Batman/TMNT II #6

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: April 18, 2018

Plot: James Tynion IV
Dialogue: Ryan Ferrier
Art: Freddie Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Williams II and Colwell
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz Erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 6"

Summary:

Donatello arrives at the Statue of Liberty in the Turtle Blimp while his brothers and the Bat-Family arrive in the Party Wagon (via ferry).  Bane dispatches his Elite Guard to attack the Blimp, but Donnie detaches the glider and explodes the balloon, releasing his Anti-Venom gas.  All of Bane's Foot Soldiers, as well as Bebop and Rocksteady, then revert back to normal.  Meanwhile, Batman, Splinter and the Shredder confront Bane in the statue's head.

Karai and her Foot Soldiers then take on Bane's army at the base of the statue.  April uses the Turtle Launcher to catapult the Turtles and the Bat-Family into battle where they use Donnie's stun weapons to incapacitate the Foot Soldiers.  April and Casey then work to free the New Yorkers whom Bane captured and get them onto ferries.

Batman, Splinter and Shredder destroy Bane's Venom pack and knock him down to the ground, but Bebop and Rocksteady choose to stay loyal to him and fight by his side.  The Shredder then gives a speech to the remaining Foot Soldiers, urging them to abandon Bane and follow their true leader.  The Foot Soldiers then cease fighting, leaving the Turtles and Bat-Family to take on Bebop and Rocksteady.  Donatello confronts Bane and darts him with Anti-Venom laced with elephant tranquilizers and he goes down for the count.  The battle won, the Shredder agrees to go back to prison without a fight, following his arrangement with Batman, and Bebop and Rocksteady are also carted off to the slammer.

Later, in the sewer lair, Raphael and Michelangelo want to know what Batman and Shredder's arrangement was.  Batman explains that in exchange for his help and his vow to return to prison, Shredder wanted only a rematch against Batman.  They had their fight and the Shredder honored his end of the deal.  Donnie then apologizes to everyone for causing all of this, but Batman assures him that he has learned from his mistakes and became a better person as a result, so it's all good.  With Bane in tow, the Bat-Family returns through the portal to Gotham City.

That evening, Donnie finds that Batman left him a gift before leaving.  It's the "training protocol"; the regimen that Batman makes each Robin go through during their training.  Donnie can't wait to get started on it, while his brothers all beg to be included.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT II #5.


Review:

Donatello sure got a lot of people killed because he felt sorry for himself, to say nothing of the millions of dollars in property damage and the broken lives left behind.  But it's okay, because he learned his lesson and improved himself along the way!  Whew, I'm glad THAT's been resolved.

I haven't been too kind to this miniseries over the past six months and, no, I'm not going to start being nice now, either.  The narrative was sloppy, full of mischaracterization, and the protagonists inexplicably acted like morons just to enable the plot.  Drama was introduced and then flippantly resolved, sometimes completely off-panel, because no actual effort was put into developing those sources of tension.  The plot was thin and predictable, the dialogue was overwritten, and Batman honestly seemed to get lost in the whole thing.  If this story had just been about Bane coming to New York and the Turtles taking him down on their own, I don't think much about this script would have been fundamentally altered.  The Dark Knight felt like a hanger-on most of the time and existed just to offer Donatello emotional validation during his pity parties.

To go Devil's Advocate for a moment, I suppose you could say that the thin premise with slapdash tension and shallow characterization felt sort of like a "plot" a child would come up with while playing with their toys on a lazy Saturday afternoon.  Indeed, the entire sequence wherein the Turtle Blimp and the Party Wagon contribute pivotal roles, right down to a recreation of the 1987 TMNT cartoon's title sequence, definitely has that "kid playing with his toys" feel to it.  It's certainly not sophisticated, not by a longshot, but I guess if you want to be generous then you can view it as having that sort of feel.  But it still means that the thing reads like it was written by a 7 year-old (who really, really didn't like Donatello).

But oh man, that art.

If you pick this volume up for anything, it's going to be for Williams' art with Colwell's colors.  I suppose when you have visuals this nice, you don't really need a solid script to go along with it.  Well, that's not true, a solid script would have been a nice bonus, but I DO feel like I got my $24-worth from the artwork alone.  So I'm not feeling buyer's remorse even if I thought the story sucked.

The first Batman/TMNT crossover was very good, overcoming its crossover gimmick to give us a solid story about hero and villain team-ups with some surprises at the end.  Batman/TMNT II is dull, predictable and shows a distinct lack of understanding for these characters, which is so puzzling, considering Tynion wrote them just fine in the first mini.  If there is a third one, I'm going to take to it with caution.

Batman/TMNT II #5

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: March 21, 2018

Plot: James Tynion IV
Dialogue: Ryan Ferrier
Art: Freddie Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Williams II and Colwell
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz Erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 5"

Summary:

A Foot Elite Guard returns to a Foot Clan HQ to rally the other Foot Soldiers, claiming that Bane's time is now at hand.  Suddenly, a Venom-enhanced Donatello comes storming in and begins to tear through all the Foot Soldiers, saying that he's been destroying their bases all across the city on his hunt for Bane.  Before he can kill the Elite Guard, Batman and Leonardo leap in and try to hold him at bay, urging Donnie to calm down and fight the raging influence of the Venom.  He refuses and begins to fight them.

In the lair, Raphael keeps a vigil over the comatose body of Master Splinter.  Robin stops by and apologizes to Raph for his harsh words earlier, telling him that he also has anger issues that he needs to work through.  April, Casey and Michelangelo then call Raph to tell him that the portal is operational, but the window of time for it to keep running is slim.  Raph and Robin then take Splinter through the portal and promise to return soon.

At the Foot HQ, Batman tries to calm Donnie down by telling him the intel on Bane's plan.  Evidently, Bane plans to add Venom to New York's water supply, hooking everyone on the highly addictive super steroid.  Bane will then use the population of New York as his new army to conquer outward from the city.  Batman tells Donnie that they need his brains, not his firsts, to help them stop Bane.  Donnie still won't listen and continues attacking.

Beneath Gotham City, Batgirl and Nightwing lead Raph and Damien to a Lazarus Pit which can be used to heal Splinter.  The downside is that Splinter will go temporarily insane after emerging.  The other downside is that the Pit is still being guarded by Ninja Man-Bats who have begun descending on the heroes.

