Mysterion

Mysterion is a character in the animated TV show, South Park, and is featured in the episode, "The Coon". S/he was voiced by Trey Parker.

S/he is a student at South Park Elementary in Mr. Garrison's fourth grade class who hides behind a pseudonym, 'Mysterion', and was the rival to The Coon. S/he unveiled himself after 'The Coon' persuaded him/her to for the good of the town.

Due to the way the characters' facial characteristics are—their eyes, lack of noses, and mouth—it is unclear who the unmasked Mysterion was. The only major clues are Cartman's line of, "I knew it! I even said it was you before!" and to a lesser extent, Mr. Garrison's, "Wow, one of the kids in my class was Mysterion!"

As to Cartman's list of suspects (whom he had named verbally as being Mysterion), the names include Craig, Kyle, Stan, and Clyde. He wondered about Kenny being Mysterion because he had a newspaper clipping of the superhero taped to the inside of his locker, but Stan and Clyde revealed that they, too, had the same picture in their lockers. He also did seem to become suspicious when Wendy interrupted with her comment about Mysterion's possibility of being a female, as he gasps, points at her, and says, "Fucking bitch!"

No female had been listed as a suspect on Professor Chaos and General Disarray's wall of Mysterion suspects, which may point to the fact that there is no possible way for Mysterion to be any of the female students in Mr. Garrison's class.

Costume
Mysterion looks very much like a child superhero, as s/he wears a pair of white underwear briefs over his/her base suit, which is an off-lavender and has a bright green 'M' on the front of it. Around his/her waist, there is a plain, thin black belt with a dark gray, standard buckle. Brown boats adorn his/her feet. There is a dark blue cloak that drags on the ground wrapped around his/her neck and provides a shield for his/her hair or any defining features. This cloak has a bright green question mark made of some type of sturdy material attached to a spring that juts out from the top of Mysterion's head. Finally, a black half-mask that covers his/her face from the bridge of the nose up.

Bodily Features
Unfortunately, there are little clues as to what features Mysterion possesses that makes him/her distinctive to us, the viewers. Like most children in South Park, Mysterion has a perfectly round head, an averagely sized body, two tilted oval eyes with black pupils, and a frown. Naturally, we can rule out any over- or under-weighted children as being Mysterion or those with oddly-shaped heads. Also, Mysterion does not require the use of any type of walking aide; s/he is very agile and able with perfectly working limbs.

Weapons/Tools


Mysterion seems to be more of a hand-to-hand combat fighter, as we see when s/he fights with Professor Chaos and General Disarray. There is no evidence of there being any type of weapon on his/her person.

The only tool we had seen Mysterion to use was a strand of firecrackers, which is illegal in the state of Colorado, in order to escape from the Coon. We have to assume that Mysterion made it to the top of buildings with the use of ladders, stairs, or elevators.

Quotes

 * "I’m an angel keeping watch over the city at night. As violence and darkness take over the streets, I work to rid the city of crime. I’m the symbol this town needs."


 * "Nuh-uh."


 * "I am Mysterion."


 * "I might be Craig, and then again, I might not be. My identity must remain a secret. You cannot know."


 * "I assume you must be Cartman because you’re fat."


 * "I really don’t care who you are."


 * "Kyle hates Eric Cartman. Are you saying you’re Eric Cartman?"


 * "I cannot stand here and make idle conversation any longer. The city needs my help. There are innocents to protect."


 * [Inner dialogue] "I could no longer sit by and watch as my city became a cesspool of crime. I have lived in South Park all my life. I decided it was up to me to keep this town safe. Nobody at school knows my double life. To them, I’m just another fourth grader, but tonight, I am Mysterion."


 * "There’s some graffiti on the bridge again. I think those sixth grade kids are doing it. And that guy at the movie theater’s harassing Mexicans again."


 * "The city needs my help. It cries for protection, and I will answer the call to save her."


 * "I don’t have time for this."


 * "Hello, Kyle."


 * "Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm."


 * "Yes, but I believe someone is trying to learn my true identity."


 * "I cannot be unmasked, for then I would stop being a symbol. I need help. Somebody who can do background checks for me, do some investigating."


 * "Because I think you are the smartest kid in class."


 * "Why are you doing this? This isn’t your usual M.O., Chaos."


 * "What next time?"


 * "Citizens, tonight has shown me that I have no choice but to unmask myself."


 * "No, it’s true. As long as my identity is a mystery, this will just happen again and again. It has to end. I will show my face."

Allusions to Superheros/Supervillains
Mysterion seems to share similar characteristics with DC Comic's the Batman and a distinctive icon of an enemy of his, the Riddler.

The Batman
Bruce Wayne speaks with a low voice when in the guise of his alter ego, the Batman, to mask his voice. Mysterion did this as well so none of his/her classmates or the people s/he knew as a regular child would recognize his/her voice. The contact that Mysterion had with the police was similar to that of the Batman's partnership with the police commissioner of the city of Gotham, James Gordon; the both of them report to the respective informants for relaying information about crime. Also, Mysterion's manner of disguise and choice of words allude to the Batman's, for they both hide their defining features, especially around the face, and consider themselves symbols of their cities/towns. They both speak only what's necessary and tend to spend more time alone, prowling the streets for crime.

The Riddler


Supervillain, the Riddler, who is recognizable by his trademark question marks, shares his icon with Mysterion, who wears it atop his/her cloak. While the question marks mean different things in regards to each of them, they are very similar in appearance, with the exception that Mysterion's is bright green, while the Riddler has been shown with purple, black, and green question marks adorning his clothing.