Warning: this text incorporates spoilers for TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #5!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin has at all times been a very darkish and tragic tackle the TMNT franchise. After all, this saga began in a futuristic world the place Michelangelo was the only real surviving member of the Turtle household, a lone hero pursuing one closing quest of revenge. The authentic collection ended on a hopeful notice, with the delivery of a brand new technology of Turtles, however even that delivery was countered by Michelangelo’s dying.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution (Hardcover)
As the sequel, TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution, involves a detailed, it’s clear that darkness and tragedy are nonetheless on the forefront of this universe. No sooner do the brand new Turtles come out of hiding to avoid wasting their metropolis than they’re pressured to grapple with the dying of a beloved mentor and grandmother determine. That’s proper, the collection ends with the dying of the one and solely April O’Neil.
It’s fairly clear from studying The Last Ronin II finale that this story isn’t finished but. To discover out extra in regards to the tragic however heroic sacrifice of April and what would possibly lie in retailer in The Last Ronin III, IGN spoke with writers Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz. Read on to study extra in regards to the grim new path for this common TMNT spinoff.
Pushing The Ronin-Verse Forward
Before we get to concern #5’s massive dying, it’s value taking a step again to have a look at The Last Ronin II as an entire. There’s been a noticeable tonal and stylistic shift on this sequel. The authentic collection depicted its futuristic model of New York as a basic cyberpunk dystopia straight out of Blade Runner or Akira. But with the dying of Oroku Hiroto and the daybreak of a extra hopeful period, the collection has shifted to a extra grounded tackle the Big Apple. The Last Ronin II reveals us extra of what it’s like to truly dwell on this uneasy future atmosphere, and that was positively intentional.
“I believed it was a little bit Star Wars-esque, within the sense that when you go from the New Hope period to the Abrams period, this concept that on the finish of Return of the Jedi we really feel like there’s been a victory. And to a sure extent there was a victory. But when you do not handle issues, issues can fall uncontrolled once more,” Waltz tells IGN. “And I feel that was sort of our story right here. Yeah, that they had crushed the Foot Clan they usually had crushed Hiroto, however what was the plan after that? It nearly felt like issues will return to regular, however what’s regular? The police have been corrupt earlier than, they are going to be in all probability corrupt now. There have been three gangs earlier than, now they’re in all probability going to really feel extra empowered, the Foot Clan’s out of the best way.”
And I at all times assume, energy, when there’s no person in cost that invitations, it creates a vacuum of energy. Somebody’s going to fill that vacuum. And that was sort of the overarching story we have been making an attempt to inform was, who was going to be the primary one to take management of the town?
“When we designed The Last Ronin I, it was the top,” Eastmas says. “It was like, the ultimate triumph, the ultimate battle, the blood feud has ended, all these items which were achieved by these extremely insurmountable epic phrases that is like, ‘Okay, right here is an ending, increase.’ Tom and I each cherished the Ronin-verse, so when it got here time folks mentioned, ‘Well, what would you do with a continuation of the collection?’ And so we had a variety of conversations. And we dug deep and mentioned, ‘Well, alright, we have to discover, most significantly, what’s that objective?’ And that was the driving drive for Last Ronin Re-Evolution, for certain, discovering that objective.”
There’s an apparent query many followers ask themselves when studying The Last Ronin – in what universe is that this story happening? Is The Last Ronin meant to be a continuation of the unique Mirage Comics TMNT universe, or possibly the present IDW TMNT-verse? Is it a sequel to the cartoon collection?
The Last Ronin II solely additional highlights that query as a result of one concern delivers a particular callback to a problem from the unique Mirage run, as April recounts her ordeal when she and the unique Turtles fled New York for the protection of her father’s nation home. Should followers take that as affirmation that The Last Ronin is a Mirage-verse story? Not essentially. Waltz and Eastman make it clear that the Ronin-verse continues to be its personal factor, and it’s deliberately left as much as the reader so far as how the continuity works.
“When we approached Last Ronin, we each mentioned, ‘Look, we have now all these Turtle universes, let’s make this our Dark Knight universe. Let’s contact on just a few of the opposite universes, however primarily lean closely into the Mirage universe.’” Eastman says. “So we dismissed Bebop, and Rocksteady, and Mutants, and that sort of stuff. So this story was one unto itself, and it created a cheerful house that we did not have to stay with storylines, or logic, or historical past, or simply various things that Tom had arrange. Again, we’re speaking about, when he wrote 100 points, that is like 10 years, nearly 11 years of stuff.”
“Yeah, I name it Mirage-adjacent. It’s the dimension proper subsequent door to the mission,” Waltz provides. “I feel what Kevin and I spotted early on, I feel early on we have been Mirage, particularly. And we knew we have been veering off that course when Karai grew to become Shredder’s daughter, as a part of this story. But it labored higher for the story. And so within the Mirage universe, that wasn’t the case. And so we mentioned, ‘Well, that is totally different. That’s a little bit little bit of a retcon proper right here.’”