Meanwhile, Leo decides that the best way to reach Donnie is to remind him of his intellect, so he has Batman project a hologram of Baxter Stockman's mutagen-laced Venom formula.  Donnie analyzes it and immediately detects a weakness in the formula that could present an opening for an anti-toxin to flush it from the systems of the infected.  Now back to his senses, Donnie agrees to go back to the lair and put his intellect to good use.

On Liberty Island, Stockman hooks up some broadcasting equipment so that Bane may address the city.

Back in the lair, Raph, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing return with the healed Splinter.  At the same time, Batman and Leo return with Donnie.  Batman is impressed that Splinter has recovered from the Pit's madness so quickly, but Splinter explains that his mastery of zen meditation allowed him to maintain control so he could help fight off the Ninja Man-Bats.

Just then, Bane's address to the city appears on TV.  He issues all of New York an ultimatum: To join his army willingly or be crushed.  Those who want to join are instructed to gather on Liberty Island.  People begin to flock to Liberty Island, where their arrival is overseen by Bebop and Rocksteady.  Unfortunately, the two mutants don't notice Karai is among those coming through.

And in the lair, Donnie has come up with an Anti-Venom and tests it on himself.  He is immediately cured and returned to normal.  Nightwing suggests that while the Anti-Venom will cure the innocents corrupted by the Venom, the Foot Clan will remain a problem, as they'll still be loyal to Bane unless someone stronger comes along.  But Batman has a plan for that, and heading to Riker's Island, he springs Oroku Saki from prison.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT II #4.  The story concludes in Batman/TMNT II #6.


Review:

So back when I reviewed the second issue of this miniseries, I predicted how the storyline was going to go down.  Pretty much precisely what I precognitively summarized has since happened, much of which came to pass in this penultimate issue.  I'm not too proud or smug about it; I only bring it up in that the plot of this miniseries has been that blatantly telegraphed since the beginning and, one issue away from the conclusion, no curve balls have been thrown our way.

I suppose an even bigger grievance I have is with how flippantly these big cliffhanger conflicts have been resolved.  So last issue put Splinter into a coma and left us wondering if he'd pull through.  This issue heals him off-panel and summarizes his recovery in a brief one-panel flashback.  There was no point to Splinter's coma; he might as well have just not gotten hurt at all, for all the lack of suspense this comic treated it with.

Then there's Donnie getting hooked on Venom.  He put it in his veins as the stinger ending the last issue and gets it out of his system by the end of this issue.  If they were going to implement this idea as a major source of tension and the means for Donnie to learn a Very Important Lesson, then it needed to last longer than an issue.  Donnie should have been struggling with the Venom for a few issues, maybe even dabbling in small doses to improve his strength before going full Rage Beast.  Instead, what we get is Donnie doing something very obviously stupid and then getting over it almost immediately.

I've complimented the art on this mini since it started, but there needs to be a storytelling component to go with it.  This has been a very sloppy, lazy script.  The story beats were telegraphed in detail by the second issue and we've just been going through the motions ever since.  The protagonists have to constantly make stupid, out-of-character mistakes in order to help the villain, because otherwise their evil scheme just isn't very good and would never pose a credible threat.

Honestly, I'm not sure why this miniseries has been so lousy.  It's made by all the same people who did the first one and that one was great!  I guess they just didn't have enough creative juice for an encore.

Batman/TMNT II #4

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: February 21, 2018

Plot: James Tynion IV
Dialogue: Ryan Ferrier
Art: Freddie Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Williams II and Colwell
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz Erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 4"

Summary:

In the lair, April and Casey are busy getting the interdimensional portal set up, though Casey can't get the Turtles on the communicator.  That's because at Stockgen, the Turtles, Batman and Robin are surrounded by Bane and his Venom-enhanced Foot Soldiers.  Bane offers them one last chance to submit to him, but Robin rejects it and attacks Bebop (ruining Batman's escape plan).  As a brawl erupts, Raphael confronts Bane but is quickly thrashed.  Before Bane can break Raph over his knee, Splinter interrupts him.  Grabbing Splinter, Bane pummels him and the violence causes Stockgen to collapse.  Baxter Stockman suggests they salvage the mutagen-laced Venom and leave, and Bane agrees, abandoning the Turtles and Batman to dig Splinter out of the rubble.

Later, in the lair, they get Splinter into a stable condition, but he's in a coma.  Donatello reveals that he stole some of the mutagen-Venom from Stockgen and suggests they use it to fight fire with fire.  Both Batman and Leonardo veto that idea immediately, as even regular Venom is too dangerous and addictive to even consider using.  Dejected, Donnie leaves the room to go pout.  Michelangelo suggests they order some pizzas, as it looks like they're in for a long night of strategy sessions.

Elsewhere, Karai's remaining Foot Soldiers return to her with news about Bane's expanding criminal empire.  She demands to know where Bane's new base of operations will be and one Foot Soldier reveals that he's taking over the Statue of Liberty to send a message to the city.  Indeed, Bane has his Foot Soldiers put a luchador mask over Lady Liberty's face as he declares his dominance over New York.

That night, in the lair, everyone but Batman and Leo have gone to sleep.  Looking over maps, Batman suggests they monitor the subway lines, as it's the likeliest means of travel for the Foot.  Once they've figured out their most common routes, they'll be able to mount an offensive.  As they solidify their strategy, Donnie sneaks out.  He decides that the only way he'll be able to help his brothers against Bane is to be stronger and so he injects himself with the mutagen-Venom.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT II #3.  The story continues in Batman/TMNT II #5.


Review:

Is it just me, or do all the characters seem kinda... dumb in this miniseries?  Batman says he has a plan to escape but it requires them not to engage the Foot in battle.  Yet Robin attacks Bebop anyway and ruins it.  Bane wastes time offering his deadliest foes the chance to submit to him which he has to know they'd never do.  Then he goes into a rage and destroys his own lab, forcing his Foot to retreat so they can save the mutagen-Venom.  Splinter gives a speech about how Bane relies on strength and he will defeat him by using his brain, but we've already established that Bane is highly intelligent and not a mindless bruiser.  And anyway, Splinter doesn't use his brain at all to attack him, he tries to defeat him in a straight fight and gets crippled into a coma for it.  Elsewhere, Karai's all like, "Where's Bane hiding?" and a random Foot Soldier is like, "Bitch, the Statue of Liberty is wearing a luchador mask, where do you think he's hiding?!"  And EVERYONE is telling Donnie not to use the mutagen-Venom because jeez, dude, you're supposed to be the smart one.  But he juices up with it anyway.

Why is everyone in this comic so stupid?

