In the ‘80s you couldn’t walk down the toy aisle without being assaulted by a brand new toy concept almost every week. Some were so derivative or uninspired they only lasted a short time, and some were so unique, original and just plain fun that they endure to this day. Others flared brightly for a brief time and then receded into the shadows. M.A.S.K. lies somewhere in the middle ground. While the concept itself falls squarely in the what I consider the B-list of toy properties (toys that aren’t Transformers, GI Joe, or Masters of the Universe) it has endured as a property despite an all-too-brief moment in the sun. It debuted in 1985 under the Kenner label.
M.A.S.K. stood for “Mobile Armored Strike Kommand,” and as a toy line it hit the major arteries on a couple major fronts, combining vehicles, action figures, science fiction-styled concepts, and the prototypical good-versus-bad backstory in a package aimed directly at everything that mid-’80s kids were into. GI Joe versus Cobra? Here’s M.A.S.K. versus V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem because acronyms make the world go around). Transforming things? These vehicles transformed into rolling weapons. Superheroes? Each mask granted its wearer a single superpower. It was a perfect storm.
And sweet plastic crack, was it a fun line.
One of the best things about the GI Joe line was buying a vehicle that came with the vehicle’s driver. No hunting down the figure separately, no driverless vehicle — you had the complete package right there. And M.A.S.K. delivered that each and every time: a complete and total package of driver and vehicle.
M.A.S.K. was lucky enough to have a cartoon and a brief comic series as well as mini-comics packed in with each vehicle, all of which detailed the history of the M.A.S.K. versus V.E.N.O.M. match-up.
The story: Miles mayhem and Matt Trakker were partners working on a new type of weaponry that could be concealed in masks. But Mayhem betrayed him (if you’re working with a guy named Mayhem, expect betrayal) and Matt’s brother ended up dying. Thus a grudge match is born, sides are taken, and a war begins.
M.A.S.K. was unfortunately one of those properties — like COPS — that made a brief appearance in stores around where I grew up, so by the time the later series appeared, the space they would have taken up was allocated to the dependably-selling GI Joes and Transformers, so, as it is, I was able to get just the first series of vehicles. And even then, I never saw Boulder Hill or Rhino. I was able to procure Rhino a few years ago, but Boulder Hill remains the one hole in my initial wave of M.A.S.K. items. Oh well, one day.
Let’s start off with the vehicles and drivers of V.E.N.O.M.
V.E.N.O.M.’s forces were initially comprised of only three members. Not exactly the endless ranks of Cobra, but apparently V.E.N.O.M. has a limited budget.
Piranha w/Sly Rax
The Piranha was the first vehicle I got from this line. It was a surprise present from my parents from a line I didn’t really know much about yet, so being one of the smaller in the first series, it was a decent enough trial run to see how they stacked up.
I pretty much fell in love immediately. As I mentioned, there was that initial thrill of getting a complete package in one shot with vehicle and driver. But there were other little things that really tweaked me. First, I loved the motorcycle aspect of it, and the fact that the wheel could be turned realistically instead of remaining static. My parents knew me well because Sly Rax’s mask remains one of my favorites. There’s an Imperial look to it that at the time reminded me of Star Wars. His Mask allowed him to shoot an endless supply of stilettos at his enemy. Where they came from is another matter entirely.
His sidecar turned into a small one-man submarine that he could eject from his motorcycle. That meant double play value. I remember sitting on the floor with this cool brand-new toy and running it around, shooting the sidecar off, and reattaching it to shoot it off again. I was hooked. In the cartoon, Rax talked with a slow, drawly Jack Nicholson voice which is befitting of the coolest-looking Figure in the M.A.S.K. line. While they were only minimally articulated by today’s standards and their faces were indiscriminate, unpainted little blobs, the fact that they could easily sit in their vehicles with actual knee joints meant they had everything they needed.
Jackhammer w/ Cliff Dagger
The Jackhammer was this big, burly jet-black truck that looked mean as it was, and then the hood slid back and the back popped up and it was a laser-blasting deadly weapon. That was one of the highlights of the line; they looked great in either mode.
The action features were so well integrated that the buttons used to deploy them were completely unobtrusive. Most of them could be hidden in bumpers of fenders or made to look like organic parts of the vehicle itself, so that fourth wall was never broken.
Dagger’s mask was the Torch mask, which was a flamethrower. In his vehicle or out of it, he was a dangerous man to be around. Since every team needs one, he was the big dumb guy of the V.E.N.O.M. team.
Switchblade w/ Miles Mayhem
Wow, do I remember the hunt for this thing.