Waltz continues, “And then at that time, we began saying the time period Ronin-verse. I feel we’re creating our personal universe right here, however I name it very Mirage-adjacent. The Dark Knight Returns, for me, works so nicely, as a result of if someone actually desires to say, ‘It’s Adam West’s future,’ it may very well be Adam West’s future, as a result of all the essential components are there for a Batman story… I feel it really works so nicely in a generic sense, as a result of there’s simply sure components of Turtles that it’s important to hit, and all people is aware of these issues by now. Most folks know what these issues are, the place they arrive from, which you can write this sort of story and let folks fill within the blanks as they need.”
April’s Heroic Sacrifice
The Last Ronin II has definitely added new layers to April O’Neil as a personality. She’s develop into the figurehead of an underground resistance motion and a grandmother determine to the brand new Turtles. At the identical time, the collection has solid April in a considerably darker mild, revealing her hidden intentions in creating the brand new technology of Turtles and the way she successfully performed god by giving them every superhuman talents.
Ultimately, although, April is given a heroic dying in concern #5, as she goes out in a blaze of glory combating the Purple Dragons gang. As Eastman and Waltz clarify, April’s whirlwind journey within the sequel was all about serving their bigger objectives with The Last Ronin saga. This collection wanted to finish with the final bastion of the unique TMNT technology handing the baton to the brand new technology.
“What we wished to say in The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution lined nearly this crucial, I need to say chaotic, but additionally very making an attempt time for the household,” Eastmas says. “April’s determination to create these characters, was it essential? Was it essential? Was it particular? Was it one thing that she missed in regards to the authentic Turtles? Was one thing that she was making an attempt to create one thing that was the potential future protectors of New York City? As the inspiration of the superhero idea that we love a lot, not solely with the unique Turtles, however then discovering their objective.”
Eastman continues, “So what occurs in The Last Ronin II is, after all, the unlucky, however very important, story idea of April passing. It actually is handing the torch to a brand new technology that we wished to make very particular. So she’s sort of the final of the unique collection, final of Casey, final of Turtles, final of Splinter, final of every thing. So that’s formally handing the torch to the brand new Turtles, very like we did with Last Ronin I, which was having every of the Turtles have a particular, and really vital, and crucial demise in that collection, that transitions right into a a lot greater image.”
“It’s not solely the top of the household facet of issues, while you consider Casey, and April, and Michelangelo, and the remainder of the Turtles, and Splinter, but it surely’s additionally finish of the outdated enemies, as a result of that is actually the demise of the Purple Dragons,” Waltz says. “And so I felt like April settled some unfinished enterprise, in a way, in her closing act, by taking out a risk that, all the best way again to The Lost Years, she knew was posed to her household with Jigsaw and the Purple Dragons.”
Waltz continues, “This second grew to become even greater than I believed it might be, earlier than we received to it, as a result of all of the items have been there, and it got here collectively, and it was only a matter of placing phrases of their mouths and actions of their fingers. And I had a tough time writing it. It was arduous to write down that with April. I like April, as a personality throughout all iterations, very a lot. She’s one in every of my favourite characters. But like Kevin mentioned, it was time. All this work she’s finished, and the Turtles earlier than, now what’s the payoff? Will these youngsters be capable to proceed ahead efficiently? Was it value it or wasn’t it? And that is the story that is but to be informed.”
The Last Ronin III and Beyond
As Waltz alludes above, this clearly isn’t the top of the overarching Last Ronin storyline, provided that this collection successfully ends on a cliffhanger. No sooner do the Turtles and Casey Marie mourn April’s dying than we study the Resistance was betrayed by one in every of its personal. Their ally Jiro is secretly allied with the Foot Clan, a corporation that has survived the deaths of each Shredder and his grandson and is now in search of to reclaim its maintain on New York.
IGN can verify that one other The Last Ronin sequel is in early improvement, with extra to be revealed down the street. But Eastman and Waltz clearly have concepts about the place their story is headed from right here.
“What you see, the revelation of their powers in Re-Evolution, is a stepping stone in direction of what we need to do in Part 3. I mentioned to [Tom] from the very starting, ‘This goes to be our Empire Strikes Back/The Two Towers.’ This is the center stage of the place they are going. And these two have been crucial motion pictures.”
Eastman continues, “So we lean in all probability very closely in direction of The Empire Strikes Back, in that there’s a darkness of the ending, there’s a particular ending to the ending. But it very additionally, particularly says, that is going to proceed, there’s extra to be informed right here. And that was with an ideal objective. But that was with Part 2, we mentioned, ‘We do not need to seem to be it is a full cliffhanger, however we additionally made it as a cliffhanger.’ It is an entire story, it has a finale, and we wished it to proceed to a Part 3.”
