#living for gator raph

[bluepeachstudios]

I'm gonna have to frantically reread the chapter to see what the last animal/plant/yokai/mutant Ghost interacted with in case that effects his mutation (unless the mutagen decides to pull a randomiser and make him a croc/gator mutant anyway like in Good Genes)

That being said, it would be incredibly funny if the last living creature he touched were the boys. He just... becomes more turtlier. More turtle per turtle. Turtle squared, if you will

So I can't talk about spoilers, but I will point out that currently the last thing he touched is Raph. Raph is carrying Ghost at the end of the chapter.

Also, in Good Genes, you ever noticed that he looked kinda like... A dinosaur a bit? Like maybe. He was stuck for 3 months in the cretaceous period or something crazy like that?

But ALSO ALSO I'd like to point out that in '03 mutagen doesn't work the same way as in '12 and Rise. The last thing they touched is not what mutates them, otherwise Splinter would've been a rat-turtle! The mutagen just makes them humanoid.

Then again, who knows how the heck the Good Genes mutagen worked, because that was a completely different mutagen entirely.

[yellowhollyhock]

Donnie and Mikey

B Team’s turn! My favorite duo! PB&J! The nerds the myths the legends

They are! Best! Friends! Donnie is so attentive and protective of Mikey, especially while they’re out on missions. He rolls his eyes and makes comments like “I can’t take you anywhere” but then proceeds to give his little brother literally anything he asks for. Come on I’ll wrap your ankle, yeah I’ll laugh at your little hairbrush joke. Yah no prob we’re falling off of a building now, it’s fine we have supplies for that. Hope you had fun you little goob :) No you don’t have to help me find things in the junkyard you can play. Go play Raph will help me. Hey I know you don’t want to go into this alien bar right now but what if we think of it as playing dress up and ordering food? You like those activities, right? I’ll play dress up whenever you want it’s okay.

Like Donnie would probably complain about Splinter or Leo and Raph letting Mikey get away with everything but actually. It’s him. It’s him letting Mikey get away with everything and they all know it.

And I love so much that it goes both ways! Mikey’s the most likely to be asking questions and listening to understand when Donnie starts explaining sciencey things (he’s the one complaining about how little sense it made but that’s because he’s listening! He’s really trying to get it!), and he brags on him all the time. And this shows effort on Mikey’s part to understand the way Donnie feels love because, praise and being listened to about his interests? Those are his exact favorite things! Gah they just. Take Such Good Care of each other.

They definitely became close because of Leo and Raph. Because 1), when Leo and Raph are doing their Own Things (friendly competition, building swords together to overcome trauma, fighting gators I guess) the littler two are left to entertain each other, and 2) when Leo and Raph are fighting (sometimes serious but Leo and Raph also have this type of closeness where to them they’ll just be discussing something civilly but to everyone around them it’s a high-stress argument) they have to take care of each other. AND ALSO 3) Leo and Raph are the closest friends ever and that is the example Donnie and Mikey have had for all their lives. They don’t have the same natural closeness as Leo and Raph where they’re just in each other’s heads, but in some ways they’re also closer because their brains work so differently and they’ve had to communicate.

Remember how Donnie tries to be competitive to relate to Leo? Yeah he also relentlessly makes fun of Mikey. He’s just watching how they both connect with Raph and copying. This makes for some fun banter but also they are both sensitive. The relationships weren’t really focused on in the show but it’s logical there were real hurt feelings and crossed lines sometimes. Often, even. But they don’t seem to have any resentment towards each other. And that’s just so pure. Like, as sweet as the turtles all are with each other, there are sometimes long-standing grudges and that’s not unreasonable. That’s gonna happen with four teenagers under one roof, especially with how limited they were in any opportunities to talk to Anyone besides their brothers. Donnie yells about how loud everyone is being and it’s like, yeah, that makes sense. He can’t exactly just go to the library. Raph gets stir crazy and starts hitting things and it’s like, no kidding somebody get this boy a sports team. Or at least a walk in the sunlight. Mikey pouts and whines all through some missions, especially in earlier seasons, and yeah that tracks he’s fifteen he’s right he should be at home playing video games. But even when they are each other’s explicit problem, these two are so so gentle with one another.

The whole underground city arc is a good example. It with Mikey bothering Donnie while he’s trying to study, and you can tell he’s irritated. But he’s still gentle. Then they’re going on a whole adventure because of Donnie’s curiosity and Mikey is clearly not having a good time. He makes this known and they just do not listen. It’s very reasonable for them to be upset with each other. But they don’t seem to be, at least not ever long enough to start anything. And later on when Donnie makes them go back to keep their promise and Mikey whines the entire time, 1) Donnie doesn’t argue or respond to insults 2) at the end of it Mikey makes sure to tell him he’s proud of him. Imagine if it had been Leo or Raph who didn’t want to go. They all love each other but I think that disagreement would have been a lot more tense. I also don’t imagine either of them as likely to take the time to say that to him if they have been at odds for the entire adventure. Mikey is the most likely to take the time to make emotional conversations happen, and Donnie is eternally patient. They’re just exactly what each other needs and I think they became that way on purpose.

Favorite moment, ever of all time:

Donnie, using a pigeon puppet and a Polaroid to get around the security cameras at TCRI

Mikey: I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that worked, or the fact that Don carries around a pigeon puppet.

Okay and a second favorite, while Donnie and April are discussing interdimensional travel

Mikey: Do you guys come with subtitles?!

[t-rexseesyoursins]

I posted 13,160 times in 2022

That's 2,187 more posts than 2021!

8 posts created (0%)

13,152 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@vo-kopen

@cute-evil-cookie

@the-angel-of-filth

@captain-cupcake

@lastoneout

I tagged 5,882 of my posts in 2022

#rottmnt - 1,052 posts

#fnaf - 610 posts

#security breach - 601 posts

#raphael - 551 posts

#the bad guys - 351 posts

#turtle fam - 351 posts

#leonardo - 265 posts

#mr snake - 238 posts

#mr wolf - 210 posts

#montgomery gator - 208 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#also i remember hearing about a canceled episode or background concept of mikey and raph viewing eachother as best friends when they were

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Living the dream

1 note - Posted April 1, 2022

#4

Not me thinking about how Raph realizes he is the one who taught his brothers self sacrifice.

How Raph always puts himself at risk to protect his family but he never considered the alternative.

How Leo points out he's doing what Raph would do and Raph, for those few heart rending minutes, has to live with the crushing weight that he showed Leo this is what responsibility is.

37 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

#3

hey come check out Discord with me https://discord.gg/y98Nns7c

Think it's the perfect time to remind everyone the bowuigi discord server exists

43 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

#2

Why yes, I'm completely normal about Sasha having to go back and live with her parents, dealing with whatever lead to her emotional baggage, while never being able to see her surrogate toad dad again. Why do you ask?

47 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

SCREAMING AND RAGING

49 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[writinandcrying]

Fnaf x tmnt Headcanon: raph doesn’t know or give a single shit about FNAF ( Donnie and Mikey on the other hand, live for it since the first versions of the game )

but he does start secretly looking up videos at tiktok after the debut of Montgomery Gator, likes seeing fanart ( specially some 👀edits) of him bc he resonates with his appearance, he gets some serious butterflies going on in his tummy when he sees good comments about Monty online. Specially thirsty ones

plus; Raphael thinks his Mohawk is cool, he wishes Monty would wear more red tho

[remmushound]

Rise boys = Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Bay boys = Donnie, Raph, Mikey, and Leo.

