Fantômas is a highly elusive criminal mastermind and one of the earliest costumed villains.
He was tracked by his great nemesis, Inspector Juve, but each time Juve thought he had the crime master, Fantômas managed to slip away.
Fantômas was also tracked by Sherlock Holmes when he came to England. Fantômas was arrested in America by Nick Carter, but escaped and challenged the detective to a game of wits.
Fantômas possesses a genius level intellect and a wide array of skills, which he uses to commit daring crimes.
Despite his audacity, he covers his tracks well enough that the general public does not even believe he exists.
He is a master of disguise and always operates under an assumed identity, often that of a person whom he has murdered.
He would go so far as to make gloves from the skin of a victim's hand to leave their fingerprints behind.
He is also an expert with explosives and other instruments of murder and destruction.
However, he is a completely ruthless and sadistic sociopath, who enjoys coming up with creative and elaborate ways of killing his victims.
Some of his past methods have involved plague-infested rats, giant snakes, and rooms that fill with sand.