“Kevin mentioned, ‘Let Lucas and Tolkien be our guides, so far as construction is worried.’ So it was positively The Empire Strikes Back and The Two Towers,” Waltz says. “And it was humorous, as a result of once we have been finished, I mentioned, ‘Some followers are going to be ecstatic that we’re persevering with, and different followers are going to come back after us with pitchforks and torches as a result of they needed to come again for some extra.’ But hopefully, it is one thing that folks will look ahead to. And we have got a giant story deliberate for the third quantity. And possibly another surprises in between.”
Waltz continues, “But it felt proper. It felt like this was the story we would have liked to inform for this centerpiece, and the bookends shall be bombastic. We received the centerpiece that basically simply units the tables for lots of issues that have to be mentioned. And once more, it sort of tells its personal story typically, we’re simply following alongside, these characters have minds of their very own.”
With The Last Ronin III shaping as much as ship a brand new tackle the seemingly endless feud between Clan Hamato and the Foot Clan, it’s clear that the extra issues change on this universe, the extra they keep the identical. As Eastman explains, as a lot as the unique Last Ronin collection was about ending the blood feud between the Turtles and Shredder as soon as and for all, the fact is that these feuds have a means of persisting.
“At the top of The Last Ronin I, we wished the blood feud to finish, with Michelangelo killing the, quote unquote, the final of Shredder’s bloodline, ending his personal life in the identical time,” Eastman says. “So we wished that finish, but it surely’s like, you’d prefer to assume that must be the top. But when you’ve learn something about Japanese historical past, definitely feudal Japan, there have been at all times totally different warlords, and shoguns, and various things that will stand up and create totally different conditions.”
Eastman continues, “We got here up with a worldwide image. And one thing we’ll discover extra in Part 3 is there’s a part of a dynasty and company enterprise infrastructure in Japan, and Europe, primarily England, with our characters and New York City, that is creating this triad that might management the world financial powers, and create a really totally different universe. But what wasn’t anticipated was having folks that will cease the management of a few of these issues that will have an effect on… It’s like having a insurgent base arise towards the powers that be, to have an effect on the change that everyone thought could be.”
In the top, the purpose with The Last Ronin II was to introduce a transparent set of Resistance characters who can oppose the Foot Clan, the Crusader Knights, and the opposite world powers in The Last Ronin III. The new Turtles and their sensei have been examined, however the actual problem continues to be forward of them.
“This goes to be very private for our heroes, whereas, it is enterprise for the powers that be proper now. And I additionally assume, a personality that I actually look ahead to exploring extra is Jiro, as a result of he has had a relationship with Casey. And possibly that was extra real proper now than it seems to be,” Waltz says. “And in order that’s a dynamic I look ahead to exploring. But I additionally assume, on the subject of the household side, it is time for Casey Marie to step up and be that household chief. And we have thrown components of the Hamato Clan into the combination too. So there’s cool issues occurring behind the scenes that I feel are going to make for some actually, actually thrilling drama within the third quantity.”
Finally, we couldn’t speak to Eastman and Waltz with out citing the varied diversifications of The Last Ronin which were introduced lately. We know that each a live-action Last Ronin film and a Last Ronin online game are in improvement proper now, although there have been few updates about both mission currently. But Eastman desires to reassure followers that this isn’t essentially as a result of work has stalled on the tasks.
“The online game was one thing that has been developed early on. Tom and I have been introduced in initially for a few of the ideas, a few of the improvement points, and the issues that have been probably occurring there,” Eastman says. “There was a resting interval, I feel, or restructuring interval. With the main developer, however I perceive that, the final I heard from Nickelodeon, it is again on observe. So we hope to all share information sooner or later. We’ve received nothing definitive. We hope to all share information on the progress on the online game.”
As for the film, Eastman notes that the need is to get the story proper slightly than rush one thing out to grab on the hype of the comedian.
“I’ve had conversations and shared some particulars with Tom on the discussions on a Last Ronin film,” Eastman says. “Hollywood is a really magical, complicated, difficult place as issues develop. But a few of the conversations I’ve had early on have been splendidly optimistic, they usually love what Tom and I’ve finished. And I really feel like, to cite the author that I talked to a few instances, he simply cherished what we did in The Last Ronin I, and mentioned, ‘I simply do not need to be the man that messes it up.’”
Eastman continues, “So they’re very honest. They’re taking note of what’s been finished earlier than, however we have got nothing particularly we may share. I want we may. And I feel we’ll hear stuff extra sooner or later as issues go alongside, however there may be positively a want from Nickelodeon and Paramount to do, not solely a online game, however a live-action film, and I’ve been informed within the R-rated house.”
TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #5 is in shops now. You also can preorder the collected The Last Ronin II hardcover on Amazon.
For extra on the TMNT franchise, see what TMNT author Jason Aaron needed to say about the way forward for his collection, and study extra about the newly introduced TMNT: Shredder spinoff.
Jesse is a mild-mannered employees author for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
