TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures Continued # 20

 By Mark Rodriguez

Last time, Krang sent Bebop to steal gold bars at the same time that Old Hob tried to steal them. The Turtles thwarted their plans but during the fight, Hob learned that Bebop works with people that have access to dimensional portals. Later on, Hob shows up at Krang's hideout and wants to know more.

 

"Genie in a Bauble, Baby" opens in the Turtles' Sewer Lair as Master Splinter is trying to meditate. He then hears several crashing sounds and one of the Turtles is yelling at Michaelangelo. Splinter goes to investigate and notices a foul smell. Donatello says he was working on stink bombs when Michaelangelo surprised him.

Michaelangelo says he was practicing a skateboard trick. As he tries to show it, he slips off the skateboard and it goes off flying. Splinter catches it and Mikey apologizes. Leonardo says it will take forever for the smell to leave the lair, and Raphael states that's saying a lot since they live in a sewer. Donatello says that Mikey should know better than to practice skateboard tricks in the same room that he's working in. Mikey says Don was the one messing with stink bombs. Donatello says he's doing important work and Mikey should think about doing something that helps everyone instead of goofing around. Mikey points out how he saved everyone from the Pantheon when they were stuck in the brainwashing tubes. Donatello says that was a fluke.

 

Donatello says he is constantly building new and better gear, while Leonardo comes up with new battle plans and strategies. As he names Raphael, Raph says he's cool but rude. He says they should drop this since Michaelangelo is a goofball but they love him for it. Splinter tells Michaelangelo to take a walk while Donatello cools off, knowing how tense he gets when his work is interrupted. Splinter says he could think of ways to improve his behavior in the future. Michaelangelo is surprised that his behavior was the problem. 

Splinter says Michaelangelo is a free spirit which could be advantageous at some times. Mikey says that he's not as a good of a ninja as the others. Splinter says he did not say that. Mikey says he meant it though, so he does go off for a walk.

As Michaelangelo skateboards through the sewers, he says it's not fair that he's treated like a goon no matter what he does. He says he can be serious too and it's not his fault that he can get over things quickly. He says they probably wish he was never mutated. Michaelangelo wonders why he's talking out loud, and he trips and falls over something. He goes to check on what caught his skateboard and finds a ring with a glowing jewel on it.

Michaelangelo sees the ring and thinks he might be able to trade it for some pizza. He rubs the jewel and a genie comes out. The genie of the ring introduces himself to Michaelangelo. The turtle asks if he's similar to the genie of Aladdin's lamp. The genie says that other genie is his cousin. Now that Michaelangelo summoned him, he will help him out.

Michaelangleo asks if he gets three wishes, and wants some Chicago-style pizza which is apparently not allowed in New York. The genie says the lamp guy gives three wishes of whatever you want, he gives him the one wish he needs. Michaelangelo thinks that this is something that Mr. Ogg would say and he takes out his nunchucks.

 

The genie uses his magic to freeze the nunchucks into ice. He says he's a genie and not an imp. The imps from Dimension Z are much more powerful than genies that it gives them an inferiority complex. The genie says Michaelangelo would know about that. The genie says it's time to take the show on the road and vanishes with Mikey in a puff of smoke.

Meanwhile at Shredder and Krang's lair, Shredder is angry that he is still stuck between dimensions while Krang is giving a 'common mutant' access to his dimensional portal. Old Hob says he's the greatest criminal mastermind in the universe, until he was outsmarted by the Turtles. He wants to give them some payback and needs the dimensional portal to do that. Shredder whines, and Krang says that Hob runs an intergalactic crime syndicate. Krang will offer his help in exchange for membership of the Pantheon. Krang says combining their resources with his genius will allow them to do anything. Shredder likes the sound of that.

Old Hob is using Krang's device to communicate with Scratch. Scratch tells Hob that the signal is tied to an outgoing portal that seems to exist in two different places. Shredder explains that the signal is coming from the Technodrome from the current timeline but also from the Technodrome from the future. The signal is trapped between timelines the same way that Shredder is. Old Hob says that changes the math a little, but they will get back to work so they can get started on the future. Shredder asks if this involves conquering the world. Old Hob says it involves something better, which is crushing the Turtles.

