Pretorius (The Mask)

“	Do find a disembodied talking head funny, Ipp-kiss? I think not!	„
	~ Pretorious to Stanley Ippkis.

“	Mental note: purchase new day-planner.	„
	~ Pretorius

“	Oh, you misunderstand me. I'm not evil. I'm a scientist, a chaos theorist.	„
	~ Pretorius

“	I can see now that I am more then just a scientist. I actaully am evil!	„
	~ Pretorius after obtaining the Mask of Loki.

Pretorius is the principal villain in the The Mask cartoon series as well as a major villain in The Mask comic book series. Pretorius is a madman who had his own head removed from his body and placed on tiny, spider-like robotic legs, which could attach to a larger android body.

His plans always revolved around either obtaining or controlling the Mask (Pretorius is one of the few characters in the series aware of The Mask's true identity), or as part of some increasingly insane "science experiments" which if carried out would result in the death of thousands or even the end of mankind. He mostly pronounces Ipkiss' last name as "Ipp-kiss".

In the episode "Sister Mask", Pretorius did eventually gain the mask and as with Tyrell, he retained his own personality while wearing it (while the mask is said to release one's own inhibitions, those who have no inhibitions seem to retain full conscious control while wearing the Mask, such as the Joker in the DC crossover).

Gallery

Pretorius.png

Trivia

• He was voiced by legendary actor Tim Curry.
• Pretorius was also likely a parody of drug dealer/mob boss Eugene Rapaz from the original comics as both of them share the same face (though Rapaz wore small, rounded-lens dark glasses while Pretorius had round optic implants that looked similar as well).
• He was named after both Doctor Septimus Pretorius from Bride of Frankenstein and Dr. Edward Pretorius from the 1986 supernatural sci-fi/horror film "From Beyond".
• In the episode "Sister Mask", Pretorius' plans of enchancing his new army with superhuman powers (such as invisibility, pyrokinesis, elasticity and superstrength) with the 4 pieces of a stolen meteor fragment pays homage to the heroic Fantastic Four of Marvel Comics.