Masko

Click here to see quotes from Masko.
**Masko** is the one of the main protagonists of *Power Players*. He is a rubber stretchable figure designed in the tradition of a luchador who is a member of the Power Players team.

## Appearance

Masko has light blue eyes and black painted-on tattoos on his muscular arms. He wears a yellow luchador mask that covers his face except for his mouth, chin, and around his eyes. He has a black and yellow wristband on each of his wrists, a metallic belt that reads "Universe Champion" that has the Power Players insignia, black and yellow shorts, and a pair of black boots with a yellow design And he's always shirtless.

*For more of Masko's outfits and designs, see Masko/Designs.*
## Personality

Masko is a stretchable figure who's tough, loud, and super stretchy. He is from a line designed in the tradition of the luchador and is a specialist in Mexican wrestling—Lucha libre—meaning "free fight" in Spanish. True to the tradition and his name, Masko always wears a mask. He's a great athlete and a passionate wrestling purist. In fact, his love for wrestling is so strong that he is always challenging his teammates to a match at his ring during their free time. However, none of his friends know how to wrestle since Masko often wrestles them at the worst possible time.

Despite Masko's toughness and his love for wrestling, he has neither a mean streak nor any aggressiveness, and instead, he's very friendly, outspoken, kindhearted, and full of surprises. He isn't afraid to admit to his friends that he can be very sensitive and not tough due to his gentleness. He can also be open about his emotions and feelings, such as telling them that he has a love for cleaning as well as having a fear of heights without denying it to them.

Masko can be viewed as a foreigner within the team since he was made in Mexico and Spanish is the first language he spoke. However, he is not a naive person as he is very insightful and intelligent. Masko tends to take things literally since English is not his native language and he hasn't been able to fully comprehend English grammar or figures of speech yet. He also speaks without contractions and misuses idioms (e.g. "The comfy place" as opposed to "comfort zone" or "the winter wonder" instead of "winter wonderland" as well as "the trusting worthy" instead of "trustworthy").

At times, Masko can be a bit silly, like when he mistakenly thinks he is supposed to chew on a leaf to use his "advanced tracking skills" in "Sarge in Charge" and when he falls for Bearbarian's lie about having "plumbing problems" in his closet so much so that he suggests to his teammates they should wait for the "plumber" to arrive before they could stop the upgraded Monster Jeep in "Gathering Dark". He also can be gullible, as seen when "Porcupunk" traps his friends in a net and Masko challenges him to a wrestling match in "On Your Toes", and he doesn't realize that he's actually talking and fighting a wooden puppet until Action Axel points it out after the latter realizes that the Porcupunk sighting in the backyard is a hoax.

## Abilities

Since Masko is designed in the tradition of a luchador, he knows how to wrestle very well and can easily defeat his opponents with his stretchable body that is made out of rubber. He can stretch his arms, legs, and head to long lengths; however, he can't be stretched way too much or else he'll become limp and be unable to reshape back to his normal form. His mask can also change colors based on his emotions. While his native language is Spanish since he was made in Mexico, he is able to speak some English, although his abilities to have a conversation comes off as broken. Masko also has a great singing voice and knows how to play guitar since he used to be a member of a mariachi band.

## Relationships

### Axel Mulligan

Masko first meets Axel after he is accidentally brought back to life by him during his fifth day at Uncle Andrew's Toy Store. However, like the rest of the Power Players, he mistakes Axel as a "bad guy person" because of a misunderstanding by Sarge Charge when he thought Axel had deliberately set Madcap free from the Toy Box and "stole" the Power Bandz. After Axel transforms into a living action figure for the second time, he reveals to them that he's the nephew of Andrew and what he did was completely an accident, which clears up the misunderstanding between them. Action Axel becomes excited about the powers he's discovered from his Power Bandz before he starts questioning the toys' sudden change of size and why he suddenly gets so small when he uses them, which prompts Masko to tell him that only Axel is the one who got shrunk and comments that his height has become a perfect size for a toy. When Madcap takes Action Axel hostage in his room and tries to manipulate him into thinking the Power Players are their enemies, Masko warns Action Axel that he shouldn't listen to Madcap and that he's the real bad guy that can't be trusted, which allows Action Axel to listen to the Power Players and not fall for any more of Madcap's trickery. Later after Madcap's escape with the Minergy battery along with Orangutank and Porcupunk, Masko steals a pizza slice from Axel's plate so he and his teammates can celebrate their return as living toys and Axel being the new member of the Power Players.

Since then, Masko sees Axel as a friend, and they both get along very well. In "Knockout", Masko decides to tag along with him to get some goulash in the kitchen despite Action Axel bribing him into doing so as part of their "training" while the rest of the Power Players are all taking a nap. They even work together to prevent Andrew from waking up when Orangutank crashes their place. At times, Masko wants to wrestle with him despite Axel's lack of wrestling skills, and he sees it as Masko's specialty.

