By Mark Rodriguez
Pretty much every character in the 80's TMNT cartoon would break the fourth wall every now and then, mentioning that they were in an 'episode' or calling out 'the writers' and such, with Raphael being the main offender. What happens when the Turtles actually get in trouble for it? Let's find out.
"A Far-Out Encounter of the Ogg King" opens with Screwloose telling the reader that their latest plan to take over the world is foolproof, as Wingnut ties April up, The Turtles are fighting against giant robot roaches as Leonardo asks if anybody knows what their plan is. Raphael says this is the problem with starting things in the middle of a story, it confuses everybody. Wingnut tells April that things would have been easier if she didn't try to mess with them.
Screwloose puts on a device on his nose and uses it as a laser gun. Raphael comments that every time forgotten villains return, they always come back with a new look or gimmick. Leonardo says he calls that character growth. Raphael says somebody just needed to sell an action figure as he tosses one of his sai. The ninja weapon bounces off one of the robots, off one of Wingnut's mechanical wings and smacks the weapon off Screwloose's nose. Screwloose says the weapon was expensive and tells Wingnut to activate their machine.
The machine doesn't work because it appears some pieces were missing. Wingnut gets hit on the head by one of the robot heads. Leonardo says their plans will always fail and they will hand them over to the authorities. Michaelangelo asks what type of authorities handles outer space bad guys.
Screwloose activates a device on his wrist that opens a portal back to their planet Flagenon. The villains promise to return and next time their secret weapon won't be a dud. Raphael says he'll see them in the next relaunch.
Just then there's a loud voice yelling out 'THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE LAST STRAW!' that surprises the Turtles and April. April wonder if it's a hidden speaker. Donatello checks the device Wingnut and Screwloose left behind, and it is in fact a dud. Just then Mr. Ogg dressed in more royal attire and calling himself 'Ogg the Magnificent' shows up and Michaelangelo doesn't remember him.
Ogg reminds him that they met in Season 3 episode 42, and he used to joke around and eat porcelain. Michaelangelo remember him now. Donatello asks if he doesn't need a dimensional portal to come to Earth. Ogg says he can do whatever he wants but the Turtles can't so they are being tried for breaking universal law.
April says the Turtles are heroes and didn't break any laws. Ogg says he doesn't need to deal with the supporting cast, since April's name isn't even mentioned in the theme song. Ogg warps April away to a deli in the Bronx. Ogg summons a bailiff which is a miniature version of himself. The smaller Ogg explains that the turtles, especially Raphael, are guilty of repeatedly breaking the fourth wall.
The Turtles say they would never break the fourth wall and Raphael says it's just a stupid bit they do to make themselves laugh. Then all four of them look towards the reader and say 'oh they there'. Ogg screams that they're doing it again.
Ogg lists the only other people, other than himself, that are allowed to break the fourth wall, but the names are bleeped out. Raphael points that out and a mini-Ogg appears beside him saying it's too bad and blows a bull horn in his ear.
The trial begins and we see that the judge, the jury, the prosecutor and defense attorney are all Mr. Ogg. Judge Ogg repeats the charges and asks the clients how they plead. DA Ogg says they plead guilty and Leonardo says they're the good guys. Judge Ogg says he was going to let them off with a slap on the wrist but since they now plead not guilty, he will go all out. Michaelangelo asks why Ogg is doing all of this. Ogg says he's bored and this is a way to correct and issue. He calls for the prosecution.
The prosecutor Ogg presents for evidence the Season 7 Episode 'Night of the Rogues' where Raphael asks Shredder if he's leaving the show. The Defense Attorney Ogg calls an objection and says the episode was aired decades ago and is beyond the statute of limitations, not even being released on home video.
Leonardo says they're teenagers and Donatello adds that it couldn't possibly have happened decades ago. Michaelangelo asks what they mean by 'show'. Defense Attorney Ogg says they can't use the TV series against the Turtles since they don't even seem aware that it exists. The judge agrees that it's a fair point, and the prosecutor and the DA start to argue among themselves.