 

The genie and Michealangelo appear right back where they started. Michaelangelo is fed up with the genie wasting his time, and says if he's not getting any forbidden Chicago pizza, he's going home. The genie says 'that's what he thinks'. 

Michaelangelo gets home a few minutes later and notices that the lair no longer stinks. He then notices that the lair is empty. The turtle asks what happened. The genie explains he's what didn't happen. He says before he was summoned, Michaelangelo was wondering if his family would be better off without him, and this is it. Mikey says this is like that movie he watches every Christmas. The genie asks  if he means the one where the angel is trying to get his wings. Michaelangelo says he means 'Santa Claus VS the Surfing Shinobi. He then remembers that the Surfing Shinobi used hypnosis on Santa. The genie says he didn't hypnotize him.

Michaelangleo notices he's now wearing the ring, which he doesn't remember putting on. He says he should take it off and see what happens. The genie says if he does that he might not be able to get him back to where he belongs. Mikey runs off to find Master Splinter since he might know what to do. 

Michaelangelo finds Splinter, who looks more feral. Splinter says he's Hamato Yoshi, a man that looks like a rat, just like Michaelangelo looks like one of his pupils, which he is not. Splinter jumpkicks Michaelangelo in the face and continues to attack him. Mikey asks the genie for help since Splinter is not holding back and he doesn't want either of them to get hurt. The turtle says this is ridiculous and Master Splinter would never act like this.

 

 

The genie explains that before Hamato Yoshi was mutated, he was man that had lost everything and might have turned out to be this mean and nasty. However he found a little turtle that made him laugh and called him Splinter and helped him feel like things weren't hopeless. Splinter tells Mikey to stop talking to himself (he can't see the genie) and demands he fight him. Mikey rather make a run for it.

Outside of the lair, Michaelangelo says the genie has made his point and to not send out the ghost of Christmas Future after him. He wants to go home. The genie says he can't since there is still more left to see. Just then a shuriken flies near Michaelangelo, narrowly missing his face. Just then Mikey sees evil versions of his brothers. They think he's here to steal from them. Leonardo says they will show this 'imposter' some Turtle Vengeance. Michaelangelo notices they can't see the genie but asks why they can still see him. The genie says that action scenes are important to every story.

 

Leonardo swings his sword at Michaelangelo, which came real close to cutting off his head. Mikey says that was dangerous. Leonardo says attacks are supposed to be dangerous towards an enemy. Mikey says Master Splinter would say that fighting is the last resort of a true warrior. He also comments they should use a different type of mask, since the ones covering their mouths make them sound muffled. Leonardo says this 'Master Splinter' person doesn't know the first thing about ninjas. Leonardo manages to kick Mikey into a wall, and the Turtles surround him. Michaelangelo says they're probably going to say that Shredder is a good guy now.

Donatello says that Mayor Shredder gave them the sewers in exchange for serving him. They plan to take him down someday. Raphael says their Master Yoshi should be the one running the city. Mikey asks the genie if this is really how things would have turned out without him. The genie says everyone changes the world by being in it and you never know how big of a hole you leave behind.

Raph wonders who Mikey is talking to, and Leonardo says this is their chance to take advantage. Raphael shoulder-butts Mikey into the sewer water where he sinks. Donatello says they win again. Leonardo tells 'Raphael' that they always win. Donatello tells Leo he was the one that just spoke and asks if he didn't recognize his voice. Leonardo thinks that maybe their masks do make their voices sound muffly.

Michaelangelo and the genie are falling from the sky. The genie says he'll take his ring back now that he had his wish granted. He says now that he sees how he influences the world around him, he can put up with anything. Mikey takes off the ring and asks why he feels like he's in an after-school special. All he wanted was a deep dish pizza. The genie says this was more fun to watch. He says he's off to help someone in Encinitas and tells the turtle to remember he has no reason to feel inferior for who he is. He also tells him to watch out below. Michaelangelo continues to fall and hits the street.

