Bradley "Skipper" Matthews is the main hero of the twenty-fifth Goosebumps book, Attack of the Mutant.
History
Skipper has always been into comic and has an awesome collection of them. He even has some of the rarest editions, including a Silver Swan Number Zero, which came before Silver Swan Number One and Number Zero is worth ten times as much as its aforementioned comic. Skipper keeps most of his comics in their plastic bags and mint condition because of how much they are worth and they will lose their value if they are opened. But this was an exception to Skipper's favorite comic book male super-villain, The Masked Mutant. Skipper always had to read every book about the Masked Mutant, as he thought the Mutant was the best-drawn, best-written, most powerful and most evil villain ever created. And Skipper found it awesome that the Mutant can move his molecules, so he can change into anything that is solid, which is how he is able to escape from the League of Good Guys and even their leader, The Galloping Gazelle, the fastest man in the solar system isn't fast enough to keep up with the Masked Mutant. And that's why Skipper found the Masked Mutant was awesome.
One day, Skipper had his friend named Wilson over. Wilson was picking up the Silver Swan Number Zero to look at it, when Skipper stopped him and him that if he left his fingerprints on it, it will lose half its value. Wilson then asked why it was called a Number Zero and Skipper explained to his confused friend that it makes it a collector's item and how it came before Number One and how much it is worth and then Skipper told Wilson that his comics will lose their value if they are taken out of their packages. Skipper told Wilson that he should start collecting comic books and Wilson replied that he collects rubber stamps, to which Skipper thought was weird. After Wilson left, Skipper turned to the envelope containing another comic of The Masked Mutant and he excitedly opened it to read it, even though he was told not to open it until his homework was done. Skipper was reading how the Masked Mutant had changed into a giant octopus-like monster and was giving a hero named sponge life a tight squeeze when he felt two cold hands wrap around his neck. It turned out to be his sister, Mitzi, who had her hands in the refrigerator. Mitzi said to Skipper that their father Mr. Matthews told her to come up and he asked her to tell Skipper that if he was reading comic books instead of doing his homework, he will be in big trouble. His younger sister named Mitzi was delighted to see that Skipper was reading his newest comic book and Skipper started protesting to her that he has to read the comic book. Then their father walked in, prompting Mitzi to leave and Mr. Matthews asked Skipper if he knew why his grades are so bad, to which Skipper answered back that he was a bad student. Mr. Matthews got really angry at that and threatened to throw Skipper's comic book collection away. But Mr. Matthews has done this before and he doesn't really mean it. He never approved of comic books as he thought they were trash, even though Skipper explained to him that his comics would be worth millions by the time he is his age. And Skipper also puts him in the League of Good Guys. Skipper promised to finish his homework and his father told him that comic books is all he thinks about night and day and it isn't healthy. After his father left, Skipper was about to go back to his comic when he remembered his younger sister named Mitzi was nearby and knowing that she will tell their father Mr. Matthews, he decided to finish the homework. After that, he read how sponge life managed to escape the Masked Mutant's tentacles by making himself small and when the Mutant returned to his lair. Skipper was awestruck at how they showed the outside of his secret headquarters the first time as he only saw one room or two on the inside and he thought it was weird that the villain's lair looked like a very tall fire hydrant that was all pink stucco with a huge green-domed roof. And Skipper saw that the Galloping Gazelle had somehow managed to get into the Masked Mutant's headquarters, leading to a to be continued and then Skipper fell asleep.