That's a real problem, because when the tension hinders on your protagonists being lunkheads who keep making the wrong choices, you lose your investment in the story very quickly.  And the story-itself is running drearily by-the-numbers so far; there hasn't been one narrative beat yet that wasn't completely telegraphed.

The dialogue, too, seems extremely overwrought, perhaps as a consequence of hiring a second writer to pen the dialogue exclusively.  When you only have one thing to focus on and you want to earn that paycheck, I guess you're gonna overdo it and give the characters nothing but ponderous soliloquies that would make Chris Clarement blush.

I'm rapidly losing my interest in this miniseries and, though I think I've said it before, really am just picking it up for the art.  That remains a consistent source of appeal and even sillier moments, like Lady Luchador, have an epic feel to them that overcomes the shortcomings in the script.  But the fact of the matter is, this is a pretty dumb comic.

Batman/TMNT II #3

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: January 17, 2018

Plot: James Tynion IV
Dialogue: Ryan Ferrier
Art: Freddie Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Williams II and Colwell
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz Erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 3"

Summary:

Down in the lair, Michelangelo beats Robin at video games and the little brat throws a fit, venting his frustrations on Donatello, who already feels guilty over leading Bane to their universe.  Raphael and Robin get into an argument and Donnie leaves to go sulk some more.

At Foot Clan HQ Batman, Splinter and Leonardo peek in through a skylight.  They see Bane coming down from his Venom high and Batman suggests that in two hours his withdrawal symptoms will be at their peak.  Even then, they will need the whole team to bring him down, so they head back to the lair to gather everyone.

It was all a ruse, however, as Bane watches them leave and, although he is truly in pain, he is actually in control of it.  Baxter Stockman then reports that the synthetic Venom is coming along and he has moved it on to "human" testing.  Next to a pile of dead Foot Soldiers, Bebop and Rocksteady are being hooked up to the machines to pump them with the steroid.

In Donnie's lab, he's still pouting and April's words of encouragement do him little good.  She suggests that she help his brothers and Casey with a very important job.  That job winds up being referee in a sparring match between Raph and Robin.  The two hotheads take it too far and begin wailing on each other with serious force.  Before a winner can be declared, Batman and the others return and the whole gang deploys to go fight Bane.

They storm Baxter's lab and he laughs that the heroes have no idea what they're dealing with.  Donnie finds a huge vat of synthetic Venom and analyzes it, learning that Stockman has not only synthesized Venom successfully, but has improved it with the inclusion of mutagen.  The Venom-enhanced Bebop and Rocksteady plow their way into the lab and in the chaos, Baxter gets doused in mutagen.  Some of the flies that had been buzzing around the dead Foot Soldiers had left their DNA on him and he is turned into a fly-man.

Bebop and Rocksteady are soon backed by the army of Venom-enhanced Foot Soldiers as well as Bane, who has used the mutagen-Venom to make himself really super fucking big.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT II #2.  The story continues in Batman/TMNT II #4.

*Batman mentions the time he was hooked on Venom, which happened in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (Vol. 1) #16-20.

*Bane mentions his origins on Santa Prisca, which were seen back in the Batman: Vengeance of Batman one-shot.

*This issue was originally published with a 6-page preview of The Terrifics #1 from DC Comics.


Review:

We're halfway through the Batman/TMNT II miniseries and though I'm loathe to say it, I think this one's kinda just limping its way through the motions.  Superficially, the book LOOKS exciting thanks to the excellent art and colors from the Williams/Colwell team, but in terms of substance this mini has been very predictable and I'm getting a little bored with it.  The novelty of seeing Batman and the Turtles working together has already expired (this is the third crossover between the franchises, actually) and so a substantial plot is really needed to maintain the draw.  But if Tynion had brought his A-game to the first mini, I think this is more his C-game.

The Turtles and Batman fall into a stupidly obvious trap; Superfriends Batman and the Fred Wolf Turtles wouldn't have been fooled by this one.  If anything, all the heroes are looking really BAD in this mini.  Batman idiotically falls for Bane's little show where he pretends to be having withdrawal symptoms and doesn't leave Leo or Splinter behind to keep watch over Bane while he fetches the rest of the team.  Robin and Raph punch each other into a bloody pulp over a video game minutes before they know they'll be leaving for a life or death mission where they'll need to be at their peak.  Donnie is still a pouting, whining crybaby who can't get over how worthless he is and has to have pity-parties thrown for him by April and infantilizing "very important jobs" given to him to try and make him feel better.

I mean JEEZ.  The script is trying to manufacture stakes by dialing the competency of the heroes back to the Moronic Fuckups setting, and that just seems like cheating.  We're being told over and over what an unstoppable threat Bane is, but the only reason he seems to be so damn challenging is because Batman and the Turtles are all a bunch of stooges.

The art is so good, though, that I think the mini is STILL worth picking up just for the purdy pit'chers.  There are a couple of lovely two-page spreads, but one of the layout effects Williams uses that I dig is how he frames some of the panels with busts of the characters off to the side, watching the action within the panels.  He does it with Baxter during his conversation with Bane, and then again with the Turtles, April and Casey as they watch Raph and Robin slug it out.  This is what I meant earlier when I said that the book LOOKS exciting even when the script isn't.  Williams is very good at making dull moments appear visually stimulating.

Beyond that, I think the other artistic highlight was Baxter's transformation.  IDW has said that they like Baxter as a human, and I think that's the best way to go since he's better as a villain in their universe that way, but this non-canon IDW-inspired miniseries is a fun way to give us a "what if" scenario.  If IDW Baxter ever DID turn into a fly, this is what he might look like.

I'm still holding out hope that this mini gives us a twist somewhere in the second half that upends my downward-trending expectations.  There's still time.  Thus far, though, the characters aren't being treated with much respect and the story has been dully generic.  The art and colors are worth the $4, but just barely.

Batman/TMNT II #2

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: December 20, 2017

Script: James Tynion IV
Art and cover: Freddie E. Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 2"

Summary:

Gotham City, a week later.  Batman tracks down Ra's Al Ghul and the villain agrees to give Batman a rare component needed to reconstruct the multiversal teleporter.  Batman asks why he's cooperating and Ra's explains that having both Bane and Batman out of Gotham would be to his liking.  Elsewhere, Donatello and Robin take down Mr. Freeze and find the last component they need within his ice cannon.

At Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox and Batgirl help put the finishing touches on the teleporter.  Batman leaves Batgirl in charge of watching over Gotham while he fetches Bane.  She says that she'll keep the portal on a timer so that it will only open for 1 minute a day, that way no one from Gotham can use it to slip through.  Donnie apologizes for everything being his fault just because he wanted to be stronger.  Batman tells him that there's nothing wrong with wanting to be stronger, but Donnie needs to do it on his own terms and not to satisfy others.  With that, Donnie, Batman and Robin enter the portal.  They arrive in New York City to find the whole place on fire and in the midst of a badly escalated gang war.

The Lower East Side.  A wounded Foot Soldier reports back to Bebop and Rocksteady and explains that the other two Foot factions have yielded and devoted themselves to Bane's leadership.  The two mutants decide to go teach Bane a lesson, but find him and the whole Foot Clan waiting for them.  Changing their minds, they kneel to Bane.

Down in the sewers, Raphael, Leonardo, April and Casey help a slightly wounded (sprained ankle) Michelangelo back to the lair.  They find Batman, Robin and Donnie waiting for them, much to their relief.  Everyone is happy to have Donnie back until Robin lets slip that Donnie is the reason Bane is in their universe to begin with.  Raph, enraged picks a fight with Donnie until Splinter calls him off.  The Turtles then put their heads together with Batman and look over some recon footage of Bane that April took.  They find the tank of Venom on his back and realize that its almost empty.  Better yet, the element used to create Venom does not exist in this dimension, so Bane cannot get more.  Batman suggests they strike when Bane is going through the super steroid's withdrawal symptoms.

At Foot Clan HQ, Bebop and Rocksteady bring the captured Baxter Stockman before Bane.  Bane orders Stockman to synthesize a fresh batch of Venom for him; a batch big enough to affect the entire city.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT II #1.  The story continues in Batman/TMNT II #3.


Review:

The mixing and matching of continuity elements for this story is sort of fun to pick out if you're a fan, or maybe a little irritating if you crave some sort of canonical consistency.  Like, Mr. Freeze has his stupid New 52 mohawk and I wish that would go away forever (along with his awful new origin wherein Nora was never his wife and he was just a delusional creep).  Bane, though, seems to be a throwback to the old '90s continuity that birthed him.  In a way, it comes off like character regression.  Unless something changed after Flashpoint (and it probably did), Bane hasn't needed Venom in a long time and evolved past using the steroid to find his strength.  And that was good, because Venom acted as a weakpoint more than a boost for the villain, giving the heroes an obvious target to take him out in battle.

Here, the Venom is back and Bane seems to be a slave to it again.  It's sort of a simplification for the character that I found disappointing; Bane's strength actually comes from his intelligence and not his physical prowess (there are many villains, even Batman villains, who are physically stronger than Bane).  Then again, that seems to be what Tynion is setting up for Donatello's arc, isn't it?  Donnie's strength is his intellect, not his physical acumen, but he wants to get more powerful to match up with his brothers on the battlefield.  I haven't been checking the solicits because I try not to spoil storylines for myself, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he's going to get addicted to Venom very soon, isn't he?

So we're going to get this comparison between Donnie and Bane, both brilliant and clever, who use a steroid to try and make themselves stronger.  Donnie is sure to learn a lesson about taking the easy way and how drugs are bad and if he keeps going he'll end up an addicted monster just like Bane.  Boy, I hope the miniseries' story arc isn't as telegraphed as I'm presuming it is, otherwise I could save myself about $16 and stop here.

The problem isn't so much the lesson Tynion seems to be building toward, but that he's had to kneecap a couple of characters to facilitate it.  So in this mini, Donatello is a weak link on the battlefield and gets shit on by every other character for being unable to fight on their level.  And Bane has been rolled back to 1993 and is hooked on Venom again so he can provide juxtaposition with Donnie's dilemma.  I dunno, it just feels like if you have to regress characters to make them learn something, then it wasn't a lesson they needed to learn in the first place.

ALL THAT ASIDE, there is some interesting stuff being built up in this mini.  And all sorts of little details, too.  I love Bane's hijacked version of the Foot Clan insignia, painting his luchador mask skull over the red tengu claw.  Bane seizing the Foot Clan in general is an interesting story element and I'm left wondering what his grand scheme is (though no doubt infecting the city with Venom will be how Donnie gets a taste).

Currently, we're two issues in and I AM making a lot of assumptions about the plot direction and the character arcs.  I could end up being surprised.  But I think my real grievance is that Donnie is still getting shit on a LOT.  By everyone.  And even though he isn't my favorite Turtle by a longshot, at two issues I'm already sick of it.

Batman/TMNT II #1

Published by: DC Comics

Publication date: December 6, 2017

Script: James Tynion IV
Art and cover: Freddie E. Williams II
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Variant cover: Kevin Eastman and Tomi Varga
Assistant editor: Liz erickson
Editor: Jim Chadwick

"A Knight in New York, Part 1"

Summary:

New York City.  The Turtles ride through the subway on Donatello's experimental hoverboards, terrifying a pedestrian along the way.  They catch up to a subway train upon which Karai is doing mortal combat with the Foot Clan Elite Guard.  Evidently, after the Turtles sent the Shredder to prison, a civil war broke out in the Clan between those who would follow Karai and those who would follow the Elite Guard.  Michelangelo swoops in to help her, but Karai prefers to use the Turtles' presence as a distraction to escape (even though they're supposed to be on good terms).  Leonardo and Raphael kick the Elite Leader and another Guard off the train, confident that Donatello will be able to take care of them.

Down the line, Donnie confronts the Elites with a taser gun he's hardwired into the third rail.  The Elite Leader severs the cable powering the gun with a shuriken and then proceeds to trounce Donnie, mocking him for being the weakest of the Turtles.  The other Turtles arrive in the nick of time to save Donnie and take down both Elites.

Gotham City.  A member of the League of Assassins enters the throne room to report to his leader, but is ambushed by Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne).  Apparently, there was a breakout at Arkham Asylum and Batman suspects the League was behind it.  The assassin spills the beans and explains that after Ra's Al Ghul was defeated, the League went into a civil war between those still loyal to him and those who would follow a new master.  The League was behind the Arkham breakout to free their leader and the assassin also lets spill that there is a Lazarus Pit beneath Gotham City that not even Batman knew about.

New York City, the Lair.  April and Casey patch Donnie up, but his pride is wounded worse than anything else and he shuffles off to sulk.  Casey reveals he's heard that Bebop and Rocksteady have formed their own third faction of the Foot Clan and begun taking turf away from the Purple Dragons.  April suggests that no one travel alone anywhere until the Foot civil war is finished.

