The Mask (animation)

"There's one last thing I gotta sing about Open up wide and really shout, Ohhhhh, look out! This is The Mask! Smokin'!"

This Animated Adaptation of The Mask most definitely was a product of the film rather than the comic book and took its cues from the Looney Tunes inspired antics of the Mask to make him a real (sort of) cartoon character. This actually allowed the kids show to be in some ways more adult with more subversive antics, Getting Crap Past the Radar and The Simpsons-esque social parody.

The plot is simple: Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered banker, struggles with the responsibilities of having a mask that transforms the wearer into a nigh-omnipotent trickster. He takes up the superhero thing, but his alter-ego, The Mask, is more interested in... well, everything besides being a hero.

-

"I gotcha with my winnin' smile I'm a livin' lesson in flair and style Ya just can't help but Stare at my savoir-faire. I'm nouveau Deco Roman-Greco Or a Coco, Baroco Bebop, uh, hip-hop Somebody stop me! Pretty veridian Faces like mine Don't come a dime a dozen I stand out in the crowd Babe, when they made me Yeah, they broke the mold Wholesome and kind And staid and refined Totally outta my mind! Arch-villains and ne'er-do-wells Had better learn to decorate prison cells Green goes with anything if they ask, see? Well, there's one last thing I gotta sing about Open up wide and really shout. Ooooohhh, look out! This is the Maaaaassssssk! Smokin'!"
 * Action Bomb: Cookie BaBoom (the Mayor's exotic dancer ex-girlfriend) in "Flight as a Feather" invokes this trope, but.
 * Kablamus, meanwhile, is your garden variety self-detonating man with various "flavors" of explosions.
 * Adaptation Distillation: At least between the movie and the cartoon.
 * Stanley, Milo the Dog, Mrs. Peenman (the landlady), Charlie (Stanley's womanizing friend and coworker at the bank), Lieutenant Kellaway, Kellaway's detective partner, Doyle, Mayor Tilton (who only had a small appearance in the movie), and Peggy (the tabloid writer) are in the cartoon version. Tina (Cameron Diaz's character) and Dorian (the villain from the movie) aren't.
 * Though we can assume that Dorian was likely drowned and Tina's relationship with Stanley didn't last as long as the ending implied, so their absences makes sense.
 * Ben Stein also reprised his role as Dr. Neumann in a couple of episodes, including one where he becomes in possession of the mask.
 * Also, the Mask can be activated in the daytime as well as the nighttime.
 * Granted, they never said 100% that the Mask could not work during the day. In the movie and cartoon, it refused to work when Stanley tried to put it on in front of Dr. Neumann and sometimes won't work if something happens to it (except for being split in half, as seen in "Split Personality").
 * The Ahnold: The Mask himself on occasion, and one-time episode villain Sly Eastenegger
 * The Alleged Car: Stanley still has "The Loaner" from the movie and Kellaway and Doyle have a green car that always clatters and backfires when they drive it and was attacked by reanimated dinosaurs with an appetite for metal (as seen in "Jurassic Mask").
 * Almost Kiss: Happens between The Mask and Chronos in "What Goes Around Comes Around", and ends up squicking The Mask out so much that he has to literally get his head examined.
 * Alternative Continuity: Strangely subverted, unlike almost all other movie to cartoon adaptations. We can simply assume that either Tina dumped Stan or Stan dumped Tina (which explains her not appearing in the cartoon). In the pilot, Peggy mentions having sold Stanley out to mobsters and Charlie asks if Stanley still has the mask after The Mask fails to stop a bank robbery. Stanley reminds him that he threw the mask away. The Coco Bongo's interior is very different but it may have been remodeled- for that matter, it may be under new ownership after Dorian's disappearance. Speaking of which, Dorian's absence may be explained by his fate in the movie, it may be assumed he died as a result.
 * There were some plans to bring Dorian Tyrell and Niko backs as ghosts who wreak havoc on the city and try to regain their criminal empires. They were even in talks with Peter Greene to voice Dorian!
 * The cartoon also takes on the What Happened to the Mouse? fate of Peggy in the film, instead of the deleted scene in which she is killed by Dorian after he gains the mask.
