYGER guards in front of the prison's entrance. Roman Sionis (Black Mask's real name) is a bit of a running joke in the Batman: Arkham series because his villainous plans fall apart the instant the Caped Crusader decides to stop them. The crime lord's schemes in Arkham City are no exception to this. In fact, Batman is the very reason why Black Mask finds himself in Arkham City in the first place, as his attempt to regain his meatpacking facility from the Joker was foiled by the detective directly prior to the beginning of Arkham City. But when he briefly shows up in the beginning of the game and is never seen again, this leaves both Batman and players wondering if he went into hiding out of embarrassment or, worse, somehow escaped.
If the Black Mask managed to break out of treacherous prison during Arkham City, it would not be his first time. In the Batman: Arkham series timeline, Black Mask escaped from Dr. Hugo Strange's prison prior to the start of the game, making him the first and only inmate ever to do so. In the "Eviction Notice" segment of the Batman: Arkham Unhinged comics, it's revealed that Sionis used explosives to break out of the prison but was then cornered on a train by Batman, Robin, and Nightwing. This resulted in him being returned to Arkham City's processing center, where players find him fighting TYGER guards at the beginning of the game.
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Even though Black Mask has proven he can escape from Hugo Strange's death trap of a prison, Black Mask does not actually break out between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City or during the events of Arkham City's story. This is confirmed by NPC dialog in which prisoners discuss joining Black Mask's gang because the crime lord pays his goons well. Thus, the reason why Black Mask disappears in Arkham City is actually to build up his own gang in the more secretive parts of the city. However, clues in Arkham City's DLCs and comics show that the laughingstock of Batman's villains may not have been working alone and was not so hidden from the Caped Crusader after all.
While building his gang in Arkham City, Black Mask had the help of Penguin. Penguin and Black Mask share the goal of defeating the Joker, as they hope to take his spot as the biggest, best villains of the Batman: Arkham series. It was this mutual mission that inspired Penguin to give Black Mask the explosives he used to escape from Arkham City in the Arkham Unhinged comics to get revenge on both the Joker and TYGER. Although Black Mask failed in this endeavor, both him and Penguin would later reunite in the "Clown Court" segment of Arkham Unhinged - which takes place during the game - to testify against the Joker for stealing property from them. Even in Arkham City's retelling of the aforementioned "Eviction Notice" segment in the Black Mask Campaign DLC, henchmen can be seen guarding Black Mask's meatpacking facility, showing how Black Mask and Penguin defend each other's property in Arkham City.
At the end of the "Eviction Notice" segment in Arkham Unhinged, Black Mask wonders aloud why he would ever leave Arkham City since Bruce Wayne was being held there. He ultimately fails to take advantage of this situation, keeping him sidelined throughout Batman: Arkham City. While it would have been nice to see the Black Mask in action more, Rocksteady's treatment of him ultimately makes sense, as he will forever be the series' most incompetent villain.
Fletcher Varnson is a writer for Screen Rant, where he covers video games. He also writes for the Georgia Voice, where he covers LGBTQ+ literature, cinema, and news, has contributed poetry to the film journal Day For Night, and has written the podcast for the Five Points Literary Journal. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia with 5 brothers and sisters, Fletcher developed a passion for books, movies, and games and their ability to connect people with disparate dispositions from disparate backgrounds. He has a special affinity for the Super Smash Brothers series; despite this, his Yoshi is still quite terrible.