Donnie goes to see Splinter and apologizes that he wasn't strong enough to help his brothers in battle.  Splinter reminds him that strength comes from within, not just from without, and tells him that if it hadn't been for his hoverboards they wouldn't have made it in time to save Karai.  Donnie disagrees, recalling that Batman was both a genius and a skilled warrior.  He decides he wants to seek further guidance from the Caped Crusader and leaves.

Gotham City, one mile beneath the surface.  Batman and Robin traverse the caves leading to the Lazarus Pit, only to be waylaid by the League's Ninja Man-Bats.  They fight their way through the Man-Bats, but fail to reach the pit in time.  The new leader of the League emerges from the immortality-granting, power-enhancing waters: Bane.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Donnie enters Harold's lab only to find it empty.  He activates the multiverse teleporter and tries to hone in on Batman's genetic signature so he can contact him.  Suddenly, he's attacked by the Elite Guard.  Donnie is knocked into the teleporter as a strike from the Elite Leader activates the machine.  Donnie finds himself in Bane's place in the caves beneath Gotham City, left to make an awkward excuse to Batman.  Bane, meanwhile, has taken Donnie's place in Harold's lab and is ready to challenge the Elite Leader for dominance of the Foot Clan.

Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT #6.  The story continues in Batman/TMNT II #2.

*Just as a reminder, this miniseries, like the one before it, features versions of the Turtles and Batman "inspired by" their IDW and New 52 continuities, but not actually being part of either canon.

*The Ninja Man-Bats first appeared in Batman (Vol. 1) #655, albeit under Talia Al Ghul's League of Assassins, as Ra's was out of the picture at the time.

Review:

I mentioned in the TMNT/Ghostbusters 2 review, but second crossovers are usually better than the first.  Yeah, they lack the gravitas of the first encounter between characters, but the plot always moves along so much faster and with fewer predictable story beats.  We don't have to go through introductions, characters explaining how and why they got to each other's stomping ground, none of that awkward "first they fight, then they team-up" stuff... We're ready to roll right from the getgo.

And this issue certainly does get rolling quickly.  The opening bit with the pedestrian calling 911 and describing his frightening encounter with "demons" featured some labored dialogue (he was being very flowery for just some guy calling the cops), but it set up a pretty great two-page spread.  There IS a lot of exposition to establish the initial conflict on both sides of the multiverse, but we the readers have to get appraised of the circumstances SOMEHOW.  And the aforementioned exposition is layered over some excellently kinetic fight scenes, so I don't think all the back story will bore you.

The "inspired by" aspect of the continuity, wherein these Turtles take their character and plot assets from the IDW comic but aren't actually canon to that comic, is very much on display here.  You can see where Tynion took the concepts he wanted, like Harold's lab, Casey's dad being a drunk, or Bebop and Rocksteady being part of the Foot Clan, but you can also see where he diverges.  Karai being on such good terms with the Turtles feels more like a Mirage throwback than anything in line with IDW.

And speaking of Mirage throwbacks, we're getting a sort of double "City at War" here, with the Foot Clan civil war being mirrored by the League of Assassins civil war.  A clever little mechanic that helps to put both protagonist teams in similar circumstances they can sympathize with.

The heart of this story looks to be Donatello dealing with inadequacies regarding his strength.  He gets shit on a LOT in this issue and I imagine Donatello fans probably aren't going to take this opening chapter very well.  It does seem to stress a little too hard that Donnie's a weakest-link liability to the team, with everybody but Splinter trashing him or absentmindedly putting him down.  Honestly, Donnie being a lesser fighter than his brothers has never really been an issue anywhere else, as he always has his gadgets and clever intellect to pick up the slack, but this IS a continuity unto itself.  So maybe Donnie just kinda sucks in this universe.

On the Batman side of things, the Dark Knight gets a little less real estate in this opening issue, but Tynion tries to have a little fun with the setup of the League's new leader.  It's staged like it's supposed to be a surprise, and it would've been a cool one, too... But then they had to go and plaster Bane all over the cover and namedrop him in all the solicits and previews.  So much for that.

Bane's a character I like, but he's actually a lot like Karai in the Mirage comics in that writers struggled to pen him a worthy followup after his excellent debut storyline.  Bane kinda peaked early in "Knightfall" and while there have been some pretty good Bane stories since then (I liked him in Secret Six), his introduction was too good to be topped (again, like Karai and "City at War").  He doesn't get much to do or say in this issue except whine about hating prison, so I'm sure he'll turn around in the next chapter.  I wonder if he'll mention that time he got mutated into an elephant?

Oh yeah, and the Ninja Man-Bats.  It's been 5 or more years since I read Grant Morrison's run on Batman; I'd forgotten all about those guys.  But they remind me why I like how these crossovers have taken a sandbox approach to continuity rather than try to rigidly fit into an existing canon structure.  Tynion is free to pluck toys from wherever he wants in the Batman canon; we've got a Batman that looks like his New 52 counterpart, a Bane that stepped out of the '90s, and the Ninja Man-Bats from Morrison's run.  And the same goes for the Turtles, which I talked about a few paragraphs ago, getting characters and concepts from both the IDW and Mirage franchises.  And maybe a bit of Fred Wolf/Playmates, too, if those hoverboards were supposed to intimate the Cheapskates.

Batman/TMNT II is already starting strong.  Batman gets sidelined a bit in the opening chapter and Donnie is way more useless than he should be, but there's a lot of fun promise in the conflict and the art/colors of Williams and Colwell are as amazing as they've ever been.

Batman/TMNT Adventures #6

Publication date: May 10, 2017

Published by: IDW (publisher) and DC Comics (co-publisher)

Writer: Matthew K. Manning

Artist: Jon Sommariva

Inker: Sean Parsons

Colorist: Matt Herms

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: Bobby Curnow

Publisher: Ted Adams

"Epilogue: The Terror of the Kraang"

Summary:

Gotham City.  Bruce Wayne and his new ward, Tim Drake, are attending a showing of "The Grey Ghost and the Men from Planet X" at the Fox Foundation Film Festival when suddenly Kraang portals open up everywhere and an all-out alien invasion hits Gotham!  Batgirl is already in the thick of things, but Bruce and Tim quickly suit up as Batman and Robin, joining her in the streets.

