M.A.S.K. issue 2
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| Publisher | IDW Publishing, Ted Adams | ||||||||||||
| First published | December 28, 2016 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | December 2016 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Brandon Easton | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Tony Vargas | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Jordi Escuin | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Gilberto Lazcano | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Hedgecock | ||||||||||||
New questions are raised as M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. face off for the first time.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
M.A.S.K. quickly dodges V.E.N.O.M.’s attacks. Gloria Baker notes how their tech is similar to theirs, but she is unable to find their digital footprint, making them appear like ghosts. Miles Mayhem removes his Mask, with Matt Trakker and Gloria shocked to see that he’s still alive. The rest of V.E.N.O.M. unmask, revealing Vanessa Warfield, Sly Rax, and Bruno Sheppard… who has had half of his face replaced with cybernetics! Matt asks Bruno what happened to him, but Bruno angrily yells at Trakker, claiming its his fault that he’s like this now. Mayhem orders his team to put M.A.S.K. out of their misery, but Matt counters with his Spectrum Mask, temporarily blinding and disorienting their opponents.
M.A.S.K. rushes out of the cave. Julio Lopez reports that Brad Turner lost a lot of blood in the attack, and they need to get him out of here. As the team loads him into Gloria’s Shark, they are attacked by Bruno, blasting fire from his Thunderflame Mask. Matt knocks him out with the Thunderhawk and orders the M.A.S.K. team to evacuate. V.E.N.O.M. pursues in their own vehicles. Sly and Vanessa attack the Shark, while Mayhem’s Switchblade engages the Thunderhawk. As Gloria reaches the water, she is attacked by Bruno’s Rhino, managing to evade him and escape in submarine mode. Matt manages to cause damage to the Switchblade and Mayhem orders V.E.N.O.M. to retreat. As they do, Matt begins to feel sick, with purple liquid seeping out of his Mask.
The next morning, on the yacht Brad “borrowed,” Matt discusses what happened to him with Gloria. She is unable to find anything wrong their technology, but Julio says he may have found the answer. When checking Brad’s blood, he discovered a low-level radiation signature damaging his cells, caused by their long-term exposure to the Ore-13 that powers their Masks and vehicles. The radiation is slowly killing every member of the team. As the team contemplates this, Julio brings up the more pressing issue of their former teammates and mentor showing up alive. Matt says that even though they were rattled this time, they need to be prepared to face V.E.N.O.M. again. This is war, and Mayhem doesn’t take prisoners. Brad mentions that prior to joining Project Spectrum, he was an undercover agent for the DEA. He can use some of his connections to track what Mayhem is doing on the black market.
Gloria’s computer beeps, indicating that she’s finished decrypting the video files on Mayhem’s old Mask. Matt watches the footage play out where it left off: his father being attacked by Miles Mayhem. As he watches Mayhem execute his father on the video, Matt swears to send Mayhem to hell.
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
Characters in italic text appear only in camera footage.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| M.A.S.K. | V.E.N.O.M. | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Farewell, Trakker!"
- —Miles Mayhem
"I worked overtime... fighting crime-ugh..."
- —Brad Turner discussing his work with the DEA.
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- Bruno Sheppard's personal vehicle is finally revealed to be the Rhino, which had previously debuted in Revolution #2 being driven by Bruno and Julio Lopez.
- Bruno, Sly Rax, and Vanessa Warfield were thought to be killed during the battle with Baron Karza at the end of Revolution #5
M.A.S.K. references[edit | edit source]
- In his delirious state, Brad Turner says he "worked overtime.. fighting crime," referencing a line from the theme song to the original M.A.S.K. cartoon.
Real-life references[edit | edit source]
- Brad calls Bruno a "modern-day Frankenstein," a reference to the monster from Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.
Errors[edit | edit source]
- For some reason, M.A.S.K. is unable to recognize their opponents, despite the fact they wore the same outfits throughout Revolution.
- Likewise, the team reacts in shock to the appearance of Miles Mayhem... despite Gloria identifying Mayhem as their attacker in the last issue.
- The Shark is once again miscolored from both its original and prior appearances, now appearing purple (although given that later issues would see it return to blue, this could simply be a shading choice, given that the main action takes place at dusk.)
- When Julio asks Matt if he wants the bad news or the worse news, Matt's word balloon is not between Julio's two connected balloons like it should be.
- Julio claims to have detected radiation in Brad's cell walls... something which should be impossible considering that human cells don't have cell walls.
- Brad refers to the D.E.A. as the "Drug Enforcement Agency" when in fact it is named the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Other notes[edit | edit source]
- Backmatter for the issue consists of Part 2 of 5 of an interview with M.A.S.K. voice actor Doug Stone, conducted by cover artist Tommy Lee Edwards, and a fan showcase page of art, cosplay, and memorabilia.
Covers (4)[edit | edit source]
- Regular cover: Matt Trakker with one foot in the Thunderhawk, by Tommy Lee Edwards.
- Subscription cover A: Brad Turner projects holographic missiles, by Joe Suitor.
- Subscription cover B: The cartoon M.A.S.K. team, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado.
- Retailer incentive cover: M.A.S.K. stands ready as Mayhem’s visage looms, by Andrew Griffith and Jordi Escuin
Advertisements[edit | edit source]
- "The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting December's Hasbro Universe titles, including G.I. Joe #1, this issue, Lost Light #1, Optimus Prime #2, Till All Are One #6, Revolutionaries #1, Micronauts #8, and ROM #6.