This is a fic to lead into a Bayverse/Riseverse crossover! This is also an opening to make any requests for the bay/Rise interactions! I’m also accepting bay requests separate from the crossover! @brightlotusmoon

Link to second part: https://remmushound.tumblr.com/post/645470221504839680/brightlotusmoon-part-2-of-the-bayrise

The alarms sounded in the lair in the early morning, while Donnie was still in REM sleep and Mikey still wrapped himself snuggly in his blankets. When Raph still hugged the bear he always denied he owned and while even Leo still hadn’t woke to take advantage of the day. The only occupant of the lair that was awake was an old rat in the dojo, taking advantage of his son’s absence to meditate on current issues that worried his mind.

His ears jerked to attention as the nirvana of his mind was jarred with Donnie’s warning alarm. He was to his feet in an instant, and soon from their rooms came his sons one by one. Leo first, like always, closely followed by Donnie, and then Raph, and last Mikey.

“Dude, who turned on the screaming?”

“Talk to me Don.”

“Working on it!” Donnie was already at his desk, working a mile a minute to pull up the camera from where the alarm originated. “Got it— wait, that’s not right.”

“What is it?” As usually, Leo was hovering over Donnie’s shoulder and looking at the screen.

“Just looks like black to me.” Raph grunted from where he stood, a more respectable distance away.

“Yeah— it is— somethings up with the cameras.”

“What, they broke?”

“No, someone turned them off— and the only way they could do that is to hack into the camera’s systems—.”

“Which obviously didn't happen.” Leo said, “Could someone be covering the screen a different way?”

“Well, I mean, I guess, but—”

“Alright, then lets move out— try to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with here.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.”

Leo held out his arm to stop Raph from running off immediately. “Careful, Raph. This could just be a sewer worker in over his head.”

“Yeah. Or it could be the Shredder.” Raph growled.

“Exactly. So be ready, but quiet. No use exposing ourselves if we don’t need to.”

Leo made the motion and Raph took point and was the first down the slide that took them out of the lair. Mikey was after him quickly. “Don’t worry, I’m a professional!” Mikey waved jazz hands.

“So am I.” Leo shoved Mikey down the slide after Raph. “Don, you next.”

“Arlight, but Leo I really think—”

Leo shoved Donnie into the tube the moment he got within sliding distance, and then gave it a few seconds before jumping in after him. The slide was a steep one, more like a straight drop than anything else, and eventually curving into a slope and then a tunnel. For a moment during the decent, Leo felt his shell leave the wall, and he braced himself for the jostling that came when he hit the curve straight on. He could see all three brothers in front of him in varying stages of the slide, Mikey making every attempt to loop around the length of the tunnel as many times as possible, which kindled his speed enough that he was dangerously close to colliding with Raph. He did another loop, narrowly avoiding the older turtle as he took the lead

“SNOOZE YOU LOSE, RAPH!”

“Mikey! Stop breaking formation!”

“Woah—“

Raph had to put on a quick break as he almost ran into Mikey’s shell, and the momentum made him spin around and slow. Before he could right himself, Donnie started to panic and tried to avoid raph by sliding over the walls as Mikey had, but it wasn’t fast enough and collided into Raph’s plastron.

“WATCH IT DONNIE!”

“THIS WASN’T MY INTENTION!”

“OUT OF THE WAY!” Leo just barely escaped another collision by doing the same move as Mikey, dodging the backup of his brothers as he sped after Mikey.

It took another half a minute for Raph and Donnie to detangle from each other, still sliding all the while.

“Move your arm!”

“Ow, that’s my leg—“

“I don’t care what it is, I’m gonna break it!”

“I’m trying— oh, my glasses—“

“Get offa me Don!”

“I’m struggling just as much as you are!”

