TMNT #88 Preview and Discussion

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Stranger Things.

And nobody honestly thought Donatello was dead for realsies. Bad example.

I'll give you the Jon Snow one, though!

The older girl with the glasses, right? I only watched season 1 but it was clear she wasn't gone for good.

They totally did for a moment there, that's what the cliffhanger was all about!

Seriously, though, do I think Slash died for real? Yes. Do I think he could very, very easily be brought back either by saying he didn't actually die (let's say he had the bomb magicked/zapped out of him by someone at the very last moment or somesuch) or was resurrected somehow? Also yes.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Man, I think I had just turned 25 when IDW TMNT started...lol. I hope IDW does something special when we hit the 10 year anniversary.

Funny how the 10 year anniversary coincides with August 2021, aka issue #121, which if the current 5-issue trade format holds, could be the start of a new arc leading up to December 2021's even further landmark issue #125. Funny... Funny, funny, funny...

[daggio]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

We have to remember that the EPF capture Raphael in his macro issue, so I doubt that they have a Slash clone sitting around.

I'm not saying I think Slash is coming back, because I don't believe that he will. Hypothetically, if he were to, it definitely won't happen for a few years. What I am getting at is if that were to happen, the explanation for HOW is an easy one as I laid out about cloning/downloading.

[daggio]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

Yeah that's true...for cripe's sake, they haven't even gone back to what the hell was going on in #50's epilogue or even hinted at going back to it.

I always thought that that whole epilogue acted as a good possible explanation for why they were reincarnated, but it may have nothing to do with it.

Maybe that whole epilogue from #50 will be revisited in the epilogue for #100

[Utrommaniac]

It's mostly the idea of what Krang wanted from the Hamato DNA/QNA that's raising so many questions. And how Ma'riell was involved with that besides picking up the samples.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

I was in my preteens when I started writing it!

Talk soon...

Tom W.

Quick, people. Tom said something. Get everyone to over-analyze it.

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by daggio

Maybe that whole epilogue from #50 will be revisited in the epilogue for #100

It's an ongoing story told in the epilogues once every 50 issues! Boy, if folks complain about the time some characters and plots take to pay off now...

Originally Posted by Igglet

Quick, people. Tom said something. Get everyone to over-analyze it.

Hmm... I'm pretty sure he implied there's a preteeen coming into the series soon. Time skip after #100?

[Rooish]

Originally Posted by 80gmrp

Spoiler:

As disturbed as I am knowing even Bishop isn't human despite what he preaches

He is human though. He’s just wearing an exoskeleton.

Anyway, it was all a bit anticlimactic with Slash being brainwashed for so long and his acceptance of death being so rushed. It was a disturbing way to go out, though.

[wpugh2424]

Wicked episode with bishop being deformed and slash being nuked. Keep the good story rolling !!

[shredder orokusaki]

This bishop is a mutant human with Utrom dna and it seems the utrom dna prevented him for growing up like a human and that why he has the apperance and body of a chil while he is a adult. Maybe that why they put him in that robot? They could had created a clone human body for him like the 2003 Bishpp is doing to make him a normal human instead of just creating a robot and put him inside it.

[martinitolove]

So, now that Slash is gone, there is space to have Tokka in IDW. And what would it be without Rahzar? But please not the 1990-ies one and not Dogpound - real Rahzar is the razor skeleton - scarry and evil!

With Groundchuck (Chi-You) and Dirtbag (Ocho) almost all chess peaces would be in the game!

And now we have B.I.S.H.O.P. - boy in suit has one prejudice. Immagine a showdown between him, Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. and Street Fighter's F.A.N.G.!

I was awaiting this. And I think it's a very good implementation of 2003's C'hrell-Shredder and agent Bishop into the IDW-Universe!

Only thing I would suggest more is chess - we have Bishop, we have Knight - we need pawn, queen, king and rook.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by martinitolove

And now we have B.I.S.H.O.P. - boy in suit has one prejudice. Immagine a showdown between him, Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. and Street Fighter's F.A.N.G.!

