Mack Mackenzie

Michael Jordan Mackenzie is "Mack" to everyone except Kevin Thompson, who calls him "Mack Daddy," to Mack's eternal annoyance. An African-American classmate of Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane, Mack attends school at Lawndale High with his girlfriend, Jodie Landon. He is known as the captain of the Lawndale Lions football team.

We know little about Mack's family, though in "The Misery Chick" he reveals his name was originally "Michael James Mackenzie, but Dad went to a Bulls playoff game when I was twelve and then he changed it." His mother is never mentioned.

General Notes on the Character
Mack is the only recurring male character of Daria and Jane's age at Lawndale High who acts with courage, intelligence, and integrity, and as such he enjoys their respect. Ironically, in interviews with Kara Wild, both Glenn Eichler and Anne D. Bernstein, two of the driving forces behind the show, stated that this was because Mack was never developed fully, as the show's staff never cast his voice actor to their satisfaction. Because Mack wasn't fully developed, he wasn't given flaws.

Subtle references are made in the series to Mack's high intelligence, though one wonders if it is high only in comparison with 95% of his fellow students, who often appear to be (generously speaking) morons. With help from the school Computer Club, he and Jodie designed the school's website, according to an extinct MTV webpage. He knows Shakespeare at least as well as Daria Morgendorffer ("Cafe Disaffecto" comments about the skull in Hamlet). Being a football player, he has an extensive knowledge of the sport and its history, making numerous references to the same in a short written speech that appears in The Daria Diaries.

Though Mack is portrayed as being a competent football team captain and a good leader, he is not as competent at actually playing the game. He is unable to successfully perform in the quarterback role when Kevin is knocked out of action by a leg injury in "A Tree Grows in Lawndale." An extinct webpage on an MTV Daria site gave Mack's position as RB (=Running Back).

Mack is quite popular at Lawndale High. Aside from being the football team captain, he has been elected several times running as the Homecoming King for the school's homecoming parade, with Jodie always as the Homecoming Queen ("I Loathe a Parade"). When serving as a football game announcer, Upchuck calls Mack "Mad Mack" (a play on Mad Max of The Road Warrior), which might be his team nickname ("A Tree Grows in Lawndale"). Though Jodie says everyone at school calls him "Mack" ("Gifted"), he signs his class papers as "Michael Mackenzie" ("Murder, She Snored").

The one exception to his popular standing is Ms. Barch, the misanthropic science teacher. For reasons unknown, Janet Barch appears to have marked Mack as her favorite whipping boy. References to this decidedly ugly conflict abound: "The Lab Brat," "Gifted," "Fair Enough," The Daria Database ("I will not show Ms. Barch fear, no matter what she does to me," and being made to write "I am male, therefore I suck" repeatedly on the blackboard during study hall). Mack's level of self-control is astounding, given episodes like these and his list of frustrations as the football team captain (The Daria Diaries). His New Year's resolutions in The Daria Database all involve attempts to control his irritation with other people, including Jodie. It is significant that the only time in the entire show that Mack loses his temper is in a fantasy episode, "Murder, She Snored," inside one of Daria's dreams.

Drawbacks
Jodie in "Partner's Complaint" describes him as being "bad with money," being overdrawn on his allowance since third grade. (Mack finally pays his father back during Is It Fall Yet?, and also has enough money from his summer job to take Jodie to Chez Pierre "once.")

The only other vaguely negative aspect of his character is a tendency to be cynical to a strong degree when referring to the school, Ms. Li's policies, and some of his classmates and football team members. "I'm the only one on the team who can count by halves," he tells Ms. Li in "Fizz Ed." His sharp-edged sarcasm is completely missed by most of those listening to him, particularly Kevin Thompson. An example from "I Don't":


 * Mack: When you hear yourself talk, does it make sense to you?
 * Kevin: Sometimes.

Mack participated in the betting pool on Mr. DeMartino's upcoming roller-hockey battle in "The Big House", but so did everyone else, so gambling is not likely one of his vices, if he has any. Fanfic writers have noted that writing an "evil Mack" story is nearly impossible, as there is so little in canon on which to hook it.

Mack and Jodie
The series generally portrays Mack's and Jodie's relationship in a positive light, though Jodie frequently places a higher priority on her own commitments than on maintaining the relationship. Mack is often disappointed when he attempts to get time together with Jodie but is rebuffed. His frustration is clear to anyone who pays attention to what he says. The implication is made in "My Night at Daria's" is that the couple is sexually active, though we don't know to what degree. Jodie promises to tell Daria all about it "once my parents are dead."