Finally, Donnie got himself separated and held his position by digging his staff into the stone to defy the rushing water. He waited until Raphael had turned the corner before he let himself go once more to rush after him.

~~~~~

“Get back here.” Leo growled and grabbed Mikey the moment he caught up, turning the smaller turtle to face him.

“Ah— mercy—!”

“What’s up with breaking formation?”

Raph arrived, flying out of the slide and into the lower section of sewer, landing hard behind them.

“I coulda crushed you!” Raph gave Mikey a harsh shove.

“Hey hey hey, chillax, my dudes!” Mikey tried, holding his hands up in defeat. “I didn't mean to!”

“That’s not an excuse!”

Leo heard Donnie fly out and breathed a sigh. That was all of them.

“Guys, Quit fighting!” Donnie tried to get between them and Mikey. “We’re not alone here, remember?”

“Right.” Leo huffed, and made a motion for the brothers to follow him. “Remember— stick to the shadows and if we do find something, wait for my command before you do anything. Think you can handle that, Mikey?”

“What? I could do that in my sleep, bruh! I’m a shadow! You’re think I’m over here— hwa ha!” He fliped around Leo waving his nunchaku, “—but I’m really—over here!”

Leo prodded the handle of his sword into Mikey’s stomach to quiet him before he took the lead in climbing up the tube that led to the higher section of sewer. The walls were slick and lined with a thick layer of sludge, so getting a grip was difficult, but not impossible. Every so often he’d look down to make sure his brothers were following after him— Mikey, Donnie, and Raph in that order. If they were to fall, each brother would be able to catch the ones on top of him— Mikey could hold Leo, but if he fell then Donnie could catch both Mikey and Leo, and if all three fell, then Raph was at the bottom as backup.

Leo stopped as he reached the surface, just barely peeking his nose up over the edge. All he saw was dark sewer, and after a minute of searching every shadow and potential hiding space, he felt a sharp prod.

“Ow!”

“Move it!” Mikey insisted impatiently, “I don’t wanna look at your butt all day!”

Leo growled and retaliated with a careful kick to Mikey’s shoulder before pulling himselfup finally through the tunnel. He took another look around before turning to give his brothers the signal to follow, but Mikey was already through and Donnie was halfway out.

Leo made a ‘really guys?” motion and sighed, just letting the misdemeanor pass as his three brothers joined him in the dark tunnel.

“See anything Don?”

Donnie hummed and pulled his goggles down over his face to get a better view in the dark.

“Hm. Not picking up any heat signatures besides ours, but there’s splash marks on the walls higher than the current should be able to reach.”

“Meaning?”

“Something’s been splashing around here recently— the amount of residue is too big to be a rat. It could be a dog maybe, but that wouldn’t explain the camera…”

“Dude, it’s like, totally an aligator.”

“No it’s not.” Raph nudged his baby brother.

“No, dude, it totally is! I read about it once!”

“There are no gators in the sewer Mike.”

“Actually, there’s reports of gators living in the tunnels as far back as the nineteen twenties. The story goes that people would buy baby gators when they were small and cute and abandon them when they got too big to be kept in an apartment. The fascinating part is that the city actually rescues up to a hundred alligators a year from exotic breeders or incompetant owners with no liscence.”

“Donnie—“

“Though theoretically they could survive in the sewers for a short time, long-term survival would be highly improbable given cold tempatures and the bacteria in human feces. The only reason we can survive down here is because—“

“DONNIE.” Leo said, this time louder, “The alarm?”

“Oh. Right.” Donnie cleared his throat, looking away sadly as his rant went unfinished. “I… am detecting trace amounts of mutagen, but that could just be cross-contamination from one of us or Splinter. I’m sure someone would have told us if Bebop or Rocksteady escaped.”

There came a noise. A loud, jarring noise like the snap of metal. Each brother had their weapons ready before the sound even stopped echoing, dropping into their respective defense stances as they stared down the side of the tunnel that the noise came from. Nothing happened. A minute passed. Nothing.

“Think they left—?” Mikey was shushed thrice.

Leo gave the motion for his team to follow him as he lead the way down the tunnel.

“It could be an ambush.” Donnie whispered to Leo as they approached.

“If it is, we’ll be prepared—“

Leo held out his hand to stop his brothers as the sound started up again. It took a second, but eventually Leo took notice that it wasn’t the same sound. This time it wasn’t metal snapping, it was more like groaning. Like someone had taken two metal pipes and twisted them together. And there were footsteps— heavy, slow footsteps in uneven intervals.

“What in the world…?”

Leo squinted when a figure made itself known. It looked amost like a spider, with a massive, spiked body and five and a half legs. It seemed to have two heads each moving separately of the other, and the noises it made sounded like something under great strain or in pain. It swayed unsteadly before them and tried to take a step forward.

“Stop right there!” Leo commanded to the beast, holding his katana in its direction.

The monster seemed to understand., and it stopped.

“Leo, that’s—“

Leo shushed Donnie.

“But it’s—“

The figure tried to move toward them again and Leo flashed his sword in another threat. “I said stay back!”

“LEO!” Donnie didn't give Leo the chance to say anything, pulling up his goggles and flicking a flashlight on the creature. “Look…”

The creature— or more like creatures— flinched at the light shined in their faces. Of the six legs Leo had thought he’d seen, only two of them proved to be real, and the one creature turned out to be two. The smaller one was on the bottom, supporting a second, larger creature on his back. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all gasped and withdrew in their shock, but Donnie held steadfast and kept the light trained on the enemy.

The smaller creature was a dark green with stripes of purple streaking across him, purple armor torn and some lost all together. He only had one kneepad and both of his sock peices were soaked dark and torn. His elbow pads remained mostly untouched, and his hands were bare. Technology littered his body— goggles on his head and a tablet on his arm and a belt and shoulder straps that supported a massive shield over his back— over his shell. From the armor came four metal arms, one of them broken and the rest straining to support the immense weight on top of him.

The larger was big enough to cover his carrier almost like a blanket, hiding a majority of the small turtle beneath his massive plastron and bulking arms. He might have been a lighter shade of green— it was hard to tell in the lighting, and even then it hardly mattered. The only evidence the great beast was still living was the fact that he was moving his head around, just slightly. Thick streams of crimson bubbled forth from a gaping wound in his carapace, bleeding out and covering him in streams of shiny red that dripped down his arms and side and onto his companion. He gave the slightest groan at the light shining on him and tried to open his eyes.

“What the fuuuuu…?” Leo gaped.

The purple-clad mutant looked weakly to the four with tired, terrified eyes. “Help…”

He collapsed into the sewage.

[thecomicsnexus]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES #10-18 MAY 1990 - MARCH 1991 BY RYAN BROWN, DEAN CLARRAIN, KEN MITCHRONEY, JIM LAWSON, DON SIMPSON, DAN BERGER, MARLENE BECKER, BUZ MCKIM AND BARRY GROSSMAN

SYNOPSIS (FROM COMIC VINE)

As this issue begins, we see Bebop and Rocksteady dumping toxic waste into the sewers, an act that seems to have caused something wicked to happen to a large planarian worm swimming in the tepid waters.

Cut to the sewer hideout of our favorite mutant turtles. Leo and the boys are having a discussion and they seek out Master Splinter’s advice. It seems that the recent events have deeply troubled our heroes and they’ve decided to stop being reactive to Krang’s evil deeds and try to do something proactive to stop him. The Sensei recommends that they start with their best lead to Krang… the Shredder himself!

Raph is dressed once again in the all-black wrestling costume. Splinter inquires why Raphael is wearing a suit so different from his brothers’, and Raph explains that it will help him be stealthy in the dark. Splinter approves of this reasoning, much to Raph’s delight (and Leo’s disgust!)

Meanwhile, in the Shredder’s secret hideout, an exterminator has arrived to get rid of Shredhead’s roach problem. Shredder leaves the man to his work and calls Krang on the vid screen. It seems that the vile little alien has something planned… he’s searching for something… and of course, Shredder wants in on the action!

