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COMIC REVIEW: TMNT #114

by Chris M. P.
written by Chris M. P.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #114

Story by Sophie Campbell 

Art by Sophie Campbell & Ronda Pattinson (colors)

Published by IDW 

Released February 10th, 2021

Jennika comes face to face with the person who almost killed her—Karai! Will the other Turtles be able to stop Jennika from exacting revenge before Bebop and Rocksteady find her first?

Some vocal fans within the TMNT social media bubble have had a “take it or leave it” attitude when it comes to Sophie Campbell’s run on IDW’s TMNT. While I’ve taken my fair share of turtle-trash over the decades as a TMNT fan (I willingly bought Turtle Pies, folks) I see where they’re coming from. Fanfare and familiar faces fall flat when the meat of your story isn’t gripping. Just ask Star Wars fans about the past few years (please don’t). But I’m a “pizza half full” kinda guy with the patience of a Splinter Clan Ninja. So after a hefty previous issue that covered a little too much ground and left me feeling pretty torn about the overall direction, can TMNT #114 lead us down a clearer, better path? 

Yeah. It does. 

TMNT #114 proves to be a step in the right direction, taking the bundle of storylines (time traveling and all) and untangling them one at a time for a satisfying read in the Turtleverse. Campbell has done a great job in this chapter blending drama, action, and humor. Lita might have beaten Bill and Ted to be one of the most ignorant time travelers of all time. But the way she interacts with her child self (and the disappointment in child-lita’s observations) is wholesomely hilarious. 

Jennika has an interesting side shown to us as well. I’m not sure of the direction, but Jennika confessing to Donatello that she wants BeBop and Rocksteady dead shows the difference between her ideology and the TMNTs’. Exploring this deeper could make for some impactful storytelling, itching the “Frank Castle” side of Jennika…and the eventual clash between her and the TMNT (which is touched on with Raphael in #114). 

It’s always great to see Bebop and Rocksteady back. And though it was interesting to see Tokka and Rahzar in the same issue, it’s a bit of a shame that these two intimidating monsters are given the baby treatment once again. Though I did enjoy the Secret of the Ooze nod during their confrontation and I eagerly await the battle about to ensue. Campbells and Pattinson’s artwork is also stellar throughout issue 114. The great stylistic use of stark shadows and textured colors make this issue especially sleek. All in all, TMNT #114 gets the story moving once again and provides humor, heart, and action that the story has been recently missing. It set up some interesting paths and ended on a cliffhanger that’ll make me want to read #115. And it feels good to say that again. 

Nom noms indeed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #114  is now available wherever comics are sold! 

 

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Comic BooksReviews

COMIC REVIEW: TMNT #111

by Chris M. P.
written by Chris M. P.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #111

Story by Sophie Campbell 

Art by Jodi Nishijima

Published by IDW 

Released November 11th, 2020

The Turtles’ new home is infiltrated by Old Hob’s spies! A game of cat and mouse begins as the Turtles begin to question how far they will have to go to protect themselves and the innocent mutants around them.

“I want The Wolf and The Snapping Turtle…”

Old Hob is back and at odds (as usual) with the Splinter Clan. Thanks to an eavesdroppin’ Leo (that could be a future action figure), the planned ambush turns into a fighting chance for our Turtles and their buddies . After a mundane previous issue, Campbell and company pick up the slack with TMNT #111 which offers a brisk story cemented with thrills, heart, and tension. 

I feel as if I’ve been reading a lot of padding lately with TMNT’s current issues. But #111 is very much an adrenaline rush that the story arc currently needed. A great blend of stealth turtle-action and story progress concerning The Foot Clan, Mona Lisa, and the Mutanimals. The Turtles “home-alone” their dojo to take on Old Hobb’s goon-ambush. The Mutant Town ordeal is given some more depth with a heartbreaking scene between Mona Lisa video-calling her parents. It shows the effect the mutation has had on our previously “normal” residents and reiterates the idea of this “curse”. I believe this story arc needs more of those moments of humanization and rejection. Afterall, this is a city of regular people turned into mutants. Not some sort of cute furry fan-fic. 

We go the The Foot headquarters and meet with Karai as she decides Old Hobb just isn’t cuttin’ it for her anymore and we need some more mutants to shake things up. That’s where this issue ends…with the introduction of Tokka and Rahzar. Oh baby. You got me back. Nishijima’s artwork continues to be stellar with vibrant colors and great use of shadow. Campbell’s best when it comes to almost “slice of life” stories with the Turtles, but now we’re getting somewhere threatening…so I’m eager to see where she takes us.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #111 is now available wherever comics are sold! 

 

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ReviewsTV/Cartoon Series

TMNT: “Tokka Vs. The World” Review

by Dan Spitaliere
written by Dan Spitaliere

Yet another wait has finally come to an end, as TMNT comes back with an episode focusing on the fallout of the Turtles’ adventure in space. “Tokka Vs. The World” was an emotional tale at the center of an action set piece of gigantic proportions. The audience was treated to some new faces in the introduction of General Griffen and the Earth Protection Force, as well as some returning characters like Bishop and, of course, Tokka.

