Retrospective Film Review

The Mask (1994) • 30 Years Later — still ssssmokin’ after decades of comic-book movies

Bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss is transformed into a manic superhero when he wears a mysterious mask.

There’s more to comic-books than superheroes. Wikipedia erroneously lists The Mask as a “1994 American superhero comedy film.” The original 1989–1991 run of Dark Horse Comics’ The Mask is even less superheroic. The ancient titular mask may grant a hapless bank clerk powers beyond imagination, but as he says himself, “I could fight crime! Protect the innocent! Work for world peace! But first…”

Batman (1989) proved a wildly successful comic-book film for adults, and Dark Horse Comics took note. That same year, Mike Richardson, creator of The Mask, approached New Line Cinema with his story: beleaguered Stanley Ipkiss becomes an all-powerful green-headed cartoon character thanks to a magical mask. Darker even than Batman Returns (1991), Richardson’s comic followed Stanley venting his frustrations against the world in a bloody fashion. When Richardson pitched the project, “it was around…