Attack of the Mutant (book)

Attack of the Mutant

File:Attack of the Mutant.jpg
Author	R. L. Stine
Cover artist	Tim Jacobus
Language	English
Series	Goosebumps
Genre	Horror novel, Children's novel
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	November 1994
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	114 p.
ISBN	0-590-48355-2
OCLC	33063425
LC Class	CPB Box no. 2023 vol. 10
Preceded by	Phantom of the Auditorium
Followed by	My Hairiest Adventure

Attack of the Mutant is the twenty-fifth book in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series. This would also become a PC game, being one of the first to use Cel-Shaded models.

Plot summary

Skipper Matthews is a chubby comic book collector who collects many comics yet only reads one, the Masked Mutant. The Masked Mutant is an evil supervillain who can change his molecular form into any solid material. He is constantly opposed by a league of superheroes lead by the Galloping Gazelle, the world's fastest man. Skipper has a friend named Wilson who is into collecting rubber stamps and attempts at various times throughout the novel to share his passion with Skipper to no avail.

One day while riding the bus to the dentist he meets a pretty redhead girl named Libby who strikes up a conversation with him about comic books. He gets so caught up talking to her that he gets off on the wrong stop and spots a building that looks exactly like the Masked Mutant's headquarters! He almost goes inside the building but he is late for his dentist appointment and decides to come back. The next day he comes back to see the building but it has disappeared! Later that night he goes home and reads the newest issue of the Masked Mutant that has arrived in the mail for him and sees that in the comic book the Masked Mutant has put an invisibility cloak on the building.

Going back the next day, Skipper runs into Libby for a third time and the two decide to see if they can access the invisible building and sure enough they enter successfully. When they arrive a yellow light ray scans over Skipper's body but has no apparent effect on him. The two venture into one of the building's elevators and are whisked down to the basement of the building. The two get separated and while alone Skipper finds a large printing press and layouts for the last issue of the Masked Mutant. Skipper concludes that the building is likely the headquarters for the comic book publisher. While leafing through the layouts Skipper notices a series of panels for the next issue, and the new character drawn within looks exactly like Skipper! At this point Libby reappears and makes Skipper leave with her.

That night Skipper gets home and there's another new issue of the comic waiting for him. Inside the issue Skipper spies drawings of himself walking around the headquarters with the words "A NEW FOE" written about him. Skipper also finds out that the Galloping Gazelle has been held hostage in the Mutant's headquarters and that only "the Boy" can save him!

So Skipper returns again to the headquarters and makes his way up the elevator to rescue the Galloping Gazelle! He finds the bound superhero tied to a chair in an unlocked room, unties him, and the two leave the room to confront the Masked Mutant. The Galloping Gazelle is convinced that Skipper is a superhero and keeps drilling him for his secret power as they make their way to the Mutant's private offices. The Galloping Gazelle informs Skipper that his plan is to run around and around the Mutant at such a fast speed that he becomes a cyclone and sucks the Mutant into submission. Suddenly the Mutant morphs out of hiding (he was disguised as office furniture) and the Gazelle makes good on his plan. However the Mutant outsmarts him and sticks his foot out, tripping the Gazelle. The Mutant then transforms into the form of a Leopard and tries to eat the Gazelle.

The Galloping Gazelle escapes the Mutant's leopard clutches and abandons Skipper with the Mutant as he makes his escape. The Mutant returns to his normal form and he too starts to drill Skipper about his secret mutant-power. The Mutant lifts Skipper all the way up to the ceiling of his private office and is about to drop him to his death when Libby appears in the doorway.

The Mutant safely sets Skipper down as he goes to confront Libby. Libby removes a yellow toy gun from her satchel and tells Skipper that if this is really a comic book then anything can happen, so she tells the Mutant that the toy gun is a Molecule-Melter. The Mutant doubts her and he advances as she pulls the trigger. The gun fires at the Mutant and the Mutant melts down into nothing. Skipper is overjoyed, as it worked. Libby tells him of course it worked, after all, it is a Molecule-Melter, and Skipper is next!

Skipper then watches as Libby transforms into the Masked Mutant. It turns out that the previous Masked Mutant was actually the Magnificent Molecule Man, who worked for the Masked Mutant. The Masked Mutant also informs Skipper of another dastardly deed: He has turned Skipper into a comic book character. The mysterious yellow ray when he first entered the building was a scanner and it scanned him into the comic book! With no hope of escape the Masked Mutant prepares to destroy Skipper until Skipper stops him by announcing that he's not actually Skipper! No, he's THE COLOSSAL ELASTIC BOY in disguise! The Masked Mutant shakes his head and goes "I knew it!" Skipper reveals that nothing can harm him but sulfuric acid. The Masked Mutant sees his window and transforms himself into a wave of acid. Skipper barely misses the wave and the acid eats into the carpet.

Skipper made up the whole thing about being the Elastic Boy. Since the Masked Mutant could only transform himself into solids, Skipper had tricked him into transforming into a liquid and thus the Masked Mutant was unable to return to his original form. Skipper returns home and, having had enough adventure for one day, decides not to read the new comic that has arrived for him in the mail. He celebrates later that night by having some chocolate cake with his little sister. As Skipper is cutting the cake, he cuts his hand and discovers he bleeds ink. He then goes to get the comic, wondering what is in store for him next.

TV Adaption

The TV adaptation featured Adam West of Batman fame portraying the Galloping Gazelle In this version, the Galloping Gazelle runs off because he feels he's too old to be a superhero after being tripped by the Masked Mutant. The Magnificent Molecule Man who shapeshifted into the Masked Mutant was written out. In the end of the TV version, Skipper's mom finds comic book ink on his hands and tries to wash it off only to discover that Skipper has become The Colossal Elastic Boy. In the TV adaptation, Skipper's friend Wilson collects rocks instead of rubber stamps.

TAGLINE: He's no superhero.

Video game

Main article: Attack of the Mutant (video game)

The PC game based on the story was produced by Dreamworks Interactive and released in 1997.

See also

• List of Goosebumps books