The exterminator is busy chasing roaches around when he slips in a room full of mutagen and falls into the sewers.

By now, the TMNT have arrived where Shredder’s sub was hidden… except the vessel is now missing. The Turtles decide to head down a tunnel that has lead to Shredder before, and begin their trek… unaware that a hideous giant planarian worm mutant is following them! As the ninjas head down the pipe, they end up running headlong into a giant mutated roachman! It seems that the exterminator got exposed to the mutagen and has been turned into a monster… much like the planarian worm directly in front of him!

The monsters end up battling over who gets to kill the TMNT, and in their fight they break a gas line and a fuse box, causing a deadly combination of free-floating natural gas and electric sparks. The TMNT realize the danger, and quickly huddle together, using their back shells for protection against the impending.

Bebop and Rocksteady, still trapped beneath the Foot vehicle and rubble. Suddenly, Bebop notices an odd smell… followed by a brilliant light… and we see four very alien creatures.

Meanwhile, the TMNT have gotten disoriented from the blast in the previous issue. The lads head down the passageway where the rats are streaming from, as they believe it to be the direction home. As the Turtles walk, the rodents begin swarming around them. Just as the TMNT decide it’s time to whack some rats, a strange being comes into view… a man dressed in tatters who calls himself the Rat King!

Leo answers the Rat King’s questions and the murky monarch tells the TMNT where to find Shredder. The ninjas follow RK’s directions and eventually come to where Bebop and Rocksteady were buried… only to find that they have been removed by a very powerful force. The lads continue along and find evidence of Shredder, until they run into some sort of Super Foot Soldier standing guard in the sewer. The robot is quite deadly and gives the TMNT a run for their money, but Mikey saves the day with two well-thrown shurikens.

The Turtles find an open manhole cover and make their way to the surface. They find themselves in Shredder’s headquarters… but as they close to investigate voices, they are apprehended by 5 strange aliens and held in suspended animation. Bebop, Rocksteady, Shredder and Krang are all reunited and gloat over their victory.

Cut to the Bayou, where we see the old witch Mary Bones watching the whole event through the mysterious crystal ball known as the Turnstone. The woman is disheartened to see Krang here on Earth and wonders how he has gained control over the aliens, who she names as the Sons of Silence. Mary decides that she must depart the Earth, and uses the Turnstone’s powers to revert to her true form. As she disappears into the ether, she states that she will not be leaving alone… and we see the Turtles dematerialize from Krang’s grasp!

Krang announces that the Turnstone and Mary have returned to Dimension X… no doubt with the TMNT in tow. The villains gather their things and head for Dimension X in their spacecraft!

On a rich savanna, we see two rhinos happily grazing on the fertile land. Soon enough we discover that it’s Rocksteady dreaming of a more peaceful place than the spacecraft that he’s currently aboard with Bebop, Shredder, the Sons of Silence and Krang. The villains are traveling to Dimension X to search for Mary Bones, the Turnstone and the Turtles.

Meanwhile, Mary Bones is explaining the scenario to the TMNT in front of a camp fire on the planet Hirobyl. Mary tells the Turtles that her real name is Cherubae, she was merely disguising herself as an old witch while she was living on Earth. Cherubae states that she was once a Warlord in Dimension X, just as Krang was. Eventually a Theocracy took control of Dimension X and banished all Warlords in their goal to seize absolute power. Some of the Warlords were publically executed, sending others (like Mary) into alternate dimensions seeking refuge, while some (like Krang) chose to stay in Dimension X and went into hiding. The Warlords who remained in Dimension X would go on berserker attacks against the Theocracy, destroying entire planets in the wars. Hirobyl is one such planet, a world that Krang himself had heartlessly destroyed while searching for the Turnstone that Mary possesses. The Turnstone is a trans-animating device of great power, capable of giving certain thoughts form.

The Turtles are curious what to do about Krang and Cherubae explains that he’ll find them soon enough - and on cue, as the sun rises, Krang’s ship zooms into their view. Cherubae flies up to meet the craft and transforms Krang’s tracing device into a parrot with the power of the Turnstone. Krang retaliates by firing lasers at his fellow Warlord, which incapacitate the warrior woman. Cherubae drops the Turnstone and it falls to the ground far below.

The TMNT scramble to locate the powerful item while the Sons of Silence surround Cherubae, who hangs suspended in the air. Krang laments that he knew the aliens couldn’t be trusted. Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady board flying machines to search for the Turnstone while Krang decides to call another Warlord for help - an insect-like being named Maligna.

Maligna agrees to speak with Krang, but the warrior queen is not pleased with the brainy alien’s destruction of worlds. Krang requests ten warriors to help him retrieve the Turnstone, for which he will give her the planet Earth. Maligna agrees to the terms.

Meanwhile, Shredder and his two henchmen are searching for the Turnstone on their flying buggies. Shredder tells his underlings that they must find the device before Krang does, as Shredder plans to use its power for his own desires. Fortunately the villains are looking in the wrong direction.

The TMNT are running on the ground, trying to locate the lost orb. The boys find a giant coliseum and spot an incoming airship… which turns out to be Cudley the Cowlick! Cudley explains that Mr.Stump wants to help the Turtles find the Turnstone and will give them some help if they agree to another wrestling match. The TMNT agree to the terms and Cudley spits out the helpers: Wingnut and Screwloose, Leatherhead and a fellow named Trap.

As Cudley flies off, the heroes notice that they’ve been surrounded by Maligna’s insect warriors!

Stump Intergalactic Wrestling is once again broadcasting the Turtles’ battle - only this time it’s a fight to find the Turnstone. The TMNT and their allies (Leatherhead, Trap, Wingnut and Screwloose) are skirmishing with the the insect warriors sent by the creepy alien queen named Maligna.

The Turtles, Leatherhead and Trap aren’t having too much trouble battling the bugs in hand to hand combat, although they’re vastly outnumbered. Wingnut and Screwloose fly off to look for Krang. Leatherhead is eventually grabbed by two bugs and sent flying out of the arena where the battle has been taking place. Wingnut and Screwloose find Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady flying in their hovercars and attack them. On the ground, Trap and the Turtles mop up the rest of the insect warriors and begin to celebrate their victory… just a bit too early, as Krang arrives in his spaceship and begins firing at our heroes.

Meanwhile, Leatherhead recovers from his throw and immediately sees the Turnstone sitting right in front of him. LH decides to think about the woman who turned him into a gator, and Cherubae appears - along with the four Sons of Silence! Leatherhead is surprised to see the aliens as he hadn’t been thinking about them - Cherubae quickly orders him to “unthink” them. LH complies and the Sons of Silence vanish. The gator then asks Cherubae why she transformed him, and she asks him if he’d believe that she knew that Leatherhead would be the only one who could save the day by finding the Turnstone. LH doesn’t believe her, but he hands her the crystal ball and tells her to “make things right.”

Cherubae takes the Turnstone and uses its power to summon Rocksteady, Bebop, Shredder and Krang, who appear before her held immobile inside of a force field. She then uses the device’s vast abilities to destroy all of Stump’s TV cameras… much to the disappointment of the enraptured audience. Finally, Cherubae uses the power of the Turnstone to banish their foes. She sends Bebop and Rocksteady to a jungle world inhabited only by wild animals - a fate the pair seem to truly enjoy. Shredder is sent to a prison on Earth, where he vows vengeance. Krang is sent to Morbus - a toxic waste dumpworld.

Cherubae then makes the Turnstone vanish out of existence, explaining that its power was too great for anyone to wield. The TMNT complain that she could have sent them home before doing that, but Cherubae explains that they’ll be traveling back to Earth with Cudley the Cowlick.

Cudley decides to drop off the TMNT in the tropical rainforest of Brazil, thinking they’ll be of some help.

No sooner has Cudley left than the Turtles are met by a cat man that goes by the name of Jagwar. Friendly greetings are exchanged when a jeep filled with mercenaries suddenly arrives and fires at our heroes. The TMNT and their new ally escape into the jungle and the men leave to tell their partners what they’ve seen.

