TMNT 100: Where do we go from here? // Spoilers
Change is constant. While we at YRDC may have mentioned it multiple times before, it is the one mantra running through the entire IDW run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. With the ending of the City at War storyline, the question arises: Where do we go from here?
Fair warning: This article will contain massive spoilers for TMNT 100. Do not read this article until you have read the comic. This is your only warning, and you should go pick it up right this second. You can also read a spoiler free review here!
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Are they gone? Excellent.
Well, time to address the elephant in the room. And no, we don’t mean Archie’s Manmoth, or the Playmates figure Doctor El. We mean that Master Splinter has given his life to end the threat of Kitsune. Not only did his decisions in issue 100 bring Splinter back to his best self, but also seems to have had an effect on his best friend and mortal enemy, the Shredder. In order to end the threat of Kitsune’s massive dragon, Splinter restored Oroku Saki to life, and the revived leader of the Foot Clan seems genuinely repentant and disgusted with his former life.
This is a fascinating idea, and it remains to be seen if the book will be allowed to explore a softer and repentant Shredder. Earlier in the franchise, “good” Shredders often only existed due to a mind-swap or some kind of memory erasure (thank you, Saturday Morning Cartoon Status Quo). Any other time, even the armor of the Shredder was even treated as a corrupting force, as seen in Image Comics’ run in Volume 3 of the comics (currently being republished as Urban Legends) when Raphael donned the armor of the Shredder to make the Foot into a force of less bad.
We’re also left wondering if Oroku Saki will take up the role of head of the Foot Clan again, as his granddaughter Karai took that title in the middle of the storyline. Karai refused the idea of Splinter’s softer and gentler Foot Clan violently, to the point that her mutant comrades were outright ordered to murder and slaughter the children in the Foot Clan’s care (long story). However, as the Foot Clan has recently taken a role as “supervisor” of crime in the city, you have to wonder how the lower elements will react to the sudden changes in leadership.
Another weird plot point that simply has to be followed up on is Hob’s Mutant Bomb. Having been set off in issue 98/99, and a few dozen humans irreversibly turned into disfigured mutants that are now under the care of the Mutanimals and hunted by the US Government, what is going to happen? I mean, Hob chooses to leave these traumatized people under the watchful eye of Pigeon Pete of all people. With Hob and Ray both being militantly for overthrowing mankind, or at least staking their claim, an all-out brawl between Mutants and Humans has to be coming soon. The real questions are, what other lines will Hob cross before we get there? Not to mention, do any of them remember being human?
For those who noticed the post-credits epilogue, there was a fantastic twist. Remember the Trial of Krang from 25 issues back, and how the Utrom dictator was killed off when the mutant Leatherhead devoured him?
Turns out the Utrom are parasitic organisms. Krang is not only still alive, but he has a massively strong mutant body under his control. This is pretty reminiscent to when Archie Comics’ TMNT comics had Krang possess Shredder by covering his head (like you could do with the action figures), only way worse for the turtles of this comic. Krang is ruthless, and Leatherhead seems to be entirely gone from what little we do see. It’s safe to bet that he’s going to be a major threat in the coming issues, and it’s a safe bet that the Turtles may have to team up with their worst foes to take him down.
The comic didn’t just decide to kill one father while ending City at War either, with Casey Jones’ father Hun passing away while trying to save his son from a last-second double-cross. With Casey’s romantic interest having become the legendary 5th Mutant Ninja Turtle, Casey’s life has genuinely been flipped upside-down. Odds are good he’s going to be sticking with the Turtles since he’s always had their back, but the IDWverse has always loved to throw things on its head.
Oh, and Bishop died, crushed by one of his Slash clones. Because holy hell, the comic literally wasn’t crammed full of enough plot threads being resolved.
Finally, one last question burns:
What the hell are they going to do with that dragon corpse?
