Cowabunga!
Welcome to part two of our exploration of Damian Wayne in some AU type comics. This week Batman and Robin team up with another iconic team of characters: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lets see how this team up works out and whether Damian can survive dealing with the Turtle’s brand of snark.
Extra Information
• This was the second team up between the TMNT and Batman and like the first one it was written by James Tynion with art by Freddie Williams II.
• The central Batman villain in this story is Bane.
• The Ninja Turtles were created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman & Peter.Laird.
• The early TMNT comics were printed by Mirage Studios in a limited number. They were were in an oversized magazine format with black and white illustrations.
• The TMNT comic got noticed by the public due to a clever media kitt that included a.press release in The Comics Journal and a full page ad in Comic’s Buyer’s Guide. It became a hit.
• Mirage Studios not only published the TMNT comic but also a companion book called Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was.published on alternate months to the main book.
Comic Book
• Vol. 1 May 1984-August 1993 ran for 62 issues. It was published by Mirage Studios.
• Vol. 2 October 1993-October 1995 ran for 13 issues. It was also published by Mirage Studios.
• Vol. 3 June 1996-1999 ran for 23 issues and was published by Image Comics. (Its not considered a part of TMNT’s official canon because the material was not fully approved by the creators. IDW would later reprint this material and add an additional three issue story to conclude the Image series.)
• Vol. 4. December 2001-2014 ran for 32 issues with issue 31 being released as an online comic and #32 being released o Free Comic Book Day four years after #31. (This was due to the Ninja Turtles franchise being acquired by Nickelodeon in 2009)
TV Series
• There have been four tv series to feature the Turtles. The first ran from 1987-1996. The second from 2003-2010. The third ran from 2012-2017. And the last one from 2018- present day.
• The four ninja turtles are named after Italian Renaissance artists.
• Leonardo is the tactician and leader of the group. He is quiet and level headed. His weapons of choice are two swords.
• Ralphael is the team’s antihero. He is aggressive, sarcastic and fierce with a deadpan humor but he is also intensely loyal to his brothers. His weapons of choice are a pair of sai.
• Michelangelo is the youngest of the group. He is fun loving, relaxed and a jokester known for his love of pizza. His weapon of choice is the nunchaku.
• Donatello is the tech wiz, scientist, engineer and inventor of the group. He is the least violent of the group who prefers to use his mind rather than his fighting skills to solve problems. He wields a bo staff.
Issues for the Week
• Batman/Teenage Mutant Turtles II #1-6 by James Tynion.
Discussion Questions
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- Donatello is the first of the TMNT that Damian encounters. What did you think of their team up to take down Mr. Freeze?
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- Would you say Damian overstepped when he ratted out Donnie as the reason Bane was able to cross into the TMNT universe or was it the right call?
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- What did you think of the fight between Robin and Raphael?
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- Damian feels responsible for Splinter ending up being seriously injured. What did you think of his decision to use a recently found Lazarus Pit to bring him back?
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- What was your favorite panel in these issues?
And that’s that. Hope everyone enjoyed these issues.
Join RENEGADE ROBINS!
Next Time
RR:RH Presents: “Open for Business”. The Outlaws may be gone but there’s still Red Hood and Arsenal.
RR:DW: Presents: “Damian: Son of Batman” A weird little story but did it really happen? Find out in two.
