By Mark Rodriguez
Shredder and the Foot have captured and brainwashed Leonardo to side with the Foot. After an epic battle to rescue him, the gang was forced to escape to April's farmhouse in Northampton. There they recovered and Leo slowly turned back to normal, but after a battle against Shredder's mutant hawk Koya, they decided it was time to return to New York. This time the heroes are determined to put the Shredder down and end the Foot. Let's see what happens.
We start in New York as some guys just robbed a bank and get into their getaway car. Some spikes are thrown onto the street making the car come to a sudden stop, knocking out the getaway driver. The guys step out and quickly taken down. The driver gets up and wonders what happened before he's knocked out again.
The Turtles watch over their victory. Mikey says they took the guys down like real masked crimefighters. Leo tells him this isn't like his comics, their main goal now is to train themselves back into top shape while they have the element of surprise on their side.
Elsewhere Hun tells Shredder how the Purple Dragons, Bebop and Rocksteady succeeded in robbing an armored truck. Shredder is pleased with Hun's loyalty and says that he will be leaving soon to attend to other business, and Karai will be in charge in his absence. He sends Karai, Bebop and Rocksteady away so he can talk to Hun alone about his son.
Elsewhere, Casey is about to head off to check up on Angel, but April is concerned about going back to school and finding work. Casey rushes off to see Angel and promises April they can talk about it later. Leo and Don show up, and April tells Leo that Splinter wants to see him. Don stays with April and asks what's wrong. April is worried about Casey not wanting to go back to school and realized he only went there to play hockey. Don knows how she feels, he is also worried about the upcoming Technodrome that Krang is working on, but noone wants to help him deal with it. He does have schematics for a teleporter that the Fugitoid gave him, so he thinks it's a game changer.
Hun steps into one of his old bars where Angel's father Brooklyn works. Some of the guys recognize him, though one of them smells trouble and wants to leave. Hun asks Brooklyn where Angel and Casey are and he says he doesn't want his daughter involved with him, the Dragons or the mutants anymore. The bartender tells Hun to leave or he'll call the cops. Hun is about to step out, but the man adds that he never thought he'd sink so low as to work for the man that gutted his own son.
Hun remembers to his private chat with Shredder as he reveals that he did indeed impale Casey as part of his plan. He admits he also planned to use Hun and discard him when he wasn't useful to him anymore... but since he has been such a big help, he'll accept him into the Foot Clan family. He warns that as long as Casey is with Hamato Yoshi and the Turtles, he will be an enemy marked by death, but if he can convince him to join the Foot he will be spared.
Back in real time, Hun angrily grabs Brooklyn by the throat, much to the surprise of his friends. Angel then steps out and tells him to stop. Hun throws the man through a table, and the other two barflies lose their cool and attack him. Hun easily smacks them both back. Angel tells him to stop, and Hun says he'll just beat her down again like he did several times before. He says he just wants to know where Casey is. Just then Casey shows up and asks him to take this outside.
Leo talks with Splinter and tells him their training went alright. He tells him that he sent Mike and Raph on the task her asked of them and Don went to see his friend Harold. Splinter says they still have much to discuss before Shredder finds out that they're back.
Hun talks to Casey and tries to get him to side with the Foot to keep Shredder off his back. Casey won't do it and thinks he's crazy. His dad tells him Shredder runs the city now and anyone that crosses him will die, like the Savate leader did. Hun admits he's messed up a lot, but want to do right and offers him the money he needs to leave New York, and he'll just tell Shredder he's dead. Casey says they could even leave together. Hun says he can't leave now, joining the Foot was the best thing that ever happened to him. He has more power and respect than he's ever had in his life, he feels he's a real man. Casey says he won't leave and says they'll see who turns out to be the 'real man', and asks what kind of a 'real man' chooses Shredder over his own son?
Casey steps back inside and sees if everyone is alright. Brooklyn is angry at the mess Angel and Casey have gotten mixed up in, and now he has to deal with Hun and the Foot. Angel says they didn't want any of it, and her father says this is about 'protecting what's his', which includes her. Angel storms off and says she doesn't belong to him. Casey apologizes and Brooklyn tells him to just get out. The other barflies ask if he was too rough on them. He says that considering the mess those two have gotten mixed up in, he wasn't rough enough.
Elsewhere, Hun is looking at a photograph. He remembers Shredder's words about Casey having little time left... Brooklyn's words about him working for the guy that gutted his son.... and Casey asking why he chose Shredder over his own son. Hun sadly looks at the photograph of him and Casey during happier times. He crumples it up and drops it, as he walks away.
