By Mark Rodriguez
After the events of City Fall, the Turtles, Splinter, Casey and April were forced to flee New York to escape the Shredder's vengeance. Splinter suffered leg injuries during the fight, and Leo is still struggling with himself after being brainwashed to be evil by Kitsune and Shredder. Before the gang can even relax in April's farm in Northampton, we see that Alopex has followed them, also on the run from the Foot... but can she be trusted?
The issue opens with Mikey writing a letter to his buddy Woody and updating on what's been going on. He basically recaps the end of City Fall, mentioning that even though they rescued Leo, he still seems lost. Alopex watches over him, and Raph grabs her and takes her elsewhere.
Raph demands to know what she was doing stalking Leo. Alopex tells Raph she was trying to thank Leo for saving her life earlier. She knows what it feels like having the Shredder twist one's mind, and how it never stops. She tells Raph that he still has his friends and family, Leo and she have nothing. She walks off saying that if she really wanted to kill Leo, she already would have done it.
Splinter's leg was broken by the Shredder during the final fight, and Don is helping him heal. Don is worried about the Technodrome that Krang is working on, but has no way to figure it out while being stuck in and old barn.
Leo continues to have visions of being lost and is attacked by killer trees. As he takes on The Living Forest, he finally finds his mother. He walks along the garden with her and she reminds him that he would find all that he was missing. Leo says he doesn't know these people that rescued him. He knows they're his brothers and father, but he feels they're strangers to him. Tang Shen says he found what he was looking for, he just has to proceed slowly and not let the truth overwhelm him. She soon vanishes, saying she is needed elsewhere, and Leo hears someone call for him. He wakes up and recognizes Donnie.
April and Casey are in the farmhouse with April's parents. Her mom explains how her dad used to work at StockGen and how they were working on something with amazing healing properties known as 'ooze'. Her dad grew ill and they were given a heavy compensation package. April's mom apologizes for not telling April sooner when she decided to work at StockGen, but they've been so good to them and April's internship seemed to be such a good opportunity. They decide not to keep any more secrets, and April's mom brings out his dad's old laptop that had all sorts of notes and things he kept from StockGen over the years.
Leo and Don start walking, and Don says he heard him calling for his mother in his sleep. Leo says the dreams feels so real, like if it was magic and says it must sound crazy to him. Don says maybe it did six months ago, but now, not so much. He says all the strange things that have happened to them can't be a coincidence. Don also wants Leo to join him at the barn to bounce ideas off him, regarding the Technodrome problem. He feels he can't figure it out, and Leo says he'll get there if he takes that first step. Don thanks him for the advice, and he says he learned it from someone else.
Tang Shen then appears to Splinter, and he feels ashamed to have her see him as a rat. He feels he failed her since Saki took their oldest son and made him evil. Tang Shen reminds him that he is back and he is safe. Splinter is worried about the hatred in Leo's eyes, but Tang Shen tells him love can overcome any darkness, and vanishes. Splinter wakes up from his dream.
Mikey finishes writing his letter, telling Woody they can overcome this.
He has a plan to bring everyone together and starts making a campfire
and cooking some hot dogs. The smell brings the others around, as Mikey
is soon joined by his family. Raph walks off and gives a hot dog to
Alopex, who was hidden nearby.
Alopex soon joins the others, but as they all enjoy the campfire and hot dogs... they are spotted by a mutant hawk named Koya. Karai tells her to stand by for reinforcements....
My Opinions:
This was a great issue. It's nice for the characters to have some down time, since they all have wounds to heal, mostly Leo and Splinter. I did like how Tang Shen appeared before Splinter this time. It's the kind of sweet moment that can only be done if Splinter himself was also Hamato Yoshi. Though I assume in the Mirage version the two are in heaven.
One similarity from the Mirage Northampton arc is that Mikey is writing a letter to Woody and in turn, detailing how each character is dealing with their defeat and escape from New York. If you remember from the Mirage comics (or the live action movie) April was the one doing the writing. Nice little nod there, I have to say. Plus it kinda hints at Mikey's writing abilities. The fact that he can write such a detailed and heartfelt letter shows he is much more than just 'the party dude'.
With Koya's arrival however, it marks one key difference here than in any other version of this tale of recovery. Namely, depending on the version, the Turtles either get to rest up and fully heal, or they encounter several adventures in the Northampton area, but their lives don't involve the Foot until their epic return. This time however, they won't get that luxury cause it looks like Shredder is still bringing the fight to them.
And about Alopex... many people out there are afraid she's going to become the next 'Ninjara', in another words a love interest for Raph. Similar to Alopex, in the Archie comics, Ninjara was a fox (though she was member of foxpeople, not a mutant) working for a villain and soon joined the good guys and became Raph's gal for most of the rest of the series. I personally have no complaints, I always hated how cartoons would introduce a new friend and then for whatever (most of the time weak) reason, they'd leave at the end of the episode. I liked that Ninjara was introduced and STAYED with the main cast, shaking up status quo a bit. Plus the idea of one of the Turtles having a real girlfriend made the series feel a little more 'real' and 'serious' than the OT where we'd just see Mikey occasionally wave to Kala and say he missed her. Either way, we'll see if Alopex will be a love interest to Raph... or maybe Leo... or just be there as a kick-ass female in general. I don't care as long as it's awesome.
As for April and Casey, let's see what they can uncover. It's a nice
little nod to the 80's version to have the fact that April's mom used to
be a news reporter. I wonder if they handed out yellow jumpsuits back
then. For that matter... why was April was the only one wearing it in the old cartoon show... it
wasn't like a Channel 6 uniform or anything....?