Mack is clearly and specifically portrayed as coming from a lower socioeconomic class than Jodie, though the details are not known. (Being in a lower socioeconomic class than Jodie Landon is not difficult.) In Is It College Yet?, he states that he can get into Vance University only if he gets a scholarship, which he does. In Is It Fall Yet? Mack drives an ice-cream truck for a summer job, while Jodie works at a congressman's office, takes golf lessons, etc.



Saint Mack
Mack is in a curious position in the pantheon of Daria characters in that he seems to be without fault, or at least lacking major drawbacks as a male in a female-dominated story universe. This characterization is sometimes referred to as "Saint Mack." One extreme example of a "Saint Mack" is "The Thirteenth Man," by The Angst Guy. A less extreme instance appears in Bob Marley's "You Don't Know Mack." He became President of the United States in "Twenty Years from Today," by Michael J. Pfeffer. A common vocation for him in post-canon stories is as a heroic soldier (e.g., "Gimme Skelter," "Drive"). In science-fiction tales, he is usually a superhero (Legion of Lawndale Heroes series).

Mack-Who-Belongs-With-Someone-Else
Debate has arisen on a number of occasion over the issue of why Mack dates Jodie (see Joma). Is it because they are among the very few black students at Lawndale High, a situation implied several times in the series? Couldn't they find anyone else to date? This is the late 1990s in the series, after all. Worse, canon depicts their relationship as riddled with conflict and frustration.

The few true-blue 'shippers left in Daria fandom have taken pains to hook Mack up with other characters in alternate-universe or post-canon tales. Picking Mack's "best possible" girlfriend is almost a cottage industry in the fandom. Among those usually chosen as his new mate are Jane Lane (a popular one), Brittany Taylor (also popular, though she did irritate him in the series), and Daria Morgendorffer (a more difficult mix).

Saint Mack tales

 * "Daria 3059," by Greystar (Mack as mecha pilot with cybernetic battlesuit)
 * "History Lesson," by TAG (Mack's surprising ancestry is revealed)
 * "Iron Chef: Mack Mackenzie Has His Day" (PPMB)
 * "Legion of Lawndale Heroes 11.6: Truths Known, Spoken and Undone," by Brother Grimace (Mack gains super-powers thanks to... Janet Barch; see also LLH 11.7 and LLH 12.3)
 * "My Life," by Sam Lincoln
 * "Origin of the Ringbearers: Michael," by Brother Grimace (Mack as a troubled superhero Ringbearer)
 * "Present Moment," by Crusading Saint
 * "Project: FEISTI," by SoCalledGoodeGuy (Mack as super-soldier with cybernetic battlesuit)
 * "The Thirteenth Man" by The Angst Guy (Mack as superhero)
 * "Touchdown Jane," by Mike Quinn (in which Daria helps Mack)
 * "Trophy Chasers," by Crusading Saint (a rare Mack-centric adventure)
 * "Twenty Years from Today," by Michael J. Pfeffer (Mack as President)
 * "With the Help of Her Friends," by Bob Marley (sequel to "You Don't Know Mack" in which Mack helps Daria)
 * "You Don't Know Mack" by Bob Marley (Mack as a good guy with a secret life as... a good guy)

Shipper Pairings

 * "Unseen Phenomenon: A Mere Formality" (Mack/Jodie get married), by Wildgoose
 * "A Slice of Pizza" (Mack/Brittany), by Brother Grimace
 * "Crusts of Pizza" (Mack/Brittany), by Brother Grimace
 * Unnamed ficlet (Mack/Brittany), by Roentgen
 * "A Midsummer Nightmare's Daria" (Mack/Brittany), by TAG
 * "Lead Us Not into Temptation" (Mack/Daria), by Richard Lobinske
 * "Daria 2010: Destiny Deferred" (Mack/Daria), by Robert Nowall
 * "As She Remembered It in the Long Years After" (Mack/Daria), by TAG
 * Falling Into College series (Mack/Jane, for a time), by Richard Lobinske (affair begins here, ends here)
 * "Iron Chef: Mirror, Mirror..." (Mack/Jane), by TAG
 * "Mack Daddy" (Mack/Jane), by TAG
 * "Smoking Mirror" (Mack/Jane), by TAG
 * "Drive" (Mack/Jane), by TAG
 * "Anything for Jane" (Mack/Jane), by TAG
 * "Anger Meets Her Match" (Mack/Andrea), by TheEleventy
 * "La Soiree" (Mack/Sandi), by Bacner
 * "Ghosts of Christmas Future" (Mack/Quinn), by Crusading Saint
 * "The Hollow Land," (many possible pairings, but none fulfilled), by Crusading Saint