### Bearbarian

Masko and Bearbarian both get along well as friends. Masko has a strong liking for Bearbarian's soft, plush fur, and he often tries to tickle him. He even once kissed Bearbarian on the cheek in "Bearbarian" after complimenting him. He also admits to Bearbarian that he likes it when he "pretends" to be so tough in "Bear-Knuckle Brawl", despite his compliments annoying Bearbarian instead since he doesn't like to be called "soft" and wants to prove to everyone that he is really tough.

### Bobbie Blobby

Out of all his friends, Masko seems to hang out with Bobbie the most. Whenever there aren't any missions, Masko and Bobbie would often sit down on their lounge chairs in the backyard on a sunny day to tan as seen in "Dodge City" and "Opposites Attract".

In "Bobbie Not Blobby", their friendship is put to the test when Masko cleans Bobbie's mecha-suit because of how "messy" it is. However, he unintentionally causes her to get mad at him for touching it without her permission as well as calling her clay "dirt" which inadvertently offends her even more because of Bobbie's love of art. During their fight, Dr. Nautilus sneaks into the bathroom and steals the mecha-suit as part of his scheme to flood the city, which makes Bobbie blame Masko for it, becoming so angry at him that she refuses to leave Axel's room to help him and his teammates save the city from the villain. When the Power Players are having so much trouble stopping Dr. Nautilus in the sewers that Action Axel has to call Bobbie for help, Masko wants Bobbie to forgive him for cleaning her mecha-suit since he knows that it is his fault that Dr. Nautilus stole it. When Bobbie is about to get captured by Dr. Nautilus's minions, Masko comes to her rescue, saying it is worth getting his hands dirty to save his friend, and the two work together to get her mecha-suit back. After Dr. Nautilus's defeat, Masko wants to hang out with Bobbie since they both forgive each other, and he asks her if the team should relax together in the swimming pool she built underneath Axel's bed, which Bobbie promptly refuses. However Masko is happy that she is back to being her cynical self.

### Galileo

Masko and Galileo seem to at least get along as friends. While Masko often tolerates the toy lizard's big ego, he can't stand Galileo's love for pranks, and he doesn't find them amusing in both "Boo!" and "Joke's On You, Bro!". When he finds out one of his championship belts is missing from his collection, he accuses Galileo of stealing it in "The Thing in the Wall".

### Sarge Charge

Masko and Sarge are friends. Sometimes, they participate in friendly wrestling matches in Masko's ring. Masko usually wins, but there are rare times when Masko will actually lose a match against Sarge.

In "Saving Private Masko", Masko is put into training by Sarge, so he can teach him the virtue of discipline and to help him focus more on responsibility instead of having fun. However, Masko takes his military training so seriously that he loses sight of his own identity in the process, wanting to do nothing but take down Madcap to make both Sarge and Axel. After Action Axel rescues Masko from Madcap's lair, Sarge apologizes to him for wanting to change what he really is and compliments that he's still doing him proud.

Despite their friendship, in "The Dynamo Dynamic", Masko and Sarge both have an argument over who has the most "ultimate weapon": Masko's stretchable body or Sarge's new blaster that Slobot built for him. When Dynamo arrives to kidnap Slobot, Masko and Sarge are both too busy arguing to focus on protecting their friend. During the fight in the living room, they decide to put aside their differences and follow Action Axel's advice to use both their ultimate weapons to take down Dynamo more easily. After Dynamo's defeat, Sarge and Masko are about to reconcile over their disagreement, but they end up arguing again over whose weapon was more powerful during their fight with Dynamo.

### Slobot

When Dynamo arrives to kidnap Slobot under Madcap's order in "The Dynamo Dynamic", Masko is willing to fight the villain so he can protect Slobot.

### Uncle Andrew

While it's unknown what Masko's relationship with Andrew is, he seems to like his creator since he's the one who used Minergy to bring him to life. Masko was made by Andrew during his vacation in Mexico.

### Luka

Like the rest of the Power Players, Masko is afraid of Luka because of how roughly he likes to play with them, and he usually tries to hide from him whenever Luka visits Axel's house.

### Zoe

Masko sees Zoe as a friend, and he supports her as the team's ally. After she rescues everyone from Pyrant and his Pyramid of Prediction army in "Side Kicked", Masko asks his teammates if they should agree to let Zoe be part of the team like she always wanted.

### Madcap and his army

Masko and the rest of his teammates must have known Madcap for a very long time before the events of the series. Because Madcap escapes from the house with the Minergy battery he stole, Masko and the rest of the team are working together to defeat him and his army of evil toys once and for all before they take over the world.

