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TV/Cartoon Series

TMNT – “The Super Shredder” Review

by Dan Spitaliere November 6, 2016

written by Dan Spitaliere

Wow, what an episode. It feels like “The Super Shredder” was a long time coming, both in the case of the hiatus finally coming to an end, but also all the foreshadowing of Splinter’s death in the season. Is this actually the end for Splinter and Shredder? I’m not sure we’ll get an answer to that right away. Plus, it looks like we’re getting another big fight episode next week, with Bebop and Rocksteady leading reinforcements to take on the Turtles, April and Karai closing the episode.

The episode as a whole was actually pretty dark. Besides the climactic fight between Shredder and Splinter that covered the final third of the episode, we saw the defeat of Karai’s Foot Clan, her capture and subsequent stringing up as bait, a couple close calls for the Turtles in the big subway fight set piece and against the Elite Foot Soldiers, and finally some truly disturbing mind games played by Shredder against Splinter. Throughout, this episode was focused and serious.

There was a little play for laughs in the beginning, with Bradford laying down to watch his own show, and Turtles and April relaxing to their own marathon Bradford session, but after that it was full steam ahead. Shredder’s transformation was gruesome, especially as it started to lose control later on. Splinter’s vision during their morning meditation left nothing to the imagination either; we were going to see Splinter fall down that pit.

The previously mentioned momentum was well served by the animation department this week. Having the episode travel to multiple locations helped to establish the feel of the episode. Splinter’s vision was unavoidable. Our heroes were not in control, they were on a ride. This was reinforced by Shredder’s command to Xever and Stockman to ensure “they follow the plan.” Shredder was in control, leading Splinter and the Turtles into trap after trap. Traveling from Shredder’s facility, to Karai’s hideout, to the subway, to the Under City (a location I practically forgot existed), reinforced this and gave some excellent set pieces for the showdowns that occurred.

Ultimately, this is an interesting plot development for the show and I hope the question lasts longer than just the next episode. The question, of course, is how will the Turtles get on after the loss of their father? The show has explored this before, through last season’s space adventure. But even though they were faced with new threats and went on crazy adventures, they always knew they were fighting to save Splinter and the Earth. They may have been without Splinter, but they had a clear path to getting back to him. How will they react this time, when their father (at least to their knowledge) is well and truly gone? And what will Shredder’s apparent death mean for America’s Foot Clan? We’ve seen in various iterations of the Turtles Karai, Raphael, and even Splinter take over as Master. With Splinter obviously not an option, will Karai be able to wrest control away from Tiger Claw (the obvious next in line as far as villains go), or will he be able to solidify power and continue the fight against our heroes? Maybe this is why Tiger Claw seeks out Kavaxas?

The loss of Splinter and Shredder is a huge development and a real opportunity to tell interesting stories moving forward. Some of the most interesting Turtle stories focus on the times when the Turtles are without their master. Hopefully the writers take advantage of this and don’t resolve this in the next episode.

“The Super Shredder” was an unrelenting and well paced episode, that leaned into traditional Turtle conflicts, while also introducing one of the best iterations of the mutated Oroku Saki. Not just a show of extreme strength, this was Shredder at his peak intellect, thirsty for revenge, and no longer patient in his pursuit of it. Thus, the Turtles were faced with a great challenge, and the resolution created some interesting avenues to explore moving forward. All in all, you couldn’t really ask for better.

November 6, 2016 17 comments

TMNT – “Bat in the Belfry” Review

by Dan Spitaliere September 11, 2016

written by Dan Spitaliere

Even as a side story for this volume, “Bat in the Belfry” was easily one of my favorite episodes. April’s obsession with the Aeon Crystal amped up quickly, a possibility hinted at all the way back when she received it. We got to see the return of the Turtle Blimp and a welcome use of the grapple packs. The episode was packed with fun action and tons of humor, and we finally got the introduction of this iterations Wingnut and Screwloose, two of my favorite Turtle on again/off again allies.