Superb, my good man. Absolutely superb.

[CyberCubed]

I think Slash also went to make room for Leatherhead, to be honest. I don't think Leatherhead will join the Mutanimals but just having another big reptile mutant there with emotional problems has a lot of overlap. Same reason IDW killed off Krang before reviving Ch'rell, if Krang and Ch'rell were both here at the same time they'd feel too similar.

We know Leatherhead is going to have more of a major role soon too.

[80gmrp]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think Slash also went to make room for Leatherhead, to be honest. I don't think Leatherhead will join the Mutanimals but just having another big reptile mutant there with emotional problems has a lot of overlap. Same reason IDW killed off Krang before reviving Ch'rell, if Krang and Ch'rell were both here at the same time they'd feel too similar.

We know Leatherhead is going to have more of a major role soon too.

Speaking as a Leatherhead fan, you do raise a good point about his emotional issues possibly having overlap with Slash: heck, I do remember reading a theory someone else (Utrommaniac, maybe?) wrote before this issue came out that Slash would help LH through his own troubles due to both of them having PTSD of sorts.

Personally, though, I do hope he does eventually join the Mutanimals, even if it must be reluctantly.

[TomWaltz]

Here's some behind-the-scenes TMNT #88 trivia for anyone who's interested:

Spoiler:

I had already written the Slash death scene -- and, yes, he IS dead -- and turned it in to Bobby for his review. I was actually on vacation with my family in lovely Sedona, AZ and I was feeling a bit sad after finishing the script. Poor Slash. But then Bobby shot me an email and suggested we have Mikey give Slash a candy bar before he leaves for that final, fatal flight if I thought I could fit it in. It was genius. And it was a gut punch. I sat down and re-wrote the scene and literally got misty-eyed as I was typing it all out. It was far more poignant and heartbreaking the second time around with that little sugarcoated callback to when we all first met Slash in our IDW TMNT run. Sometimes it's the littlest details that make something so big, so dramatic. Poor Slash.

More surprises to come on the Road to 100.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Here's some behind-the-scenes TMNT #88 trivia for anyone who's interested:

Spoiler:

I had already written the Slash death scene -- and, yes, he IS dead -- and turned it in to Bobby for his review. I was actually on vacation with my family in lovely Sedona, AZ and I was feeling a bit sad after finishing the script. Poor Slash. But then Bobby shot me an email and suggested we have Mikey give Slash a candy bar before he leaves for that final, fatal flight if I thought I could fit it in. It was genius. And it was a gut punch. I sat down and re-wrote the scene and literally got misty-eyed as I was typing it all out. It was far more poignant and heartbreaking the second time around with that little sugarcoated callback to when we all first met Slash in our IDW TMNT run. Sometimes it's the littlest details that make something so big, so dramatic. Poor Slash.

More surprises to come on the Road to 100.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

Whatever my thoughts are on the Bishop stuff, you and Bobby totally nailed Slash's fate. I loved it. His dialogue with Old Hob just wrecks me, man. Good stuff!

[Rooish]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Here's some behind-the-scenes TMNT #88 trivia for anyone who's interested:

Spoiler:

I had already written the Slash death scene -- and, yes, he IS dead -- and turned it in to Bobby for his review. I was actually on vacation with my family in lovely Sedona, AZ and I was feeling a bit sad after finishing the script. Poor Slash. But then Bobby shot me an email and suggested we have Mikey give Slash a candy bar before he leaves for that final, fatal flight if I thought I could fit it in. It was genius. And it was a gut punch. I sat down and re-wrote the scene and literally got misty-eyed as I was typing it all out. It was far more poignant and heartbreaking the second time around with that little sugarcoated callback to when we all first met Slash in our IDW TMNT run. Sometimes it's the littlest details that make something so big, so dramatic. Poor Slash.

