A member of a secret society of similarly clad men, he was denounced a traitor, shot, and left for dead. He came back, seeking vengeance on his betrayer, Number Ten.

* ''The Man in Black'', by Paul Braddon, ''The Boys of New York: A Paper for Young Americans'', nos. 383–391, 16 Dec. 1882–10 Feb. 1883.

A similar mysterious tall figure with a broad-brimmed low slouch hat but draped in a long black cloak which (at least on one outing) concealed a "skeleton-like frame of white grisly bone". What little can be seen of its face between cloak and hat is "a saturnine countenance, attenuated to a horrible degree - sunken cheeks, thin, protruding nose, and above all those deep-set, burning eyes." It has a deep voice and a "deep, cavernous mouth" with "white, glistening teeth". It seems to have the ability to leap out of a three story window fifty feet up, disappearing with only the sound of a loud clanking sound like something metallic against brick, and also to take off down a street with incredible speed and impossible silence as though "treading simply on empty air" with the wind blowing its cloak across its frame "as though the head were supported by no body at all".

Created by Francis W. Doughty either under pseudonym "P.T. Raymond" or "Paul Braddon".

* "The Ghouls of Gotham; or, The Man in the Black Cloak" - ''The Boys of New York Pocket Library'' #193 (1884) (reprinted in ''Boys' Star Library'' #158 (June 21 1890))
* "The Man in the Black Cloak; or, In Search of the John Street Jewels" - ''The Boys of New York - a Paper for Young Americans'' v. 11 #569, July 10 1886 (reprinted in ''New York Detective Library'' #362)

* Scans of "The Man in the Black Cloak; or, In Search of the John Street Jewels" can be accessed in [http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl%3A387012 Villanova University's digital library].
* The character was discussed and compared to Walter Gibson's The Shadow in Murania Press fanzine Blood N' Thunder #3.

*''Tales of the Dark Knight: Batman's First Fifty Years: 1939-1989'' by Mark Cotta Vaz.
Category:Male Characters
Category:1882 Debuts
Category:Literary Characters
Category:Real Name Unknown
Category:Black Themed Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Pulp Characters
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Non-Powered Characters
Category:Unknown Creator