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IDW TMNT # 51

By Mark Rodriguez

After 50 issues of plotting revenge and slowly taking full control of New York City, Shredder would finally meet his end at the hands of Hamato Yoshi. And I don't mean just being defeated or being thrown in jail, no Splinter sliced his head clean off. With Shredder gone, Splinter now leads the Foot Clan. Mikey will have no part in this and left the team. So what will happen now that the Turtles have defeated their most hated nemesis? Let's find out.


The story opens with Leo, Don and Raph staking out some guys about to do some illegal business deals. Raph can't wait for subtleties and dashes in to attack the guys that are on guard outside. Leo tells Raph that they're gonna practice stealth and to do things the right way. Don uses Harold's devices to see how many are inside and notice that some of them make the equipment go haywire. The turtles bust in and start to attack the men, and some other guys in strange white cloaks. Leo says it's time to make their statement and calls for the Foot.


Foot Ninjas enter the building and Leo reminds them not to kill anyone. The cloaked gang decide to leave the normal bad guys to their fate and phase through the floor, getting away. The Turtles end the fight and grab the boss, Lupo, and try to interrogate him about the cloaked men. Lupo isn't talking and one of the Foot Elite threatens to torture him into talking. Leo tells her to back off, since that's not how the Foot do things anymore. Leo tells Lupo that the Foot is still running things and the thug tells them that the Street Phantoms are more dangerous. Leo tells him to spread the word that the city belongs to the Foot.

The Turtles feel weird acting like the Shredder used to, but Leo says they have to follow Splinter's advice. Don heads off to talk to Harold since he finds those phasing cloaks to be very familiar. Raph also has something to do and Leo heads back to Master Splinter. As they leave, the female Foot Elite watches them.

Splinter holds onto Shredder's helmet and ponders his new role in life. He thought things would be peaceful with Shredder gone, but now there is a power vacuum among the crime in the city and he has to lead the Foot to regain control. Karai, Bludgeon and Koya have sworn to serve him, but Bebop and Rocksteady went off on their own. Splinter also laments how Michealangelo has left the family.

Mikey stops a guy from robbing a woman's purse, now using a grappling hook instead of his nunchucks... but both the woman and the robber run after they see him. Raph shows up and teases Mikey about scaring the bad guys now. Raph has been on his own for a while before he found the rest of the gang and tells Mikey that it sucks being out on your own. Mikey says he's not going back as long as Splinter is running the Foot. Raph says he could always make Mikey go back, and Mikey says he could try. Raph says he doesn't want them to fight, but reminds him that whenever he wants to come back, he'll have family waiting for him. After Raph leaves, Mondo Gecko arrives and tells him that Raph has a point, but he might not be referring to the right house, or the right family. Meanwhile, some kind of military man is watching Mikey and Mondo and reports to his boss.


Kitsune is relaxing and working on some paintings, and April arrives to give her food. Kitsune acts innocent, but April tells her that she and Casey has already met up with her siblings and know all about their little contest to rule the world. April says she's also playing. After April leaves, Kitsune tells Alopex that they're going to have to accelerate her plans.

Leo runs into April and tells her to say hi to her family and Casey for him. He tells Splinter that things went well and no one died, but now there is a new gang of cloaked individuals that seem to scare the gangsters more than the Foot did. Splinter says the Foot must continue to run things, or innocent people might die as other criminals fight to take the place that Shredder left behind.

Donnie sees that Harold is working on a new Metalhead, and asks about the cloaks and how they can phase through solid objects. Harold gets upset and says he helped invent the cloaks but 'she' took the technology for herself and sold it to the highest bidder, becoming rich while ruining Harold's reputation. Harold warns Don that they have to be careful because the cloaks aren't cheap so whoever runs the Street Phantoms must have a lot of money and power.

The Street Phantoms report to Darius Dunn and tell him how the cloaks worked just fine, but they ran into trouble with the Foot. They think the Foot is still a major player in the city. Just then the female Foot Elite from earlier enters the room and says the Foot has never been weaker, and this must be remedied.


My Opinions-

Wow, this was something very unexpected. I did not see IDW throwing in Darius Dunn and the Street Phantoms from Fast Forward into this.

For those that forgot, in the 2K3 series, the Turtles' 6th season had a tone and art shift that saw the Turtles and Splinter being sent to the future in TMNT Fast Foward. One of the most recurring villains was Darius Dun, who was the evil uncle of Cody Jones, the great grandson of April and Casey. They also faced a gang called the Street Phantoms that work for a villain named Jammerhead. It was surprising to see these guys not just brought into the comic but also in modern day.


With every new arc comes a new artist and a new art shift, and it seems the Turtles are back to their more classic look, as well as looking older since they were designed rather young and 'cute' looking lately. Also Mikey is now using a grappling hook as a throwback to the later seasons of the 80's TMNT show where his nunchucks were censored to appease the UK fans.


The art shift is kinda hit and miss though. The Turtles look great... but some of the other characters....


Looking forward to see what happens next!

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