M.A.S.K. A Tale of Two Trakkers

Story By: R.A. Rayne

Before I get into this, let me state that this is my opinion and does not reflect on anyone associated with Serpentor’s Lair, Hasbro, IDW, or Skybound, nor does this article reflect my feelings about the quality of the IDW Revolution comic book, Skybound, or the Energon Verse. I am a comic book fan and have enjoyed most of what I have read from IDW and Skybound. I am not upset with Hasbro, IDW, or Skybound for the change, per se. I 100% believe in equality and representation for ALL.

I want to make it very clear that. What I take issue with is changing a ‘beloved character’ without probable cause and good storytelling. Changing a character just for the sake of change is not only an insult to fans, but also to the new audience the change hopes to draw.

I realize this has been debated before, but now that Skybound has brought Matt Trakker and M.A.S.K. into the Energon Verse, Matt Trakker’s alternate identity has become a matter of topic again.

In 2015, IDW Publishing and Hasbro decided to launch a major crossover event that would include several Hasbro toy lines, including the Transformers, G.I. Joe, ROM, Micronauts, Action Man, and, yes, of course, M.A.S.K. During the IDW/Hasbro ‘think-tank’ conference, Hasbro Toys decided in 2016 to make Matt Trakker more diverse. Fans have had mixed reactions to the change. While most fans view the decision to change Matt Trakker’s origin and Race as a socially conscious move, they were upset to lose the character they grew up with and associated with the MASK franchise.

It’s never easy for a company to change beloved characters based on ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, and it’s even harder for fans to accept those changes, especially when they seem to happen for no apparent reason other than to do it just to do it. Regrettably, the writer or artist is usually the one who ends up taking the brunt of the ‘change.’ This was the case with Matt Trakker. Freelance writer Brandon Easton was hired to write for the IDW Publishing M.A.S.K.: Revolution comic book series. During a Hasbro ‘think-tank’ conference with the IDW writing team, Easton was told by Hasbro execs that they wanted to take Matt Trakker’s character and make him more diverse. Like any IP, the company that owns the property has the right to do what they wish with the character, and Easton was more than excited to work Trakker’s character in the direction Hasbro wanted.

In an interview that can be found on agentsofmask.com, Easton said, “He’s (Matt Trakker) an engineering genius with a natural talent for science, yet he comes from a deeply troubled background. The loss of his father at a young age plunged Matt into grief, and because he couldn’t handle his emotional pain, he became a bit of a delinquent. However, he was always smart enough to know how to work the system. Right before the M.A.S.K. training begins, he gets himself into serious trouble, leaving him little choice but to join the boot camp. A core part of this series will be to chronicle Matt’s growth from an insecure recruit to the resolute leader of M.A.S.K.”

Once IDW’s Revolution was released in 2016, M.A.S.K. fans were outraged. They wanted an explanation. Yes, Matt Trakker was different; his origin story was changed, but there was no in-story reason for the change. By no means is what I am about to say a reflection on my opinion of the Revolution comic book series, but there was no experimental accident that fused his DNA with another character, no brain swapping, no extra-dimensional variant switch, not even a pod-person. Readers and fans were told to take it at face value, and they weren’t happy.

Yes, there were those who took it politically and reduced it to simply race. Now, I was not in the ‘room where it happened’, so I do not know exactly if there ever was a conversation regarding giving a reason for Trakker’s transformation, or if it was ‘just do it.’ Either way, fans were left feeling confused, outraged, and betrayed.

When a character’s change occurs organically within the story’s context, history shows that fans are more accepting of the new character. Marvel has provided a great example of this with characters such as Nick Fury and the X-Men’s Bobby Drake (Iceman). Both changes, one’s race and the other’s sexual orientation, were handled through the writing and good storytelling.

If Hasbro wanted a diverse character in charge of M.A.S.K., there are multiple ways they could have gone about it. There are those I mentioned already, but the best option, or at least one of the most interesting ones, could have been to bring back a character from the mini-comic. Most M.A.S.K. fans either don’t know or have forgotten that Matt Trakker has a younger brother, Andrew “Andy” Trakker II.

Andy Trakker was a brilliant engineer who worked alongside his brother, Matt, and Miles Mayhem to develop M.A.S.K.’s technology in hopes of achieving world peace. But Mayhem grew greedy, killed Andy, and took half the technology to form his criminal group, V.E.N.O.M. Matt vowed revenge for Andy’s death.

If Hasbro, IDW, and now Skybound wanted, they could have easily made Andy “Andrew” Trakker African-American and brought him back. Matt could have learned that his brother was alive, that Miles Mayhem had Andy in a Cybertronian cryo-regeneration tank, and that he had been in stasis for the past twenty years. Matt spares no expense to track down where V.E.N.O.M. is keeping Andy. Once Matt learns Andy’s location, M.A.S.K. launches an all-out assault on V.E.N.O.M., resulting in casualties on both sides, including Matt Trakker. As Matt lies dying in his brother’s arms, he uses his Spectrum mask to transfer leadership of M.A.S.K. and the Trakker Foundation to his brother. Matt then asks Andy to look after his Scott and leaves a message for Scott.

This simple six-sentence paragraph could not only achieve exactly what Hasbro intended by having a diverse leader in charge of M.A.S.K., but it also introduces a new character, or at least reintroduces one, and tells a story. Not to mention the years of added storytelling, including a way to eventually bring Matt Trakker back and to set up M.A.S.K.’s involvement in Skybound’s Energon verse.

I’m not saying Hasbro or Skybound should use my idea, or that it’s the only way to change the character. If there were a hard line that said “No, it has to be Matt and only Matt,” there are the aforementioned ways to do it organically. All I’m saying is that when you make a major change to a character, especially one involving their race, gender, or sexual orientation, fans deserve a compelling story to accompany it.