[6][7][8]: 1:04:51  Some notable creatives featured in interviews include Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis,[9] Christopher Priest, Larry Hama, Nicole Georges, Ivan Velez Jr., Kelly Sue DeConnick,[10] Reginald Hudlin,[11]: 1:32  and Tony Isabella,[11]: 1:14  along with media scholar Henry Jenkins,[11]: 0:26  Jack Kirby's son Neal Kirby, rabbi Simcha Weinstein, and rapper Darryl McDaniels.

[12] Behind the Mask was originally conceived to showcase the history of the character T'Challa / Black Panther, in anticipation of the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Panther (2018), although, Jacobs, Gary, and Simon realized during their research that Marvel's efforts "to break ground" with the representation of race, gender, and sexual orientation were more complicated and rich than one character.

Jacobs said that while much of Marvel's popular culture is surrounded by their films, Behind the Mask would be a "nice reminder" of the people who created their ideas, while noting that they had "fall[en] into stereotypes" and made mistakes, and called the comics and characters "uniquely special".

[12] Following the announcement of the documentary, Steve Seigh of JoBlo.com compared Behind the Mask to Marvel Studios's then-recently announced docuseries Marvel Studios: Legends as another "spotlight" for the exploration of identity, and called it a "great way to familiarize yourself with fictional legends that have had a tremendous impact on today's pop culture",[13] while Ray Flook at Bleeding Cool said the documentary would be able to answer the question: "what do I really know about these characters?"

[19] Weiss, Jacobs, and Hoai-Tran Bui of /Film noted that Quesada's recount of a conversation he had with Stan Lee pondered the question: "How do you create the perfect Marvel character?

[10][19][20] Bui also said it was "nice to see Disney+ using the platform to get into behind-the-scenes storytelling that highlights the artists and creatives who helped craft these characters that so heavily dominate our pop culture landscape".

[21] The first clip from the documentary was released on February 10, 2021, and featured Quesada discussing the identity of Black Panther in his debut appearance in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966).

[25] Jade-Louise Yates of TWM+ also noted how the documentary's "original topic is not really delved into" and called it "more of an entertaining look behind the curtain" that offered a lot for Marvel Comics fans "to relish".