Saturday, August 11, 2007

On this Cartoon Saturday, we remember M.A.S.K. (short of Mobile Armored Strike Kommand). Like Masters of The Universe, Transformers and G.I. Joe (among many others), M.A.S.K. was toy-inspired. With it's combination of good guy heroics again a villanous organization and vehicles that convert from one thing (a regular motorcycle, for example) into another (i.e. a helicopter), most references to the show suggest it was a deliberate hybrid of the success of G.I. Joe and Transformers. Whether specifically a cash-in attempt by Kenner and DIC (against Hasbro and Sunbow/Marvel) or not, the appeal was certainly right for the era. The M.A.S.K. agents were spy-types, working against the schemes of various henchmen of the V.E.N.O.M. organization. A later change to a racing theme pretty much killed off the show and the toy line.



Hondo MacLean's groovy 57 Chevy was one of our favorites in the M.A.S.K. line.