Cancer Death Mask

Cancer Death Mask is one of the antagonists of the manga and anime  Saint Seiya . And ' one of the twelve Gold Saints and belongs to the constellation of Cancer. Unlike most of his peers, Death Mask is in effect evil, and decided to turn his back to Athena, to take the side of Gemini Saga after he killed the Pope Shion usurping the throne and tried to kill the human reincarnation of the goddess.

Characterization
Death Mask is mostly portrayed as a villain in the series de Saint Seiya: natured sadistic, arrogant, ruthless and bloodthirsty, since its first appearance claims to believe that justice is on the side of those in power, revealing that he spontaneously deployed on the side of Saga, and no scruples when it comes to eliminating an enemy, although during this battle are involved innocent people because "even during the wars will bombard the city and kill women and children," believing so that the end justifies the means always.

It also has the macabre habit of collecting the heads of his victims (whether they are enemies or innocent people involved in the battle) on the walls of his house like death masks, preventing their souls to reach the afterlife. And 'from this unhealthy habit (as he himself says, derives its name from the battle.

After dying in the battle to the Twelve Houses, Death Mask returns during the battle against Hades Specter as the god of the dead, along with his friend Pisces Aphrodite, and here it turns out to be back on the side of Athena, thanks to the intervention of Aries Shion. From here we can discover that Death Mask (as do Aphrodite) was not being completely evil, but with an enormous pride, and that he had felt humiliated by having found his defeat and his death at the hands of a Bronze Saint.

As reported in the encyclopedias on the manga and anime, Death Mask is of Italian descent, and was born in Sicily.

History
Together with the Saints of his own rank Pisces Aphrodite and Capricorn Shura, Death Mask is one of three Gold Saints aware of the fact that the Pope has tried to kill the goddess Athena when this had just reincarnated, but identifying justice with force, decides to follow him, considering it the most suitable to govern and keep the peace. Appears the first time at Mount Lu in China, to convince the Gold Saint Libra Dohko to take sides with the Pope. After the dry waste of the elderly warrior, followed by a 'heated discussion and dialogue on the ethical high human actions, decides to kill the rival, but is opposed by Dragon Shiryu, student of the Saint. The clash is almost learn, as the Dragon Saint is blind after the battle against the Silver Saint Perseus Algol, but also for the difference in the Cosmos than Death Mask; only the intervention of Mur Aries saves Shiryu from certain doom.

Death Mask then reappears during the run-up to the Twelve Houses: just entered his temple, Pegasus Seiya and Shiryu understand the reason for his nickname, as the walls of the building are completely covered with the heads of the victims of the warrior, screaming, crying and complain. Shiryu decides to face it alone, trying to save time and managing to pass Seiya. The two warriors are found then face to face, and at first, the comparison is again strongly in favor of the Gold Saint, who uses his tremendous blow  Sekishiki Meikaiha  to send the soul of the opponent to Mouth Hades (the chasm crossed by the souls to enter the world of the dead). The Bronze Saint manages to return in the Fourth House thanks to the intervention of Athena / Saori Kido, but Death Mask send it back again on the mouth of Hades, and this time he teleports in person to attack him directly, thereby putting Shiryu in difficulty. When Shiryu seems to come to an end, the prayers of Shunrei (adopted daughter of Dohko, always in love with Shiryu) can irritate and annoy block the actions of Death Mask, which hangs just before hurl the enemy into the mouth of Hell. Irritated, the Cancer Saint hits the girl at a distance with a shot psychokinetic, making her fall in the waterfall (which fortunately turns out later to have been saved by the Master): this gesture upsets literally Shiryu, who in anger and insensitive to physical pain, overwhelms Death Mask with a flurry of blows terrible, to which the Gold Saint can not escape. Nevertheless, the sheer force of the anger is not enough to declare the victory of the Bronze Saint, because Death Mask is protected by Gold Cloth. Gradually the tide of the fight back in favor of the evil Saint, who throws Shiryu in Mouth of Hades. These attempts to resist and clings to the rocky cliffs, while the souls of the victims of Death Mask (unable to find peace and forced to wander between the world of the living and the dead) arise from the ground and hurl themselves on their tormentor, the which, however, shows insensitive to their fate and throws them into the abyss. This behavior causes the Cloth of Gold Cancer begins to break away from the warrior, who, in astonishment, he finds himself helpless. Not wanting to stain of dishonor Shiryo slips off his Cloth to fight on equal terms, and is finally able to defeat the terrible enemy making him fall into the mouth of Hades.