Two days later, Skipper was on the bus to an orthodontist appointment. Skipper had always taken the bus to go to a comic store on Goodall Street and the orthodontist is just a few blocks from it. On the bus, Skipper met a girl who asked him if he went to Franklin. Skipper introduced himself and he told the girl that he was called Skipper because he was always in a hurry, to which the girl found amusing to Skipper's annoyance. The girl introduced herself as Libby (unaware that she was actually the Masked Mutant in disguise) and when Skipper told her he was going to the comic book store, she told him she collects comics as well. Skipper was most surprised at this as most of the comic collectors he knew were boys, but it then turned out that Libby only collects High School Harry and Bean Head comics, the only comics that Skipper hates. They chatted for a little while about comic books, when Skipper realized that he missed his stop. He, along with Libby who lived two blocks down, got off the bus in a strange part of town and then to his astonishment, Skipper saw what appeared to the secret headquarters of The Masked Mutant. Skipper thought it was impossible and Libby remarked at what an ugly building it was and Skipper told her that he saw the building somewhere before when she noticed him going ballistic about it. Skipper then realized that he was late for his orthodontist appointment and said good-bye to Libby and wondered if she thought he was a total geek. Skipper then contemplated on going inside the building, expecting to see people wearing superhero costumes walking around in there. But then Skipper remembered his appointment and went on the bus to go there, thinking how weird the building was. Skipper told Wilson about it the next day at school and Wilson suggested to Skipper that Jimmy "James" Starenko, who created the Masked Mutant and the League of Good Guys had passed by the weird building and thought the building would make a perfect secret headquarters building for The Masked Mutant. Skipper thought that made a lot of sense, but even though he knew it was silly, he was secretly disappointed because he wanted that building to be The Masked Mutant's secret headquarters.
A week later, Skipper took the bus to the same street he saw the building at, only to find that the building had vanished. Skipper was astounded at this as the building couldn't have vanished so easily in one week. Libby came over and Skipper asked her what happened to the building, to which Libby answered that they must torn it down and she was glad they did so because it was so ugly. She suspiciously asked Skipper if he came to her neighborhood to see the building, to which he lied by saying he didn't and then Libby invited him over to her house to see her own collection of comic books. Skipper was so frazzled and mixed up, he said yes. After an excruciating presentation of High School Harry and Bean Head, Skipper went home, still thinking about the building. Then he noticed a new Masked Mutant comic on the table and went into his room to read it. As Skipper read the comic, he saw the Masked Mutant's first dialogue balloon that no one will ever find him because of an invisibility curtain he had thrown around his entire headquarters. Skipper was astounded at this and began to wonder if any of this was real. And he knew that he had to go back there and find out.
After an afternoon of finding new sneakers and being unable to please his mother Mrs. Matthews, Skipper took the bus the next afternoon to investigate the building. He explained to Libby about the building, but she didn't believe him and thought he was crazy. But she went with Skipper anyway and sure enough, there was an invisibility curtain, astonishing them both. Libby wanted to get away, but Skipper firmly told her that they have to go in and solve the mystery. So they went inside the strange building, where there was no furniture of any kind.
Along the way, a beam of light shot out at Skipper, sending a gentle but strange tingling down his body. Skipper wondered what that was but was forced to forget it when Libby suggested to get out of the room. Soon, the two kids reached a row of elevators. Libby then accused Skipper of thinking that they were in the secret headquarters of the Masked Mutant, to which Skipper replied that it probably is considering that they went through an invisibility curtain. Skipper then told Libby that they have to go in one of the elevators to find out the truth. Libby declined saying that she was going home. Skipper contemplated about going home too, but then he realized that he will not solve the mystery quicker and that he will still be wondering about it day after day. So he told Libby that she can go home while he went on the elevator, but Libby told Skipper that she will come, but only because she feels sorry for him because he is so messed up and that he really thinks a comic book can come to life, to which Skipper cheekily replied that it was good that High School Harry and Bean Head can't come to life.
The two of them went inside the elevator, which went down at full speed toward the basement. At first the doors wouldn't open and the elevator wouldn't move to where Skipper and Libby wanted to go. The doors eventually opened and Skipper and Libby got out into the basement. The elevator was the only one that went to the basement, so Skipper and Libby went off to find some stairs, with Skipper calling out if anyone was there. On the way, Skipper somehow got separated from Libby and he started to look around for her. On the way, he discovered an area he hadn't explored yet and came face-to-face with a gigantic machine and realized it was a printing press. Thinking Libby could be in there, Skipper walked in the printing press and began to wonder if he was in the basement of collectible comics, the company that publishes the Masked Mutant. Skipper was still searching for Libby when he noticed the Masked Mutant staring up at him from the table. But then Skipper realized it was a drawing and saw other drawings of the League of Good Guys and other comic book characters, which made him very excited as he thought he thought this must be where they make the comic books. Skipper was going through every drawing, really enjoying himself when to his astonishment, Skipper found sketches of himself!