One of the best things about this TMNT series is how the writers and artists do send ups of various genres. It’s been really entertaining to see the Turtles in these different situations, and “Tokka Vs. The World” is no exception. The Godzilla reference was readily apparent, but it didn’t diminish the fun of the episode. By virtue of the genre, we know the Earth Protection Force is going to be unsuccessful in attacking Tokka. We know that Tokka is not evil and doesn’t aim for destruction. We know that the Turtles will prevail by finding a non-violent solution. So the episode wasn’t aiming for surprise, rather a fun (and literal) monster of the week tale.

We also got another dive into the character of Raphael. I think this series has done such a great job showing that he’s more than just “cool but rude.” There’s real heart to the character, and what could show it more than his love for Chompy? We’ve always seen Raph as a passionate hot head. He obviously cares about his family, but this episode, and previous ones too, show that he has the ability to care without the temper. It’s a great development and one I’m pleased they keep returning to.

I know I always talk about this, but the art direction for the show is always top notch, and they kept the train rolling in this episode. The sense of scale they created with Tokka, the way the camera followed the stealth ship, the ground fight between Leo and the EPF, and even the examination scene all come together in such an amazing way. The audience gets to cut back and forth between the urban NYC streets and buildings and the Utrom influenced EPF facilities, and yet none of it is disorienting. The arrival of Tokka is just so impressive, dwarfing the city, and has some of the best looking animated flames I’ve seen. One of my favorite animation details, however, has got to be Bishops fighting style. There is such a flow about his style and it comes off as a truly alien martial art. 

I hope the writers continue to explore what it means for the Turtles to live in a world that has now been visited by aliens three times. The EPF feel like a genuine payoff to the invasions, an until now oversight of the government in the show. How does it take two alien invasions for your government to set up a response team? It was interesting to see the EPF immediately jump to calling the Turtles aliens. Obviously, that’s their whole deal, so maybe it makes sense for them to jump to that conclusion, but New York City has seen it’s fair share of mutants as well, and yet they seemed sort of clueless about that fact.

It’s very natural for Mikey to react the way he did when called an alien by the EPF. The desire for belonging has always been a through-theme for the TMNT. However, I’m interested to see if they go the route that the comics and the 2k3 Turtles series did, where the arrival of aliens means that the Turtles no longer have to hide. It should be interesting to see if they get to this point.

Bonus points go to spoofing the elevator scene from the first Platinum Dunes TMNT movie. I’m not going to lie and say watching Raph punch Mikey to stop his musical interlude wasn’t satisfying.

“Tokka Vs. The World” found that great, yet elusive, middle ground of having a heartfelt character arc at the core of an action heavy episode. With a quick pace, the episode moved from set piece to set piece, fight to fight, all while continuing to develop one of the most nuanced portrayals of Raphael ever. Due to the kaiju send up, the episode was a bit predictable, but that didn’t stop it from being a very fun ride. I’m looking forward to how the EPF stacks up in future episodes, but also returning to the main Super Shredder storyline.

 

 

 

 

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ReviewsTV/Cartoon Series

TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

by Dan Spitaliere
written by Dan Spitaliere
Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT “The Ever-Burning Fire”

“The Ever-Burning Fire” looks like the penultimate episode of the Turtles space adventure, and as such has set us up for next weeks episode “Earth’s Last Stand.” Like most time travel stories, we’ve finally come full circle: The Triceratons have reassembled the black hole generator and scout Zog has notified them about the Kraang invasion of Earth. The end of the episode hinted at one major change however; Mozar seems to know that the Turtles we’ve been watching this season are time travelers. Not that the Triceratons have shown empathy at any step of the way, but Mozar now has even more motivation to destroy the Earth. He gets to kill the thorns in his side twice. “The Ever-Burning Fire” did a great job setting us up for the season finale, with ship to ship battles, a giant monster, and the return (and possible final appearance) of Lord Dregg.

Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

The episode starts off with Mikey watching some “real Earth-style entertainment” and lamenting to Raph how much he misses home. It’s fun looking for the parallels in the cartoons the guys watch -as even the show itself has commented on how each episode they watch reflects their current situation- but it wasn’t clear what this one was saying. Maybe it was hinting at the giant monster they would face later? Or maybe it was meant to show the frustration that Mozar was feeling as he searched for “the formula,” or in this case, the final piece of the black hole generator? Either way, it’s interesting to see our heroes exhausted by the trip. While Donnie and Leo didn’t talk about their desire for home, their exasperation at the distance they had to travel to get to Magdomar speaks volumes. By the way, did anyone else catch those Andy Warhol style Fugitoid paintings in the TV room? Have they been there the whole season? Or how about Cudley the Cowlick as one of the Cosmic Monsters of the Universe? That’s two nice little references tucked away in the background.

Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

The trip to Magdomar was wild though. The planet is a giant volcanic ocean, with craggy spires jutting out of it. This episode saw the fight for the black hole generator become a triple threat match, as the Turtles had not only the Triceratons to contend with, but the return of Lord Dregg as well. Seemingly nothing can keep him down, except maybe the cold vastness of space, but we’ll get there in due time. The generator piece was discovered on one of the largest islands, but it was lodged in place. Each of the groups would have to fight to get there first, and fight they did.

Except this triple threat would soon become a fatal fourway match, as the island itself turned out to be Tokka, one of the Six Great Cosmic Monsters of the Universe. This Tokka, unlike the original version in TMNT 2, was a massive monster, and a mother to boot. So while it was protecting the black hole generator piece, it was also protecting it’s child, a tiny little space turtle that Raph named Chompy Picasso. There was some good action, as stated before. The creators do take a lot of risks with this show. “Kaiju fight” doesn’t really spring to mind when you say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and yet it works really well. Raph’s connection to Chompy, and by proxy Tokka, help the audience care about the big girl, and Dregg and Mozar are well supported as the villains they are. They even correct one of my biggest gripes of two episodes ago by making Mozar really threatening again. Not only does he cap the episode off by tricking Dregg and releasing him into the vacuum of space (a threat I’m happy he finally made good on), but he also commanded the Triceraton army to blow up a dwarf star! That’s brutal! Now with the black hole generator put together, it finally feels like it’s in the hands of the power hungry villain who would use it.

Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

One weird thing to bring up; It sort of feels like the writers are bringing the show back a little too full circle. A little too Raph, if you will. I’m excited to see the Turtles return to Earth and NYC, but with the space arc wrapping up, Dregg seemingly taken care of (although who really knows), and the Triceratons presumably taken care of next episode, it sure does feel like they’re returning to the status quo of season 1. Hell, Raph even has a pet turtle again! I’m not sure if this is necessarily bad, it just feels weird. I love the Turtles in the city (I’m a native New Yorker, so I’ve always related), and I want to see the story with Shredder progress, especially since the Turtles know the lengths he’ll go for revenge. But I am worried that the progress each of these characters have made over four seasons might get taken back. Right now, that worry is unfounded, and the writers have done a great job so far, but we’ve written about how each Turtle series has started to slow down after its fourth season, and I’d hate to see that happen to this one.

Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

“The Ever-Burning Fire” was an action packed episode, filled with space battles, last second rescues, and the series first appearance of Tokka! It also brought the season full circle, preparing us for the final stand on Earth. It is going to be interesting to see how it turns out, but this penultimate episode was strong, with the heart this series has become well known for.

 

 

What did you think of “The Ever-Burning Fire?” Do you think the friends and allies the Turtles have made throughout this season will come to help Earth this second time around? Will Dregg return to seek vengeance once again? Or will he momentarily help the Turtles to get revenge on Mozar? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

Source: TMNT - "The Ever-Burning Fire"

Source: TMNT – “The Ever-Burning Fire”

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Image of Tokka in Nickelodeon's TMNT series
NewsTV/Cartoon News

Tokka is Coming to Nickelodeon’s TMNT

by Justin W
written by Justin W

Remember those two villains that Shredder created in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze? Well, at least one of them is going to be making a return to the franchise in Nickelodeon’s TMNT series. During a panel at Wondercon 2016, it was revealed that a future episode from the fourth season of the series will introduce two new characters.

One of these characters will be a new creation in the form of Chompy Picasso, but the other will be a completely new take on the oft forgotten Tokka. Rahzar has been in the series for a while now in the form of Dogpound’s second mutation, which begs the question of whether or not Tokka will also become a recurring character.

 

As for Tokka’s appearance in the series, it’s worth noting that they have significantly changed his character. Whereas the villain was once just an evil henchmen, Tokka has now become a “giant, magma rock kaiju monster that breaths fire.” Chances are that he’ll be just as stupid in this iteration, but this time his stupidity might actually pose a real threat.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with this change, because this baddie was literally created to avoid a copyright dispute. As I understand it, they couldn’t secure the rights to Bebop and Rocksteady for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, so they decided to make Tokka and Rahzar instead. Since then, we really haven’t seen much of either character, so I think it’s fair to take liberties with their depiction.

To be honest, a fire breathing kaiju monster sounds way more awesome than whatever the heck Tokka was in The Secret of the Ooze. As for the other new character, Chompy Picasso is supposedly meant to become Raphael’s new pet. Of course, the last time Raph had a pet, it ended up causing quite a bit of trouble for the turtles, so it will be interesting to see if Chompy develops into anything more than just a pet.

When it comes to Tokka, I fully expect his story to last all of one or two episodes at most, so I doubt there’s any reason to be upset about this interesting take on his character. If anything, we should be happy that they took an otherwise dull character from the past and made it way more radical!

What do you think? Am I crazy for thinking that this new take on Tokka is going to be awesome? Will Chompy become a significant character in Nickelodeon’s TMNT? Well, we’ll find out soon enough, as both characters will be introduced in Episode 13, which will air on April 17th, 2016. Let us know what you think either in the comments or via facebook/twitter.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect more accurate information. As of yet, we have not been able to locate the video of Tokka in the new series.

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