My Opinions
This was an interesting story which dealt mostly with Hun and Casey, and not so much on the Turtles. That's OK though cause this version of Hun is truly a tragic and conflicted character. He seemed like a decent enough guy, though he ran with a rough crowd as Hun. He lost his wife and depression made him into an angry drunk that would smack his son around. The tragedy lies when he sees what a loser he's become and decided to make things right.... but possibly in the wrongest way possible. He joined Shredder and thanks to the Ooze, he's powered-up back to his prime, and he's making good money, by committing robberies and killing enemy gang members.
One of the reasons he became Hun was to also get revenge on the guy that nearly killed his son.... without knowing that he was working for him. Now that he knows the truth.... he's still in a position where he can't leave, because he loves his newfound power too much... and also because he knows if he tries to leave, he'd be as good as dead. He's too blind to see that while he thinks he's at his best, he's actually at his worst... having smacked around his old friends and even his best friend's daughter. Now that Casey has chosen to stay and fight, will Hun be forced to kill his own son?
This makes for a much more interesting character than the 2K3 version of Hun, and possibly even Mirage's take in which he seems to be a bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy. Or at least neither version has really dug deep into why exactly he's a bad guy. And well... the 2K12 version of Hun was basically Bruce Lee, so he didn't get this level of depth either.
The other characters are alright. Was kinda weird seeing April worry about Casey's schooling... but then again she's always been the most grounded in reality. Everyone else is worried about ninja clans and Technodromes but she remembers that hey, they need an education and jobs too. Getting evicted won't help matters.
As for the Turtles, geez, Leo sure is quick to point out to Mikey, and possibly the readers that they aren't crimefighting heroes 'like the comics'. In the Mirage comics at least the Turtles basically just live their lives and the trouble comes to them. They might stop a crime if they're witness to it, but they don't go out on daily patrols on a personal war on crime like Batman does. Or like basically most of the cartoon versions of the Turtles where things are more black and white. I guess the IDW series is following that route and felt the need to have Leo directly state it instead of letting the series itself imply it. Even Mikey felt insulted to have his little comment shoved back into his face when he was... you know... just sayin'.
I assume this is part of the Return to New York storyline since there wasn't a title anywhere. Not even the Nolan last-page title thing some comics are doing nowadays. We'll see what happens when Shredder finds out the Turtles are back in the city. And hey, Metalhead is gonna be in this too. I'm curious how IDW will handle the classic robot turtle.
Shredder and the Foot have captured and brainwashed Leonardo to side with the Foot. After an epic battle to rescue him, the gang was forced to escape to April's farmhouse in Northampton. There they recovered and Leo slowly turned back to normal, but after a battle against Shredder's mutant hawk Koya, they decided it was time to return to New York. This time the heroes are determined to put the Shredder down and end the Foot. Let's see what happens.
We start in New York as some guys just robbed a bank and get into their getaway car. Some spikes are thrown onto the street making the car come to a sudden stop, knocking out the getaway driver. The guys step out and quickly taken down. The driver gets up and wonders what happened before he's knocked out again.
The Turtles watch over their victory. Mikey says they took the guys down like real masked crimefighters. Leo tells him this isn't like his comics, their main goal now is to train themselves back into top shape while they have the element of surprise on their side.
Elsewhere Hun tells Shredder how the Purple Dragons, Bebop and Rocksteady succeeded in robbing an armored truck. Shredder is pleased with Hun's loyalty and says that he will be leaving soon to attend to other business, and Karai will be in charge in his absence. He sends Karai, Bebop and Rocksteady away so he can talk to Hun alone about his son.
Elsewhere, Casey is about to head off to check up on Angel, but April is concerned about going back to school and finding work. Casey rushes off to see Angel and promises April they can talk about it later. Leo and Don show up, and April tells Leo that Splinter wants to see him. Don stays with April and asks what's wrong. April is worried about Casey not wanting to go back to school and realized he only went there to play hockey. Don knows how she feels, he is also worried about the upcoming Technodrome that Krang is working on, but noone wants to help him deal with it. He does have schematics for a teleporter that the Fugitoid gave him, so he thinks it's a game changer.
Hun steps into one of his old bars where Angel's father Brooklyn works. Some of the guys recognize him, though one of them smells trouble and wants to leave. Hun asks Brooklyn where Angel and Casey are and he says he doesn't want his daughter involved with him, the Dragons or the mutants anymore. The bartender tells Hun to leave or he'll call the cops. Hun is about to step out, but the man adds that he never thought he'd sink so low as to work for the man that gutted his own son.
