This past weekend at New York Comic Con, I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Rob Paulsen! He was kind enough to record this special message for our readers. Please check it out!
Well…That was a weird one. Honestly, it’s hard to give this one a review score. On the one hand, “Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse”, despite a small pacing issue, was a well told story. The conceit of this final season being “Tales of the TMNT” allows for strange scenarios. It’s admirable for the creators of the show to take a risk like this. After years of building up a mythology and many characters, they boiled it all down to the core foursome.
This didn’t feel like a “what if” episode though. The way this was told feels like this is really what happens to these Turtles in their timeline. A massive mutagen bomb detonates in New York. All humans are mutated and apparently die. Only mutants remain, in a world that is stripped of life. And when you watch the episode in that context, after getting to know these characters for many years….well it’s all kind of sad.
This was a story of the Turtles not as teenagers, but as adults in an impossible reality. The episode starts with Raphael and Donatello, the only two survivors of the characters we’ve grown to love over the course of the series. Raphael is old and weathered, a long beard dominating his face. He’s scarred and weary of the life he is forced to live. Donatello, on the other hand, is a cyborg. His body was destroyed by the mutagen bomb, but (much like his IDW counterpart) his mind was downloaded into the body of Metalhead. It looks like in many futures, Donnie is destined to become one with the technology he loves so much.
It’s not long before we meet our primary antagonist for the tale; Verminator Rex. He is the leader of a gang of mutated Honey Badgers, bandits who steal from other survivors. They target Raph and Donnie for their vehicle and supplies, but they are on a much greater mission. They need to track down a girl with a map.
Donnie and Raph eventually fight them off, blowing up a cliff face to create separation between them and their foes. They stop at an abandoned rest area to look for supplies, but Raph is ambushed by none other than the girl Rex was tracking. Her name is Mira (she’s a meerkat, so of course it is), and the map is actually a tattoo on her arm. Her whole village tattooed the map, so as not to lose it, because it supposedly leads to Oasis. Unfortunately, Meera is the only survivor of her village.
While she initially tries to steal our duo’s van, she eventually falls in with the team. That will happen after several attacks by Rex and his crew. From here on out, the road trip becomes a mission to find those who can help Meera make sense of the map (it’s encoded in what everyone calls gibberish) and eventually lead them to Oasis. The team faces new threats, as Rex teams up with a clan of mutated lizard people, and reunite with old family.
Mira seeks an old wise man, who her village called the “Holy Chalupa.” This of course turns out to be Mikey, who’s been holed up in a Mexican/Italian pizzeria with Ice Cream Kitty and Chompy. He’s a little crazy, having only Kitty, Chompy, and some robotic restaurant mascots to talk to. He’s also been subsisting off of canned pizzas and insects for years.
Verminator Rex, however, is backed by Maximus Kong, Warrior Chief of the Wasteland (among many other titles listed by Mira in what is an obvious nod to Game of Thrones). Kong is a massive mutant, head concealed by a metal helmet. He drives an impossibly large vehicle, centered by a giant creepy skull, and commands sentient oil mutants who have their own cute, miniature wasteland armor. He wants Mira and her map, because the Oasis is the only land he hasn’t conquered, and he’s been searching for it for years.
This, of course, turns out to be Leonardo, revealed in a fight with Raphael. Leo is in a constant state of rage, caused by his second mutation in the center of the mutagen bomb. Leo nearly kills Raph, but stops when Raph refuses to defend himself and tells Leo that he loves him. The reminder of his family, combined with a massive crash of his impossibly large vehicle into the side of a mountain, finally snaps Leo out of his rage. Memories start flooding back to him, and we finally see what happened so many years ago; Leo saved his brothers from the epicenter of the mutagen bomb, but was stuck in the middle of the blast.
As stated in the beginning, it’s really hard to put a rating on this episode. “Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse” is an obvious send up to Mad Max, and even borrows some plot points from Fury Road. The creative team have always done a great job with these tributes, and this episode is no exception. The style is spot on; even the camera work is reminiscent of George Miller.
It was a smart move for Nickelodeon to air this as an hour long special. None of the cliffhangers were particularly suspenseful. It was pretty obvious that Raph and Donnie would be reuniting with Michelangelo. Would anyone believe Leo was being called the “Holy Chalupa?” Similarly, it wasn’t surprising that everyone survived the restaurant getting blown up, or that Raph and Mira would escape the Pit. Because of this, it was nice that we didn’t have to wait 3 weeks to get the whole story. Instead, we got a full length featured tale.
