TMNT Screwloose - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Site

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.

With the unparalleled success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, including a popular television cartoon and two comic series, Archie Comics wanted to capitalize further. In the Spring of 1991, a mini-series was created starring several of the turtles’ most notable allies. So Dreadmon, Jagwar, Leatherhead, Mondo Gecko, Ray Fillet, Wingnut, and Screwloose became a new mutant hero team called the Mighty Mutanimals.

With the limited success of the mini-series, Archie Comics printed a new book for the Mighty Mutanimals in April 1992. All of the mutant characters had their starts in either the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic or the 1987 cartoon. Mondo Gecko was a friend of Michelangelo’s, while Wingnut and Screwloose first served as villains in the TV show. The Mighty Mutanimals ran for nine more issues until 1993, when low sales caused the book to be cancelled, and the new heroes were relegated back to the comic from which they came. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures issues 48-54, the team was given a 7-part backup series to finish their own storyline, though.

This new series marked the beginning of the “Megadeath” Arc, and was combined with the “Future Shark” trilogy of the TMNT comic to round out the Mutanimals’ story. Unfortunately, the writers felt the way to do this was to have the evil Gang of Four assassinate the members of the Mutanimals one by one, until no one remained, even though it happened during a time travel story, and everyone could have remained alive at the end. The creators wanted to set a particular tone for their characters, and avoid having these mutants become second string, forgotten to the annals of comic lore. (However, the deaths of Jagwar and Dreadmon were actually planned out well before the cancellation, and they were to be replaced with Slash and Metalhead.)

During their limited stories, the Mutanimals had several allies make appearances, beyond the ninja turtles and their rat master, Splinter. Other friends of the team included Mondo Gecko’s girlfriend, Candy Fine; Raphael’s special vixen lady friend, Ninjara; the evil turtle Slash; GlubLubs; Kid Terra; and Merdude. Of all these characters, Slash was the most notable, as he was supposed to be a Mutanimal. However, he too was killed off shortly after the Mutanimal massacre, leading to an even greater lasting impression of the team in TMNT lore.

The success that this new team was predicted to have led to Mirage Studios even creating a TV pitch in 1992. The new cartoon would see Ninjara added to the team as a female member, and the Mighty Mutanimals would battle Krang as he tried to take over the universe. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have occasional guest appearances, but would stick to their own series so that these new mutants could have their day in the sun. While a character/animation bible was created, there was very little interest from Ruby-Spears Productions, and the pitch never became anything more than just that. While no one will ever know for sure, a television show may have been just what the Mighty Mutanimals needed to stay alive (with the TMNT audience already built in), both economically and literally.

The Mighty Mutanimals as a TMNT spinoff had something special. They were the best of the best from the turtles’ rouge and ally galleries, and had several factor that the turtles were missing, like different creations and drastically conflicting personalities. They provided a sense of adventure that was sometimes missing from the 1987 cartoon and the Archie Comics TMNT incarnations. While the Mutanimals may have never achieved the same success as their all-reptile counterpart, they were also arguably never given the chance to succeed. The book wasn’t given a chance to do anything amazing, and the TV show never got off the ground, so how was this new team supposed to succeed in the first place? Ultimately, the Mighty Mutanimals simply become another part of the cast of TMNT characters, where they will always remain. Stay tuned next week for a look at all the members of the team, and what they brought to the Mutanimals during their short lives.

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