More surprises to come on the Road to 100.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

Spoiler:

The Mikey candy bar moment had to happen! It was very sweet. Loved the final shot of Slash holding the bar.

[Utrommaniac]

In regards to call backs, I also remembered this was a thing that happened:



So yeah, that was a big gut punch. Candy for a hero.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think Slash also went to make room for Leatherhead, to be honest. I don't think Leatherhead will join the Mutanimals but just having another big reptile mutant there with emotional problems has a lot of overlap. Same reason IDW killed off Krang before reviving Ch'rell, if Krang and Ch'rell were both here at the same time they'd feel too similar.

We know Leatherhead is going to have more of a major role soon too.

The thing about Ch'rell and Krang is that they had a close personal history. They would have been through a great deal together; Krang was more than likely there for "the" injury, and we'll see how they were as a team in flashback. Ch'rell had already been established as a dangerous force while he was working with Krang; his "danger value" would have increased with the knowledge that Krang was imprisoned, and now he's dead, while Ch'rell himself was held in stasis through the entirety of that.

I also think that Ch'rell so far isn't very much like Krang. He seems more subdued and eloquent for someone whose own sister thought hell would be raised if he were released from stasis at the wrong point in time. I'm not so sure Krang would have held off if Zom told him to leave the mutants alone until he was expressly told "there's a bomb in the big turtle".
It makes more sense for Ch'rell to act alone, so he can be more dangerous with revenge (gotta keep perpetuating that Revenge Cycle!) and completing Krang's ambitions in mind, and also so he won't be in Krang's shadow, which is ironic given that he's seemingly bigger than Krang.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Here's some behind-the-scenes TMNT #88 trivia for anyone who's interested:

Spoiler:

I had already written the Slash death scene -- and, yes, he IS dead -- and turned it in to Bobby for his review. I was actually on vacation with my family in lovely Sedona, AZ and I was feeling a bit sad after finishing the script. Poor Slash. But then Bobby shot me an email and suggested we have Mikey give Slash a candy bar before he leaves for that final, fatal flight if I thought I could fit it in. It was genius. And it was a gut punch. I sat down and re-wrote the scene and literally got misty-eyed as I was typing it all out. It was far more poignant and heartbreaking the second time around with that little sugarcoated callback to when we all first met Slash in our IDW TMNT run. Sometimes it's the littlest details that make something so big, so dramatic. Poor Slash.

More surprises to come on the Road to 100.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

Man, knowing the context behind this somehow makes it even sadder. Poor Slash.

Honestly, I can't wait to see what Old Hob will do about this. The dude always hated humans, now it's gotten even more personal.

[MikeandRaph87]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bamsmac...88-review/amp/

This is a,pretty good review and write up about #88. It brings up something that I had considered, did the IDW team have a solid idea of Agent Bishop's true nature when #67-#70 was written? Blood showing on Agent Bishop then and not in #88 makes me think he had a placeholder concept of mirroring ths 2003 cartoon until IDW figured out everything later.

[AquaParade]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Here's some behind-the-scenes TMNT #88 trivia for anyone who's interested:

Spoiler:

I had already written the Slash death scene -- and, yes, he IS dead -- and turned it in to Bobby for his review. I was actually on vacation with my family in lovely Sedona, AZ and I was feeling a bit sad after finishing the script. Poor Slash. But then Bobby shot me an email and suggested we have Mikey give Slash a candy bar before he leaves for that final, fatal flight if I thought I could fit it in. It was genius. And it was a gut punch. I sat down and re-wrote the scene and literally got misty-eyed as I was typing it all out. It was far more poignant and heartbreaking the second time around with that little sugarcoated callback to when we all first met Slash in our IDW TMNT run. Sometimes it's the littlest details that make something so big, so dramatic. Poor Slash.

More surprises to come on the Road to 100.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

Thanks for sharing, Tom!