Quote:
Originally Posted by ToTheNines
I hate to burst your creative bubbles, but when Splinter tells them their names, he says that they are new names.
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Good point! Though it was more a passing thought than a real theory, the idea that they were the mirage turtles reincarnated did enter my mind. Though my bubble has now been promptly and thoroughly burst.
I enjoyed #4 and it was a satisfying conclusion. There are some unanswered questions, but that's what keeps you hooked. I know this discussion is regarding #4, but I'm taking this opportunity to kind of feel out my impression of the story arc overall now that it has concluded. While the pacing is good throughout, there indeed wasn't a whole lot of plot, but it made for a compelling introduction. The only real driving plot in this arc was finding the long lost brother Raphael, which is an interesting idea, though it did start to falter a bit by #3. Art is great and the writing is steady enough, even though I felt Splinter scratching out TWO eyes in one incident was a bit unnecessarily redundant.
I only have two
real complaints. First is the fact that Casey is such a... goody two-shoes. The dialogue in #3 about keeping his promise to his mom was a bit hammy, but "nice boy" Casey isn't so bad, just not my preference. Even if he is such a good guy, I hope there is still opportunity to delve into his character a bit darker since he
does beat the daylights out of criminals for fun. What was intriguing about his character in the beginning was that he gave Raph a real bond through their struggles with their anger. True they have their similarities in this series (they are both loners), but it hasn't really come through in Casey's personality yet since he has been so cheerful and optimistic.
My only other disappointment and side effect of the accelerated mutation is that their relationship with humans isn't all that jarring for the turtles; they no longer seem like true outsiders. In the original Mirage story, they were hidden isolated for 15 years and then meet April, a member of a human race that they've never really encountered. Now we have them running away from ninjas to beating up gangs and making friends scarcely a year later. It's not going to ruin the series, but it is disappointing. Hopefully they can work the "freaks unaccepted by society" angle into the story at some point. Starting even with the first issue, I've always really liked Raphael's longing to be part of a world that would never accept him (TMNT clearly had a lot of themes derived from Marvel). Overall, I'd say this first story arc is pretty solid and I would give it an overall "B" or "B-".