Origin
The character is one of literary origin and whose story has been told in comic book adaptations of the classic novel. The story of the Man in the Iron Mask is tied to that of the Three Musketeers. With a corrupt king on the throne, the Three Musketeers plan to install a secret other member of the royalty on the throne in his place, in this case the king’s secret twin brother that has been hidden away since birth. Having been previously sworn to the service of the king the musketeers saw their actions of imprisoning the twin and guarding him behind an iron mask as deplorable yet they were bound by their service.
Creation
The Man in the Iron Mask was created by Alexandre Dumas. In the early years of comics many different genres were often tried out in comics and one of these genres was to incorporate in illustrated versions of classic novels. The character first appearance was thus in Movie Comics #5 in 1939.
Character Evolution
As the character is based around a single novel, which is primarily the only time his story is told, there is in fact little character evolution. However, in fact the character does mature somewhat through his ordeal, starting as a scared prisoner and evolving into the benevolent King of France.
Major Story Arcs
After his rescue the character is trained by the Three Musketeers to act as a kind would. Due to unforeseen circumstances they are forced to go ahead with their plan despite not being fully prepared. Eventually the king is replaced and the Man in the Iron Mask takes his place to rule peacefully over the land.
Powers and Abilities
The Man in the iron Mask is a regular man, though he shows a natural leadership ability as well as the ability to quickly adapt himself to the training of the Three Musketeers.
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