Before they can be overwhelmed by Kraangdroids, a new portal opens up and out pop Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo (much to the new Robin's further confusion).  They reveal that when the Mad Hatter used the Kraang portal tech, the Kraang were monitoring him and were able to zero-in on Gotham City's dimension.  When Raph spotted some Kraangdroids with a portal generator while on patrol, the Turtles followed them.

As Mikey introduces himself to the new Robin, he tells him all about their encounter with the Scarecrow and how his fear gas made Leo and Raph go crazy.  Batman gets an idea and tells Raph to come with him to Arkham while Leo and the rest stay behind and keep the Kraang under control.

At Arkham Asylum, the Scarecrow awakens from a nightmare.  Apparently, while traveling through the Kraang portal to the TMNT's dimension, he made a brief detour into Dimension X where he was nearly snagged by a Kraang.  Batman and Raph confront him to ask for his help, thinking that his fear gas might be able to drive the Kraang back through their portals and keep them from ever wanting to return to Gotham.  The Scarecrow reveals that he had already planned for this and, during his most recent excursion into Gotham, filled the police blimps with a specially modified version of his fear gas (having used Kraang DNA he obtained while in Dimension X to make a special strand that would only affect Kraang and mutants).

While Nightwing joins the fray (interrupting Donnie's clumsy flirting with Batgirl), Batman uses the Batwing to coordinate the police blimps into venting the gas above the city.  Unfortunately, the one above Gotham Square fails to vent, leaving Raph to eject from the cockpit and slash the blimp with his sai.  This releases the gas, but Raph falls under its spell, now seeing cockroaches everywhere.  As for the Kraang, they begin to see mutant and ninja foes from the TMNT's dimension everywhere around them.  Terrified, they flee back to Dimension X.  The Turtles, luckily, are using their Dimension X atmosphere converters, protecting them from the gas (but not Raph).

Later, the Turtles bid the Bat-Family a fond farewell as they return to their dimension.  Raph momentarily thinks he sees the Shredder in a Kraang portal, but brushes it off as lingering effects from the gas.  With the day saved, Robin confesses to Batman that he'd like to see the rest of the cheesy sci-fi movie that began their evening.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT Adventures #5.  For the Nickelodeon TMNT, their story continues in TMNT Amazing Adventures: Robotanimals #1.

*This installment takes place a few months after the previous issue.  For the Turtles, it looks to take place between seasons 4 and 5 of the Nickelodeon TMNT cartoon.  For Batman, it takes place during The New Batman Adventures, sometime after "Sins of the Fathers" (when Tim became Robin).

*Evidently, Sommariva had video games on the brain when he drew this issue.  A kid dressed like Ness from Earthbound and a kid wearing a Legend of Zelda t-shirt can be seen on page 14.  And if you look below Renet, you'll see Mega Man hiding in the Kraang hallucination of TMNT characters on page 17.

*This issue was originally published with 7 variant covers: Regular Cover by Sommariva, Subscription Cover by Valerio Schiti, Incentive Cover by Sean Galloway, Ottawa Comic Con Exclusive Cover by Ty Templeton, Salt City Comic Con Exclusive Cover by Neal Adams, IDW Conventions Exclusive Cover by Sommariva, and Retailer Summit Exclusive Cover by Sommariva.


Review:

So, I'll say off the bat that this issue seems like an afterthought.  Like, they'd originally plotted a 5-issue miniseries and then suddenly got permission to do a sixth issue and now "Oh shit!  We gotta come up with SOMETHING!"

As hasty as this story is, I think Manning and Sommariva managed to throw something pretty entertaining together, even if it is a rather clumsy drop off in quality from the previous installments.  I mean, c'mon.  So the Scarecrow just happens to have created a Kraang-oriented strain of his fear gas and just happens to have been filling the Gotham police blimps with it because he just happens to have been having prophetic nightmares about their impending invasion?  It's some pretty half-assed stuff and you can tell from the getgo that nobody at IDW thought they were going to have to make this issue.

But as convenient as the resolution of the conflict is, the story finds lots of places to have fun along the way.  The Turtles and the Bat-Family treating each other like old friends was absolutely great and I loved every minute of that.  The Turtles just slip right into a comfy dynamic with the Dynamic Duo like they were the Flash or Green Arrow or any other DC character having a routine team-up.  It makes this issue feel less like the sixth part of a storyline and more like a one-shot sequel to an earlier miniseries.  The groundwork for the relationships between the characters has already been built, so they can all just say "hi" and get down to business.

While the story is definitely a slapdash sort of thing, Sommariva's art is as good as in his other five installments.  That half-page splash of all the fear gas-created TMNT characters was some fun Where's Waldo stuff and squinting into the margins and crevices will reward you with Armaggon and Mutagen Man, among others.  Also, uh, Mega Man. 

If there was any real missed opportunity to this issue, I think it was that for a story where the Scarecrow plays such a pivotal role, they didn't frame it in a way that drew comparisons between his New Batman Adventures design and his Nickelodeon TMNT doppelganger, the Rat King.  The previous issue even ends with the Scarecrow designing his New Batman Adventures costume, but he doesn't wear it in this story (as he spends the issue in Arkham, clad in a patient's uniform).

I dunno, man.  You got two bad guys, one from each show, both dressed in spooky black Southern Baptist preacher outfits, both voiced by Jeffrey Combs, you set up the appearance in the last issue, and then... What, nothin'?  Just a little disappointing.  Or maybe I'm just being a little bitch because the Rat King is my favorite TMNT villain and the Scarecrow is my favorite Batman villain and God forbid a bunch of complete strangers writing a comic should indulge my extremely unique expectations.

Anyhow, this wasn't the best ending to the miniseries, to be honest.  And I think that's because the narrative of the miniseries ended last issue.  This felt like a sequel miniseries that got condensed down to one issue and no one really benefits from that.  I mean, I'm glad we got it, because it gave us one more month of Batman and the Ninja Turtles hanging out, but the actual plot just isn't very good.

Batman/TMNT Adventures #5

Publication date: March 22, 2017

Published by: IDW (publisher) and DC Comics (co-publisher)

Writer: Matthew K. Manning

Artist: Jon Sommariva

Inker: Sean Parsons

Colorist: Leonardo Ito

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: Bobby Curnow

Publisher: Ted Adams

"Through the Looking Glass"

Summary:

Gotham City.  Four weeks ago.  Using technology "left for him" by individuals unknown, the Mad Hatter builds a machine to tap into the Kraang dimensional portal tech, only to be apprehended by Batman before he can activate it.  Three weeks ago.  The Mad Hatter begins replicating the tech in his cell at Arkham.  Two weeks ago.  He begins placing the beacons on the inmates he wishes to use in his scheme.  One week ago.  Mind-controlling the guards, Mad Hatter escapes and begins sending the inmates through the portals.