That being said, the conclusion did seem to come out of nowhere. After Leo is finally wrestled to his senses, there’s a quick whiteout, and suddenly we’re in Oasis. The four brothers have arrived with Mira, without incident. It’s a weird cut. Was there absolutely no trouble following the rest of the map? Did the brothers not see what each had been up to this whole time? Is no one concerned that Leo became a Wasteland conquering murderer? Does he feel no guilt over this? Would a whole other episode solve this problem? Who knows? But it’s jarring to rush to “everything’s great now.”
Additionally, the whole episode is just bittersweet. The episode was initially planned as the series finale, complete with a “For Kevin and Peter” at the end before the credits roll. Could you imagine this being the last episode you saw of this TMNT? Where after all the trials and tribulations, the victories and losses, the growth of each character, and the death of Splinter, it all ends with pretty much everyone dead? There’s no mention of April, Karai, Shinigami, the Mutanimals, or Renet! Casey’s lone appearance is HIS SKULL USED AS A BOMB TO SELF DESTRUCT THE TURTLE VAN! It’s no wonder Nickelodeon changed the airtime to Friday evenings.
But it’s moments like these that you have to remind yourself that not every story has to have a truly happy ending. Bittersweet is a valid decision. These Turtles have gone on all kinds of journeys, and this is the way that Ciro Nieli and his team decided to end it. Ultimately, it ended with all four brothers together and a new home.
A couple shout outs: The story is reminiscent of Andrew Modeen and Jim Lawsons “TMNT Odyssey.” We covered Modeen’s successful crowdfunding effort to create the followup “TMNT Origin.” Both stories take place in the original TMNT Mirage continuity, although they’re not technically canon. Regardless, “Odyssey” sees the Turtles in their advanced years, traveling through time to stop an evil force that is wiping out timelines. Think “Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse” combined with “Turtles Forever” and you’ve got a pretty good idea. You can check it out here if you missed it:Â http://www.thegreenlanterncorps.com/tmnt/odyssey.pdf
As usual, there were some pretty good references in this episode. Verminator Rex is a nod to Verminator X, a character from the Archie Turtle comics. He was a half cat cyborg, much like Rex is a honey badger with cybernetic enhancements. The mask on Casey’s skull (really hard to get over that) in the turtle van is a reference to the mask he wore in Image Comics. The Space Heroes the Next Generation joke was also good. It’s nice for the crew (or at least Raph) to finally realize that the shows they watch parallel the adventures they have.
“Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse” showed us the future of the Nickelodeon Turtles and it looks like our heroes have a rough life ahead of them. The risky conceit gave us a cruel world where the Turtles are torn apart, some literally, and forced to forge on when all they care about is taken away. Did the risk pay off? It’s hard to judge. If you’re willing to be open to the story of the episode, it’s really well told. That being said, it’s fair to say it’s not what we were expecting to see for this series. It’s so far in the future, and we’re given so few details on how this world was created, that it’s hard to argue that it doesn’t fit. But because we’re given so few details (Who dropped the mutagen bomb? How was it created? Why?) it’s hard to argue that it does. Additionally, the ending is so bittersweet, the whole experience comes off as sad. But sad doesn’t equal bad.
Judged on it’s own merits, “Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse” is probably a solid 9. But taken as a whole with the rest of the series, it comes down to a 7. There’s a weird symmetry of seeing this episode follow “Lone Rat and Cubs.” We saw the Turtles at the beginning of their lives, a troubled existence made better through family. This episode achieves much the same, only at the opposite time of their lives. It’s brutal and unforgiving, but ultimately tells it’s tale well. It’s hard to dock it, but it’s so brutal in it’s honesty that it got in the way of enjoying it when compared to the rest of the series. The Turtles deserve a happy ending.
Maybe that’s why Nickelodeon chose not to air this as the series finale? I guess we’ll find out as the series begins to wrap up.
When Paramount first announced the actors who would portray our heroes in a half shell in the latest TMNT reboots, it didn’t exactly surprise anyone. After all, these guys were just going to walk around wearing funny looking suits that would be replaced by CGI characters in the long run. Heck, Paramount even made the decision to replace their voices in post, which meant that the actual people who played the turtles were all but forgotten. That being said, one of the most notable names behind those CGI masks was definitely Alan Ritchson, the man who took on the role of Raphael.
Ritchson was perhaps best known as the actor who played Aquaman in the hit series Smallville, which meant that he had plenty of experience in the role of a hero. Although he only really acted out the movements of Raphael, his performance was still pretty good. Now that he’s had a few opportunities to play super heroes, it’s fair to say that his resume is looking decent in a world filled with potential comic book movies on the horizon. One of those films is Shazam, and it looks like Alan has an interest in the title role.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 20: Actress Megan Fox (R) and actor Alan Ritchson as Ninja Turtle Raphael are seen filming on location for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” on May 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Eisman/WireImage)
To be clear, this rumor isn’t exactly new, but it is looking even more possible as the production date grows near. Ritchson has been teasing fans with the possibility since 2016, and he recently posted yet another tweet suggesting that this might actually happen. Previous rumors had Armie Hammer taking the role, but he has since confirmed that this isn’t the case. Considering Ritchson’s likeness to the super hero, it would definitely be fitting to see him take on Shazam.