Jagwar leads the TMNT deep into the southwestern jungle to an ancient temple, a place that the cat man calls home. Jagwar then explains the troubles in his homeland, how some people wish to exploit the rainforest and tear it down to make “a quick buck,” like the mercenaries who had fired at them. He also tells the Turtles that these men assassinated a local union leader recently, a man named Chico Mendes, who was a friend to Jagwar. The mercenaries also kidnapped a reporter who had come to do a story on Chico Mendes, and so Jagwar has vowed to free the newsperson. The TMNT quickly assert that they’ll help Jagwar on his mission.

The five heroes sit down to eat some fruit and Jagwar tells them the lore of his homeland, how the rainforest was both earth and heaven in one. After his tale is finished, the cat man states that it’s time for them to rescue the reporter… who happens to be April O'Neil! The Turtles are astounded by this information, and the group runs through the jungle to save their friend.

Soon enough they find the mercenaries’ camp and quickly defeat the evil men in combat. Once the fight is over, the Turtles and April share a tearful reunion. April notices that Jagwar is also crying, and when she asks him why, the cat man explains that he misses his friend Chico Mendes, and because fifty acres of rainforest is lost every minute.

“April… my friends…” begins Jagwar, “At times I can only cry… because I know not what else to do.”

Meanwhile, back in New York City, we see a skyscraper and hear a phone call to Mr. Null reporting about the problems his organization is facing from “mutant animals.” Null orders the mutants to be followed and scrutinized.

April, the TMNT and Jagwar have spent several weeks rafting down the Pursus and Amazon rivers, living off the land and experiencing an all new and invigorating lifestyle. Jagwar teaches our heroes how to thrive in the jungle and they tell him tales of their adventures, much to the delight of everyone involved.

Eventually the group meets a local tribe known as the Coipacu. They are lead by an elderly woman who holds the title of Paleocha. The woman speaks the “forest language” (something Jagwar is well versed in) and invites our heroes to supper. Jagwar explains that it’s fortunate that the Turtles are turtles, as the Coipacu believe that the world is an island borne on the back of the Great Turtle.

The locals bring the protagonists to a majestic tepui, and lead them through a a cave that reveals an unbelievable world within… populated by not only the Coipacu, but dinosaurs as well!

Later that evening, Jagwar translates the Paleocha’s story about a new creature that has appeared in the tepui - a half man half wolf! Since discovering the wolfman, the tribe has set out a nightly offering of food for him. Jagwar also relates that pirate-miners have discovered this paradise and have begun to kidnap their young men and make them into slaves. The Paleocha seeks the help of the TMNT to stop the pirates and save her people.

Suddenly a howl erupts out of the jungle and everyone spots the wolfman, who has arrived to take his nightly offering. The beast quickly takes his food, noting in English, “That be good stuff, mon” before he zooms back into the jungle.

Later, the TMNT, Jagwar and April head out to investigate the pirate-miners camp at a nearby tepui. The spot hundreds of slaves being forced to dig, and are quickly discovered by an armed guard. Mikey dispatches the man and the heroes attack the pirates. The battle goes well, but Jagwar is surprised by a pirate and held at gunpoint. Before the man can force the Turtles to drop their weapons, something comes screaming out of the jungle at incredible speed and knocks out the villain. The rescuer is the speedy wolfman, who tells Jagwar, “You owe me, mon.” Jagwar cheerfully agrees and the anthropomorphs work together to free the Coipachu slaves.

From a distance, we see a cowboy who calls himself The Kid watching our heroes through binoculars. He notes that the Turtles have been joined by a wolfman and that they’ve wrecked this operation. He also states that Mr. Null is going to be very unhappy with this news. The Kid calls Null and briefs him on what’s happened - Null is upset and tells his henchmen to keep tracking the TMNT to see what motivates them.

The Turtles are welcomed back by the Paleocha and she gives Donatello a gift to thank the Turtles for saving her people. Don is honored to receive the present, which is the leader’s ancient staff. The Paleocha than asks to know more of the wolfman, and he explains that his name is Dreadmon - but at this moment, he’d rather be eating than talking. Mikey backs up Dreadmon on this plan of action.

Later, Don practices with his new staff while the others bask in the beauty of the tepui.

Master Splinter is at home in the sewers of New York City, where he’s attempting to contact the TMNT via astral projection.

Meanwhile, Mr. Null’s henchmen, the cowboy named The Kid, is searching the jungle inside a helicopter, trying to locate the Turtles and their allies. Our heroes manage to escape detection and reach their destination: the Atlantic Ocean. April asks how they’re going to cross the vast sea and the guys get to work building some rafts made from the debris found on the polluted beach (except Mikey, who takes the opportunity to do some surfing).

Once the rubber tube rafts are complete, Jagwar and Dreadmon bring fruit from the jungle so the TMNT and April will have food on their journey. Goodbyes are said and the heroes in a half shell set sail for America.

The group finds an island and decide to do some swimming and investigating. No sooner have the TMNT beached than they’re attacked by a strange submarine that’s equipped with robotic arms, which grabs the Green Team and April and stuffs them into its hull, carrying them off to an underwater headquarters.

Our heroes soon meet up with two other captives, Man Ray (aka Ray Fillet) and his diminutive buddy, a fishy dude from a species called Glublubs. Ray explains that he was swimming with some dolphins who were teahing him how to cope with his new body when he discovered the Glublubs. Unfortunately the fish folk’s coral reef home has been the site for toxic waste dumping. While Ray and the Glublub were viewing the radioactive waste, they both became sick and passed out, eventually waking up as prisoners. The Turtles decide that they’ll have to stop the illegal dumping and hatch a plan to escape. Ray uses his echo-location abilities to determine the thickness of the walls and discovers that the large mirror in the room is thin - which allows the Green Team to cannonball Mikey through the glass and create an escape route.

The TMNT find a group of men on the other side of the glass lead by The Kid - who tells the pirates (known as the Oceanauts) to capture the mutants alive. The Turtles have other ideas, however, and begin to kick Oceanaut butt. Ray runs down The Kid, who fires his pistol - the bullet narrowly misses Man Ray, but strikes the little Glublub in the chest, killing him. The murder enrages Ray, who starts to tear the ship apart. The Turtles try to calm Man Ray, but there’s no stopping him - so they find an access pool that allows them to escape into open water.

Later, Man Ray and the Turtles bury their fallen Glublub friend on the beach, just as a shooting star falls from the sky.

An asteroid is hitting the Earth’s atmosphere - but this is no ordinary meteor, it’s actually a spaceship piloted by two of Maligna’s insect warriors, Skul and Bean. The aliens report to their master, who orders them to find a human that will help them “feed our great hunger.”

Meanwhile, Man Ray has found two humpback whales who were willing to carry April O'Neil and the Turtles back to America, and they arrive at New Orleans. The whales drop the heroes off on a half-sunken ship that has hit a reef offshore. Everyone dives into the sea and begins to swim towards shore when they spot two shrimp boats dropping nets. Ray explains that the nets are supposed to be equipped with a device that will allow sea turtles and other larger animals to escape. April is interested in the process and asks Man Ray to show her how it works, and the former scientist agrees. Ray swims with April on his back up to the nets, but shockingly discovers that these nets do not have the proper extruder devices. This enrages Man Ray and he swims to the surface and demands that the shrimpers pull up their nets. Not surprisingly, the captain of the boat tells Ray to buzz off, but the mutant isn’t happy with this reply and attacks. Unfortunately for the zealous Ray, he is quickly captured in a net and beaten into submission. April swims back to the Turtles to let them know what’s happened.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are back on board the abandoned ship, where Master Splinter has finally managed to contact them via astral projection. Splinter is pleased to discover his sons are doing well and experiencing so much of the world. As Splinter’s image fades, April arrives with the news.

