TMNT #78 Preview and Discussion

[Utrommaniac]

That worked out...

[Powder]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Most of this issue was excellent. Loved seeing Casey and Hun team up against the Triceratons, we got to see Bishop secure his funding, and the last scenes with Splinter forbidding his sons to fight was well done. Splinter is really starting to go off the deep end even if he means well. Burne's debut was a nice easter egg and that one Triceraton lit on fire was brutal.

If I have one complaint...it's that April's parents just wasted page time and felt like filler. Every other character used was great, but do we really need to see April's mom reunite her old passion for a news reporter? Just think those 2-3 pages spent on them could have been spent on more fighting with the Triceatons or more time with the Turtles/Splinter at the end.

Other than that the issue was a 9/10. I'm almost sad this is only one issue more, as far as I'm concerned this could have been a 10 issue story arc.

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

I really love how cold Splinter is. He's treating his kids like allies, not family... and none of them are pleased with it.

Splinter's character arc since #50 has been astounding, and I can't wait to see how much further he goes!

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

It's the most interesting take his character has gone on. Very curious how long it lasts, although I get the feeling Splinter will die around issue 100.

Bishop of course will likely turn back on mutants/Splinter, etc. as soon as the Triceraton threat is over. Still waiting for him to attack Burnow Island as well. I also like how former enemies like Baxter and Hun are becoming allies. Karai will likely be a rival to Splinter when she returns to NYC and Koya is probably going to get herself killed with her desire for vengeance.

Between that, and the Patheon still making plans from the sidelines, it's quite a lot.

Well put, agreed. This is a favorite arc, for sure. The series is really its own, these days.

[PApagreg]

You know despite me loving this series its kinda annoying how the main villains make dumb choices, first Shredder kills Alopex's family and made Leo his number 2 and now Bishop is pretty much dooming Earth. Splinter isn't much better if he thinks his little Ninja clan can go toe to toe with and an advance alien army.

If there is one thing I liked about this issue, is how Hun and Casey were working together to fight off a Triceraton. Don't get me wrong, this team up probably won't end well but its an awesome sight none the less.

[Utrommaniac]

It's especially disappointing when they're supposedly masters of warfare. I can make some passes for Shredder, he's literally still in the 16th century mentally, but that's still no excuse for him not counting on people wanting to take revenge on him.

Krang, however as the supposed "war genius" would have taken miles of steps back with...just about everything. Though, I place some of that with not having someone to pull reins on him to stop him from "Quanin levels" of mistake-ry; he really should never have been left alone. It's likely part of how he went a little nuts.

[CyberCubed]

Usually most villains are egotistical and cause their own downfall, this has been true in real life history as well.

[PApagreg]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Usually most villains are egotistical and cause their own downfall, this has been true in real life history as well.

There is a huuuuge ass difference between being cocky and just screwing over your lieutenants or picking a fight with an advance species because you hate furries(or scalies in this case)

[Utrommaniac]

That is a good point. But when there's a particular reputation at hand, there should be at least a few levels at which it would make sense for them to make a mistake and other times where it wouldn't.

Originally Posted by PApagreg

or picking a fight with an advance species because you hate furries(or scalies in this case)

Eh. Both works in Shredder's situation.

[ProphetofGanja]

Okay I just reread the first three parts of this story arc. A few things:

• Based on what he says to Master Splinter, Agent Bishop doesn't know what french fries taste like? Just how long has he been a cyborg or whatever? What the **** is his deal?
  
  
• The Triceraton Herd's unique mentality makes the comedy of errors that led to their misunderstanding with Spliner and Earth in general so much more believable and tragic. And now the Turtles are so damn conflicted because their dad is proving himself to truly be a warlord from a bygone era who merely surveyed the current lay of the land once he arrived in the modern age, and isn't concerned with updating his morals or code of ethics, as evidenced by the ease with which he operates a vast criminal organization and the scope of his plans for it. And he's even going out of his way to attempt to interact with them as equals, treating their rendezvous as a meeting of rival clan lords, not of a father and sons, but the Turtles are torn between agreeing with their father or doing the right thing and trying to mediate this whole conflict.
  
  
• Obviously the Turtles are going to sneak out of the Foot Clan's headquarters against Splinter's wishes and try to talk some reason into Commander Zom, but after that, where this story goes I have no idea. IDW has truly taken us to some unexplored places.
  
  
• Also, I just noticed that Damian Couciero isn't returning for the final two issues of this arc as planned. Bummer. (also they misspelled his name in the Ninja Notes column) His replacement is a guy named Brahm Revel who's done an alternate cover for an IDW issue and has his own series called Guerillas but I've not personally seen any of his page work. I hope it fits in with the Couciero's style.

I also just reread the Trial of Krang arc. I wonder if we could see Leatherhead go live with the Triceratons for a while, and learn to accept that even if his consciousness was born from wrong and unfortunate circumstances he is allowed to appreciate his own existence and come to terms with himself. Could be cool.

[Utrommaniac]

Maybe he's always been a machine? With red lubricant that looks like blood? And the skin is fake. (Might be something Honeycutt should be interested in developing. Sure, he'd still be a robot, but could at least try to copy his original body as closely as possible.)