### Joyride

Masko first mets Joyride after the latter was brought to life by Madcap in "Joyride". Joyride attacks the Power Players because of his anger towards Action Axel, who he blames for throwing him into the wall, even when Action Axel tries to tell him that it's only an accident. After Joyride's redemption and his departure to explore the city on his own, Masko and the rest of the Power Players are on friendly terms with him. In "Thirst For Power", they work alongside Joyride to stop Dr. Nautilus from flooding the sewers when they use him as a ship. Masko does tease Joyride that his sudden return to Zoe when the city went through a water outage is an excuse that he really missed her during his travels and remarks how "cute" it is that he cares about her so much.

## Trivia

* The Hungarian version of his name is "Maszkosember".
* Before the series premiere, Masko was the first member of the Power Players to have his name revealed. His name was first revealed in a 2017 motion capture video that was posted on the official ZAG Vimeo channel.
* Masko's stretchability is most likely based on the "Stretch Armstrong" action figures.
* In "Unboxing Part 2", Masko mentions that he loves to eat cheese pizza, and he sneakily steals Axel's pizza slice from his plate near the end of the episode.
* Masko has a tendency to add an excessive amount of "the" to his sentences and often before a person's noun (e.g. "the Sarge Charge") due English not being his first language.
* Despite being made out of rubber, Masko is able to tan, as revealed in "Dodge City".
* Even though Masko has a love for cleaning and dislikes when a place is messy and/or smelly, "Saving Private Masko" is the only episode in which he doesn't seem to care about Axel's messy room and instead he prefers to wrestle with his teammates while they clean. Because most of the episodes in the series are released out of chronological order, it implies "Saving Private Masko" might have taken place before Masko discovers his love for cleaning and learns how to be responsible since he mentions in the aforementioned episode that he found responsibility not fun for him.
* It's revealed in "Knockout" that Masko likes eating goulash. He also reveals to Action Axel that he used to be in a mariachi band and knows how to play guitar.
	+ Since mariachi is a genre of Regional Mexican Spanish music and Masko was made in Mexico by Andrew during his vacation, it's implied that he used to be with the band during his time in Mexico.
* In "Access Denied", it is first hinted that Masko is afraid of heights when he and his teammates are all accidentally teleported out of the house and are falling from the sky. His acrophobia is later confirmed in "Gathering Dark".

* When the Power Players are picking a movie to watch in "The Other Side", Masko picks a wrestling movie called *Tap Me Out 2: The Tappening*. On the VHS cover, it features a character that looks very similar to Masko, which implies that the toyline Masko originates from is based on the movie franchise.
	+ The design of Masko on the VHS cover is based on Masko's early character design, since he is depicted with a lot more tattoos on his body and has a different Power Players insignia on his belt.
* When an upgraded Porcupunk causes the city to vibrate because of the amplitude of the increased tremor from his guitar in "Porcupunk Rock", Masko reveals that he has never experienced an earthquake before.
* In "Iced Out", it's revealed that Masko doesn't know how to skate.
* In "Sarge in Charge", Masko whimpers the word "Mommy!" at one point. However, since he was made by Andrew, it's unknown if the toyline Masko originated from has him have a mother or if his whimpering might have been a comedic gag.
* It's revealed in "Joyride" that Masko is allergic to motor oil, which causes him to sneeze.
* In "The Thing in the Wall", Masko is revealed to own a large collection of championship belts, all of which have the Power Players team insignia.
* Despite being a toy, Masko has skeleton bones inside his rubber body which was revealed in "Stretched Too Thin" when Slobot scans his x-ray.

## References

1. ↑ https://malayvoicescastcollection.blogspot.com/2021/03/power-players.html?m=1
2. ↑ Action Axel called him that in "Unboxing Part 2" before he gets to know his name.
3. ↑ By both Bobbie Blobby and Sarge Charge.
4. ↑ By Bobbie Blobby in "Attack of Thermometron 9000".
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.francetvpro.fr/okoo/dossiers-de-presse/35994581
6. ↑ https://www.powerplayers.tv/
7. ↑ http://importsdragon.com/power-players/
8. ↑ https://vimeo.com/224058439

Axel Mulligan/Action Axel • Bearbarian • Bobbie Blobby • Galileo • **Masko** • Sarge Charge • Slobot

Allies
Bot-Guy • Joyride • Thermometron 9000 • The Scratch Pack Cats • Zoe

Dr. Nautilus • Dynamo • Ice Crusher • Madcap • Orangutank • Porcupunk • Princess SugarSalt • Pyramid of Prediction • Pyrant

Other villains
Ice Crusher's clones • Minergy-infused plant • Rufin

Redeemed antagonists
Bot-Guy • Joyride • Luka's teddy bear collection • Madcap's Junior Genetic Spy Lizards army • Thermometron 9000 • The Scratch Pack Cats

Cleo LeBall • Craig • Luka • Zoe

Adults
Mr. and Mrs. Mulligan • Uncle Andrew • Zoe's father • Zoe's mother

Smart-toys
Baby • Sergeant Lacharge

Miscellaneous
Salto

Non-Canon characters
Axel's dog • Axel's grandfather