Who is that masked guy, really?

[Dryunya]

I'll just leave this here. It's that shard of the comic book with the guy we assume to be Poirot. There have been some discussion about that guy. Seriously, some red-skinned man is wearing a mask that may or may not be Hercule Poirot's face. So, who is it? Red Skull? Red Spy? Hexadecimal? Is it him who posts in the blog, or not?

[NeverSlender]

Theres a black mark on his head which I don't think is part of the mask. This could be hair, severely raised eyebrows or (epileptic trees) cheshires smile.

[Dryunya]

I think it's hair. There's also a purple thingy at the bottom right which might be a wig.

[Sicon112]

I'm pretty sure that the picture in the comic book is placed in a room with a lot of weird lighting. I don't think everything is quite as purple as it appears, and the man may very well have normal skin, making the Poirot argument more convincing. Also, I have no bloody clue who he is if he really does have red skin.

[NeverSlender]

I just googled Poirot mask. The results looked very similar to the mask in the comic, so I would say it's definitely him. As to who's wearing it he looks like a butler or a gangster.

[Dryunya]

I don't think everything is quite as purple as it appears, and the man may very well have normal skin

That may be true (there are some weird colors in the comic), but he's still clearly wearing the mask. Is he an imposter? Do people notice his Paper Thin Disguise?

[NeverSlender]

Is it a mask or facepaint? It's a very strange expression to have on a mask.

[Dryunya]

There is a visible edge. It is a mask, no doubt about that.

[Sicon112]

Agreed.

I just googled Poirot mask. The results looked very similar to the mask in the comic, so I would say it's definitely him. As to who's wearing it he looks like a butler or a gangster.

Oooooooh yea. Just Googled that too. That mask is definitely related to Poirot. The question is, is the picture a shot of Poirot wearing the mask, where the mask serves as a subtle confirmation of our suspicions, or is that someone ELSE wearing the mask? If the second, what does that mean? Could the mask be meant to hint that while St. Jerome seems at first glance to be Poirot, he could be someone else underneath it all, or perhaps it is a hint meant to confirm the theory that I came up with earlier? That is, that Poirot is defensive and easily irritated on the subject of fictional characters because he knows he is one, and knows that if he is found out, he will be sent back. It could be said in that case that he is wearing the mask of a real human being from this side of the fourth wall.

Though, perhaps I'm analyzing this too much.

[Victin]

Agreed.

I just googled Poirot mask. The results looked very similar to the mask in the comic, so I would say it's definitely him. As to who's wearing it he looks like a butler or a gangster.

Oooooooh yea. Just Googled that too. That mask is definitely related to Poirot. The question is, is the picture a shot of Poirot wearing the mask, where the mask serves as a subtle confirmation of our suspicions, or is that someone ELSE wearing the mask? If the second, what does that mean? Could the mask be meant to hint that while St. Jerome seems at first glance to be Poirot, he could be someone else underneath it all, or perhaps it is a hint meant to confirm the theory that I came up with earlier? That is, that Poirot is defensive and easily irritated on the subject of fictional characters because he knows he is one, and knows that if he is found out, he will be sent back. It could be said in that case that he is wearing the mask of a real human being from this side of the fourth wall.

Though, perhaps I'm analyzing this too much.

I agree. We should theorize whether this is Poirot or not, and who could this person be (I mean, the blogger, but the character must be the same person, so...).

[Sicon112]

The issue with the "it's someone faking being Poirot" theory is that Mr. A has indeed confirmed that the blogger is a POI. As confirmed when he tweeted that the psychiatrist was not a POI, a POI can be defined as a fictional character in our world that needs to be under watch. This means that the blogger is indeed fictional, so we would need to think of fictional characters that would know of Poirot to make our guesses.

However, all evidence, as well as Occam's Razor point to Poirot himself. This theory is probably nothing. Still, it may be worth investigating as long as we have time on our hands.

[Victin]

The issue with the "it's someone faking being Poirot" theory is that Mr. A has indeed confirmed that the blogger is a POI. As confirmed when he tweeted that the psychiatrist was not a POI, a POI can be defined as a fictional character in our world that needs to be under watch. This means that the blogger is indeed fictional, so we would need to think of fictional characters that would know of Poirot to make our guesses.

However, all evidence, as well as Occam's Razor point to Poirot himself. This theory is probably nothing. Still, it may be worth investigating as long as we have time on our hands.

The first thing that comes in my mind is Sherlock Holmes. The second is The Doctor.

[NeverSlender]

Mr. A confirmed the blogger was Poirot. I don't think he mentioned the comic.

[Dryunya]

Hell, why don't we ask him? (UPD: I mean Mr. A.) I have a verb to noun, but I'll be back in an hour. If no one does it by then, I will.

[NeverSlender]

I just tweeted Mr. A about it. Dunno if I'll get anything back.

[Lordxana0]

Just had a thought. Halloween is coming up here in a few days, maybe he will be going to a party and wear that mask when something big happens that opens his eyes to the game.

[Dryunya]

"In a few days"? Isn't there still a month to wait?

[Sicon112]

Mr. A confirmed the blogger was Poirot. I don't think he mentioned the comic.

Good catch. While he does not say what the bloggers identity is directly, he does say that his identity "HAS BEEN UNCOVERED" which pretty much means we were right with our guess of Poirot, since we didn't guess anything else. Well, one more WMG down the drain.

[YankeeWhite]

...or perhaps it is a hint meant to confirm the theory that I came up with earlier? That is, that Poirot is defensive and easily irritated on the subject of fictional characters because he knows he is one, and knows that if he is found out, he will be sent back. It could be said in that case that he is wearing the mask of a real human being from this side of the fourth wall.

Though, perhaps I'm analyzing this too much.

I like this theory.
First, it seems all the other characters to cross over KNOW they're fictional characters, otherwise why all the letters to Joe. Second, while not incredibly famous, Poirot is a recognizable and well known character. If Hercule is attempting to blend in with human society his natural face is a dead giveaway that he's a fictional Agatha Christie character. However if Hercule wears a Poirot mask he appears to be a 'real world' person simply wearing a mask. Quite clever if true.

[Sicon112]

Well, I meant the wearing a mask thing figuratively. Someone who constantly wore a mask would attract a lot of attention too, so I don't think he literally wears it everywhere.

[YankeeWhite]

I was also referring mostly to the comic shard which admittedly lacks any and all context. But yes, my little theory does not stand when real world day-to-day interaction is taken into account.

[JackAlsworth]

If Hercule is attempting to blend in with human society his natural face is a dead giveaway that he's a fictional Agatha Christie character. However if Hercule wears a Poirot mask he appears to be a 'real world' person simply wearing a mask. Quite clever if true.

The problem I have with this is, there's many different possible faces Poirot could have. We have possible original illustrations, we have what Cristie herself pictured in her mind (which no one else could possibly know)... I myself picture Poirot as he appeared in the film Murder on the Orient Express, my introduction to the character.

My point is, he wouldn't need to worry about people thinking he looked like Poirot, because nobody knows what they're looking for. I suppose someone could come up to him and ask, "Hey, you look a little like Hercule Poirot!", but then he could just smile and say, "I suppose I do, don't I?", and that would be the end of it.

[Sicon112]

I already pointed that out. I'm saying that the mask picture is a metaphorical representation of what Poirot is doing, AKA pretending to be totally normal.