 * The comic book series based on the cartoon is also this.
 * Ambiguously Brown: Cookie BaBoom. She looks like she could be African-American, but she has green eyes, which isn't found a lot in African-Americans. Could she be mixed, a Gypsy (she does bear a striking resemblance to Esmerelda from the Disney adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame), be wearing green contact lenses, was she originally going to be a white woman, is it a recessive gene, or just a case of "recycled character model" in which a white female character was recolored?
 * Anti-Hero: The Mask is Type II. He's lazy and a Troll, but usually does the right thing. Stanley on the other hand is rather weak and timid, so he falls into Type I.
 * Arm Cannon
 * Arch Enemy: Good ol' Dr. Pretorius, whose motives vary by the episode, but usually fall under inhumane experiments For Science!!
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Putty Thing, though His Size May Vary.
 * Bad Future: In "Comedy of Eras" and "Future Mask"
 * Banana Republic : Appeared in one of the episodes.
 * Batman Gambit: Stanley finds a special "sister Mask" to be placed over the original one, which is said to give the wearer better control over his alter-ego. It turns out Dr. Pretorius created this sister Mask and planted it in a museum; it's actually a mind-control device.
 * Bee-Bee Gun: The Stinger, who gains the ability to command a large swarm of intelligent monster bees after mutating into a giant bee monster.
 * Berserk Button:
 * Whatever you do, don't mess with the Coco Bongo, mess with The Mask's clothes in any way or forget The Mask's birthday. This will cause The Mask to seek out revenge on the one responsible.
 * Don't call The Stinger "Bee Boy" or "Mr. Bee".
 * Don't make fun of Fish Guy in front of Putty Thing.
 * Absolutely do not swipe anything The Mask intends to purchase. "He took my merchandise... BIIIIG mistake!"
 * Beware My Stinger Tail: When cornered, The Stinger tends to use his large bee tail as a rather versatile weapon, either by knocking people over with it or using the stinger on the end.
 * Big Eater: In "To Bee or Not To Bee", a side-effect of The Stinger's Metamorphosis into a giant bee is now he needs an insane amount of honey to survive, which drives him to eat the contents of an entire Honey Chews factory in a single night and later enslave the entire city just so the inhabitants can manufacture more honey. Later, in "Convention of Evil", he has to have a pot of honey available at all times.
 * Blessed Are the Cheesemakers: Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch from "Mask Au Gratin" and "Convention of Evil"
 * Body Horror:
 * Kablamus The Exploding Man.
 * To a lesser extent, The Stinger, whose bee mutation is more than a little unsettling.
 * Boot Camp Episode: "The Green Marine"
 * Bottle Episode: The episode-long Clip Show episode "Convention of Evil" has most of the series' villains in one room and "The Green Marine," which took place inside the courtroom (and only departed from that place during flashback sequences).
 * Bragging Theme Tune: Both versions count, but the CBS version is only partially bragging:

"I'm a lean, mean, gren machine A maniac behind the ballyhoo Got a hyperactive mayhem gene And that's my gig, babe It's what I do. And I go spinnin' into town Got everyone seein' red. By the time I'm done They'll be seein' green instead! Smokin' The city's actin' kinda edgy Trust me to make things right. NOT! Hear the news? Another drive-by wedgie. Freaky monsters lookin' for a fight. Stop! Time for a costume change Then take 'em for a spin 4, 3, 2, 1, go! Let the games begin (scatting; spoken): Somebody stop me! Listen! I'm not any ordinary superhero. Not Your Everyday Spandex-wearin' zero. Did someone say, "It's party time!" Do you even have to ask? Anytime Ready or not Look out! I am the Mask!"
 * The syndicated version, however, is full-on:

"The Mask: Not only are you a lame mutant, you're a lame fish!"
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: "Split Personality": After the Mask gets him and Stanely out of a trap designed to split them in half, Stanely asks why he didn't do that sooner. "Sense of jeopardy! Keeps them (points at the viewer) on the edge of their seats."