Hun remembers to his private chat with Shredder as he reveals that he did indeed impale Casey as part of his plan. He admits he also planned to use Hun and discard him when he wasn't useful to him anymore... but since he has been such a big help, he'll accept him into the Foot Clan family. He warns that as long as Casey is with Hamato Yoshi and the Turtles, he will be an enemy marked by death, but if he can convince him to join the Foot he will be spared.
Back in real time, Hun angrily grabs Brooklyn by the throat, much to the surprise of his friends. Angel then steps out and tells him to stop. Hun throws the man through a table, and the other two barflies lose their cool and attack him. Hun easily smacks them both back. Angel tells him to stop, and Hun says he'll just beat her down again like he did several times before. He says he just wants to know where Casey is. Just then Casey shows up and asks him to take this outside.
Leo talks with Splinter and tells him their training went alright. He tells him that he sent Mike and Raph on the task her asked of them and Don went to see his friend Harold. Splinter says they still have much to discuss before Shredder finds out that they're back.
Hun talks to Casey and tries to get him to side with the Foot to keep Shredder off his back. Casey won't do it and thinks he's crazy. His dad tells him Shredder runs the city now and anyone that crosses him will die, like the Savate leader did. Hun admits he's messed up a lot, but want to do right and offers him the money he needs to leave New York, and he'll just tell Shredder he's dead. Casey says they could even leave together. Hun says he can't leave now, joining the Foot was the best thing that ever happened to him. He has more power and respect than he's ever had in his life, he feels he's a real man. Casey says he won't leave and says they'll see who turns out to be the 'real man', and asks what kind of a 'real man' chooses Shredder over his own son?
Casey steps back inside and sees if everyone is alright. Brooklyn is angry at the mess Angel and Casey have gotten mixed up in, and now he has to deal with Hun and the Foot. Angel says they didn't want any of it, and her father says this is about 'protecting what's his', which includes her. Angel storms off and says she doesn't belong to him. Casey apologizes and Brooklyn tells him to just get out. The other barflies ask if he was too rough on them. He says that considering the mess those two have gotten mixed up in, he wasn't rough enough.
Elsewhere, Hun is looking at a photograph. He remembers Shredder's words about Casey having little time left... Brooklyn's words about him working for the guy that gutted his son.... and Casey asking why he chose Shredder over his own son. Hun sadly looks at the photograph of him and Casey during happier times. He crumples it up and drops it, as he walks away.
My Opinions
This was an interesting story which dealt mostly with Hun and Casey, and not so much on the Turtles. That's OK though cause this version of Hun is truly a tragic and conflicted character. He seemed like a decent enough guy, though he ran with a rough crowd as Hun. He lost his wife and depression made him into an angry drunk that would smack his son around. The tragedy lies when he sees what a loser he's become and decided to make things right.... but possibly in the wrongest way possible. He joined Shredder and thanks to the Ooze, he's powered-up back to his prime, and he's making good money, by committing robberies and killing enemy gang members.
One of the reasons he became Hun was to also get revenge on the guy that nearly killed his son.... without knowing that he was working for him. Now that he knows the truth.... he's still in a position where he can't leave, because he loves his newfound power too much... and also because he knows if he tries to leave, he'd be as good as dead. He's too blind to see that while he thinks he's at his best, he's actually at his worst... having smacked around his old friends and even his best friend's daughter. Now that Casey has chosen to stay and fight, will Hun be forced to kill his own son?
This makes for a much more interesting character than the 2K3 version of Hun, and possibly even Mirage's take in which he seems to be a bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy. Or at least neither version has really dug deep into why exactly he's a bad guy. And well... the 2K12 version of Hun was basically Bruce Lee, so he didn't get this level of depth either.
The other characters are alright. Was kinda weird seeing April worry about Casey's schooling... but then again she's always been the most grounded in reality. Everyone else is worried about ninja clans and Technodromes but she remembers that hey, they need an education and jobs too. Getting evicted won't help matters.
As for the Turtles, geez, Leo sure is quick to point out to Mikey, and possibly the readers that they aren't crimefighting heroes 'like the comics'. In the Mirage comics at least the Turtles basically just live their lives and the trouble comes to them. They might stop a crime if they're witness to it, but they don't go out on daily patrols on a personal war on crime like Batman does. Or like basically most of the cartoon versions of the Turtles where things are more black and white. I guess the IDW series is following that route and felt the need to have Leo directly state it instead of letting the series itself imply it. Even Mikey felt insulted to have his little comment shoved back into his face when he was... you know... just sayin'.
I assume this is part of the Return to New York storyline since there wasn't a title anywhere. Not even the Nolan last-page title thing some comics are doing nowadays. We'll see what happens when Shredder finds out the Turtles are back in the city. And hey, Metalhead is gonna be in this too. I'm curious how IDW will handle the classic robot turtle.
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