The alternative versions of classic characters have been hit or miss in this series. It seems like for every Rhazar there’s a Tokka, for every Slash there’s a Neutrinos, but the writers really outdid themselves here. Having Wingnut and Screwloose be Batman and Robin analogues was really inspired, and portraying them as the Adam West/Burt Ward duo was just perfect. Not only does it fit in nicely with the other in-universe fiction the Turtles consume, but it really gave the audience a fun parallel to the normal crime fighting seen in this show. They even followed the traditional “superhero team up” model, with there being an initial confusion that causes everyone to fight, with a team-up following after everyone calms down. The patrol montage was excellent as well.

Also, Skullface McGillen is my new favorite villain, not only for his magic skull minions and creepy head, but also for his stereotypical 1920s gangster voice. That bit never gets old. The whole fight was tons of fun, and we got yet another comic trope with the Wingnut/Tur-fly-tle combo punch to win the contest.

The other story going on this episode had to do with April’s growing obsession/addiction to the Aeon Crystal. Mikey’s Lord of the Rings reference was an obvious, but funny nod, and proved to be pretty accurate. April is growing too dependent on the crystal, constantly wearing it, and it is causing her headaches. There was a brief moment in last week’s episode where they showed April’s growing attachment, but who would have suspected this story thread to escalate so quickly? Suddenly she’s yelling and pushing away her friends and Splinter, falling under the crystal’s influence. Not to mention the way she dispatched of Monoculus (the giant floating eye creature; the first that the Aeon Crystal willed into existence). That was pretty intense!

It was actually pretty heartbreaking seeing Donnie and the guys’ reaction to April, and the idea that they just had no idea how to help her. Here’s hoping the writer’s continue to develop this thread. I realize that we’ll probably get the culmination of this next week, but it would be interesting to see it expand over the rest of the season. April has some serious power and I’d rather see her learn to control it, and cope with this dependency, than see her struggle with confidence yet again. It feels like a better character arc.

One more nod to Wingnut and Screwloose. Having the corruption of the Aeon Crystal transform the duo into a form resembling their original designs was really cool and a great nod to Turtle history.

Random Praise:

Love this episode coming out between the TMNT/Batman comic crossovers! Go check those out!
Oh my god, the giant coin and squirrel in their secret lair parodying the coin and T-rex from Batman!
Always love Ice Cream Kitty! One of the best original mutants this show created!
Arachnid-Man! The Indelible Bulge! The Fantastic Four Food Groups! Can we get some one shots of all of these? TMNT has some of the best in-universe fiction.
The Indelible Bulge comic cover says “The Weirdest Guy of all Time! As Crazy as You Want It!”
The comics even have the Comic Code Authority seal of approval on them. That’s great attention to detail.

“Bat in the Belfry” was such a fun episode. These are the kind of side stories you hope for. With a solid theme and excellent execution, the writers and animators delivered strong doses of action, adventure, and humor. Wingnut and Screwloose are a great addition to the Nick TMNT universe and it was cool seeing their villains come to life with them. After the seeds were planted last volume, we finally got to see April struggle with the Aeon Crystal, even if it did feel like it came out of nowhere. This turn could put April’s character development into overdrive, and would really be a better story element than questioning her confidence again. With “Bat in the Belfry,” the volume continues it’s strong run heading into the fall.

September 11, 2016 7 comments

Reviews TV/Cartoon Series

TMNT – “Mutant Gangland” Review

by Dan Spitaliere September 5, 2016

written by Dan Spitaliere

This week, “Mutant Gangland” continued with this volume’s focus on maturity, although not in the same way previous weeks did. Instead of focusing on how the Turtles have matured, they instead explored how easy it is to fall back into old ways. Yes, Raph once again left the team, something even the shows writers made fun of. Despite this familiar territory however, the episode proved to be intense, with a New York gang aiming to use newly developed Mutant Hunter weapons to hunt down all the city’s mutants.

