TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Preview and Discussion

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Galactus

Heck who knows since this is all sprang from an unused pitch Laird made in the 80s Kirai may be some proto-Karai. An entirely different yet similar character...it's possible.

More likely the original pitch had an evil daughter of Oroku Saki and that Karai has basically become that in most versions of the franchise after the Mirage book Kevin just merged the two.

It's possible but if that's the case, then proto-Karai would be somewhat of an unnecessary middleman character. If this Hiroto guy is the bad guy, then it would have been easier to make him the direct son of Shredder or the grandson through some unknown child of his. Or maybe even a clone or something. The only reason to specify a proto-Karai would be if she also played an active role in the story, which to be fair, she may very well be.

[CyberCubed]

Karai being Shredder's daughter much like Splinter actually being the human Hamato Yoshi in some incarnations has been so popularized by the cartoons that people tend to forget their original Mirage incarnations are completely different. Much like the colored bandanas or now Krang being an actual Utrom, it's stuff that the mythos has been ingrained over multiple incarnations over the original.

[AquaParade]

Homer Simpson was originally intended to be Krusty the Clown, while we're at it. It would have been a Peter Parker & Flash Thompson type scenario wherein Bart worships Krusty but pays Homer no respect.

Notice how similar their body/head shapes are.

[hypered1]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Homer Simpson was originally intended to be Krusty the Clown, while we're at it. It would have been a Peter Parker & Flash Thompson type scenario wherein Bart worships Krusty but pays Homer no respect.

Notice how similar their body/head shapes are.

There's also that episode where goes to Klown college to actually be a substitute Krusty.
Pity the series isn't that good anymore.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Karai being Shredder's daughter much like Splinter actually being the human Hamato Yoshi in some incarnations has been so popularized by the cartoons that people tend to forget their original Mirage incarnations are completely different. Much like the colored bandanas or now Krang being an actual Utrom, it's stuff that the mythos has been ingrained over multiple incarnations over the original.

True but then again, the 90's movies, 4Kids and the Platinum Dunes movies all ignore the Splinter revision. IDW (and by proxy, presumably the Batman crossovers) sort of side-steps it.

None of this is really set in stone.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Karai being Shredder's daughter much like Splinter actually being the human Hamato Yoshi in some incarnations has been so popularized by the cartoons that people tend to forget their original Mirage incarnations are completely different. Much like the colored bandanas or now Krang being an actual Utrom, it's stuff that the mythos has been ingrained over multiple incarnations over the original.

Doesn't mean we have to humor it.

[AquaParade]

Most of us don't mind humoring it if the story is well told, not to mention being aimed at older readers.

[Leo656]

Sadly, I think as time goes by, though, eventually ALL Mirage story influence is going to be completely squeezed out of the brand. It's pretty much almost there now.

It's like Mirage TMNT wasn't the "real" beginning of the brand in most people's eyes, now, nothing more than a "false start". None of it "counts" or is relevant. They'll be borrowing from FW TMNT forevermore, but nothing Big or Small from the Mirage canon is considered necessary at all. Like they'll use a character like Karai but not her original version, instead one based off the cartoon shows. By this point the "real" Karai is the anomaly. And that's how it'll be with everything Mirage, one day. Literally all of it will be "Early Installment Weirdness" with nothing worth borrowing from, except maybe story titles like "City At War" but they'll continue to share little to nothing in common with their root.

It's not "my" TMNT, but I do think it's a shame. This specific bit with Karai isn't in and of itself a huge deal, but it is indicative of my prediction/theory. Little by little, all of the Mirage "canon" is being weeded out and discarded with each new story or iteration.

It's a small thing in and of itself, but using the "real" Karai would have been a nice nod to Mirage, is all. Just kinda goes to show you which way the winds are blowing.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Pimiko who?

Yeah, yeah, I'll show myself out...

[Leo656]

You're getting rip-off Biker Mice From Mars in the main book, why you cryin'?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Also, how fvcking hard is it to spell Karai?

Karai. Karai Karai Karai.

Raphael. Michelangelo. Oroku Saki.

If you're a real TMNT fan, properly spelling names is a must. Fvck off with that "Ralph" bull$hit.

[Leo656]

I know, I know.

Even on the FB page I see "Mickey and Ralph" in the comments on EVERY single post. Although given the general stupidity of their comments combined with the "Rise"-gushing, they're certainly kids/teens who are using their phones to post, so I'm sure auto-correct is a factor.

It's no excuse, though.

[AquaParade]

Hey even the Mirage books themselves goofed up on Mikey's name. Give the "fans" who totally had ninja turtle pajamas growing up their typos.

[Leo656]

Well, in Kevin and Pete's defense, literally every single person who wasn't an art teacher thought that "Michelangelo" was spelled "Michaelangelo" until the internet became a thing.

Spelling "Mikey" as "Mickey" and adding an imaginary L to "Raph" is a whole different ballgame. No excuse! We ought'a be boiling these people in oil.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Spelling "Mikey" as "Mickey" and adding an imaginary L to "Raph" is a whole different ballgame. No excuse! We ought'a be boiling these people in oil.

Word.

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Hey even the Mirage books themselves goofed up on Mikey's name. Give the "fans" who totally had ninja turtle pajamas growing their typos.

If you're old enough to write, you're old enough to spell.

[Diorm]

[AquaParade]

I love how old and weathered our boy looks. Again, it reeks of Dark Knight Returns, but it feels fresh.

[funatic]

Just read the Preview in th back of 110.

Spoiler:

That off-screen speech bubble about “toxicity levels” on the first page pretty clearly suggests that Donatello is not the last ronin, since he’s hearing his deceased brothers voices. Definitely gives Raph vibes but they could be flipping the expectations with it being a hardened Mikey. I also couldn’t really make out nunchaku anywhere which could further that theory...

[MikeandRaph87]

Spoiler:

I believe that is Michelangelo until we know otherwise. All signs point to the lighthearted backbone of the team being the last surviving Turtle and makes for the most interesting development. I bet it will not be confirmed until the last page of the mini-series.

[Leo656]

Yeah, for some reason that's my bet, as well. For one thing, it's "unexpected", so there's that.