Heck, all he would need is a little bit of makeup and he’d look exactly like Shazam! Given his previous experience as a DC Comics character in Smallville, something tells me he would be an excellent fit for the hero. Although I didn’t see this coming, something tells me that the fans would be perfectly happy with this casting decision. Here’s hoping that the man behind Raphael’s actions gets the opportunity to play a somewhat more substantial role in this planned DC Comics movie.
Would you like to see Alan Ritchson take on the role of Shazam? Share your thoughts and opinions either in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter.
It’s the summer and the Turtles are back! This review is going to focus on two things, but let’s start by celebrating. After another long (long) hiatus, Nickelodeon’s Tales of the TMNT has finally returned. “When Worlds Collide” was a fitting return too. It had a big fight feel, and the hour long run time made this seem like a season finale. Ultimately, this was beneficial, since it means fans got a great episode after a long wait. All that being said, there’s something I have to get off my chest. If you want to go straight to the review, skip the next five paragraphs.
I’ve said this before, but the way major networks market cartoons in the United States is insanely frustrating. We already know that this will be the last season of TMNT, before a new, younger skewing series debuts next year. That’s fine. Nickelodeon wants to take the franchise in a different direction, and numbers for this series have declined year over year. It’s a business and I understand that. I am looking forward to the new series and you can count on us to deliver reviews when it debuts.
However, this is the fifth season in seven years. Season 4 began in October of 2015 and ended in February of 2017, showing only 26 episodes! Season 5 started only two and half weeks later, we’ve only seen five episodes (6 if you split up this weeks into half hour blocks), and it’s already June! The next episode is currently scheduled for July 29th, but that’s not even official Nickelodeon information, so it’s subject to change. How is the audience supposed to keep track of episodes when they’re delivered like this?
The first two seasons of this show routinely pulled in over 2 million viewers. That was a Sunday at 10am time slot. You want to know when ratings dipped? At the end of season 2 when the show took off two whole months before airing the last three episodes of the season. From that point on, each season was marked by three to five episodes before taking at least a month off. Every time it felt like the show was picking up momentum, we’d hit another one to three month break, with nary a message from Nickelodeon on when episodes would return. “When Worlds Collide” was advertised six times on Nickelodeon’s social media pages, five of which were in the last 5 days.
Now, I don’t work at Nickelodeon, and we haven’t had the chance to ask anyone behind the scenes why these breaks have happened. Maybe this is just the schedule for making the show. Maybe it comes down to how and where the animation is done and when it becomes available. All I know is that there are other shows I watch where I have a reasonable understanding about when breaks are going to happen (mid-season and end of season), and when the show is coming back from said break. I routinely have no idea when it comes to TMNT.
The only reason I care so much is because this show is really good and it deserves better. With the show coming to an end, Nick should be celebrating this series. It’s carried on this incredible franchise to a new generation of fans, while also staying true to the long time ones. This team of writers and animators have routinely given us legitimately great stories, and they deserve to have their work in front of as many eyes as possible!
Which brings us to “When Worlds Collide.” Not just a new episode, this was an hour long special event, which reunited the team with their Salamandrian pals Sal Commander and Mona Lisa. The team up also extended to Bishop and the Earth Protection Force, and the Utrom High Council! With all these players, you knew the episode was going to be big!
The episode itself was billed as the return of the Newtralizer and teased a mysterious ally for him, raising the stakes even more. This ally turned out to be none other than Lord Dregg, a huge payoff from the season in space, and a welcome return.
I will always give props to the voice cast of this series. It was great getting Zelda Williams, David Keith, Peter Stormare, and Danny Trejo back on the show! Every one of their scenes added weight, lending to the high stakes feel of the episode.
As a whole, “When Worlds Collide” did what every great episode in this series has done before it; tell a story with a balanced mix of adventure, humor, danger, and action. What started with the Newtralizer attacking Utroms in order to exact some perceived revenge, escalated to a full on invasion of New York City by Lord Dregg! And even though Dregg seemed to just pop up on Earth (an event explained by saying he followed the Salamandrians here after he was forced off their homeworld) the pacing of the episode didn’t really suffer. Sure, they could have built this up slowly over a four episode arc, like what was done with Kavaxas, but it was also nice to get everything up front this time.
The episode started off by building an emotional core. We followed Raph (and Chompy) through the lair as each of his brothers were paired off with someone they care about. Donnie and April were being all cute throwing popcorn at each other, Leo and Karai were training, and even Mikey was on a holographic phone call with Renet! But just as Raph was feeling sorry for himself, he receives a call from Mona Lisa, his girlfriend from space, informing him that she and Sal Commander were on their way to Earth and need his and his brothers’ help.