 * Butt Monkey: Stanley Ipkiss (when he's not The Mask); when Stanley becomes The Mask, the usual butt monkeys are Mrs. Peenman (the grouchy landlady), Lieutenant Kellaway and his police partner, Doyle, Mayor Tilton, Eddie when he becomes Fish Guy, and any villain who gets in The Mask's way.
 * Captain Ersatz: Quite often, usually ranging from lawyer-friendly cameos to shout-outs
 * Much of the main cast may also count, as happened with The Real Ghostbusters, none of them really look like the actors who played them, with only Charlie, Doyle and Peggy really getting anywhere close. This may have been to avoid paying for likeness rights. It's also possible that since the animated Ace Ventura(whose series ran in the timeslot following the Mask and even crossed over with it in an episode of each) actually was a clear caricature of Jim Carrey they wanted to make them distinct from each other.
 * Perhaps the funniest part of that is the fact Stanley looks quite a bit like the animatedPeter Venkman from Real Ghostbusters.
 * Lonnie the Shark's biker gang may be an expy of the Dreadnoks from G.I. Joe. They even have Australian accents and one looks like a fat version of Torch.
 * Or rather, two of them do. Two members of the gang use the same character model. One is colored just like Torch's original toy, the other colored like Torch's animated appearance.
 * It's worth noting that this series was animated by Sunbow, the same company that created the G.I. Joe series that came on in 1985.
 * Pretorius resembles Eugene Rapaz, a drug dealer from the original comics.
 * Walter may be this to the Walter from the comics. They look the same and both never speak, but cartoon Walter is indestructible whereas comic Walter can bleed when injured, and even likes to cut himself just to freak people out. He's also tough but not indestructible as Big Head was able to subdue him with electricity.
 * It should also be noted that comic Walter worked for Eugene Rapaz and cartoon Walter worked for Pretorius. See the entry above.
 * Putty Thing is basically a dumb teenager version of Clayface from Batman: The Animated Series.
 * Another that crosses the line btween this and a mythology gag, while Lt. Kellaway doesn't even come close to resembling his film counterpart, he's practically a dead ringer for Kellaway from the comics.
 * Catch Phrase: The Mask happened to have two memorable lines from the movie that gained this status. "Sssssmokin'!" and "Somebody stop me!" or a variation of the two managed to work their way into most of the episodes.
 * Chained Heat: In "The Terrible Twos," Kellaway handcuffs himself to Stanley so that way if Stanley turns into The Mask, he'll know about it and have Stanley arrested. Stanley manages to distract him time and again, and eventually is let go so that he can personally handle the villains.
 * Chess with Death: The Mask has a dance-off with the Devil to get Stanley's soul back.
 * Christmas Episode: "Santa Mask"
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: A nerdy, white guy named Smedley appeared as the Mayor's assistant in the season two episodes "Going for the Green" and "Flight as a Feather." He hasn't been seen since then.
 * Clip Show: Two of these -- a partial one on "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Green Mask" and an episode-long one on "Convention of Evil."
 * Comically Invincible Hero: The Mask will bounce back from anything you can come up with. He's even pretended to be killed just to piss off or scare villains.
 * Cool Car: The show often featured the Mask Mobile, which also had a prominent role in the Mask toyline.
 * Media Research Failure: The season two premiere episode, "A Comedy of Eras" has been listed on some TV episode websites as being about The Mask meeting comic actors Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, and Jim Carrey. IT. IS. NOT!. It's about.
 * Crossover: With the Ace Ventura cartoon. The Mexican dub resulted in a case of Talking to Himself as both Stanley/The Mask and Ace Ventura were voiced by the same person.
 * Dartboard of Hate: Kellaway has one of these (with The Mask's picture as the dartboard) on the season two episode "Flight as a Feather"
 * Deal with the Devil: Played straight on the season two episode "Boogie With the Man."
 * Defeat by Modesty: The Mask defeats Cookie BaBoom in "Flight as a Feather" by . Though
 * Depraved Kids' Show Host: Biker boss and criminal Lonnie the Shark is actually the actor who plays Barnaby the Dinosaur, as seen in "Baby's Wild Ride"
 * Distracted by the Sexy: "Flight as a Feather," when Kellaway and Doyle go to capture the Mask, the Mask.