Later, the Shrimpers pull up their nets expecting to see a rich booty of shrimp, but only find trash and debris. The Turtles appear on the back of a giant turtle, wearing costumes and trying to pass themselves off as vengeful turtle spirits. The act fools one of the crews and they abandon ship, but Cap'n Mossback is unimpressed and fires a harpoon at the turtles. The TMNT dive into the water and climb aboard Mossback’s ship, where a battle ensues. April uses the diversion to free Man Ray, who crashes through the deck and frightens Mossback into falling overboard. To everyone’s surprise, the captain can’t swim and soon sinks beneath the surface of the water. No one is in a hurry to rescue the pirate, but soon the giant turtle that the TMNT had arrived on surfaces, with the captain safely on its back.

Back in New York City, The Kid arrives at Null’s headquarters to report his failure in tracking the Turtles. Null is angry, and introduces Kid to his new business partners… the insect warriors Skul and Bean!

April and the TMNT bid farewell to Man Ray as they board a train that will carry them back to New York City. The heroes arrive safely back in the sewers and as they head for their lair, they hear music. The guys decide to track the tunes and discover that they’re coming from Shredder’s abandoned headquarters. The Turtles wonder what’s up, since Saki is in prison, and they investigate the source of the music. Soon enough the TMNT discover that a local Metal band has set up a practice space in the warehouse. The lead guitarist begins some histrionics that cause a fuse to blow and the room falls into darkness. The TMNT hear something entering the room, and when the lights come back on, they see that the Metalheads have been surrounded by robotic Foot Soldiers!

April and the TMNT spring into action as the Foot assault the group. The band’s leader, Mondo, is punched and sent flying into a stockpile of barrels - filled with Mutagen! Mondo has a pet gecko on his shoulder, so the Mutagen begins to morph him into a gecko-man.

The battle with the Foot continues. A Super Soldier has grabbed Mondo’s girlfriend and carries her off to a rooftop, with Mikey and Mondo in hot pursuit on skateboards. Mondo uses his thrashing abilities to knock the Foot off of the roof and saves his girl, Candace. Unfortunately for the mutant Metalhead, Candy tells him that she doesn’t think she can deal with his new appearance, and the two split up.

The TMNT arrive and assure Mondo that he’s welcome to stay with them. Donatello notices a bunch of meteors zooming around a building that bears a familiar logo. The guys note the weird phenomena and then head back to the sewers, where they find Master Splinter and some fresh pizzas.

REVIEW

Little I knew the first time I read this, that it was all part of the plan to introduce the “Mutanimals”. It all makes much more sense now.

I mentioned before that Barry Grossman seems to paint all eyes as blue. Well, it continues here, but it feels sometimes like the art team wasn’t in the loop with the cartoon version of these characters. In this story, Rocksteady dreams about his time as a Rhino in Africa. And in the end, both him and Bebop are sent to a planet to roam free with other animals. This of course contradicts both, the cartoon and the book itself, as in issue #6 it was mentioned that they used to be humans.

The Rat King is thrown in the mix for no other reason than to make another character debut. You remove him from the story and nothing changes (although, he does tell them where the Shredder is, but because they ended up being trapped I have the feeling, they were always going to end up there).

And as great as the “final conflict” may feel. Cherubae could have prevented all of it by doing what she ended up doing, at the beginning of the story. There was no need of letting things unfold like that, unless of course, she thought the future was already set in stone.

Then we have the trip to Brazil were everybody seems to speak Spanish or English. My feeling here is that they weren’t completely in Brazil. It is mentioned at some point that they are in the border with Colombia, so that could explain why characters and language sound Spanish. The art in that issue, however, is the least good looking of the bunch.

Ray Man becomes Ray Fillet, officially, even if no one calls him by that name. And we have a death. This death was just weird, as the little fella comes with the toy (I would have expected him to stay alive for the book). Some people feel uneasy with the eco-messages in this story. Well, let me tell you something. I read this when I was 10 or 11. And I actually learned things by doing it. Like how to make Turtles not die when fishing for shrimps. And even the circle of life, before the Lion King, in something that I probably didn’t understand back then, but I do now (the book gives perfect examples of how the circle of life works in the rainforests).

Finally, the Mondo Gecko issue felt too rushed, just like most of the issues that introduce a new character.

Overall, these comics left memories in my head. Whenever I remember this run, I remember these issues, plus the final confrontation with Krang that came later. Sure its message about the environment are heavy handed, but it’s not a topic that doesn’t fit the property. In fact, Mirage Studios made a lot of stories around these subjects.

I give this story a score of 7.

[j-penny]

Romnt: More on fan project

This project was initially going to be part of a series of shorts stories with the formula: one turtle is a villain or antagonist in the story and the other is the hero, or variations of this it can be more than one on either side. It is like I won’t be able to do all the concepts I had in mind because of time. So I thought I would just share them with you, and if some of you really like these concepts and want to play around with them, go ahead.

Mikey vs. Donnie

Man there are so many different ways to write Rise Donnie as a villain. He could be a cyborg powerhouse who took over as the head commander for the mutant revolt after Draxum died in the mutant vs human war. Or Donnie could be a hardcore mad scientist who lost his ability to walk and his family after a horrific confrontation with the Shredder (who has successfully taken over the world) and he doesn’t care how many eggs he has to break so to speak to see Shredder’s world or anyone who exist in it burn. 

The concept that I think would be extremely fun the write is one where Donnie as an evil adult version of himself has achieved his highest potential in his fighting skills, his intelligence, and his cold bloodedness (thanks to training under Draxum). He now rules this world (after he successfully assassinated Draxum) with his army of supporters, robots, mutants (and possible second mutation that he can change into at will). He is wise, arrogant, punctual, cold, vain, responsible, and he loves to be celebrated. This Donnie as this world’s commander takes care of those under him and of what he owns. The world is efficient, clean, and up-to-date with the latest technologies. He lets Leo and his rebels live only because he enjoys challenges. When you see him enter the room you immediately want to exit, not because he cares whether or not you are defiant to him, or submissive. No, it’s because he is so sure of himself so confident in his abilities that he has an aura of intimidation that makes you feel sub-par. He can also be petty and nickpicky. 

But, Donnie is clueless on how to properly deal with his emotions, he struggles to keep control over some of them behind closed doors. Also there is this hollowness, he can’t place his finger on it. These things distract him sometimes and one day while he is going for a stroll around New York city he spots children from the orphanage playing in the playground. For the first time in his life he gives his undivided attention to children and notices they have something he doesn't. He wonders what he could learn from them, one in particular, a turtle wearing an orange bandanna sharing a story he made up with his friends. This young turtle’s enthusiasm with his ideas reminds Donnie of himself when he was little. Hmm… 

(Yeah this piece was going to be 50% serious and 50% fluffy.)

Leo vs. Raph

This concept was inspired by the fact that snapping turtles will fight alligators from time to time in the wild until the gators get too big.

Detectives Leon and Donatello must figure out a way to stop a gang war brewing between the Red Reigns and the Sharp Teeths before they tear down Manhattan New York. 

This could take place in a dystopia, utopia, or normal world. Also eye patch Raph is a thing and Casey is Raph’s right hand man.

Leo vs. Mikey

Leo has never faced an opponent this formidable in his life so far. This ruffian has once again successfully stolen an artifact under Leo’s guard. Michelangelo the thief, is a wild card. No one would ever think that this loose, carefree, careless guy would be as strong in a fight as he is and no one would ever think that he would a brilliant tactician either. Leo feels like he is spinning his wheels. For he is dealing with his most unpredictable rival yet.

