NYCC 2026: Dan Watters Planted Seeds In ‘Destro’ That Begin To Sprout In ‘M.A.S.K.’
by Gary Catig
Skybound’s Energon Universe has gradually expanded, incorporating other properties besides G.I. Joe and Transformers. The fourth ongoing series, M.A.S.K., revolves around another ’80s franchise that had both a children’s animated show and toy line. The creative team includes writer Dan Watters, artist Pye Parr, and colorist Pierluigi Casolino.
Much like the source material, M.A.S.K. follows Matt Trakker and his titular team of gifted specialists who fight against the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem (V.E.N.O.M.) who are led by Trakker’s former boss and terrorist Miles Mayhem.
We recently spoke with Watters after hearing all the news from the Energon Universe panel at New York Comic Con. One of the bigger reveals was the first appearance of Battle Force 2000 in M.A.S.K. #8. Watters talked briefly about incorporating the G.I. Joe team into the series:
“I’m really pleased with the Battleforce [2000] stuff. That’s going to be really fun. It was one of those I pitched it kind of left field one. I think in the Larry Hama comics he killed them off in one issue. I wanted to bring them in a different way. What does a soldier of the future look like in the Engergon Universe. They have a connection to Miles Mayhem. It’s going to be cool.”
The writer also referenced more tie ins within M.A.S.K. and the other books from the shared universe. However, he didn’t want to spoil everything he has planned:
“I mean definitely we’ll do it so I can’t talk about it. In the first arc, we still have General Flagg and it’s deeply entrenched in the universe that’s already been built out. But there’s absolutely definitely I wanted to pull more in the second arc. Okay, here’s how it connects to G.I. Joe. Here’s how it connects to Transformers. There’s a lot more connective tissue in volume two.”
M.A.S.K. isn’t Watters first foray into the Energon Universe. He also wrote Destro about the head of M.A.R.S. Industries. Even in the G.I. Joe limited series, he was planting seeds that start to sprout in his current title.
Watters added:
“Destro was a lot about weapons and about tech, right? And Destro as a character, his whole thing is trying to stay at the forefront. He’s an arms dealer. As the world is changing very quickly under foot, he needs to move with it. The kind of technology, the kind of things that Matt Trakker builds, those kind of themes and companies involved, how that world works is stuff that I set up in Destro. And then I get to come back to it with M.A.S.K.”
However, Watters wasn’t always guaranteed to return to this world. When asked if he knew he would be the writer for M.A.S.K. back then, he said:
“No, but I hoped something would. I always want to lay foundations as if it’s something real. So, there were always threads there that could be opened up again, is the way I saw it.”
Luckily things worked out, and Watters still entertains us with his stories within the Energon Universe.