 * The Mask often does this, particularly in "Love Potion No. 8 1/2" when he falls for the grouchy landlady Mrs. Peenman thanks to a carnival love potion sold to him by a gypsy.
 * Dress Hits Floor: Cookie BaBoom does this in "Flight as a Feather." See Sexy Coat Flashing.
 * Elemental Powers: Tempest in "Rain of Terror" and "Convention of Evil".
 * Embarrassing First Name: According to Cookie BaBoom on "Flight as a Feather," Mayor Tilton's real name is.
 * Everything's Even Worse with Sharks:
 * When Fish Guy puts on the mask and becomes Shark Dude in "The Good, The Bad, and the Fish Guy."
 * Lonnie the Shark (given his appearance) counts as well.
 * Everything's Worse with Bees: The Stinger in "To Bee or Not To Bee" and "Convention of Evil".
 * Expy: Lonnie the Shark is obviously based from Biker Mice From Mars villain Lawrence Limburger; lampshaded by the fact that he leads a three-man biker gang. Four men, if you count Pete.
 * Likewise, Peggy could've been called April O'Neil and no one would know the difference.
 * The Goofalotatots were Expies for the Warner Brothers--and the Warner Sister
 * Putty Thing and Fish Guy sound like Wayne and Garth.
 * Putty Thing is also Clayface
 * Extreme Omnivore: The Mask has eaten a nuclear missile and turned two suicide belts into a drink.
 * The Fair Folk: Skillit from "All Hallows Eve," "Shadow of a Skillit," and "Enquiring Masks Want to Know."
 * Feel No Pain
 * Fingerprinting Air: Pretorius saw The Mask's hand print on the windshield of his van. He sprayed it with some mystery aerosol can and produced a solid 3D copy of his hand from it which was then used to plant evidence at a crime scene.
 * On this note, this same episode actually established that Stanley and The Mask have separate fingerprints as they did not register as Stanley's when the police database was searched. They DID, however, register as The Mask. Lt Kellaway had once managed to haul him in on a jaywalking charge and got his fingerprints on file.
 * Fish People: Fish Guy. He can't swim worth a crap though.

"Tempest: They're always talking about how your parents screwed you up, how you have all this repressed hostility. Well I don't have any repressed hostility! Dr. Neuman: Yes, I can see that."
 * Gargle Blaster:
 * On "Split Personality," The Mask/Stanley goes to a tough guy bar and orders a red-hot, battery acid piledriver with extra formaldehyde in a dirty glass with a black widow spider riding on the olive..
 * On "Flight as a Feather," the Mask poses as a bartender who turns two megatons worth of dynamite into a drink called the Bikini Cocktail.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Loads of it (it is a 1990s cartoon based on a PG-13 movie after all), though a lot of it was in season two (with "Flight as a Feather" hailed the crown prince of Radar Dodging for its infamous -- and literal -- Every One Remembers the Stripper moment).
 * Frankly, the radar was probably broken when this cartoon was made.
 * Giant Spider: Pretorius, when he gets the mask on.
 * Going for the Big Scoop: Peggy, often.
 * Groundhog Day Loop: Seen in "What Goes Around Comes Around"
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Putty Thing and Fish Guy. However, in one episode, Fish Guy gets ahold of the mask and streaks out on his own to make a name for himself, so Putty Thing joins up with the Mask to bring his friend back.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: a lot of the familiar 1990s kids' cartoon voice actors appear here, like Tress MacNeille (Mrs. Peenman), Rob Paulsen (Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask), Frank Welker (Milo the dog and the next door neighbor's baby from "Baby's Wild Ride" and "Mutiny of the Bounty Hunters"), Jim Cummings (Kellaway's partner Doyle, Kablamus, and a lot of one-shot characters), Kevin Michael Richardson (Mayor Tilton), Cree Summer (as Cookie BaBoom and various background characters), Kath Soucie (as various background and one-shot characters), Cam Clarke (as Eddie/Fish Guy and Smedley the Mayor's assistant), and Tim Curry (Pretorious).