Raph vs. Donnie

More like Raph vs Donnie’s overthink. Imagine a comedy where Raph is the voice that clears the fog for Donnie’s over analytical mind. But both of these two take turns of getting themselves into trouble.

Finally,

Donnie vs Leo

This story is the one I’m working on. Here is a short description.

Donnie, the gadget knight, must assist the kingdom of New Amsterdam in dealing with Leo, the terrifying dragon.

[remmushound]

Animal crackers part 2!! @errorfreak88 @digitl-art-monstr

Content warning!! Blood, childhood trama, physical injury

Donatello didn't move from the spot where Raphael had left him, staring off into the tunnel with nothing but the occasional pacing to keep him occupied. Raphael had been gone for hours— that was several hours too long, and it wasn’t like Raphael to miss lunch. Splinter had woken up almost thirty minutes ago to start preparing it. Donatello wondered how long it would take before Splinter noticed that Raphael wasn’t there at his side trying to taste everything and gobble up his share before it was even completely prepared. Splinter only ever got four hours of sleep a day—five if he was lucky—so maybe he wouldn’t notice the absence. Maybe not unless someone brought it up…?

Donatello made up his mind. He joined his father in the kitchen and, before his mind could try and force him to chicken out, he called to his father.

“Yes Purple? Splinter yawned, glancing back at Donatello with the heavy eyes he often had.

“I have something to tell you…”

Even in his deprived state, Splinter could tell something was wrong. He left the food he was preparing on the counter and hurried to kneel beside Donatello. He cupped the four year old's head in his hands to have Donatello look up at him.

“Whatever is the matter, Purple?”

Donatello’s eyes swam with tears, and he finally broke down crying, charging forward to hug Splinter in attempts to gain forgiveness while he explained himself. He quickly told Splinter everything that happened, from Raphael leaving to Raphael knocking him down to how long Raphael had been gone. He tried his best to explain that he tried to stop Raphael and he thought Raphael would come back on his own.

Splinter, despite the anxious knot twisting around in his stomach, only hugged Donatello and gave soft, shushing noises. He pet his paw carefully across the leathery shell and nosed his whiskers against Donatello’s cheek.

“It is alright Donatello…” He soothed. He planted a kiss on the large forehead. “We will just have to push lunch back a little later while I go to find your brother, that’s all. Can you be a big boy and watch the kitchen to make sure Blue and Orange don’t try to sneak a snack?”

Donatello sniffled and wiped his eyes, sitting up a little straighter as he tried to be strong like his dad. “Yes sir!”

“There’s my strong, brave softshell.” Splinter pinched Donatello’s cheeks before heading off.

***

Raphael was scared. At first, he had thought that the human was letting free when he had been dragged out of the net by the base of his tail. In actuality, it had only been to be tossed into another cage, this one smaller and metal and cold. The bars that worked as the floor hurt his feet immensely and, no matter how he shifted his weight, it would hurt all the same.

“I wanna go home…” Raphael whimpered. “Please let me out. My feet hurt…”

“Oh, don’t worry. You'll go home soon enough.” The human said.

Raphael watched the human wash and sharpened something shiny and silver— something metal. He didn't know what to call it, but he didn't want it anywhere near him…

“Why can’t I go home now?” He held his stomach and whined. “It’s almost lunch time. I hungry…”

“Hungry for what?” The man snarled, spinning quickly to face Raphael, holding the metal tool just inches from Raphael’s mouth. “Human?”

“What?” Raphael squeaked and wiped his eyes, “I don’t eat human. I eat peaches. And animal crackers…”

“Sure you do.” The doctor growled, “If there’s one of you, there’s bound to be more of you. Am I right?”

Raphael didn't answer.

“Your silence is deafening, young turtle. You say you eat ‘peaches’ but those fangs of yours say otherwise.”

Raphael brought a hand to his mouth and to his snag tooth. “Is my snaggle toothy. Daddy says its cute.”

“I suppose so. I need to have proof of your existence, but I don’t wanna kill you just yet.”

“What’s kill…?” Raphael asked softly. He flinched and covered his eyes as a bright camera flash blinded him.

“It means you go to a forever sleep like the animal you are. But a live specimen would be worth a lot more to me.”

The human swung the door open. Raphael tried to run, but he was snagged by the leg and lifted painfully and carried over to the table struggling and kicking.

“No! No no no!” He grabbed a chair, but only managed to yank it down as he was still pulled along. “No kill, no kill!”

“Didn't you just hear me? I said I wasn’t— gonna—kill you!”

Raphael was shoved onto a table, still struggling, and was strapped down with a leather restraint around his chest and legs. He reached down and tried to bite the strap, only for the human to grab him by the throat and force his head down.

“They called me crazy, but I knew there was a cryptid hiding in this sewer. I knew of the rat, but not of you. They’ll see, they’ll all see! But I, of course, have to make sure you’re no longer a threat before I show you off. And we can start…”

He forced Raphael’s mouth open and jammed the metal tool inside, locking onto Raphael’s snaggle tooth.

“With that tooth of yours.”

***

Splinter was tracking Raphael by his scent when he heard a scream. A scream far too deep to belong to his son, but a scream that concerned him nonetheless. It wasn’t one of fear-/ it was one of pain. Deep, agonizing pain that Splinter knew all too well.

“Red!” Splinter dropped to all fours to race after the sound, skidding unsteadily into what looked like a makeshift office, with chairs and a desk and tools that made Splinter flashback to his time with Baron Draxum. For a moment, his eyes glossed over, and he was lost in his own memory. Then the yells brought him back to reality and he searched up until he found a man he recognized all too well, and attached at the hunter’s hand was Raphael.

The snapper looked almost terrifying— if Splinter didn't recognize the creature as his own son, he would have been petrified beyond all sense. Raphael’s eyes were glossed over white, a look that Splinter had seen on his sons many times before, but never had it seemed so intimidating. Even though Raphael was taller than Splinter, the turtle wasn’t very large, especially compared to the above-average sized hunter, but at that moment Raphael seemed the biggest in the room.

Raphael’s mouth had locked around the doctor’s wrist and hung on, even as he was struck repeatedly on the head with every blunt object within the doctor's reach. Each hit only seemed to make him angrier, making him thrash his head even harder and dig his teeth even deeper. Blood was seeping out— so much blood. Splinter could never get over just how much blood was in a human body, even after witnessing his own blood pooling out of him time and time again. The blood stained Raphael red and flooded both into his mouth and onto the floor in a puddle that pooled around Splinter and the hunter’s feet, but Raphael held strong.

Splinter gave a furious cry as he launched himself at the hunter, striking his claws against the man’s face and aiming for the eyes, though he just barely missed. The hunter stumbled, trying to strike Splinter with the same hand that Raphael was locked onto, but only succeeded in falling into his cart. His own equipment rained down on him, scalpels and needles piercing into him and other tools crashing down around him. Raphael let go when a hammer hit his head, giving a furious yowl that was almost gator-like as he pulled back to Splinter’s side.

Splinter couldn’t move when he saw the state of Raphael. The turtle was painted red, his mouth hanging open and spilling fresh blood, but from where Splinter couldn’t tell. Not until he saw the absence of the snag tooth and the hole that was left in its place as it had been forcefully extracted. Raphael gave another yell and tried to lunge at the human, but Splinter caught him around the shell and held him firm. Raphael made no attempt to attack his father but made every attempt to try to escape and return to his brutal mauling.

Splinter whipped his tail hard against the hunter's head, stopping the screaming and making the human slump to the floor unconscious. Splinter fell to his knees, cradling his son against his chest and stomach while wrapping his arms tight around the snapper to hold him still. Raphael thrashed and squirmed like a furious beast trying to get free, but Splinter stayed still. He held Raphael there for thirty minutes on his count before the fighting stopped and Raphael went limp in his father's arms, anger turning to pain and fear as his growling turned to tears. He wrapped his arms around Splinter’s to cry into the rat’s fur.