The sketches eerily had Skipper's exact looks, making him very worried and frightened. Then Libby appeared and angrily told Skipper that she had been looking everywhere for him. Skipper attempted to show Libby the sketches of him but she wasn't interested and thought that Skipper was weird. Libby told Skipper that she found another elevator and they went out of the building. Skipper then asked Libby if she believed him about the sketches, to which she didn't and as he was waiting for the bus, Skipper noticed that the building had vanished again.
After that, Skipper tried to have time to think about what he saw at the building, but Wilson insisted on showing him some of his rubber stamp collection. As Wilson showed his friend the rubber stamps, Skipper started to tell him about the weird things that have been happening to him, which Wilson wasn't following very well, so Skipper told him that he will explain to him later. Then Skipper received another comic saying "A New For for the Masked Mutant" and hoping it will help solve the mystery, he started to read it. And to his astonishment, Skipper saw himself in the comic and that he was the new foe for the Masked Mutant. And he saw the Galloping Gazelle in a tiny room and he is about to be boiled alive and Skipper saw himself sneaking in the Mutant's headquarters looking scared. He attempted to show his parents, but they were too busy preparing dinner and Mrs. Matthews asked Skipper to set the table. Before Skipper could do so, he read the Galloping Gazelle's thought bubble saying that only the boy can save the world from the Masked Mutant's evil plans and was wondering where he was. This made Skipper wonder if he was that boy that can save the world.
After school the next day, Skipper once again took the bus to go back to the building, but not before seeing Wilson, who told Skipper that he gave up rubber stamps because they took too much of his time. Libby wasn't on the bus this time, so Skipper uneasily went to the building by himself. Skipper took a nervous look around in the building, struggling to decide what to do when he heard some bumping and thumping. Skipper followed the sounds to a bolted door, where a man pleaded him to let him out. Skipper managed to get the bolted door open and there was The Galloping Gazelle in person. Skipper started to untie the Gazelle, who told him that the Masked Mutant will be back and that they want to get to him before he gets to them. The Galloping Gazelle then asked Skipper how he found the secret headquarters and if he had used some special powers, to which Skipper replied that he just found it and he had taken the bus. Skipper eventually untied the Galloping Gazelle, who then told him to come with him to give the Masked Mutant a surprise visit.
Along the way, they went to some stairs where a dis-integrator-ray was activated and told Skipper that anyone stepped into one, it will disintegrate them in one hundredth of a second. The Galloping Gazelle told Skipper that he has to land on the first step, making Skipper very uneasy, considering that he is not very athletic. The Galloping Gazelle jumped on the fifth step and urged Skipper to give it a try and he will catch him. Skipper tried to jump on the first step, but he ended up landing on the first step, but it turned out the dis-integrator-ray wasn't turned on. Soon Skipper and The Galloping Gazelle reached an amazing room that glowed with color and was decorated like an office.
The Galloping Gazelle boasted to Skipper how he is too fast for the Masked Mutant, when a gold desk melted away, revealing the evil super villain himself. He told the Galloping Gazelle that he will handle him easily and declared that he will destroy Skipper first, much to Skipper's horror. The Galloping Gazelle told the Mutant that he has go through him first to get to Skipper and started carrying out a plan to create a whirlwind that will blow the Mutant away. It was going well until the Masked Mutant tripped the Galloping Gazelle over and changed into a leopard to attack him. Skipper frantically urged the galloping Gazelle to get up. The Galloping Gazelle eventually woke up, but announced that he was out of there. He told Skipper he was on his own and raced out of the door, revealing to be a coward. Skipper was astounded at this and thought that instead of being called the Galloping Gazelle, he should be called the Galloping Chicken.
