M.A.S.K. was one of the classic eighties franchises combining both a toyline and a cartoon series which was essentially used to advertise and sell the toys. Debuting in 1985, M.A.S.K. was created by Kenner.
The first wave of toys was released in 1985, concurrently with the cartoon series. The initial wave was five M.A.S.K. vehicles and the Boulder Hill playset and three V.E.N.O.M. vehicles. Despite both M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. introducing a female operative in the cartoon series early on, no toy of either Gloria Baker or Vanessa Warfield was available in this first wave of toys – or even for a long time after. Many fans spent fruitless hours scouring toy stores for nonexistent toys of Gloria and Vanessa reasoning that that had to exist since they were in the cartoon. Toy makers take note: boys wanted female figures! If for no other reason than to complete our collections! It was deeply frustrating to never be able to attain a full set of toys and act out our own adventures.
A second wave of toys followed in 1986, adding new vehicles and characters but still devoid of any female representation. Europe also got a number of “Adventure Packs” which were usually one or two repainted figures on a blister card along with some equipment. The third wave of toys was released in 1987 and followed on from the cartoon’s second series which introduced a racing theme to the show. Along with the new sets and characters, Kenner released M.A.S.K.’s first female figure – Vanessa Warfield in Manta. Many rejoiced, and the search for Gloria and Shark intensified as fans believed that since Kenner had released a Vanessa figure, then Gloria must be out there as well! Sadly, she was not.
The last wave of toys was released in 1988 and was subtitled “Split Seconds” and featured a new gimmick. Each toy could split into two vehicles and each were piloted by a character and a holographic duplicate. Each duplicate was transparent to identify them easily. None of the vehicles released in the fourth wave featured in the cartoon since it had long since ended by this point. The one bright spot to the line was the release of a Gloria Baker figure! But Shark was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was in a vehicle called Stiletto. Shark was apparently never released. Rumors abound that a Shark toy had been produced and was available but there was little substance to it. Back in the days before the Internet, if a kid told you his brother’s friend’s cousin had Shark, then you believed him because there was no easy way to double-check. The urban legend of a Shark toy is still told to this day with occasional phonies showing up on eBay.