In a way, having Raph get angry and leave the team again was a little disappointing. The Nick TMNT series has been doing a good job as of late showing the Turtles growing up, but this definitely feels like a step back. I understand it’s important to have the Turtles face problems and to create real stakes for each episode. But the stakes were already raised with Don Vizioso’s gang aiming to experiment and kill our heroes and their friends the Mighty Mutanimals. Did we really need another instance of Leo and Raph arguing that leads to Raph walking out on his family? While it was a fun parallel to the 1990 movie (Raph gets angry because they’re playing it safe/Raph gets beat up on a rooftop), just two episodes ago Raph was scolding Leo for going out on his own, poking fun at himself for wanting to be the Nightwatcher. That was a huge moment of growth for Raph, and it feels like we lost it only two weeks later.

Despite all that, this really was a strong episode. The danger against the Mutanimals and Turtles was palpable and having a new foe only enhanced that. Building out the power vacuum in the city was a good move from the writers and begins to fulfill the promise of the first episode “City at War.” Don Vizioso, his top enforcer The Hammer (brought to life with a fun Razor Ramon schtick), and his two henchmen Vic and Vinnie were the perfect Godfather send up. Obviously Vizioso was played for laughs, but there was still a real serious line cut through each of these characters. Isn’t it weird, though, how only the criminal element are aware of the mutants, even though the city has seen two alien invasions? How blissfully unaware is the normal citizen?

The Mutanimals also deserve a shout out. It was great to see them grow as a team. In fact, their team dynamic was a good contrast to the Turtles in this episode. Whereas the Turtles nearly lost a brother, and had to relearn (yet again) how to embrace each others individual characteristics, the core three members of the Mutanimals were thriving as partners, and welcoming in Mondo Gecko, personality quirks and all. That being said, what did happen to Pigeon Pete, and why won’t they talk about it? What an interesting seed to plant.

Ooh! Speaking of planting seeds, who is Dr. Feral? I like the writer’s dropping hints like this and building out the conflicts of this volume.

All in all, “Mutant Gangland” was a solid episode. A new foe brought a real challenge to our heroes and their Mutanimal friends, and it’s always fun to see the two teams fight together. We took a little step back in terms of individual character development, ending the episode where we started off, but in exchange got some good team dynamics. It’s hard not to get a little scared for Splinter. He’s getting pretty heavy handed with his “I might not always be here” speeches. Combine this with the fact that we know Super Shredder is on his way and it’s easy to think the writer’s may be preparing us for his second death. As it stands, “Mutant Gangland” showed us that the threats in the city are rising, and in order to overcome them our heroes are going to have to come together, keep up their training, and grow up. As Splinter said, “Everything is impermanent.” Maybe we’re on the cusp of seeing the Mutant Ninja Turtles.

September 5, 2016 2 comments

Reviews TV/Cartoon Series Uncategorized

TMNT – “The Insecta Trifecta” Review

by Dan Spitaliere August 29, 2016

written by Dan Spitaliere

While the first two episodes of this new volume focused on the differences in which our heroes and Karai dealt with the remaining forces of the Shredder, “The Insecta Trifecta” gave us a more straight forward adventure. Pitting the Turtles and company against Baxter Stockman and his new hench-bugs, Scumbug and Antrax, the episode gave us a fun romp through the city at nighttime, character moments for both Raphael and Stockman (of all people), and some really great one liners to boot.

Unbeknownst to our heroes, Shredder is still healing in his secret base, faced with the fact that all of his trusted minions have failed him time and time again to not only defeat the Turtles, but also hold onto their territory in NYC. The only one who seems to be helping him, much to Shredder’s chagrin, is none other than Stockman. Stockman has been using mutagen injections to heal Shredder, and it seems to be slowly doing the job. This success, of course, is eaten up by Stockman. He’s always wanted recognition and friends, and much of this episode is centered on this desire.

Determined to continue this string of success, Baxter whips up some insect minions of his own. Antrax, a self replicating ant mutant, and Scumbug, a spider/beetle hybrid. While his initial plan is to create an insect army “For the glory of Shredder,” after Scumbug finishes mutating, he immediately declares him his friend and talks about all the awesome things they’ll do together. But first, they’re going to rob a bank to refill Shredder’s coffers.