Everyone has been through a lot lately, and it was cool to see some genuine happiness for our heroes. More than that, the episode seemed to be building to a loss, and it was easy to think that Mona Lisa would be the one. There were a couple of scenes where she was separated from everyone, but always managed to pull through, a testament to the characters strength. Actually, everyone had their own scare at some point, with Leo and Donnie being separately abducted by Dregg’s forces. However, it was Mikey that seemingly bit the bullet, or rather was electrocuted to dust. This show continues to prove that it will do some pretty gruesome things.
The most gruesome moment of all, however, was actually pretty joyous. You see, the Newtralizer somehow developed electricity based powers after his last defeat. Powers he used to zap Mikey, hence the electrocution to dust. However, we found out, Mikey was not killed, and instead became living energy, just like the Newtralizer! This was shown to us through an electrical storm which reformed Mikey from his organs out, showing us his organs, skeleton, and finally his skin! Brutal! Armed with his new powers, Mikey was able to save his friends and family (minus Leo, Donnie, Karai, and Sal Commander, who were already captured), and give everyone time to regroup for a final attack against Dregg and Newtralizer.
The final battle was glorious. The Earth Protection Force led a diversionary campaign against Dregg’s ship, while April, Raph, Mona, and Bishop piloted the Turtle Mech, doing enough damage to the ship hull to give Mikey an opening to get inside. Once there, he freed his brothers, Karai, and Sal, and an all out battle with Dregg, his minions, and Newtralizer began. Mikey and Sal took on the Newtralizer, while everyone else took on Dregg and his minions.
Leo, Mona, and Raph were able to get the final blow on Dregg, electrocuting him to unconsciousness. The group then headed down to the core of the ship, where Sal and Super Mikey were still fighting Newtralizer. Just as it seemed Newtralizer got the upper hand on Mikey, Sal tail whipped him down into the core of the ship, Emperor Palpatine style. There, Newtralizer’s electrical powers disrupted the ship, setting it to blow. Mikey used his own powers to hold off the blast, letting everyone escape, seemingly sacrificing himself, but at the last moment, he used his powers to dash away.
And with that, the battle was over! Dregg and Newtralizer are seemingly dead, the city is safe, and our heroes can celebrate! Plus, Mona Lisa decided to stay on Earth, reuniting with Raph, and also joining the Mutanimals.
All scheduling qualms aside, TMNT continues to delight. This was an epic episode, and a fitting call back to the season in space. We should be seeing more of Mona Lisa now, and as mentioned before, it’s cool to see our heroes have some joy in their life for once. “When Worlds Collide” showed us that even if we only get to look forward to two new episodes every so often, as this final season winds it way down, we’ve got some special moments to look forward to.
An interesting discussion seems to have started up on the TMNT subreddit. This argument isn’t actually new, but it does seem to pop up from time to time. Every now and then, a fan will make a point of correcting other fans when it comes to the lyrics for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Most of these lines have been well worn into our memory banks, but there is one particular lyric which appears to be a subject of contention between shellheads. While some maintain that Raphael is “cool, but rude,” others are convinced that he is “cool, but crude.”
This appears to be another case of the Mandela Effect. The noted social oddity is named after a group of people who were convinced that Nelson Mandela died in prison despite the fact that he did not. Other notable examples of this effect include the instance where fans of the Berenstain Bears were convinced that the actual spelling of these beloved children’s books was “Berenstein Bears.” In much the same fashion, it would appear that there are a lot of TMNT fans who believe that the original lyric from the theme song described Raphael as crude instead of rude.
As a point of fact, one reddit user revealed that the subtitles on the DVD sets reveal the line to be “cool, but rude.” Of course, this isn’t going to be enough evidence for everyone, so it probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that one fan even went so far as to ask Rob Paulsen about it on Twitter. Surely Paulsen, who originally voiced the character, would know whether or not Raph was rude or crude? Well, it would appear that Paulsen has decided to stay out of this debate, as his response was simply “Sure.”
Sure. 😉 RT @CrackMacCool: @yakkopinky Hello Sir! Is Raphael 'cool but crude' or 'cool but rude?'
— Rob Paulsen (@yakkopinky) May 9, 2017
To be honest, if we really want to know the answer, perhaps we should ask Chuck Lorre? After all, he wrote the theme song and even performed the spoken parts! Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a confirmed presence on Twitter, so it’s not exactly easy to contact him and ask about this somewhat interesting example of the Mandela Effect. Personally, I’m of the opinion that Raphael is and has always been “cool, but rude.” Something tells me that at least a few readers here will tell me about how wrong I am.