 * "Split Personality" had Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer, Krusty the Clown, Barney, Arnie Pie the hapless helicopter reporter, the Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Grampa Simpson, Groundskeeper Willie, Sideshow Mel, the Spanish Bumblebee Man, and Homer's male relatives on the season nine episode "Lisa the Simpson") as.
 * Hypno Fool: Stanley and The Mask on the season two episode "Power of Suggestion"
 * I Just Want to Be Special: Two comic obsessed teens (Dak and Eddie) decide to infect themselves with radiation hoping it would give them superpowers. Due to some events, they did mutate into inhuman creatures. Sadly, Eddie (the one with glasses) turned into a Fish Guy that's not even able to swim, while his buddy is a huge, Clayface-like goo monster. Whenever Fish Guy sees someone doing something extraordinary, he starts complaining about wanting to have superpowers too.
 * I Love Nuclear Power:
 * A lot of the low-level, one-shot criminals in the series love using nuclear power (or dynamite) to annihilate themselves and the city.
 * Nuclear power (with a dash of Wrong Genre Savvy) is how Dak and Eddie became Putty Thing and Fish Guy respectively on the episode "The Terrible Twos."
 * Implacable Man: Walter, a silent, hulking thug. As in the comics, Walter is one of the only characters who can make The Mask feel pain.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: When you're the Mask, nearly everyone ends up this way. But special nod goes to Putty-Thing and Fish Guy, who are both ridiculously incompetent. Fish Guy doesn't even have powers; he's a fish that can't swim or breathe underwater.
 * Inevitable Waterfall: Happens to Stanley and Charlie while they're canoeing on a river in "Up The Creek".
 * Inspector Javert: Kellaway, so very much - even more so than in the movie.
 * Jewish Mother: Lt. Kellaway's mother, most certainly, in "The Mother of All Hoods". Which seems rather odd as Kellaway himself doesn't even seem to be Jewish.
 * Of course, Lt. Kellaway's mother, from her brief appearances in the comics, was not this type. She was just a kindly old lady in glasses.
 * The Jimmy Hart Version: In "Flight as a Feather," The Mask has a cassette of himself singing a parody of "O, Christmas Tree" which makes fun of Mrs. Peenman and makes her listen to the song on full blast.
 * Jumping on a Grenade: In most cases, it would either be "sitting on it" or "eating it."
 * Keep Circulating the Tapes: There are only two VHS releases (back when VHS video and VCRs were popular) and the two-part episode "The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side" was released on DVD along with The Mask around the time that Son of the Mask was released in theaters. Other than that, the entire series hasn't been released officially on DVD. All is not lost though -- most of the episodes are available via torrent downloading and on video websites like YouTube and Dailymotion and the show did rerun on Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels in the UK and Australia.
 * alexandravickable on YouTube uploaded about half the series, split into part 1/2/3.
 * Kevin Michael Richardson: The voice of Mayor Tilton (and an unnamed garbage man on "Jurassic Mask")
 * Lampshade Hanging: The Animated Adaptation featured much lampshade hanging on traditional superhero tropes.
 * Large Ham: The Mask, especially in season three's "To Have and Have Snot."
 * He gets called out on it by Pretorious, who's voiced by Tim Curry, ironically enough.
 * Latex Perfection: The Mask disguises himself as  in "Convention of Evil", to the point of copying his voice, height, and mannerisms perfectly. The only way anyone could figure out his disguise is when the real one called Pretorius and told him he couldn't show up in time.
 * He also does this in another episode, disguising himself as Stanley to trick Peggy.
 * This may also be another mythology gag, as one of Big Head's abilities in the comics was to wear incredibly realistic masks made of skin to literally resemble anyone he/she wanted to.
 * Leitmotif: Milo the dog had a little signature ditty when he appeared onscreen.
 * So do Mrs. Peenman, Kellaway, Doyle, and The Mask himself.
 * Living Shadow: Skillit is an otherworldly prankster who uses his shadow to absorb others' shadows and steal their youth.