The other central character to the episode is Raphael, focusing on his “bug-phobia.” Despite stating, “Once you’ve been to a planet full of bugs, nothing bothers you anymore,” Raph breaks down upon confrontation of the titular Insecta Trifecta. His phobia results in him going into a trance like state, where he is faced with visions of Lord Dregg and his insect army, Mona Lisa either turning into a bug or getting overtaken by a hoard of them, and worst of all to Raph, Cockroach Terminator. These were some good callbacks. I almost forgot how rightly terrified of Cockroach Terminator Raph was. Also, it seems Raph still has some misgivings about Mona Lisa’s betrayal, despite them coming to terms at the end of that episode. That’s a real mature statement for the show to have; sometimes the feelings of a particular problem remain, even after the problem has been “resolved.” Finally, I wonder if Raph’s phobia was a convenient way for the writers to remind us that Lord Dregg is still out there, and will most likely return at some point.

Ok, fun stuff. I’d love to hear more from Leo and Mikey over which show is better, Crognard or Space Heroes. That police officer referring to the insect mutants as “dirty, filthy, hippies” is hilarious in how completely ridiculous it is. Either he saw some really weird stuff in the 60s, or this is just what he thinks the natural evolution of hippies are. I loved Mikey’s line, “I hear a voice, but no way it’s Raph. It’s way too high and whiney.” Also his slapping Raph being exactly what his brother needed. Finally, Splinter was really on point in this episode. Not just in the way in which he helped Raph, but also his shellshock dad-pun, and the whole joke behind the meaning of Raph’s new mantra.

Really this episode had a moment for everyone. Leo got to make fun of Karai for once again needed his help. Donnie got to make some awesome grappling hook tech that gave us some real Attack on Titan style aerials. Mikey got his slap therapy, “I’m the one who brings sanity” line. April and Karai had a sweet team up moment. “The Insecta Trifecta” proved to be a fun episode all around.

I always like to include a few things about the style of the episode, whether it be art or writing, and this time I’d like to focus on the art. I don’t know if this is a conscious shift in the animation, or if it was a result of all the crazy mutations, between the insects and Karai’s snake form, but the art really seemed to come alive in this episode. The fight scenes, in their quality and fluidity, felt almost claymation in style. I’m interested to see if this style continues, if it was just a one off, or if it was just the insects bringing a different quality due to their design. Additionally, woah did this episode cross into some body horror moments. Antrax’s duplication was creepy and Scumbugs butt-mouth was suitably disgusting, as many characters pointed out.

“The Insecta Trifecta,” with it’s breakneck pace and liberal character spots, leaned into the fun for a solid, one off adventure. Raph and Baxter got some solid attention, and the episode also set up what seems to be the inevitable introduction of Super Shredder. Volume 8 has a really good flow going right now, and the season looks to take it into September, with strong writing and an interesting evolution in art style. Here’s hoping they keep up the good work.

August 29, 2016 2 comments

Reviews TV/Cartoon Series

TMNT – “Broken Foot” Review

by Dan Spitaliere August 21, 2016

written by Dan Spitaliere

“Broken Foot” continues Karai’s vendetta against the Shredder. With plans to attack and destroy Shredder’s infrastructure, this episode promised to be action packed, and it did a pretty good job at delivering. The central conflict of the episode revolved not around Karai’s ambushes, but rather her ally in the fight: Leonardo!

Karai and Shinigami hit up a Foot Clan money laundering center, and when they encounter the Purple Dragons and Hun, Leo provides back up. Bringing the Purple Dragons back was a good way to reestablish the street level crime element of the Foot Clan. They still act as comedic relief, but Hun remains dangerous, even though Leo quickly dispatched him. Plus, we got to see Shinigami use that hypnosis ability to trick one of the Dragons into seeing a giant Oni! She really is a source of visual flair for the episode, and I’m glad the writers and animators are utilizing her for this.