Leonardo says the trial is a joke and Donatello says it's a farce. Raphael calls it stupid and Michaelangelo says that's what they just said. Raphael tell Michaelangelo that sarcasm is his thing, as well as teaching Ogg a lesson. Raphael leaps towards Judge Ogg, and the judge calls for a recess.
Mr. Ogg warps the Turtles over to Dimension Z and Raphael asks about the trial. Mr. Ogg says he got bored with the trial so he says they lost and will be trapped in Dimension Z forever or until their copyright expires. Michaelangelo says this is exactly like what Creepy Eddie did to them in earlier (in the Halloween special). Donatello says in this case Ogg isn't even pretending to give them a way to win. Donatello asks Ogg is the trial was real, and he says it was. Raphael says this means he can't end the trail without giving them a chance to defend themselves. Ogg says as a cosmic being there isn't anything he can't do.
Donatello says Ogg can literally do anything but he is still bored, and doesn't know the cure for boredom like he does. Ogg wants to know what the cure is. Donatello isn't sure he can trust someone that judged them so unfairly. Ogg drops all the charges. Donatello says they're still trapped in Dimension Z, and Ogg warps them back home. Raphael also makes him promise to not do this again and to also go home and to leave them alone. Ogg agrees to everything and wants to know the cure.
Donatello says 'surprise'. Ogg demands to know what the cure for boredom is. Donatello says the surprise is the cure, he can't be bored if he never knows what will happen. Ogg thinks about but feels the answer is a rip off.
Mr. Ogg will return to Dimension Z as promised, but not forever. He will return when he comes up with the right type of payback for them. He leaves when he will return as a surprise. With Ogg gone, Leonardo destroys Wingnut and Screwloose's matching just to be safe and then they'll contact April to make sure she's still not stuck in the Bronx. Raphael says it's a good plan, they wouldn't want to leave any dangling plot threads so close to the end of the issue.
My Thoughts-
Just like Creepy Eddie, Mr. Ogg is one of those one-time villains we never expected to see again, not even in this comic book series, but here we are. Mr. Ogg only appeared in the episode 'Mr. Ogg Goes to Town' and was referenced in 'Turtlemaniac' as one of the wax statues. Rewatching the episode, I noticed in the court scene that the Turtles were wearing the same suits they were wearing in the episode.
So this issue finally addresses the issue of the characters constantly breaking the fourth wall. Raphael is usually the one doing this, and the issue played a lot with it. When Raph explained that it was just a silly bit they do, he looked like he trying to make an excuse to explain it away. It was also notable that when the Turtles were confused about 'Night of the Rogues' taking place decades ago, Raphael was the only one not saying anything. Maybe the others joke around but Raph really does know he's in a show or comic. He even referred to their current adventure as a relaunch when they were dealing with Wingnut and Screwloose.
Speaking of which, Wingnut and Screwloose also appeared on the show once, but they were characters that actually appeared as action figures and in the Archie comics. The show sometimes did weird versions of the characters, and these were one of the weirdest. In the Archie comics they were misguided heroes until they joined the Mighty Mutanimals and the action figure bio made Wingnut sound like a bumbling hero. The cartoon, for whatever reason, just made them villains. Screwloose was also a rather small character, and the cartoon made him a bit more 'normal-sized' even though he is still shorter than most characters.
This was a cool issue, and even though Mr. Ogg was someone the Turtles had to trick to get away from, we still got some action with the Wingnut and Screwloose scene. As always the art is full of energy (but I'm probably repeating that every time Sarah Myer is the artist), and I love the writing and callbacks.
While the show has had callbacks before, now we have the extra benefit of hindsight in terms of season and episode numbers. I especially like the part with the Turtles being confused about the 'decades' since their show ended, which reminds me a lot about the Simpsons and the times certain events imply decades have past and yet time stands still for them. We have modern episodes where Bart and Lisa don't know what a VCR is while their series started off in the VCR era. I'll give credit to this comic series though, there hasn't been any references to modern day technology just yet.
The issue ended off with a clever joke, as Raphael not only breaks the fourth wall again while mentioning dangling plot threads, as the next issue promises Shredder's new Forever Blade, possibly the biggest dangling plot thread since issue one of this relaunch.
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