M.A.S.K. (DC Comics)

M.A.S.K. (Mini Series)
DC Comics
1985 - 1986

M.A.S.K. was one of the biggest successes for Kenner post their Star Wars franchise years. The toys combined intriguing characters with multi-function vehicles and playsets which provided hours of entertainment for kids. It didn't hurt that the line was backed by a highly popular animated series which lasted for two seasons and encompassed seventy-five episodes.

As was quickly becoming the norm for the era, toy developers were looking for marketing campaigns which allowed them to grab kids attention. Though animation was a great tool for commercials, stringent laws limited the amount of seconds a commercial could feature "cartoon" footage.

To help get around this, several big name toy companies sought out comic books as an alternative source of marketing. Pretty much every toy line from the 80's had a coinciding book through either Marvel, DC or Star Comics.

M.A.S.K. actually began its history in comic pages via three mini comics which were included in the actual packages of the toys. However, in 1985, DC Comics developed a mini series of four issues for comic book racks which ran until early 1986.

M.A.S.K.
DC Comics
1987

The mini series garnered enough popularity that DC Comics launched a monthly series in 1987.

Unfortunately, popularity dropped quickly by readers and the series was cancelled after just nine issues.

IDW attempted to revitalize M.A.S.K. in comic book for in 2011 where Matt Tracker was depicted as a police officer. However, this series never saw publication. Instead in 2016, a re-introduction / re-re-visioning of the series was produced which ran for ten issues through August 2017.

M.A.S.K. was initially slated to be a part of Hasbro's proposed cinematic universe which was in the works. However, the film got lost in the shuffle of flip flop responses from the studio (Paramount) and folks working on it who would one day say it was happening and then the next day retract and say it's not happening. As of April 2018 it is once again on the green light list. We'll see where it goes from there.

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M.A.S.K. (Kenner)

M.A.S.K.
Kenner
1985 - 1986

M.A.S.K. - Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. The life of M.A.S.K. started out as a seventy-five episode syndicated television series which ran from 1985 to 1986. It featured a special task force featuring an array of characters, led by Matt Trakker, with transforming vehicles engaged in an ongoing battle against the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (an acronym for the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem), with an emphasis on super-powered masks worn by the characters on the show.

Kenner produced a series of toys which ran twice as long as the actual television show (1985-1988). The series focused mainly on the vehicles, but still managed to produce several figures which were packed in with each vehicle and playset as well as on bubble cards of their own.

The two packs of figures only contained the figures and their masks.

Advenure packs were single pack figures that included an assortment of accessories.
Mystery Adventure Packs were the final release of stand alone figures.

The "meat" of the series definitely lied in the vehicles. Kenner appeared to put the majority of their efforts and production value into the four waves.




The final wave of vehicles produced were under the sub series "Split Seconds". These were based off of the final ten episodes of the show (season 2), where the series focused more on a racing premise as opposed to M.A.S.K. vs. V.E.N.O.M.

***UPDATE***

An anonymous reader commented to let us know that the above is not actually entirely correct. As the reader clarified for us, none of the Split Seconds vehicles appeared in the show at all. The wave prior to it which contained Wildcat, Bulldog, etc. appeared in the racing episodes.

Thanks, anonymous!


The only playet produced for the line was Boulder Hill. In terms of playsets, it didn't offer much interactive play, but was still a great addition to the line.

M.A.S.K. is a hit or miss show with the majority of people who watched it. They either loved it, or hated it. For those select fans who loved it, the toys are a great addition to their collections, and a fond memory of a cherished childhood.

For those fans, please enjoy the opening theme from M.A.S.K.



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