Rumor: The Shark vehicle including Gloria Baker. This was "backed up" by someone claiming in ToyFare magazine that there was a Gloria mail-in figure offered.

Prognosis: Unrevealed. I know *I* don't remember a Gloria mail-away and at least in 1986 Kenner claimed there was no Gloria figure produced. However, several months before, in early 1986, Kenner did claim Shark was coming in their next wave. One store in New Jersey claimed they had it but sold out the morning we came by; but again, nothing to back this up. Strangely with all of the MASK fans on the Internet a photo of a Shark toy has never come up. This is by far the biggest unsolved mystery among MASK fans.

It might also be added that a Gloria figure was produced to come with the vehicle "Stiletto" in the Split Seconds line.

Even now, I still get e-mails about this... and occasional phonies show up on Ebay.

Rumor: There was a MASK "origin episode" of the cartoon that explained where all the masks came from.

Prognosis: False. There was a mini-comic that came with the toys that told the origin of MASK and how Miles Mayhem betrayed Matt Trakker and his brother. But, no such episode existed. It was also claimed that the origin was also only aired once, but if you look at the facts: The first season of the MASK cartoon featured 65 episodes -- which was the magic number for syndication at the time. Why would they produce an extra episode if they didn't have to?

Rumor: Two vehicles slated for the Split Seconds line, Ramp-Up featuring Hondo MacLean, and Thunderball featuring Cliff Dagger, were announced but never released.

Prognosis: True. A prototype for Thunderball was even released in an overseas catalog (see to the right), but neither toy got past the starting line. Photos of the "Ramp-Up" vehicle have also surfaced. If and when a good picture of it can be found, I'll try and put a photo up.

Rumor: A MASK movie was made and released on video.

Prognosis: False. While there was something called "MASK: The Movie" and even a "MASK: The Movie II" released in the U.K., they were just compilations of several MASK episodes. It was NOT something new like "G.I. Joe the Movie" was, for example.

Rumor: The "Split Seconds" line of MASK vehicles is much rarer than the original series, and some of the toys in that series can now go for hundreds of dollars on EBay.

Prognosis: True. Such vehicles as Wolfbeast and Skybolt bring forth the highest costs because of their rarity, but despite the poorer quality of some of the vehicles, the "Split Seconds" line of MASK vehicles is by far the most sought-after by fans. Why? Well for starters, most fans had already moved on to other toy lines by the time the Split Seconds came around, and may not have cared so much anymore. Also, since sales were lower these vehicles were much less produced. Finally, some of the vehicles weren't even released in the United States at all, so boom -- instantly collectible. Interestingly, the "Split Seconds" logo appears on U.S. packaging for these vehicles, but overseas, they have the old logo.

Rumor: Some of the original masks had extra bits to them with later releases of certain figures.

Prognosis: True. Maybe this is just to say "this isn't from the first run," maybe it was for safety issues, but yes, almost every figure that was rereleased had a bigger mask later on.

I am curious if Hondo's Blaster I mask ever looked exactly as it did on the cartoon, without the extra bits. I got Firecracker right after it came out, and at the time, Hondo already had the larger mask.

Rumor: Some really strange MASK vehicles and knock-offs have appeared in other countries.

Prognosis: True. Check out this "Adventure Pack" to the right. It's got a Brad Turner figure painted like Matt Trakker's Jungle Adventure figure, and his Hocus-Pocus mask which came with Condor.

Now look below him. Also included apparently is the motorcyle that came with the Firecracker vehicle, painted yellow!

This is by far not the strangest MASK "sighting" -- some folks have reported seeing a "spy adventure car" with the exact same design as ThunderHawk!

Oddball figures come up for figures in all lines, with very strange choices for repainting. If you look at the package art for this one, it almost appears as if the person wearing a white version on Hondo's Blaster I mask is Caucasian! At least he fared better than G.I. Joe's Iceberg, who was not only made white but put in a pink shirt as well. "Don't ask, don't tell" I guess they say...

Rumor: There were some other "Adventure Packs" and action figure packs that were only available in Europe.

Prognosis: True. Beyond the weird "Adventure Pack" shown above, there were several more packs and figures unreleased in the United States.

Four more "Adventure Packs" were made beyond the ones originally available in the States, this time featuring characters from the 2nd (and even 3rd) series before. Figures in these adventure packs included Hondo MacLean (Hurricane version), Jacques LaFleur, Maximus Mayhem, and Calhoun Burns. Obviously as you can see from the picture to the right, the accessories included with these adventure packs were quite simple, like the originals. These show up on EBay from time to time, especially in auctions originating from Italy. They have names such as "Sea Attack," "Glider Strike," and "Arctic Assault," if you ever happen to see them pop up.

There were also several more figure 2-packs that were not released in the United States. With packaging to go with the "racing series" line, these too featured characters which originally came out with the first line.

2-packs included Matt Trakker and Jacques LaFleur (repainted versions of the figures that came with Volcano), Floyd Malloy and Bruno Sheppard, and Miles Mayhem and Nash Gorey (Outlaw versions).

Someone can write in and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the Wolfbeast and Skybolt vehicles were released here in the United States.

Rumor: Legendary Superman comics artist Curt Swan drew several issues of the US MASK comic, assisted by inks by longtime cohort Kurt Schaffenberger.

Prognosis: True. The late Swan took over MASK soon after John Byrne took the reins of Superman in 1986.

Rumor: The MASK comic book in England and other countries lasted much longer than the American version.

Prognosis: True. While the DC Comics series only lasted 9 issues, there was a British MASK series which lasted much, much longer (80 issues!) before migrating over to "Eagle" magazine. They also had much better artwork than their American counterparts. Grant Erswell has an excellent MASK UK page you can get to by clicking here.

Translated (?) MASK comics were still being published in Germany in the early 1990's.

Like I said, please send any ideas, corrections, etc. to me at MASKAgent@aol.com!

Question for anyone reading this: There was a "vehicle" that was a packing crate that became a plane, called "Hornet." What was the story behind that one? Send some mail if you know!