It’s a new era of Transformers at Skybound and Image Comics, as writer Robert Kirkman and artist Dan Mora take over the title with Transformers #25. And with a new era comes new threats, new villains, and some big surprises, including — spoilers past this point — the fact that Decepticon Starscream might not be quite as dead as fan assumed, after his fate in Transformers #24. But the bigger twist? The introduction of THE big villain from M.A.S.K., Miles Mayhem, as… An ally of Optimus Prime?
Let’s take a step back to explain how Miles Mayhem is introduced, who he is in M.A.S.K., and why things may not be what they seem.
In the issue, the Autobots are helping clean up Chicago after their massive battle with the Decepticons last issue. Enter a guy who says he’s with the US government, and offers a partnership with Optimus. While the army guy doesn’t offer his name, or any other details, Optimus does what you should never do with a hippie or, in this case, anti-hippie: heads with him to a second location.
At this undisclosed location, which the guy reveals is called Shadow Watch, he takes Optimus to their bunker underground. There, it’s revealed that Shadow Watch has Mirage and Bulkhead, to Transformers who were recovered by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, and under the ocean in 1936, respectively. The army dude admits they’ve been experimenting on the duo, though only to try and learn what they can and reactivate them. Coincidentally, Shadow Watch has also been stockpiling Energon, the exact substance Optimus needs to revive the ‘bots.
That’s when the leader of Shadow Watch, Miles Mayhem, shows up. “I have a feeling we’re going to get along exceptionally well, Optimus Prime,” he says… And that’s the last we see of them in this issue.
Who Is Miles Mayhem On M.A.S.K.?
While Shadow Watch isn’t a thing from any of the Hasbro properties (at least, none that I’m aware of), Miles Mayhem definitely is. In case his name didn’t tip you off, he’s not usually a good guy; he’s the leader of V.E.N.O.M., the villain organization that fights against M.A.S.K. Miles Mayhem actually initially, in the continuity of the show, helped started the M.A.S.K. program, before killing one of his co-founders, stealing the tech, and starting his own bad guy organization.
So, there’s a couple of possibilities here. One is that Miles Mayhem and unnamed army guy are already with V.E.N.O.M., and are tricking Optimus. The other, more likely situation is that Kirkman is slowly building up the Energon Universe version of the M.A.S.K. mythology. It makes more sense that M.A.S.K., a show that was basically Transformers mixed with G.I. Joe, would come out of using Transformers tech and perhaps stealing some G.I. Joe tech as well — versus spontaneously existing all on its own.
So is Miles Mayhem a bad guy? Probably, eventually. As for right now, he’s likely going to get what he needs from Optimus Prime and the Autobots. After that? Smart money says that’s when the mask falls off.
Transformers #25 is in stores now.
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