Transformers #25 — the first issue from writer Robert Kirkman and artist Dan Mora — is out this week from Skybound, and the issue featured a moment that is likely setting up the newest addition to the Energon Universe. That’s because the issue introduced the character of Miles Mayhem to the series, revealed to be part of a secret government project in league with the Autobots.
If that name sounds familiar to you, you’re probably over 40, or an avid reader of IDW’s Hasbro Universe. Mayhem is the leader of V.E.N.O.M., a villainous organization in the short-lived animated series M.A.S.K. The character has also made appearances in IDW’s Transformers and related comics, in which his views were so broadly anti-alien that he hated the Autobots and Decepticons both.
So far, Mayhem is being presented as an ally to the Autobots — something that could make sense with the “anti-alien” characterization since the Decepticons are the more immediate, existential threat. On the other hand, he could be a double agent or engaging in some other kind of trickery. If the Autobots can’t detect a little trouble coming from a guy named “Mayhem,” though, maybe they deserve what they get.
In the issue, Mayhem reveals that his organization — called Shadow Watch — has a stockpile of Energon in its possession as well as two deactivated Transformers. Those Transformers — Mirage and Bulkhead — were discovered by the U.S. government decades ago, and Mayhem has been experimenting with them in the hopes of reactivating them.
Given who he is, it’s likely the end of that thought is probably “…and controlling them,” but that part is going unsaid, at least for now.
Mayhem isn’t the first M.A.S.K. character to show up in the Energon Universe: his arch-nemesis, M.A.S.K. leader Matt Trakker, appeared in this year’s Energon Universe Annual. This marks the return of M.A.S.K.‘s hero and its villain, both of whom have been mostly on ice since the end of the IDW M.A.S.K. comic in 2017.
M.A.S.K. is something of a natural companion to Transformers since the heroes — the “Mobile Armored Strike Kommand” — ride around in transforming trucks. The fact that their villains are called V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem) also feels like a pretty natural fit for a G.I. Joe crossover, since that particular strike force squares off against the similarly snake-themed Cobra.
M.A.S.K. ran for 75 issues over the course of a year, airing from 1985-1986. The series was, like virtually every cartoon back then, pegged to a toy line, but it failed to connect with audiences (or move toys) in the way that the ’80s G.I. Joe series did. Originally owned by Kenner, M.A.S.K. joined the Hasbro portfolio in 1991. The company shut down in 2000, and currently exists only as a legacy brand for Star Wars toys.
