Who was that masked man, anyway?

OK, so what's the deal with that creepy mask in "V for Vendetta"? It represents Guy Fawkes, a member of Britain's Gunpowder Plot, devised by a small group of Catholic conspirators. Their plan: to blow up Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605, the opening day of the governmental session, in the hopes of killing Protestant politicians and King James I, known for his persecution of Catholics.

(enlarge photo) Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up England's Parliament in 1605, but was caught and executed. Movie review

Due to the expertise with explosives he'd gained as a soldier in the Spanish army, Fawkes was chosen to lay gunpowder in the vaults beneath Parliament. He set up 36 barrels of powder in a rented cellar under the House of Lords.

But some of the conspirators worried about Catholic casualties in the bombing, and an anonymous note alerted officials to the plot.

In the small hours of Nov. 5, the cellar was searched, the gunpowder was found, and Fawkes was arrested. He was tortured and executed with his cohorts.

Fawkes effigies are burned and fireworks and bonfires light up the United Kingdom every Nov. 5, now known as Guy Fawkes Night.

— Steve Murray