Manhattan.  Now.  Donatello explains to his brothers, April and the Bat-Family that the beacons were designed to immediately detach once each mind-controlled Arkham inmate went through the Kraang portal.  The beacons were placed strategically around the city and, when activated, will create a signal that will cause mind-control effects on everyone in New York.  Batman calls Robin and Michelangelo (wearing a makeshift Batman costume) and tells them to go through the open Kraang portals they've been monitoring and track down the Mad Hatter.

Gotham City.  Robin and Michelangelo take out a pair of bank robbers who used to work for the Mad Hatter and learn that he's been hiding out in the abandoned Gotham Tea Room.  Meanwhile, back in the sewer lair, Donatello triangulates the intersect points of the beacons and determines that the Hatter is targeting Times Square.

Robin and Michelangelo invade the Tea Room and find the Hatter putting the finishing touches on an interdimensional antennae that will broadcast his mind-control signal.  They confront him, but he unleashes an army of mind-controlled civilians dressed like Alice in Wonderland characters.  With the heroes stuck under a dogpile, Hatter activates his antennae and the signal takes over the minds of everyone in New York, including the Turtles and the Bat-Family (in Times Square).  Hatter then announces that everyone will obey him as the ruler of "New Wonderland".

Michelangelo manages to break free from the horde, runs out to the balcony and uses some bungie cords to slingshot himself back inside.  Curling up like a cannonball, he smashes the antennae with his shell, freeing everyone in New York from the mind-control.  The Mad Hatter pulls a gun on Mikey, but Batman arrives through a Kraang portal in time to punch the villain in the face.

With the day saved, the Turtles say goodbye to the Bat-Family (Batgirl giving Donnie a kiss on the cheek, much to the Turtle's joy and April's derision) and return to New York via a Kraang portal.  Batman tells Robin and Batgirl that although they've got the Joker, Harley and the Mad Hatter under wraps, the other Arkham inmates that were returned to Gotham are still on the loose.  Robin says that before they get started on that mission, they should take a break.  Taking a cue from their new friends, the Bat-Family goes out for pizza.

Epilogue: In an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of Gotham, the Scarecrow is babbling that the true enemy will be coming for everyone very shortly.  In order to survive the invasion, he'll need to be "scarier".  In a notebook, the Scarecrow designs a far more disturbing new costume for himself.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT Adventures #4.  The story concludes in Batman/TMNT Adventures #6.

*This issue was originally published with 4 variant covers: Regular Cover by Sommariva, Subscription Cover by Gabriel Rodriguez, Incentive Cover by Jeff Matsuda, and Wonder Con Exclusive Cover by Kevin Eastman.


Review:

So wait, this isn't the last issue?  It sure feels like a last issue.  If it weren't for the epilogue, I'm pretty sure this would be the last issue.  But it's not the last issue.

And that's fine!  This miniseries has been a lot of fun, so if they want to tack-on one more installment to stretch it out for an additional month, then I won't complain.  I'm sure it'll be good times.

I mentioned it last issue, but Mad Hatter turning out to be the Big Bad instead of the Joker was a brilliant bit of misdirection on Manning's part and helped give this mini some oomph in its last stretch (well, we've got one more issue left and the covers indicate who the REAL Big Bad is, but whatever).  I like the Mad Hatter more than other Bat rogues, even if his gimmick is as shallow as the Scarecrow's.  I think it's all because of Roddy McDowall's performance in the show; that man was a national treasure.  And hey, you know, has anyone ever even tried to do a Roddy McDowall impression in a cartoon or something?  Just asking, because I don't think I've ever heard anyone try to imitate his voice.  The guy really was irreplaceable.

This issue revolves around a Doomsday Device that gets defeated by smashing it, so maybe some of this plot isn't really all that brilliant.  And heck, most of the chapters so far have just been "Turtles and Batman fight this supervillain.  Next month, they'll fight a different supervillain".  But it isn't the story that necessarily made this mini fun, but the interactions between the characters, the animated art from Sommariva, and some genuinely funny dialogue.  Nickelodeon Michelangelo may get on my nerves sometimes, but Manning gave him a bunch of solid lines in this issue ("And they said I couldn't make a costume out of garbage...").

There's a cute two-page montage in the issue where Michelangelo and Robin remake the Batman the Animated Series title sequence, albeit screwing the whole thing up along the way.  It's goofy, sure, but I think Sommariva did a good job with it (and gratuitous as the fanwank might be, it IS worked into the plot in an important way).

Overall, I kinda feel like we're done and this should be a conclusive review, but there really is one more issue left, so I'll hold off the Final Thoughts for another month.  I'll just say that now, every time I watch The New Batman Adventures, I'll remember that the Scarecrow was inspired to change costumes based on an encounter with the Ninja Turtles.  That's the kind of canon I can get behind.

Batman/TMNT Adventures #1: Director's Cut

Publication date: February 22, 2017

Contents:

*Complete reprint of Batman/TMNT Adventures #1, pencils only
*Complete script
*Afterword by Matthew K. Manning
*Notes and concept art page by Jon Sommariva


Turtle Tips:

*As of right now, Director's Cuts of the other issues have not been solicited.  In the past, Director's Cuts have only been released for the first issue of these TMNT crossovers, so I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.


Review:

These Director's Cut specials for IDW's recent TMNT crossovers have been an interesting bonus.  I picked up the TMNT/Ghostbusters one (published by IDW) as well as the Batman/TMNT one (published by DC) and enjoyed them both.  What's interesting, at least to me, is to see what the different publishers choose to focus on for their versions.  When DC did the Director's Cut for Batman/TMNT, the spotlight was exclusively on the artwork with no behind-the-scenes input from the writer.  The IDW publications for TMNT/Ghostbusters and now Batman/TMNT Adventures are much more balanced, giving us a look at the artist's pencils but also notes from the writer.

In the case of Batman/TMNT Adventures, the author's notes section is considerably reduced from what we saw in the TMNT/Ghostbusters Director's Cut.  Rather than get a play-by-play commentary, picking out references and Easter eggs for the reader, we get a 3-page retrospective from Manning and a few captioned images with notes from Sommariva.  It's not as extensive as past Director's Cuts, but I'm glad that both the artist AND the writer are given the chance to talk about their experience on the book.