I'm more of a Leatherhead teaming up with Slash person. Oh, do the parallels abound. With....one of said parallels being woven into the story instead of throwing out "hey this is a thing that happened, 'kay?"

Besides, I don't even think Leatherhead knows about the Triceratons, and probably won't until after they leave.

[funatic]

Is this the first time we’ve seen a Styracodon in an issue of IDW? (At least that’s what I’m assuming the grey unihorn dude is...) I wonder if there will be any Tri v. Sty wars alluded to like those that were taking place in volume 4, or maybe it will be a distant future plot?

[Utrommaniac]

I'm just wondering how they even got one, since Styracosaurus went extinct long before Triceratops came to be. It could be chalked up to "just not caring" on the writing side, but it rubs me the wrong way a little bit.

[DrSpengler]

Whew, I'm catching up; had to put reading the comics on hold for a while. But here are my full summary and reviews for Invasion of the Triceratons at TMNT Entity.

TMNT #76
TMNT #77
TMNT #78

Enjoying the arc a heck of a lot so far. I'm appreciating the different dimensions applied to established characters that are unique to IDW's mythology. The Triceratons are in a way more sympathetic situation than they've ever been in before, while Splinter is scheming in a morally questionable sort of way. Bishop is kind of a mustache-twirling villain, but that's OK.

After reading the three issues released so far all at once, I did kinda realize that I'm liking this arc for everything BUT the Turtles. We're halfway through and they're still sitting on the sidelines as plot happens around them and without them. I'm enjoying all that stuff, don't get me wrong, I just don't think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should be so passive in a comic titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

After reading the three issues released so far all at once, I did kinda realize that I'm liking this arc for everything BUT the Turtles. We're halfway through and they're still sitting on the sidelines as plot happens around them and without them. I'm enjoying all that stuff, don't get me wrong, I just don't think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should be so passive in a comic titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It feels like we've been seeing this a LOT.

In Trial of Krang, the Turtles were pretty passive except for escorting witnesses and telling them where to sit. And in Desperate Measures, the Mutanimals did most of the heavy lifting and the Turtles mostly just ducked and covered.

Seems like the Turtles do more in the miniseries (Dimension X and Ghostbusters/TMNT II) than in the main ongoing these days...

[Utrommaniac]

Chop chop, boys. Start doing stuff.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

Chop chop, boys. Start doing stuff.

Kinda hard to impress us when Hob and Splinter are more interesting characters.

[Utrommaniac]

It's like they've been on a very, very slow slide since...maybe the Leatherhead arch - maybe earlier - in story presence.

[CyberCubed]

That's why I hope there's a bloodbath in the next arc when all the factions go at each other, it will clear up the main recurring character list.

[MikeandRaph87]

I still don't understand something, The Triceratons were grown in a lab from triceratops DNA to be a slave race to the utroms. Then on a mission a few million years later they are brought to extinction except for one. That one is cloned into male and female and is what the Triceratons are today, a genetically modified race that was restarted as male and female Jango Fetts? Its very convoluted. Why not have at least a female with Zog or a small collection of young Triceratons who are too young for battle? Female variants are a bit creepy. Vice-versa for males if they were based off of a female.

[Utrommaniac]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that a lot. There's very, very little logic in any of the way the Triceratons were created, but especially the cloning bits. Which would come with a lot of problems with the major lack in genetic diversity. If an extreme disease comes their way, they are royally screwed, because they wouldn't have the genetic resistance to fight it. Not to compare them to plants, but that's why we've struggled with banana crops. Not only once, but now a second time.

And any self-respecting Utrom scientist should have known that. If they're capable of cloning fully sapient beings, then they should be capable of knowing how quickly an entire population sharing a single DNA background could crumble with the slightest common cold.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

It's like they've been on a very, very slow slide since...maybe the Leatherhead arch - maybe earlier - in story presence.

You may have a point, I started thinking about it after reading your post and from #59 on that seems accurate. The #59/60 two parter had Aka get the group out of trouble. The TMNT walked into it, but Aka defeated Kitsune. #61-#64 it was Spinter's plan with Casey throwing an assist as Darius Dunn and The Street Phantoms are defeated. #65- was TMNT-centric, maybe the lone exception. #66-Alopex overpowers Kitsune in willpower. #67-#70- Mutanimals take control of the situation while Leonardo goofs.. #71/72 two parter focuses on The Pantheon and the TMNT are caught listening in. Baxter Stockman of all people gets them out of trouble. They were sent there by Alopex and Angel.
#73-#75 TMNT get trial witnesses and the trial ends up being for nothing. As the expected verdict is handed down Leatherhead pulls a DeviantArt. #76-#80 Agent Bishop and Splinter lead Foot Clan vs misunderstood Triceraton clones with the TMNT are peace brokers. #81?

Its not a bad thing. It shows just how strong of a character list that TMNT has thanks to IDW's awesome writing! The TMNT will be making big moves instead of reacting to supporting characters soon. This actually would make for a good letter to the editor with this observation. Anyone want to write it?