TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures Continued # 25

By Mark Rodriguez

Krang and Hob are working together to fix the dimensional portal to bring Shredder back to their reality, as well as try to conquer the universe with the help of the Pantheon. Their first attempt somehow have Krang and upgraded version of his android body, and also unleashed evil 'what if' versions of Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello. While the Turtles took care of their evil twins, Krang and Hob continue to fix the portal. Emboldened by his new body, Krang now tells Hob he also wants to lead the Pantheon himself. What will happen next?

"Still the Ninja She Always Was" opens with the Turtles watching wrestling as a wrestler named Hairculeas (who pretty much like like Cousin It with legs) pulls out a steel chair from underneath all that hair. Leonardo is not impressed and tells the gang that it's time to head out. Raphael tells him that Wrestletoberfest happens only once a year. Leonardo says the event is happening all week and they can skip one night for patrol. He reminds them that Master Splinter raised them to be defender of the night, and they need to be out there defending New Yorkers from unknown evils. Raphael says Master Splinter took the same week off to go fishing upstate.

Donatello says they earned themselves a break after tackling Tempestra, Dr. Bo and the agents of G.I.V.E and the evil turtles. Michaelangelo says if something serious came up, April would call them. The wrestling continues as one of the wrestlers pulled out a chicken. The Turtles keep watching and wish Leonardo luck on his patrol. It's clear the other three aren't going anywhere since they don't want to miss the Tony Khan bookin'. 

Leonardo patrols the city on his own, disappointed that the others didn't come with him. As he thinks of possible enemy attacks, he hears a call for help. A girl says that 'Professor Toast' is stuck in a tree. Leonardo sees that Professor Toast is a cat, and he's hanging off a sick branch so he can kill two birds with one stone. He cut the branch and returns the cat to the girl. The girl (as well as some random dude the branch fell on) thanks him, and the turtle resumes his patrol.

Meanwhile at Krang's lair, Hob finished fixing the portal after months of work. Krang mentions that the last time they activated it gave him a new robot body but they might not be so lucky next time. Shredder says he doesn't care about the consequences and wants to be freed from his current situation. Krang activates the machine and it starts to crackle and spark. Hob says he never seen that before and Shredder's ghostly form is now swirling around. Shredder is gone.

 

Krang gets a call, to which he says 'we don't want any'. Actually it's Shredder, and he confirms that he's back in his solid state but he's trapped in Dimension X and the Stone Warrior can't access Earth. Kramg says he will have to build a new portal, and Shredder says that could take weeks or even months. Hob says they should just steal a portal. Krang jokes that they'll go to the local bodega and hide one under their shirt. Hob says he overheard the Turtles say they have one and they should swipe it.

Krang says they don't know where the Turtles Lair is and even if they did they would defend that portal with their lives. Hob says he's OK with that. Shredder says they would need a ninja, someone that Splinter and the Turtles would never see coming. Krang says he's been trying to hire a ninja named Karai since Shredder was trapped, but she's booked for the next six months. Shredder says Krang should be more devious and there's someone else he's been keeping tabs on.

Later on, in Boston, we see that Lotus Blossom has opened up her own dojo. One of the students asks when they can learn to punch a hole through Dracula. Lotus says she doesn't teach them how to fight monster, at least not in the first month, and tells him to run along before he misses the bus. Bebop and Rocksteady show up saying that it looks like Lotus got herself a teacher's pet. They tell her that she's coming with them as their boss has a job for her.

Lotus remembers Bebop and Rocksteady as minions of the Foot Clan. She says she's no longer for hire unless they want to take a beginner's martial arts class. Rocksteady says they don't want to take a class, and Bebop says they will take her to school though. Lotus still maintains all her ninja skills and makes short work of Bebop and Rocksteady. Old Hob shows up, holding the kid from earlier, and tells Lotus to hear them out before he turns her pupil into a scratching post. 

Lotus says they will do as they ask if they let the kid go. Hob drops the kid and says he'll let him catch the bus to show what a nice guy he is. The kid says that Lotus can kick his butt. Hob says she won't and she will do as they say or all of their students will pay.

 

The following night, Leonardo sees a dog stuck up a tree and asks his owner how he got up there. The girl says the dog was chased by a squirrel. Leonardo gets the dog down and says there are leash laws to keep dogs from running off. The girl asks if Leo plans to arrest her and her dad can sue him for trying. Leo runs off to help someone else and tells the girl to just watch her dog.

Leonardo turns the corner and is surprised to see Tokka and Rahzar trying to force the owner of a deli to let them in. Leonardo leaps out of Tokka's grasp as he charges towards him.  Rahzar notices that Leonardo is fighting without the rest of the group, and smacks him to the ground with an axe-handle punch. Tokka says he shouldn't have tried to fight them alone. Just then a smokebomb hits and someone attacks the mutant duo.

As the smoke clears we see that Lotus Blossom defeated them. The deli owner thanks them and asks Leonardo if he wants some pastrami to go. Leonardo turns it down and says he should call the police so they can take if from there. Rahzar says he'll take the pastrami and Tokka says he wants hot soup.