During the holy war against Hades Death Mask adopting the plan Shion and helps others Gold Saint resurrected (Pisces, Gemini, Aquarius, Capricorn) to obtain the sacrifice of Athena to reawaken the Cloth of the goddess posing as an invader of the Great Temple, but is apparently defeated by Aries Mu and returned to the castle that serves as a base on Earth for the Army of Hades. There is thrown (along with Aphrodite) by Judge Hellfire Wyvern Rhadamantis the chasm that connects the castle with the world of the dead. His spirit, now fully redeemed, will return for sacrifice on the Giudecca (headquarters of the underworld Hades) with the other Gold Saints to destroy the Wailing Wall that divides Inferno by Elisio and allow Seiya and his friends to save Athena.

Saint Seiya: Gigantomachia
In this novel, it is revealed that Death Mask trained Mei, one of the orphans grew up in the same institution in which they grew Bronze Saint Seiya and the other (as well as their half-brother, being the son, like them, of Mitsumasa Kido).

Episode G
In this manga prequel to the original series, Death Mask appears for the first time along with other Gold Saint during the  Crysos Sinagein , convened to counter the threat of the Titans, where he has a small altercation with Aiolia about the presence of small Lythos (her maid) during the meeting in place of his master. In brief struggle that follows (then interrupted by the Pope) Death Mask Aiolia manages to hit on a point that then create difficulties during his battle against the Titan Hyperion.

Then reappears during the attack of the giant Phoinikeos Rhuax and Kyuanosu Purokusu the Great Temple, where he convinces Virgo Shaka to let second giant until his house, where it beats very easily, not before giving proudly showed the faces of his victims that cover the walls.

During the battle between Aiolia and Koios, discovers the truth about Gemini Saga and his killing of the Pope, nevertheless decides to follow the same as Gemini Saint, because among all the Gold Saints he is the one who best understands the intent of Saga same, identifying justice by force.

After observing the battle between Saga and Cronus before the statue of Athena, following clashes briefly Pisces Aphrodite while the latter goes into the world of the Titans.

Then reappears in the last chapter, which informs the people of the Titans that will live on Earth as long as they remain in the territories controlled by the Great Temple and that those who know how to fight to wear the armor of the Black Saints.

Only Anime
Death Mask appears in two films based sull'anime:


 * Saint Seiya: Shinku no densetsu shônen: in this film Death Mask, is resurrected by Abel Phoebus together to fallen comrades during the run-up to the Twelve Houses. Faithful to the ideals of the God of the Sun, collides with Shiryu, losing after a brief battle.
 * Saint Seiya Tenkai-hen Jousou ~ Overture ~: in this film the spirits of Death Mask and his comrades are imprisoned by the gods of Olympus, as punishment for having contributed to the defeat Hades.

Powers
Death Mask possesses the typical powers of the Gold Saints: mastered the Seventh Sense and can move and throw shots at the speed of light.


 * Sekishiki Meikaiha: with this shot, creating a twisting space-time-gravitational, Death Mask manages to separate the soul from the body of the enemy through concentric waves emitting from the index finger and mail it to the mouth of Hades (the limbo, or the antechamber the world of the dead). The soul, trapped in this place can not escape it (unless divine aid or special), and takes the final for the world of the dead by throwing himself in what appears to be a huge volcano. Death Mask is also capable of traveling with his body between the earth and this size, so they can also attack the soul of the enemy if it were needed. The name of this shot comes from storage of Praesepe star in the constellation of Cancer in Chinese mythology that is considered the gateway to the spirit world. In the anime (the first time it appears) shows a variation in performing this technique, encircling hands in prayer over his head and creating a small hole in the sky, that sucks everything is nearby. If this technique is used in the mouth of Hades against souls without body, the effect of the shot can also be deadly.
 * Death Mask is also equipped with psychokinetic abilities that allow him to hit targets that are located at a great distance and the ability to be able to teleport wherever he wants.
 * Death Mask can imprison the souls of the people killed in the walls of the house is, that look like faces embedded in the wall, still alive and able to feel emotions. Is never shown, nor in the manga, nor in anime, how he does it, however, they may remain trapped as long as Death Mask remains alive. After his defeat, in fact, the faces disappear, indicating that the victims of the evil Saint have found peace.

Trivia

 * Death Mask is very similar to the famous serial killer of the film series Nightmare Freddy Krueger: both are two killers sadistic, arrogant and ruthless, who take pleasure in killing, and killing even children, and both are capable of imprisoning the souls of their victims and their enemies, from which they draw their strength.
 * For this reason, also resembles Jinmen, a demon antagonist Devilman manga, too sadistic and ruthless and he also able to collect and draw strength from the souls of the people it kills.