After the events of City Fall, the Turtles, Splinter, Casey and April were forced to flee New York to escape the Shredder's vengeance. Splinter suffered leg injuries during the fight, and Leo is still struggling with himself after being brainwashed to be evil by Kitsune and Shredder. Before the gang can even relax in April's farm in Northampton, we see that Alopex has followed them, also on the run from the Foot... but can she be trusted?
The issue opens with Mikey writing a letter to his buddy Woody and updating on what's been going on. He basically recaps the end of City Fall, mentioning that even though they rescued Leo, he still seems lost. Alopex watches over him, and Raph grabs her and takes her elsewhere.
Raph demands to know what she was doing stalking Leo. Alopex tells Raph she was trying to thank Leo for saving her life earlier. She knows what it feels like having the Shredder twist one's mind, and how it never stops. She tells Raph that he still has his friends and family, Leo and she have nothing. She walks off saying that if she really wanted to kill Leo, she already would have done it.
Splinter's leg was broken by the Shredder during the final fight, and Don is helping him heal. Don is worried about the Technodrome that Krang is working on, but has no way to figure it out while being stuck in and old barn.
Leo continues to have visions of being lost and is attacked by killer trees. As he takes on The Living Forest, he finally finds his mother. He walks along the garden with her and she reminds him that he would find all that he was missing. Leo says he doesn't know these people that rescued him. He knows they're his brothers and father, but he feels they're strangers to him. Tang Shen says he found what he was looking for, he just has to proceed slowly and not let the truth overwhelm him. She soon vanishes, saying she is needed elsewhere, and Leo hears someone call for him. He wakes up and recognizes Donnie.
April and Casey are in the farmhouse with April's parents. Her mom explains how her dad used to work at StockGen and how they were working on something with amazing healing properties known as 'ooze'. Her dad grew ill and they were given a heavy compensation package. April's mom apologizes for not telling April sooner when she decided to work at StockGen, but they've been so good to them and April's internship seemed to be such a good opportunity. They decide not to keep any more secrets, and April's mom brings out his dad's old laptop that had all sorts of notes and things he kept from StockGen over the years.
Leo and Don start walking, and Don says he heard him calling for his mother in his sleep. Leo says the dreams feels so real, like if it was magic and says it must sound crazy to him. Don says maybe it did six months ago, but now, not so much. He says all the strange things that have happened to them can't be a coincidence. Don also wants Leo to join him at the barn to bounce ideas off him, regarding the Technodrome problem. He feels he can't figure it out, and Leo says he'll get there if he takes that first step. Don thanks him for the advice, and he says he learned it from someone else.
Tang Shen then appears to Splinter, and he feels ashamed to have her see him as a rat. He feels he failed her since Saki took their oldest son and made him evil. Tang Shen reminds him that he is back and he is safe. Splinter is worried about the hatred in Leo's eyes, but Tang Shen tells him love can overcome any darkness, and vanishes. Splinter wakes up from his dream.
 |
| This is probably the first time we've seen Yoshi and Tan Shen interact in modern day. I like the extra detail of Yoshi feeling ashamed of his dearly beloved wife seeing him in his mutant rat form. But hey, she doesn't seem to mind that her sons are now talking turtles. |
Alopex soon joins the others, but as they all enjoy the campfire and hot dogs... they are spotted by a mutant hawk named Koya. Karai tells her to stand by for reinforcements....
My Opinions:
This was a great issue. It's nice for the characters to have some down time, since they all have wounds to heal, mostly Leo and Splinter. I did like how Tang Shen appeared before Splinter this time. It's the kind of sweet moment that can only be done if Splinter himself was also Hamato Yoshi. Though I assume in the Mirage version the two are in heaven.
One similarity from the Mirage Northampton arc is that Mikey is writing a letter to Woody and in turn, detailing how each character is dealing with their defeat and escape from New York. If you remember from the Mirage comics (or the live action movie) April was the one doing the writing. Nice little nod there, I have to say. Plus it kinda hints at Mikey's writing abilities. The fact that he can write such a detailed and heartfelt letter shows he is much more than just 'the party dude'.
With Koya's arrival however, it marks one key difference here than in any other version of this tale of recovery. Namely, depending on the version, the Turtles either get to rest up and fully heal, or they encounter several adventures in the Northampton area, but their lives don't involve the Foot until their epic return. This time however, they won't get that luxury cause it looks like Shredder is still bringing the fight to them.
And about Alopex... many people out there are afraid she's going to become the next 'Ninjara', in another words a love interest for Raph. Similar to Alopex, in the Archie comics, Ninjara was a fox (though she was member of foxpeople, not a mutant) working for a villain and soon joined the good guys and became Raph's gal for most of the rest of the series. I personally have no complaints, I always hated how cartoons would introduce a new friend and then for whatever (most of the time weak) reason, they'd leave at the end of the episode. I liked that Ninjara was introduced and STAYED with the main cast, shaking up status quo a bit. Plus the idea of one of the Turtles having a real girlfriend made the series feel a little more 'real' and 'serious' than the OT where we'd just see Mikey occasionally wave to Kala and say he missed her. Either way, we'll see if Alopex will be a love interest to Raph... or maybe Leo... or just be there as a kick-ass female in general. I don't care as long as it's awesome.
 |
| I remember this looking much more bad-ass as a kid. |
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