The Masked Mutant then demanded what Skipper's power was, to which Skipper replied that he doesn't have any. Skipper tried to make an attack by throwing a stone at the Masked Mutant, which was really futile and the Masked Mutant was about to kill Skipper when Libby entered, telling Skipper that she saw him go into the building and called out to him. Skipper tried to warn Libby to get away. The Masked Mutant threatened to kill them both, but Libby pulled out what appeared to be a toy gun from her backpack, to which the Masked Mutant scoffed that it won't help them. Libby told him that it is a Molecule-Melter and destroyed the Masked Mutant by melting him away with it. Skipper was most relieved until Libby told him that he is going to be the next victim and target, revealing herself to be the real Masked Mutant by changing into his true form. The Masked Mutant also revealed that he had melted The Magnificent Molecule Man, who had been working for him. Skipper managed to figure it all out and pleaded the Mutant to let him go home and he won't tell anyone else about him, to which the Masked Mutant replied that he can't let Skipper leave as he belongs in his world now and he knew that Skipper was perfect when he told him he knew everything about his comics and that he was ready to star in a story. The Masked Mutant then threatened to destroy Skipper and Skipper protested that he can't do this because he is just a comic book character while he is a real person, to which the Mutant replied that Skipper is not real anymore and that he is a comic book character too.
Skipper argued that he is lying, but the Masked Mutant insisted that he is not lying this time and explained that the beam of light that passed over Skipper earlier was a scanner and it had scanned Skipper's body and turned him into tiny dots of ink. Skipper still refused to accept that and the Masked Mutant told him that he had made his last appearance in any comic book series. And then Skipper surprised the Masked Mutant by telling him that he is the Colossal Elastic Boy and told him that he is going back to his home planet of Largos and he is not allowed to star in any comic book. The Masked Mutant threatened to tear him into pieces but "Elastic Boy" told him that nothing can destroy him except sulfuric acid. The Masked Mutant gladly changed into sulfuric acid to destroy Skipper, but forgot that he can only change into anything solid and not into liquid. And once the Masked Mutant changed into a liquid, he can never, ever altered his appearance.
Skipper was very happy for how he sent The Masked Mutant to his doom by pretending to be Elastic Boy and tricking him into turning him into a liquid after remembering his weakness from reading so many comics. When he got home, Skipper noticed a new comic book, but decided to leave it. To celebrate his victory and being alive, he played Frisbee with Mitzi, something that he would never do and then they went inside to have a chocolate cake their mother left for them. While he was cutting the cake, Skipper accidentally cut himself and he and Mitzi saw ink coming out of his arm instead of blood. Skipper asked his younger sister Mitzi where the new Masked Mutant comic was as he had a feeling that his comic book career wasn't over yet.
General Information
Appearance
Skipper is twelve years old, Caucasian boy, short and chubby with straight dark brown hair.
Personality
Skipper has always been addicted to comic books as it was all that he thought about and he always made sure that his collection still has its value and that none of his comics except for The Masked Mutant aren't opened. Sometimes this deteriorated him away from some important activities, such as his homework, which does annoy his parents, mainly his father, who disapproved of comics and Skipper does his best not to be on his bad side. He doesn't always get along with his younger sister named Mitzi as she liked to cause trouble and snitch on Skipper every chance she got. He is good friends with Wilson, but sometimes Skipper thought his friend had dropped down from the planet Mars as Wilson is always confused and doesn't know anything. Skipper also thought that Wilson was weird for collecting rubber stamps. Skipper was always in a hurry when he was younger and that he used to skip a lot, which was how he earned his nickname and he thought it was better than his real name, Bradley. Skipper also has a fear of getting lost, which had started from he got lost at a Pic and Pay when he was two years old. He always felt like a dark chubby mole next to Wilson and thought that if they were in a comic book, Wilson would be the superhero while Skipper was the pudgy, funny one who always messes up. Given to what a close call he had with the Masked Mutant, it is unknown if Skipper is still into comic books or not.
List of appearances
Books
- Goosebumps
- Goosebumps Presents
- Attack of the Mutant
Television and Film
- Goosebumps TV series
- Season 2 - Attack of the Mutant (Part 1 & 2)
Actor
- Dan Warry-Smith (TV series)
Trivia
- Skipper has the same surname as another character in the original Goosebumps series.
- Skipper's actor, Dan Warry-Smith, also played Seth Gold in Click.
- It is unknown if Skipper was the hero that appeared at the beginning of the video game version, who went to the Masked Mutant's secret headquarters.
Gallery
