Matt Trakker

Matt Trakker is aM.A.S.K.-alignedhumanfrom theGeneration 1continuity family.

Trakker, Spectrum Ranger.

Matthew "Matt" Trakker,codenamedSpectrum,is the leader of theMobile Armored Strike Kommand.He is the primary pilot of theThunderhawkand wears the powerful Spectrum Mask. He has a personal history withMiles Mayhem.

Fiction

Unit:Ecomic

Matt Trakker was a policeman inDetroitbefore the city fell into chaos. Matt, along with several other rescue workers, found the workshop of the League of Ancient Wheelmen. They used the workshop's advanced technology to upgrade their equipment and protected the streets of Detroit as M.A.S.K.Unit:E

Island Revolution!

Specialist Trakker lent the Thunderhawk toG.I. JoememberSky Matefor a mission onCobraIsland.Island Revolution!

2005 IDW continuity

This is why you take mech class, notMECHclass.

Main article:Matt Trakkeron theIDW Hasbro Wiki

Born toCorneliusandAlessandra Trakker,Matt was a child prodigy who idolized his equally brilliant father. While Cornelius was away working on secret government research, Matt passed the time by building a wide variety of gadgets to help his mother's marketing company. When Cornelius was mysteriously murdered, Matt took the loss hard, turning to illegal street racing as an outlet for his grief. His mechanical aptitude gave him an edge on the underground circuits, and over time he used his engineering skills to illegally tamper with city infrastructure to help those without.

Trakker's disregard for the law landed him on several most wanted lists, so his mother reached out to family friendMiles Manheimto see if the military general could rehabilitate her prodigal son. Faced between working for Manheim or a lengthy prison sentence, Matt Trakker opted to join Manheim's newest initiative—theMobile Armored Strike Kommand,a secret team wielding technology designed to hunt down theTransformers.Matt Trakker profile

"And if it's a sentient being, that means..."

While working on theThunderhawkatGovernor's Island,Matt was introduced toScarlett.When asked what M.A.S.K. does, Matt replied that they solve problems. Matt was then deployed along with the rest of the M.A.S.K. team toGreece,where they were tasked with neutralizingKupandAileron.Matt was confused as to why theAutobotsweren't acting like machines. Mayhem told Trakker to use his Spectrum mask to jam Aileron's communications withAutobot City,forcing Aileron to retreat and leave behind the wounded Kup. After the battle, Matt saw Kup in pain, revealing to him that the Transformers were living beings. Mayhem just told him that this was war, and war means people—and things—get hurt.The Divine Source of Liberty

Back on Governor's Island, Matt confronted Scarlett about her unwillingness to divulge the true nature of the Transformers. Before he could get anywhere, Manheim led Matt away to talk to him in private.O Ship of StateMayhem reminded Trakker that M.A.S.K. was humanity's only defense against the extraterrestrial menace - and that he should trust him like his father did.The Modern World

FollowingAction Man's daring heist on the island and Kup's subsequent escape, Trakker walked in on Miles as the military leader met with his "reinforcements" –Baron Karzaand theDire Wraiths–and discussed his plans to stormAutobot Cityand loot their supplies ofOre-13.When the time came to attack, Matt voiced his misgivings about the plan, but Trakker goaded him into attackingVictorionand overran the Autobot cordon with his Wraith reinforcements. A horrified Trakker maintained that this wasn't what he had signed up for, shortly before the Wraiths turned on their human allies and shot down the Thunderhawk. Though Matt was infuriated by this turn of events, Miles revealed that he was only just beginning, and used the Cybertronian technology in hisSwitchbladeto activateMetrotitan'sspacebridgeto summon Baron Karza fromMicrospace.Baron Karza used hisenerchangepowers to combine the Dire Wraiths and M.A.S.K. tech to become a monstrous fusion.The New Colossus

You might even say he hasthe power.

A horrified Matt blamed Mayhem for unleashing the monster, even as his commanding offier denied his role in the atrocity. As the factions became increasingly muddled,Acroyearbroke through the Thunderhawk's windshield even asSnake Eyesprotected the M.A.S.K. pilot fromRom.It tookOptimus Prime's leadership to force the combatants to put their differences aside and focus on the true threat: Karza. Matt ordered the other members of M.A.S.K. to concentrate their fire on the Baron, but was soon shot down after Karza sliced the Thunderhawk in half. Though grounded, Trakker teamed up with Rom,Mainframe,Oziron Rael,andSoundwave.Matt's Spectrum mask was able to create the proper counter-resonance to the Ore-13, and the others used Metrotitan's spacebridge to send a defeated Karza back to Microspace. Rom carried Matt to safety as the spacebridge exploded; in the aftermath, Scarlett assured Trakker that Miles Mayhem and several members of M.A.S.K. were nowhere to be seen.

But back on Governor's Island, Matt discovered a note on the remains of his Thunderhawk from Miles Mayhem, which confirmed that he had faked his death and was still at large. Scarlett remarked that life would remain exciting from now on, a sentiment Matt agreed with.Valley Forge

On the run from the government, Matt and his small group of fugitives clashed with Miles Mayhem's VENOM operators several times. Eventually, he and Gloria Baker were introduced to Scarlett's old comradeStalker,an ex-Adventure Teamalumnus who had recently met up withMayday.Needing the money, the two pilots joined Jones' team on a mission toBrasnyato investigateGarrison Kreiger's "Project Ice Man"facility andMike Power's last known location.

Following a failed infiltration on the part ofKup,Garrison Blackrock,andAction Man,Trakker and Baker swung into action. While Gloria rescued Action Man from drowning, Trakker used the Thunderhawk's onboard sensors to track Ore-13 all the way to Kreiger's nerve center while contending with Kreiger's reanimated doppelgangers of "Optimus Prime"and"Shockwave".Kreiger's Transformers were defeated after Atomic Man broke his brainwashing and committed suicide, leaving the team to marvel at the mysterious reappearance of the time-tossedSgt. Savage.Power and Glory

When Worlds Collide

When trying to retrieve the stolenMatrix of Leadership,Optimus Primejoined forces with Matt Trakker, along with several other heroes.When Worlds Collide

Toys

Revolution

Compared to his last figure, he's lost 25 years and gained a better set of legs.

• Revolution Set(SDCC Gift Set, 2017)
  • Accessories:Helmet, armor, gun, G.I. Joe display stand

Released as part of a San Diego Comic-Con 2017 exclusive set, Matt Trakker is an action figure made up of redecoed parts from variousG.I. Joeaction figures (and the helmet, armor, and gun from 2008'sSpecialist Trakker), with a new head based on IDW's version of the character. He was packed with several otherHasbro Universeaction figures:Jetfire,Action Man,Visionaries'Leoric,RoadblockofG.I. Joe,Romand aDire Wraith,and 9Micronautsmini-figurines. He does not, tragically, come with aThunderhawk,transforming-into-a-robot or otherwise.

Notes

• While the original 80s version of Trakker was white, the IDW take is African-American. (TheUnit:Evariant on the character was not glimpsed out of his mask, so it's not certain what ethnicity he was.)

• Prior to his inclusion inUnit:E,Trakker was introduced intoG.I. Joecontinuity as "Specialist Trakker". M.A.S.K. and its opponentV.E.N.O.M.were mentioned to be sub-divisions of Joe and Cobra, respectively.^[1]The JoeCon 2016 script reading "Island Revolution!"later used this designation.

References

External links

• Matt Trakkerat the IDW Hasbro Wiki