No one ever said the Resource Row was NOT in an In-Play Zone. It, and the two rows Characters occupy are the main zones after all.

I did say though, that ANY card face down in that row is a RESOURCE. It is not a Location unless played. It is not a Character. It's a Resource from the time it hits the table until it gets KOed. You're not losing a Character from In Play, you're tossing a Resource from In Play.

Also, a card ONLY refers to itself when talking about itself/its name. That particular iteration of itself in fact. The Mammoth that came into play in the Front or Support rows (the legal Character ones) is so far the only Mammoth In Play. Since you can't have multiple Mammoth's In Play (remember, Resources Row characters do not have the Character trait) so far there is no bypassing the cost.

Unless you use Doc Light's Boost.