Manning's afterword isn't that detailed regarding the issue-itself, but is more an anecdote about how he first encountered both Batman and the Turtles as a kid.  There's a funny/sad story in there about his first visit to New York City and how a crook stole all of his TMNT action figures.  Poor kid.

Sommariva's notes are a bit more technical, as he captions photographs of his work space and the tools he uses when drawing.  Evidently, Sommariva still uses boards, pencils and pens, so his artwork is entirely tactile, at least until the coloring and polishing stage.  Most artists these days have transitioned entirely to tablets, so it's nice to still see old fashioned pencil-work.

Overall, I did find this Director's Cut to be a bit skimpier than the previous two, but at $4.99 it is certainly a great value.  And shorter in content though it may be, you DO get to hear the perspectives from both the writer and the artist, and that's always welcome.  It's certainly a good buy if you want to see Sommariva's pencils, and it won't break the bank.

Batman/TMNT Adventures #4

Publication date: February 15, 2017

Published by: IDW (publisher) and DC Comics (co-publisher)

Writer: Matthew K. Manning

Artist: Jon Sommariva

Inker: Sean Parsons

Colorist: Leonardo Ito

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: Bobby Curnow

Publisher: Ted Adams

"To Laugh so not to Cry"

Summary:

Down in the streets, Batman wades through crowds of people panicking from fear toxin as he pursues the Scarecrow.  The gas eventually affects him, though, and Batman sees a vision of Alfred dying at the hands of Gotham's rogues gallery.  Then Scarecrow hits him over the head with a shovel.

At Foot Clan HQ, the Joker receives a call from Harley Quinn, telling him that the Footbots have made enough Joker Gas to poison the whole city.

On a rooftop near two Kraang portals, Batgirl, Robin, Michelangelo and April are busy taking on more Footbots while Donatello is distracted by something.  He's found a beacon device that's been opening the portals, but the technology doesn't look Kraang in origin.  They take care of the last of the Footbots and Robin suggests that if they find the source of the smiling Footbots, they'll find the Joker.  Mikey says they know where Foot HQ is, so Robin calls Batman.

In a basement somewhere, Batman, Leonardo and Raphael are chained to the wall near a Kraang portal, each experiencing their worst fear as Scarecrow gloats over them.  The call from Robin is enough to snap Batman back to his senses and he pulls his shackles off the wall.  The Scarecrow, frightened, escapes into the portal.

In the loading dock by Foot HQ, Harley is busy ordering the Footbots to load the Joker Gas into trucks.  Batgirl and April confront her (while Don still fiddles with the beacon) and Harley unleashes the Joker's own personal mutations: Bud and Lou (formerly his pet hyenas).

In the throne room, the Joker tries to explain his plan to taint cans of peanut brittle with his Joker Gas to Baxter Stockman when Batgirl, April and Donnie bring the fight with Bud and Lou to him.  Before the other Foot Mutants can join in, Rocksteady stops them and says that after the Joker has made such a mockery of the Foot, he can fight this one on his own.

Elsewhere, Robin and Michelangelo have stayed behind to monitor the Kraang portals on the rooftop.  Batman calls, saying he's reached Foot HQ, but Leo and Raph are still messed up from the Scarecrow's fear toxin.  Batman gives them a motivating speech and together they drop in on the throne room, taking Bud and Lou out.  Helping Raph to his senses, Leo offhandedly mentions Splinter and that's enough to force the Shredder out of his Joker Gas-induced paralysis.  Bonking Joker on the head and regaining his throne, Shredder tells the Bats and the Turtles to take the clowns and leave.

Later, Donnie tells Batman what he's learned about the beacon: It's not Kraang tech.  Someone was able to tap into the Kraang's frequency and hijack their portal technology.  They've been using mind control impulses to coordinate the Arkham escapees.  Donnie asks if Batman knows anyone from Gotham who could be behind this.  Somewhere, the Mad Hatter throws himself a tea party...


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Batman/TMNT Adventures #3.  The story continues in Batman/TMNT Adventures #5.

*This issue was originally published with 3 variant covers: Regular Cover by Sommariva, Subscription Cover by Dustin Weaver, and Incentive Cover by Tony Fleecs.


Review:

The Scarecrow is my favorite Batman villain and for the life of me, I don't know why.  His stories all start and end the same way: He scares Batman, Batman scares him back, he goes to jail.  But I like the guy anyway, so sue me.  His part in this issue is much the usual, but it was still a thrill to see him menace Leonardo and Raphael in addition to the Caped Crusader.  His hallucinogenic fear toxin also facilitates a half-splash page showcasing the many rogues of Batman: The Animated Series, including numerous morts we never saw more than once or twice.  The Sewer King?  Baby Doll?  Lock-Up?  The Ninja?  Red Claw?  Oh shit, is that the Condiment King?

There are little gags throughout the issue that I got a kick out of, like the Joker trying on Shredder's helmet and checking out his own reflection or all the visual humor of Harley being treated like a nuisance (which is how she was portrayed in most of the Batman: The Animated Series episodes, long before she became a major mainstream character).  Bud and Lou getting mutated was a legit surprise and I'm always relieved to get hit with those in a comic, these days.  A shame they didn't talk; I had their voices from Krypto: The Superdog all ready to go in the back of my head.

And speaking of surprises, Mad Hatter being the big end boss was another one.  I suppose we're all so used to the Joker being the endgame in these things, who could really suspect that a second stringer like Mad Hatter would be the final antagonist?  Manning didn't telegraph it, either, aside from the beacons having white rabbit pictures on them (which we don't see until this issue, preserving the surprise).

If I had a few criticisms for the issue, it's in regards to a handful of dodgy-looking panels that Sommariva could have gone over a second time, I think.  Look at Page 10, Panel 3 and the awful foreshortening on Harley's arm as she's pointing at the Footbot.  Then there's the sequence where a very serious Rocksteady holds the other Foot Mutants back, wanting the Joker to pay for insulting the Foot Clan.  Wha?  The dialogue is very much written in Rocksteady's accent, so it must have been part of Manning's script, but doesn't that seem more like something Tiger Claw should have been doing?  Rocksteady's a slave of the Foot Clan; what does he care if their honor has been besmirched?  And since when do the other Foot Mutants take orders from him, anyway?

But I'm really just picking nits, here.  We're in the last leg of this miniseries and it has picked up substantially.  There are great callbacks, but the book isn't overloaded with Easter eggs in place of substance.  It's been very fun and I'm looking forward to seeing how Manning and Sommariva tie it up.