We find out after the ambush that Leo hasn’t told Splinter or his brothers that he has been helping Karai. It’s a little weird to see this side of him, as even the other characters all point out that this is more in Raph’s wheelhouse. They even make a callback to Raph’s Nightwatcher alter ego at one point in the episode.

Everything hits the fan when Mikey, Raph, and Donnie (after an always welcome chat with Ice Cream Kitty) track down Leo to the site of Karai’s next mission; A Foot Clan chemical factory (Shredder has a really diversified business, doesn’t he?). Her plan is to infiltrate the factory with Leo, Shinigami, and a new set of Foot Clan ninjas recruited from Japan, place explosives all around the facility, and blow it up. However, they’re quickly discovered by Bebop and Rocksteady, and an all out fight breaks out when Tiger Claw joins them! Karai and her team are quickly over run, but after placing the explosives they escape. The Foot give chase, and when Donnie, Raph, and Mikey arrive, they’re greeted only by the count down of the explosives in the empty factory. Donnie ushers the other two out, but not before getting caught in the explosion and seriously hurt!

Leo catches up with his brothers, who are obviously angry that his exploits have resulted in Donnie getting hurt. They return home to get help from Splinter, and Leo apologizes for his short sightedness. In helping Karai, trying to keep her in control, he caused the injury of his brother, and failed as a leader. Splinter reminds him that being a leader means being able to see when bad decisions will cause bad outcomes and leaves him to contemplate this new lesson.

It’s important that the show challenges Leo as a leader. I like that it’s not something that the writers take for granted, and show him failing, struggling, and learning to become better. Through this, they also showed how mature the other Turtle’s have become. This shines especially bright on Raph. As we mentioned before, the episode itself claims that this sounds more like something Raph would do. Even he says it. The fact that he isn’t however, speaks to the growth of his character through the life of this show.

While April and Splinter tend to Donatello, Leo asks Mikey and Raph for help. Together, they try to convince Karai and Shinigami to stop attacking Shredder’s assets. Their next target is a Foot Bot assembly plant, and Leo worries that they will quickly be outnumbered. Karai, too consumed with revenge, refuses to listen and they vanish, headed for the factory.

But it seems they bit off more than they could chew, since the factory wasn’t building the old Foot Bots, but rather the new Elite Foot Bots. Luckily for Karai and Shinigami, the Turtles arrive for the save again! What follows is a sprawling fight, as Karai attempts to plant explosives, Raph tries to shut down the assembly line, Shinigami and Mikey take on Bebop and Rocksteady, and Leo and the Foot Ninjas fight the Elite Foot Bots. Just as the numbers start to overwhelm our heroes, Karai blows up the central molten ore container, getting caught in her own blast, but also taking down Tiger Claw. With the factory destroyed, everyone makes an escape.

The uneasy partnership between the Turtles and Karai continues to intrigue. As much as Leo likes Karai, I wasn’t expecting him to stick his neck out so far for her. While her missions were ultimately successful, they certainly would not have been without the Turtles help. The fact that she hasn’t realized this, and states her intention to go directly after the Shredder next, shows that she hasn’t really learned anything from this outing. It will be interesting to see where Karai and Shinigami go from here. Will they continue to work with the Turtles? Will they keep risking too much until they’re in a situation they can’t get out of? We know Splinter doesn’t approve of her vendetta, but how long will it be before he interferes directly?

“Broken Foot” was action packed and full of great character beats. Having Leo be the turtle to go behind Splinter’s back was an interesting choice. It showed how far he was willing to go to help someone he cares about, yet pushed him to learn from his lapse in judgement. There’s a fine line between help and enabling, and in this case Leo was enabling Karai, and ultimately at the cost of his brother’s health. “Broken Foot” proved to be another solid step forward for this volume of TMNT, continuing to ask interesting questions about where the fight with Shredder will take us next.

August 21, 2016 0 comment

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