Michaelangelo wakes up in bed screaming, which surprises Donatello. Donatello says they were worried when Mikey didn't come back the previous night. He slipped and hit his head and was unconscious all day. Donatello apologizes for snapping at him. Mikey says that explains the wild dream he had, and all of them were there. Donatello says he hopes he wasn't the scarecrow. Mikey says they were 'some kinda scary' and asks Raphael about the box he's holding.

Raphael says he doesn't know but it was sitting on the kitchen table and was addressed to Michaelangelo. He says it's weird since they don't get mail and Donatello did check that the box isn't booby-trapped. Michaelangelo opens it and gasps. Donatello says it looks like Chicago-Style pizza. Raphael says he wants to try a slice of that, and asks Michaelangelo if he's going to share.

 

My Thoughts- 

Well this was a fun what-if scenario which once again proves that Michaelangelo is the heart of the team that keeps the group together. Similar to the previous arc, where the Turtles were facing off against other villains while the Shredder was forging the Ninja Sword to Nowhere, it seems we'll be seeing short scenes of Hob and Krang fixing the portal while we see other adventures. It's a clever to keep the comic close to the original cartoon's episodic nature, while also having some lingering plot threads. How will things go when the Shredder returns? What awaits the turtles when Shredder and Krang join the Pantheon, assuming Hob even let them?

As for the main story it was cool to see a darker, and perhaps more realistic version of Hamato Yoshi. While in the original cartoon, Yoshi was poor and living in the sewers, he was happy living with rats and the four turtles that fell down the drain that day. Here the poor man seems much more broken and depressed over his lot in life, and being mutated into a giant rat was the final straw. Then he raised the turtles with that same level of hatred and resentment. I guess in this take, Michaelangelo was the one that first called him Splinter and the name stuck?

There's not much I can say about the evil Turtle designs, except they're kinda all over the place. The masks covering their mouths reminds me of the evil Ninja Turtles clones in the IDW comics Patheon arc. They also have Shredder gauntlets on their shoulders and such. Donatello is also wearing glasses, which several current forms of the TMNT seem to have doing lately. They're ok, but we've seen better designs for evil takes on the Turtles. 

 

I'm confused on their dynamic with Shredder. So Shredder if the mayor and he leaves the Turtles as long as they serve him? And he isn't going after Splinter, consider he accidentally mutated Yoshi and the Turtles in an attempt to kill Yoshi?

The Turtles have had this kind of 'It's a Wonderful Life' scenario before, where the Turtles felt they were causing more harm than good and the world might have been better off without them. The next day they would wake up in a world where Shredder took over the city since the Turtles were never around to stop him. Of course, it didn't work out the way Shredder planned it, since now he was stuck with all the paperwork and such needed to actually run the city. Honestly with all the references to previous adventures, both from the original show and this series, I'm surprised Michaelangelo never mentioned the Shredderville episode.

One line that stood out to me was when evil Leonardo was trying to flat out kill Michaelangelo with his swords. When Mikey mentions how Splinter says a true warrior only fights as a last resort, Leonardo says Splinter doesn't know the first thing about being a ninja. I wonder if that was a bit of a jab at how the 80's Turtles were never considered to be real ninjas since they were more comedic in nature and never actually tried to kill anyone.

Another thing that stood out was the bit with Chicago-style deep dish pizza not being allowed in New York? While I found out that the average New Yorker might not like Chicago style, I don't think there's an actual law against it. The Turtles sure don't seem to have a problem with it in this issue. It also reminded me that even though the Turtles would visit other countries and also go to Florida, they never did visit other major American cities like Chicago or LA. I always found it funny how most if not all of Shredder's plans involved New York where the Turtles live and not anywhere else. It would at least delay Turtles somewhat to get to the other location, giving the Shredder more time to carry out his plans if he attacked Vegas instead for example.

Life has been busy and I somehow missed this issue originally. Luckily we swung on by to Stories and managed to pick this one up since they still had several copies of this one laying around.