“It is alright…” Splinter closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at son nor the state of the hunter. He wasn’t so sure he could hear the hunter breathing anymore but he tried not to think of it. “I’m here…”

“You weren’t…” Raphael’s voice was slurred with the extraction of his snag tooth, his eyes still white.

“I’m here, my son, I’m…”

Raphael gave a final, curdling cry down the tunnels before he was still, his head hanging. “Raph… alone…”

[thecomicsnexus]

Leatherhead, Too

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #45 MARCH 1992 BY DAN BERGER AND RYAN BROWN

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA)

The TMNT have returned to New York City to investigate reports of a resurgence in street crime, allegedly being perpetrated by gangs of ninjas. The issue opens with the Turtles defeating a group of Foot Ninja who had ambushed them. Four of the Foot flee into the sewers and seek refuge in the lair that the TMNT had abandoned when they moved to Northampton, Massachusetts.

The Clansters enter the Turtles' old sanctuary only to be met by Leatherhead (from Tales of the TMNT #6), who has taken over the space. The gigantic gator quickly dispatches three of the four, but the last of the Foot talks Leatherhead into accepting them as allies. As it turns out, LH has been trying to build a Transmat for the past few years in order to teleport himself to the Utroms' homeworld, where he feels that he can live in peace. Unfortunately for the mammoth mutant, his size prevents him from being able to do the fine work needed to build the device, so he needs the help of small hands to make his dreams come true. The ninjas think that Leatherhead is insane, but fearing for their lives and desiring a powerful leader to take Shredder's place, they do their best to help him.

The work progresses quickly and Leatherhead leaves to fetch some equipment that he's secreted away. While the gator's gone, the TMNT return to their old lair and find the Foot Soldiers working on the Transmat. Just before a battle ensues, LH returns and defuses the situation. Leatherhead explains his plans to the Green Team and they agree to help him finish the device. Thus the odd team comprised of the Foot, Leatherhead and the Turtles work together to make a Transmat.

Once everything is complete, LH climbs aboard the machine and bids his allies farewell. Donatello pushes the buttons that start the Transmat, but something goes wrong, and Leatherhead is merely singed by cosmic energy, rather than teleported to the Utroms' homeworld. The failure is more than Leatherhead can handle, and he flips out, smashing Foot and Turtle alike in his rage - blaming both for trying to keep him trapped on Earth. As he's smashing the place up, LH suddenly decides that killing his adversaries would be too easy.

"Mark my words, you fiends!" the enraged gator cries, "I will have my revenge! You will pay for my suffering tenfold! I'll find a way! Nyah hah hah!"

With this curse, LH flees the lair. Donatello tries to stop him, but Leo insists that Leatherhead needs time to be alone.

Later, on the rooftops, the TMNT muse about Leatherhead's fate.

"This humongous city full of millions of different people and we're forced into isolation." Don begins, "We're up here all -"

"Alone?" Raph finishes.

"Yeah," Mike adds, "But at least we have each other."

"Yes... we do." concludes Leonardo.

REVIEW

It was nice to see Leatherhead again... but not so good to see him go away with a “nyahaha”. And to be honest, the whole idea of the ninjas going for leatherhead to be their sensei made little sense, from a human ninja living in a sewer perspective.

There is also more humor and bickering in this issue than what we were used to in the past few years. This comic was so serious at times, it makes you doubt everything now. But the humor helps differentiate the personalities.

While this issue is the first official canon after the guest era, it is still not written by Eastman nor Laird. Berger and Brown are quite good and have a lot of experience with these characters, so it is fine. But I wonder if that is the reason there is so much humor. I will be able to compare when those two return.

Even in black and white this story looks very good.

I give the issue a score of 8.

[thecomicsnexus]

Leatherhead

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #6 AUGUST 1988 BY JIM LAWSON, RYAN BROWN AND ERIC TALBOT

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA)

Mr. Marlin is hunting big game in Africa. The man is charged by a bull elephant, but he calmly shoots it dead in its tracks. One of his underlings congratulates the hunter for killing the last Madagascan Blue Elephant. Marlin orders his employee to make plans to have the body sent to a prepared trophy room. The hunter then boards a helicopter and complains that he's tired of the "usual" big game—that he needs to hunt something more "exotic". As he speaks, Marlin is reading a newspaper clipping reporting sightings of a huge alligator. The hunter tells his servant to make arrangements for him to fly to New York City. As the helicopter veers off into the distance, an armed man grasps the discarded article and shakes his fist and the craft, vowing that he won't fail to catch Marlin again.

Meanwhile, the turtles are battling the Foot Clan. The Clan members soon retreat and the turtles head for home—on their journey, they are spied upon from the waters of the sewer by two very large eyes.

Marlin has arrived in New York City. The hunter and two of his lackeys make their way into the sewer. The man pursuing them is not far behind, and he vows that this will be Marlin's last safari.

Almost immediately, Marlin and his men stumble into the turtles. The hunter is surprised, but he acts quickly, firing at the turtles in hopes of making them trophies. The turtles escape by swimming through the sewers, but when they emerge, they're facing a large group of Foot Ninja. As the battle rages on, Mikey finds a secret door in the sewer wall. The Turtles head for the escape route as Marlin begins firing his rifle into the melee. Inside the secret door, the turtles find an apartment with a laboratory—and stranger yet, there are machine components lying around from the T.C.R.I. building. Don wonders if an Utrom is living here, but Raph is doubtful. Suddenly, Marlin breaks through the wall and points his gun at the turtles. As he menaces our heroes, the hunter gloats about what fine trophies the Turtles will make. Suddenly a huge alligator-man attacks! Leatherhead grabs Marlin and the man faints!

As the group heads for safety, Leatherhead explains that he was an ordinary gator that had been flushed into the sewers long ago, and that he had been found by the Utroms. The aliens took him to their lab, where he was accidentally exposed to mutagen and took on his new form. The Utroms accepted responsibility for the error, and took Leatherhead in as one of their own. Since the T.C.R.I. building was destroyed (TMNT #7), Leatherhead has been working on his own to try to contact the aliens, in hopes that they'll return and take him with them to their world, where he can live in peace. The group emerges into a huge cavern, a bridge spanning its gap. The hunter surprises them again, running up from behind, gun in hand. Leatherhead tells the turtles to make a break for the bridge. Leatherhead uses his tail to break the bridge in half, separating the turtles from the hunter by the length of the crevice. The plan works for the most part, but the gator is forced to cling to broken bridge on the other side of Marlin, which gives him a clean shot at all of the mutants as the turtles struggle to save their new friend.

Before Marlin can fire his gun, a thrown knife stabs into his trigger hand—and the man that has been chasing the hunter reveals himself. The fellow explains that he's a representative of all the animals that Marlin has slain, and that he's come to arrest him for his crimes. Marlin recoils at the thought of being caged like an animal and backs away from the lawman. The hunter gets too close to the edge and stumbles, falling into the pit below.

The lawman stares in stunned silence at the mutants across the gap, and Leo announces that it's time to go home.

The Turtles lead Leatherhead to their first sewer lair, a place where the gator can continue his work in safety.

REVIEW

Wow. This is one good-looking comic-book. Lawson and Brown make a great team for these characters, and Leatherhead is an instant favorite. Sure, I played with that toy A LOT, but in essence, that toy was the cartoon version. This is quite different.

It was very cool to see the turtles swimming in the sewers. You normally assume they do, but you never see them underwater with such splendor.

The guys at Mirage were heavily involved in stories about protecting the wildlife (Puma Blues), this trickled down into the Archie adventures as well.

Marlin looks a lot like Kraven the hunter. Just stating the obvious.

I give this issue a score of 9