Deadpool is perhaps one of the most iconic anti-heroes in any superhero franchise. Love him or hate him, we’ve all heard about him. In fact, the character has never been shy about letting everyone know his business, including who he is. While some other superpowered individuals, such as Spider-Man or Ms. Marvel, adopt secret identities in order to retain anonymity, Deadpool has never been keen on keeping secrets.

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That said, despite appearing to be an open book willing to share just about any thought that crosses his mind — more often than not at the wrong time and place — Deadpool’s face is rarely shown. Or any part of his body, for that matter. The character’s suit provides full cover, which feels like an odd choice coming from someone who has no need to protect their body. After all, any injuries dealt to him are insignificant in the face of Deadpool’s regenerating abilities. This, of course, raises the question of why the Merc with a Mouth rarely lets the sun touch his face.

Why is Deadpool always wearing a mask?

Simply put, Deadpool wears a full-coverage mask in order to hide his scarred skin. It can be surprising for some to find out that a character as unapologetic as this one can have insecurities, but alas, not even Deadpool can escape the human condition. Especially not after what he has been put through.

After learning that he had cancer, and before he became Deadpool, mercenary Wade Wilson was a test subject for Weapon X. The genetic research facility intended to acquire human candidates to experiment on in order to advance their studies on mutations, and Wade, being a cancer patient, was a perfect subject. Being told that Weapon X could cure his disease, he agreed to be part of the program, far from imagining what it would actually lead to.

Being subjected to these scientific experiments allowed Wade to acquire cool super-healing abilities, sure, but it also left him severely scarred. This was the consequence of an interaction between the cancerous cells in Wade’s body and his newly injected healing factor, which resulted in his skin beginning to burn. After that, the character adopted the alias Deadpool and took to wearing a mask almost all of the time. This way, the scars marring his body remain perpetually hidden from sight.

It’s one hell of a backstory, but certainly among some of the best origin tales we’ve seen in superhero films. After all, it’s always interesting to know what lies underneath a character’s shell.