I’ve spoken before on Fwoosh how there were two major toy stores when I was growing up that accounted for the bulk of my toy purchases: Hills department store and Best department store. If one didn’t have it, I could be 90 percent guaranteed the other would, and if neither did, then somehow, K-Mart just might.
I remember it like it just happened. The Switchblade was dug into my brain like a splinter. I had to have it. I was on a mission. So there we are, looking at Hills, and we see it. I hadn’t seen it in person yet, but there it was, seemingly as big as I was.
But…
But the box was absolutely destroyed. Would the toy inside be just as damaged? Were there pieces missing?
It was the only one there, and that was absolutely heartbreaking. I wanted it, but I didn’t want to risk it being damaged. So my parents did the only thing we could do. We hid it behind some other toys, and we went to Best. We figured in the worst case scenario we could come back and see if a store worker would allow us to look through it and see if it was damaged. But if there might be a better, undamaged one out there, it was getting late and we needed to know.
We never returned to Hills. Best very rarely let me down, and sitting on the shelf was a couple of brand new, pristine Switchblade boxes.
It was a helicopter and it was a jet. Two great tastes that go great together, looking great in either mode. With a few clicks and clack, it transformed easily and smoothly, so you could do it in mid-flight if you wanted.
Miles Mayhem came with a viper mask that ejected a stream of poison. What a bastard.
M.A.S.K
Thunderhawk w/ Matt Trakker
Matt was the leader of the team, and, of course, had the coolest car: a slick and sporty Camaro that could fly. With a click of a button the doors turned into wings, the spoiler raised and he could be airborne; so simple even a kid could do it. Or something.
Matt was granted two figures in the initial wave with two distinct uniforms and masks. When he was the pilot of Thunderhawk, he wore the Spectrum mask, which allowed him to see in various spectrums, fire sound waves, and it allowed him to levitate down to earth in hang-glider mode. No clue what that has to do with spectrums, but I didn’t invent the helmet.
Condor w/Brad Turner
Condor was a motorcycle that turned into a helicopter. Again, it’s such a simple concept, but this may have been my second favorite besides the Piranha. With a flip of the wings and a flip of the back wheel and you’re done — just that quickly.
I loved the motorcycle mode. it was perfect for zipping around and jumping it over homemade ramps and then turning it into a helicopter and having him strafe things. He had an anti-matter gun that could vaporize anything it was trained on. Badass.
Brad Turner’s mask was a bit weaker than the others. His was a Hocus Pocus mask that could create holographic illusions. Not horrible, but it was much more fun to shoot things, so I don’t remember using his mask all that often.
Gator w/ Dusty Hayes
Gator was a jeep that could eject a speedboat from under its body. After all, M.A.S.K. needed somebody to go after the Piranha when the carpet turned into a lake and they were skimming across the surface. I always had a bit of trouble getting the eject to work smoothly, but after that it was a pretty nifty little boat. It could eject the big silver depth charge off it’s back and everything. It got more use as a jeep though, with the big laser that could spin around and fire at whatever was in its way.
Dusty’s mask was the Backlash mask that created powerful sonic booms or blasts of pure force to break things. That was awesome for knocking over the Jackhammer that was on a collision course. BAM.
And finally:
Rhino W/ Matt Trakker and Bruce Sato
Ah, Rhino. I stared at your picture so often, but you were not to be. The stores just didn’t carry you, or if they did, some other kid got you you before I did, and then the line had moved on. There was an emptiness in my collection. hell, I dreamed that I found you several times. How sad are those dreams? I know, right?
Rhino is a big honking hunk of semi tractor rammajamma that haunted my childhood for the year or so that M.A.S.K. had it’s hooks into me. It was packed with goodness: smokestack lasers, big missile, ramming front grill, and a removable little buggy. It even had an ejector seat to get rid of unwanted passengers! It had it all, and it mocked me.
I eventually got over it — well, more or less — but when I had the chance to buy one as an adult I jumped on it as swift as I could, and now it’s great to finally have all the vehicles of the first wave of M.A.S.K. Now to work on completing wave 2…
Rhino was so major league that it was the only vehicle of the first wave to come with two figures. Boulder Hill did the same, but that was an entire battle station!
Bruce Sato came with Lifter mask that generated an anti-gravity field allowing him to lift extremely heavy objects just with the power of his mask. He could even lift the Rhino with it.
The second Matt Trakker of the line came with Ultraflash, which emitted a blinding light.
M.A.S.K. is one of those properties that’s screaming for a GI Joe-sized updated. Matt Trakker received a brand new, updated figure a few years ago, complete with mask, in the GI Joe line, but an all-new line of figures and vehicles with full Joe articulation and sizing would put the awe in awesome. It may never happen, but a guy can dream.
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