 * Losing Your Head: Dr. Pretorius
 * Loud of War: "Flight as a Feather" had a scene in which The Mask uses a large boombox and a cassette entitled "The Mask's Greatest Hits" as a form of torture on Mrs. Peenman - first out loud, then through headphones.
 * Meaningful Name: the real names of Kablamus, The Stinger, and The Tempest (see Steven Ulysses Perhero). Also,.
 * Medium Awareness: The Mask regularly acknowledges the audience. When Kablamus tries to do it as well, Mask dismisses him as nuts.
 * Missing Episode: All of season two never aired on CBS (only seasons one and three aired) and ABC Family (back when it was called "FOX Family Channel") banned the episode "Flight as a Feather" for the Cookie BaBoom sequence.
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: Pretorius, where his plans of mass destruction are usually in the name of science.
 * Most Writers Are Male: Subverted hard with "Flight as a Feather.".
 * Mythology Gag: In "Sister Mask", when Pretorius wears the mask, Peggy refers to him as "Big Head" - the name given to the mask wearer in the original Dark Horse comic series.
 * In "The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side," the Mask once again produces a framed (and signed!) photograph of Kellway's wife.
 * My Favorite Shirt: "Future Mask" -- a robot from the future rips The Mask's favorite pants and the Mask chases through time to get him.
 * No Matter How Much I Beg: Done in multiple episodes, usually when Stanley instructs Milo to hide The Mask away where he'll never find it.
 * One-Scene Wonder: The appearance of the Mayor's suicidal stripper ex-girlfriend Cookie BaBoom in "Flight As A Feather." Also counts as a literal "Every One Remembers the Stripper" moment.
 * Police Are Useless: Kellaway and Doyle. Justified in that The Mask is simply too powerful for them to handle. Otherwise, Kellaway is a competent cop. Doyle is...not so much.
 * Pungeon Master: The Mask himself, as well as several of his adversaries.
 * Real After All: In "Santa Mask"
 * Rebus Bubble: In "Split Personality," when Stanley is thinking of what would happen if his old high school bully found and wore The Mask
 * Recycled: the Series: A cartoon adaptation of a PG-13 Jim Carrey movie (two similar series that fit this description include "Ace Ventura: The Animated Series" - with which this show had a Crossover - and the short-lived cartoon adaptation of "Dumb And Dumber")
 * Refuge in Audacity: Once again, "Flight as a Feather". Name me any American kids' cartoon before or after the 1990s that gets away with showing a.
 * The Mask being branded a hero, despite causing destruction and mayhem and not getting arrested for it (usually by defeating a villain more demented than he is), also counts as a Refuge in Audacity. In one episode, he even becomes The President's assistant.
 * Remember the New Guy?: Cookie BaBoom and Smedley, the Mayor's assistant were never shown prior to "Flight as a Feather," yet they've been established as being regular characters (despite that Cookie is a One-Episode Wonder and Smedley only appeared in two episodes: "Flight as a Feather" and the previous episode, "Going for the Green.")
 * Ridiculous Procrastinator: One of the Mask's CatchPhrases is "But first...", meaning he's going to goof off before saving the city. This happens in nearly every episode.
 * Riddle for the Ages: Just how did Walter end up inside the whale on "Flight as a Feather"?
 * Running Gag: The Mask wedgies his enemies, namely Kellaway, Doyle, and Mrs. Peenman.
 * Saw a Woman In Half: Done to the title character on the season three premiere episode "Magic".
 * Say My Name: Kellaway would shout "DOYYYYLE" whenever Doyle did anything dopey (which was pretty often).
 * Sexy Coat Flashing: A warped variation done by Cookie BaBoom on "Flight as a Feather." After Smedley tries to stop Cookie from rushing the stage after Mayor Tilton, she supposedly flashes her naked body by opening her trenchcoat. Smedley lecherously growls, "Dy-no-mite!" As the trenchcoat hits the ground, the camera pans up, revealing the.
 * Shapeshifter Mode Lock: In "Love Potion No. 8/12", the Mask can't transform into different characters because of Madame Suspiria controlling her magic on The Mask
 * Shout-Out: Plenty. It would require an entire wiki to catalog everything. If the show can go 5 minutes without a reference, it's a miracle.
