Originally published by: Titan Books
Taken from: TMNT Volume 2: Out of the Shadows
Publication date: 2007
Story material: Peter David
Artwork: Lesean Thomas
Summary:
Dreamwave’s TMNT comic ended at issue #7. However, Peter David had completed the script
for issue #8 and had plotted issues #9-10 prior to cancellation. Lesean Thomas had also completed rough
pencils for part of issue #8. The
available material was collected by Titan Books for their TMNT Volume 2: Out of
the Shadows trade paperback.
TMNT (Dreamwave) #8: “T4 – The Turtlenator”
(Script and rough pencils completed for most or all pages)
Although the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles previously succeeded
in destroying PIT, the super computer built by Baxter Stockman to manufacture
his Mousers, the machine has gained sentience and sworn vengeance.
Collecting all the data gathered by its Mouser
“children” during their previous battles, PIT creates T4 – The Turtlenator,
a robot duplicate programmed to hunt down and destroy the Ninja Turtles. After training the robot, PIT sends it on a mission to avenge its "brethren".
T4 begins its search with the sewers and spies
Michelangelo waving goodbye to April as she exists a manhole. Once April leaves, T4 descends into the
sewers and attacks Mikey. Subduing him
with its chain and cutting him with its scythe, T4 analyzes Mikey’s blood and
determines it has learned everything this particular Ninja Turtle has to teach
it. And so, T4 prepares to kill Mikey.
TMNT (Dreamwave) #9: “See ya Later, Turtlenator”
(No art available)
The other Turtles arrive in time to save Mikey. Donatello, having studied the Mousers after
their last encounter, uses a device that creates electrical feedback to severely
damage T4’s programming. T4 retreats as
it begins to biologically assimilate Michelangelo’s DNA.
The malfunctioning Turtlenator, now looking organic,
escapes to the surface. Cut off from its wireless connection to PIT, its memory banks
tell it that April O’Neil is an ally, so it heads to her apartment for help. April,
thinking T4 is one of the TMNT she hasn’t met, lets it in and takes care of
it. Over time, T4 develops a sense of
trust toward humans.
Later, T4 overhears the Purple Dragons committing a robbery and
stops it, making no attempt to stay out of the public eye. Reporters and gawkers then praise T4 as a
superhero in a “frog” costume and T4 proceeds to publicly fight crime over
the next few weeks. The Turtles,
observing all this on TV, are mortified, as the new Ninja Turtle is blowing
their cover.
TMNT (Dreamwave) #10: “Domo Arogato (sic), Turtle Robot-O”
(No art available)
The Turtles inform April that T4 is not one of their
brothers, but an evil robot. April
encourages them not to attack the robot, as she believes it is capable of
learning and changing. With T4 about to
receive a medal from the city for all its good deeds, April assures them that
it has learned right from wrong.
The Turtles watch the ceremony in secret, but just as T4
is about to get the medal, PIT regains control of the robot and causes it to go
berserk. Don uses his feedback machine
to try and stop it, blowing open a chest compartment and revealing to the
public that T4 is a machine.
PIT won’t let T4 be defeated the same way twice and
regains control. T4 chases the Turtles
through the alleys and along the rooftops, besting them in combat at every turn. Eventually, T4 is about to
execute one of the Turtles when April intervenes. She gives a speech about “who you really are”
and T4 hesitates, unable to strike. The
Turtles use the momentary opportunity to destroy T4.
Later, Don sends an e-mail virus to a Stocktronics employee. The employee, opening the
e-mail, infects all of Stockman’s computer systems, including PIT, wiping the
AI from existence.
Turtle Tips:
*The Turtlenator, known as the Turtlebot in the cartoon,
toyline and Konami video game, appeared in the 4Kids TMNT episode “What a
Croc”.
*The Turtles destroyed Baxter Stockman’s Mouser factory
in
TMNT (Dreamwave) #3, albeit primarily off-panel.
*The bonus material in this volume also included a sketch
and character model gallery, rough pencils on selected pages and rough cover
art for released issues.
Review:
I thought I was done with Dreamwave’s revolting TMNT
comics, but then a fan sent me the bonus content from Titan’s trade paperback
collection. I pride myself in being
thorough, so here we are. Special thanks
to Adam Winter for sending me the stuff, but you’ll understand if I don’t I
send you flowers. These comics are bad.
The bonus content related to the T4 storyline is mostly
just summaries and script excerpts; there are only 5 pages of rough pencils to
look at. As much criticism of Lesean
Thomas as I’ve made in the past, I will say that his pencils look a lot better
in the rough stages than how they wound up appearing in the finished
comics. Dreamwave’s coloring style
evidently did him no favors whatsoever.
That said, there isn’t really a lot to judge; it’s just five pages of
roughs.
Peter David’s plot summaries sound about as ho-hum as
possible. This is a story we’ve seen
done a thousand times over; it’s the whole “can robots learn to love?” bullshit. We have an artificial monster that starts out
wanting to destroy, relents and ultimately is destroyed itself by the new sense
of “compassion” its logic circuits cannot quantify.
“Query: What is this program you call ‘love’? Err-OR!
Err-OR! It does not compute!”
David is a great comic writer; one of the best. I love almost all his stuff. But hoooooo-ly shit, he was phoning this book
in long distance. None of those plot
summaries sound even remotely original, with every twist and turn boorishly telegraphed.
As for T4 – The Turtlenator, I think I liked him better
as the Turtlebot, which was his more prominent name. He was a one-off opponent and facilitated a
good fight scene in his episode, made for a well-sculpted action figure and
provided a decent-enough boss battle in a video game, but that’s about all he
was ever good for.
T4, I guess, tries to
go a route a bit closer to Metalhead from the Fred Wolf TMNT cartoon; the robot
Turtle programmed with the thought patterns of the TMNT and built to destroy
them, but eventually starts to learn right from wrong. However, even the Fred Wolf cartoon didn’t
play it this close to the clichés and Metalhead’s single head-lining episode
was actually pretty fun.
Anyway, it probably isn’t fair to judge these stories
based on paragraph plot summaries and rough art, but I’ve already endured the
seven completed issues that were published.
So call my estimation of their potential quality an “educated guess”. It just would’ve been more hackneyed plots,
amateurish art and atrocious coloring.
Be thankful the series ended at #7.
