by Nelson
Attack of the Mutant
I hate to keep going back to the “this reminds me of an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark” well over and over again, but I just finished looking up release dates to see what came first – Attack of the Mutant or The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner. Both were released in ’94, so I guess I can chalk up any similarities as coincidental. Both stories center on comic book villains exploding into reality to continue their villainous hijinks in the “real” world. Similar or not, Goosebumps’ 25th entry does a lot more with the concept. It’s not one of those slimy, creepy, ghostly stories, but I think it’s one of the standout books in the series.
Skipper Matthews is our narrator, hero, and comic book nerd. In a rarity, he’s also the story’s sole main character. His friend Wilson shows up a few times, but his only role in the story is preaching the benefits of collecting rubber stamps instead of comics. Skipper’s adventure gets started when he meets a fellow collector, Libby Zacks, while riding the city bus to an orthodontist appointment. As we know by now, you’ve got to be careful with kids you’ve never met before in these books. Anyway, after he misses the stop for his dentist, Skipper gets off in an unfamiliar part of town and quickly stumbles on the bright pink, fire hydrant shaped secret lair of his favorite comic book villain, The Masked Mutant. It’s completely impossible, but, as Skipper soon discovers, anything is possible when R.L. Stine is involved. The nefarious Masked Mutant – with the power to “move his molecules around” and shapeshift – is really real, and only a kid who happens to read a lot of comic books can do anything about it!
Like so many misguided Goosebumps heroes of the past, Skipper tries to confide in his parents, but they’re already fed up with their son’s ridiculous obsessions and don’t have time for anymore nonsense. Only Libby is willing to hear him out, even if she doesn’t believe him and insists that he should put the tights and capes aside for High School Harry and Beanhead – the books she proudly collects and eagerly shows off to her disinterested new friend. The Mutant’s chronicles are coming to life, and that’s a pressing situation. The two kids head to the brightly colored hideout, pass through an “invisibility curtain,” and go inside where they’re immediately scanned by a mysterious laser. They investigate the seemingly abandoned building, and Skipper finds drawings of himself as a comic character in the basement before Libby convinces him to leave.
Back home, Skipper discovers that he’s on the cover of the latest issue of The Masked Mutant! On top of that, the cover claims that he’s the only one who can save the heroic Galloping Gazelle from the Mutant’s evil clutches. He rushes back to the giant pink fire hydrant to save the imprisoned superhero. The Masked Mutant shows up for a showdown, and, instead of defending him, The Galloping Gazelle hilariously splits the scene and leaves Skipper to fend for himself. Thankfully, Libby arrives at the last minute and melts the nefarious evildoer with a ray gun. Just when good seems to have triumphed over evil, we get our big Goosebumps twist: the melted miscreant was a decoy Masked Mutant. The real one? It’s Libby! The Mutant fiendishly used his shapeshifting powers to transform into a twelve-year-old girl and lure Skipper into his diabolical game. How he managed to also create Libby’s house, bedroom, and comic book collection is never explained, but there’s no time to worry about that when our heroic narrator is face-to-face with a sinister foe who claims to have turned him into a comic book character so he can have a new good guy to destroy and keep his weekly series going. You’ve got to admire a bad guy with such a keen understanding of the business side of the comic book industry. Unfortunately, The Mutant’s obsession with sales causes him to forget his sole weakness, and he’s defeated after Skipper tricks him into transforming into liquid. The poor guy forgot that he can’t restructure his molecules if he’s not in a solid state! With the day saved, Skipper heads home seemingly ready to swear off the comics for good. But, when trying to slice a piece of celebratory cake, he cuts himself and realizes that he’s bleeding ink. The Mutant really did turn him into a comic book character!
Honestly, I always loved Attack of the Mutant. Maybe it’s because I like comics. Maybe it’s the part where the not-so-heroic Galloping Gazelle gallops off to safety instead of defending his rescuer. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve made it through four books in a row with nary a worm in sight.
“I’m outta here!” The Gazelle cried, making tracks to the door. He turned back to me. “You’re on your own, kid!”
“No! Wait!” I screamed.
I don’t think The Gazelle heard me. He shoved open the door with one shoulder and vanished.
The door slammed behind him.
Doubtfire 