 * Sexier Alter Ego: Subversion. Stanley even points out that The Mask's luck with women is just as bad as his. Stanley is too shy, but The Mask comes on a little too strong.
 * Something Else Also Rises: Kellaway and Doyle's reaction (of the melting variety, though there was that kinky twang noise prior to Doyle's and Kellaway's reaction) to the now-naked Cookie BaBoom on "Flight as a Feather."
 * The Mask's reaction to seeing Davida Steelmine perform magic tricks on the season three premiere "Magic."
 * The Speechless: Walter doesn't say a single word, which just adds to his scariness.
 * Steven Ulysses Perhero and Punny Name:
 * Kablamus's real name is Joe Blow.
 * Tempest's real name is Fritz Drizzle, and The Stinger's real name is Buzz Stingman.
 * Celia N. Airtight made a name for herself on the food sealing business.
 * Surfer Dude: Putty Thing.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: Played for Laughs in several episodes.


 * Swiss Army Appendage: The Mask as Toolverine.
 * Take That: The "Dan Quayle Center For Space Cases" mental hospital from For All Mask-Kind.
 * The Andrew Lloyd Webber Expy in "Broadway Malady" is named Andrew Bedwetter.
 * Take the Wheel: Putty Thing tells Fish Guy to take the wheel and goes to attack The Mask- forgetting the fact that, having only fins instead of hands and feet (and also being short as he is), Fish Guy can't drive.
 * Milo gets behind the Loaner's wheel in "Baby's Day Out."
 * Talking to Themself: In one episode, the Loki Mask was split in half, and Stanley only put on part of it. This makes it so that both he and The Mask were in control at the same time.
 * Talking with Signs: "Split Personality," when Stan is trying to hide his Mask half while talking to Charlie and the Mask holds up signs that read, "Underwear too tight, Charles?", "I'm a filthy liar." and "Make my day: Fire me!"
 * Those Two Guys: Lieutenant Kellaway and Doyle and the teenage slackers Dak and Eddie (who become Putty Thing and Fish Guy on the aptly titled episode "The Terrible Twos").
 * Time Master: Thanks to her time warping gadgets, Dr. Chronos is one of the few villains on this show who poses a real threat to The Mask.
 * Time Stands Still: Done on the two episodes that have Chronos as the villain: "Comedy of Eras" and "What Goes Around Comes Around."
 * Title Montage: All three seasons featured an opening that was just clips from the series (the one used for syndicated airings had a lot of scenes from "Flight as a Feather").
 * Trapped in TV Land: The season two episode "Channel Surfin'".
 * The Voiceless: Walter (Pretorious's red-haired, Frankenstein's monster-esque hired goon)
 * Trickster Archetype: The Mask's thrives on deflating his enemies' (or Lt. Kellaway's) egos.
 * Unlucky Everydude: Stanley.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: The Mask's main power is to transform into something appropriate for the situation.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: Wearing The Mask while ill will screw up Stanley's powers and eventually kill him. So naturally, the city's attacked by a giant mucus monster while he's got a cold.
 * Wire Dilemma
 * With Friends Like These...: Stanley's closest friend, Peggy Brandt, mostly uses him for tabloid material since she's the only person who knows that Stanley is The Mask. She even gets captured on purpose just to force him to use the Mask.
 * Yandere and Disproportionate Retribution: The Cookie BaBoom sequence on "Flight as a Feather." She . Makes you wonder what their relationship was like, if Cookie is this vengeful in break-up mode.
 * You Look Familiar and Palette Swap: In the beginning of "Rain of Terror," the Mask crashes a party and leaves with two women, one was the Swedish karaoke emcee from "Flight as a Feather" (only her dress was a darker shade of pink and her waist was smaller); the other is Cookie BaBoom from the same episode only her hair was reddish-brown, not black, her trenchcoat was blue, not grayish beige, she wasn't voiced by Cree Summer, and, most importantly, her clothes stayed on during her short appearance).