Later on, on a rooftop, Leonardo asks Lotus where she's been and why she's back. He appreciates the help against Tokka and Rahzar but he won't let her get recruited as a mercenary. Lotus says after their last encounter, after the spirit of a woman from Feudal Japan has left her mind, she no longer wished to be a mercenary. She tells Leonardo that Lotus Blossom was her alias as a professional and her name is Himiko. She explains that she is now a sensei and teaches people how to defend herself, which brings her peace.

Himiko explains that Krang found her and wanted her to tell him where to find their lair so he can steal a piece of their technology. Leonardo says it must be Donatello's portable dimensional portal, or Michaelangelo's pinball machine. Lotus says she came to warn them. While she will not betray her friends, she fears that Krang will not give up. They share a hug and Lotus leaves as she has other matters to tend to. 

Later on, Leonardo runs into the Lair and tells the others that they'll never guess what happened. Michealangelo says he missed the Wrestletoberfest match where the Disco Cowboy beat Big Biff Mcfist in a cage match. Leonardo says he's talking about something important and real. Raphael says wrestling is totally real and McFist actually got banned from wrestling in The Garden ever again. Donatello says it's at least until the next Pay-Per-View in March. Leonardo is annoyed and Raphael says they're just messing around. He invites him to grab some pizza and tell them what was so important.

Leonardo tells his brothers about how he ran into Tokka and Rahzar and how Lotus Blossom helped him, as well as how Krang wanted her to help steal the portal. As Leo opens the fridge, Donatello notices something on the back of his shell, which looks like a gas grenade. The grenade goes off and Leonardo wonders why Himiko would do this, since she even warned them in advance. The Turtles pass out. Lotus arrives, and apologizes to her friends, but she had no choice.

 

My thoughts- 

So right off the bat, I'm a bit confused on Lotus' new design, not just her outfit but her hairstyle. At first she was wearing a different outfit as a sensei, and she had her hair tied into a ponytail. I figured, well OK, that's her look when she's no longer a mercenary, but when she switched into her ninja attire, her hair still looked different and her outfit had some extra detail added to her shoulders. She had a smoother and longer hairstyle. Now it looks like some strange variation of April's hairstyle. I know Renae Jacobs voiced both April and Lotus, but come on now.

I'm a bit confused by the change. The guys behind this comic dig deep into the 80's show lore with the most obscure characters, and Lotus in her classic form has appeared in group shots before, so it's not they 'forgot' what she looks like. Sure her design went from black to a lighter grey, but the design was pretty much the same, as well as her hairstyle. 

Actually.... now that I take a closer look at one of the panels, there is a portrait in the background referencing her original hairstyle... so I do wonder why they went for the change?  I mean, at least have Leonardo comment on her hair or something.

Other than that, we get to see that Lotus started her own dojo and lived peacefully before the events of the day. We also find out that Lotus's real name is Himiko, assuming she's telling the truth. She's a ninja mercenary through and through. While in her first episode 'Beware the Lotus' she was hired by Krang to take out the Turtles. She would eventually come around thanks to Leonardo and consider herself a friend. In 'Farewell, Lotus Blossom' she was tricked into attacking the Turtles. And now she attacks them again to steal the portable portal generator. I swear, the Turtles just can't trust her. Hopefully if this comic goes on long enough we'll get a story where Lotus helps them from the get-go without attacking them first.

Shredder is back to normal. but is now stuck in Dimension X. One wonders what his plans will be once he's officially back. We also have to see what will happen once Krang gets Donatello's portal. It wouldn't be unlike Krang to put Shredder on hold and use the portal first to get access to the Pantheon. It also wouldn't be unlike Hob to double-cross Hob once he gets his hands on the portal. A lot of stuff is gonna go down.

In terms of deep cuts, other than Lotus finally making her appearance, Krang gives Karai a shout out. As we know, she had never appeared in the 80s cartoon, but she has appeared in several video games based around the 80's cartoon. If she ever makes an appearance this would be the first time since her original Mirage appearance where Karai would neither be an underling of the Shredder or his daughter.

 

The other deeper cut was one of Lotus's students being that one kid from the episode 'It Came from Beneath the Sewers". The kid found a fragment of the Eye of Sarnath alongside his buddy, and April tried to buy it off them with three dollars. That wasn't enough to convince them to trade in the cool looking crystal, not even back in the 80's. I'm also surprised I recognized the kid without even having to go back and check. It's stuff like this that tells me that changing up Lotus's look was done on purpose.

 

The last thing I want to bring up are some of the cool variant covers we got for this issue. One in particular was drawn by none other than Ciro Nieli, the guy behind the 2012 TMNT cartoon. I would have picked this one up if not for the fact that I found the very last issue over at Stories, so I didn't have a choice of covers. Plus, I kinda want Lotus on the cover of an issue that's about Lotus.

I have to say, regarding the cover of the issue I did buy, I had to double-check to make sure the artist behind Scott Pilgrim didn't draw it. The artist for the cover of the issue I bought was actually Corey Lewis, though I have to say, he must have been somewhat inspired by Bryan O'Malley.

Anyways, let's see what awaits us next issue!! Also for those curious about mentioning "'that Tony Khan bookin'" that's what Jupi and I call watching AEW anymore with the wacky writing. If there was some way to make a wrestler bring a chicken to the ring... I'm sure Tony Khan (the owner of AEW for those that don't know) would book it.