Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011) #1-5 + Anniversary Special

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-5 + Anniversary Special

Originally released in 2011

Written by Tom Waltz

Art by Dan Duncan

Right off the bat, this already feels different from the other Ninja Turtles comics that I've read, which goes to show how much flexibility this series has with its concept. I'm used to the Turtles and Splinter being outcasts, basically the only ones of their kind aside from Shredder's forces, with the recent movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem being the exception to that from what I'm familiar with.

Here, it's quickly established that Splinter and the Turtles are in conflict with another mutant, a one-eyed cat named Old Hob. The story starts in media res, with Raphael having split off from the rest for some reason, and the origin of the conflict between the Turtles and Hob going unexplained in the first issue.

This time, April has a more direct involvement in the Turtles' origin - she was a lab assistant working for Baxter Stockman, who was using animals to make super soldiers for General Krang. (It's unclear if this is meant to be a more realistic take on Krang or if Krang is a brain-like alien using a general as a suit, but I'm guessing it's the second one) When ninjas show up to take the research, April and Splinter (who's physically a normal rat at this point but was given intelligence-boosting drugs) chase them off, and in the process, the bag containing the Ooze and the four turtles is dropped off of a roof.  Splinter falls into it, but a cat separates Raphael from his brothers.

Once he mutated, Raphael has been wandering the streets, not even sure about his own name.  When he hears Casey Jones's father abusing him, he steps in to help, scaring the drunk father off. Raph and Casey roam the streets, dishing out vigilante justice, as word gets back to Old Hob.

Meanwhile, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey have been spending the better part of a year searching for Raph, though they're starting to have their doubts.  They only have Splinter's word to go on for whether or not their fourth brother even exists.  It's an interesting change to the Turtles' backstory, and it would go a long way to explaining why Raphael might have conflicts with the others, Leonardo in particular.

We get bits of what Old Hob was up to after fully mutating - Baxter Stockman wants the mutagen back (and he hints that Krang and Shredder are rivals in this continuity), with Splinter's blood providing the purest source of it.  As a result, Hob intends to bring Splinter and the Turtles back to Stockman, dead or alive.

Hob and his gang of human thugs attack Casey and the amnesiac Raphael, but the duo is saved by the other three Ninja Turtles. With the brothers reunited, we get a touching moment where Splinter sees his fourth son for the first time since they all mutated.

The pacing is definitely different from the other Turtles comics that I've read so far, with what I've described being covered over the course of four issues. It's slower, but it allows for more of a sense of build-up and a feeling like there's a larger plan in motion.

A story called "A Lot to Learn", which was released as part of a 30th anniversary special, focuses on Raphael as he adjusts to his new life with Splinter.  He's frustrated because he was great with street brawling, but he's no match for the ninja training of his brothers, and he's frustrated with himself for not keeping up as well as he thinks he should. (Though he's learning at a faster rate than they were)

I guess there's something about Raphael, his attitude or his difficulty with teamwork, that seems to make him a better fit for getting solo stories compared to the others.  He also got a solo story around this point in the original comics.  It allows for some good introspection and development, as he knows that how he's behaving is wrong, and Splinter's remarks upon Raphael's return home were heartfelt and touching.

Issue 5 focuses on the backstory of Hamato Yoshi, who in this continuity existed centuries ago.  Much of his backstory is the same, though he had four sons, and it's implied that the five of them were reincarnated as Splinter and the Turtles. (Either that, or Splinter is reading far too much into a story that he read) Oroku Saki was in the backstory, so I'm not sure if Shredder is going to be a descendent with the same name or if Oroku Saki became incredibly long-lived or ageless through some sort of magic ceremony or alien tech. (Any of those seem possible)

In the original comics, all of the Turtles wore red headbands, while they're usually portrayed as wearing different colours.  This series splits the difference by having them wear red headbands for the first story arc and then graduating to their usual colours, which was a nice touch.

I liked this more modern take on the Turtles; it didn't have the light breezy feel of the past two days' worth of Ninja Turtles stories, but it took familiar elements and changed or expanded on them to keep things fresh. Casey and April are younger here than I'm used to, with them being college age, so I'm curious about how that will change their dynamic with the Turtles. I don't know if this is the case or not, but whereas the original Eastman and Laird comics felt like they were drawing whatever they felt like or whatever ideas seemed fun, and the Saturday Morning Adventures comics recaptured the feel of the Saturday morning cartoons, this feels more structured, like the creators had a clear plan in mind before starting.