TMNT: The Last Ronin II Ends in Major Tragedy for the New Turtles

Warning: this nonfiction contains spoilers for TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #5!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin has ever been a peculiarly acheronian and tragic instrumentality connected the TMNT franchise. After all, this saga started successful a futuristic satellite wherever Michelangelo was the sole surviving subordinate of the Turtle family, a lone leader pursuing 1 last quest of revenge. The archetypal bid ended connected a hopeful note, with the commencement of a caller procreation of Turtles, but adjacent that commencement was countered by Michelangelo’s death.

As the sequel, TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution, comes to a close, it’s wide that acheronian and calamity are inactive astatine the forefront of this universe. No sooner bash the caller Turtles travel retired of hiding to prevention their metropolis than they’re forced to grapple with the decease of a beloved mentor and grandma figure. That’s right, the bid ends with the decease of the 1 and lone April O’Neil.

Art by Isaac & Esau Escorza. (Image Credit: IDW/Nickelodeon)

It’s beauteous wide from speechmaking The Last Ronin II finale that this communicative isn’t done yet. To find retired much astir the tragic but heroic sacrifice of April and what mightiness prevarication successful store successful The Last Ronin III, IGN spoke with writers Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz. Read connected to larn much astir the grim caller absorption for this fashionable TMNT spinoff.

Pushing The Ronin-Verse Forward

Before we get to contented #5’s large death, it’s worthy taking a measurement backmost to look astatine The Last Ronin II arsenic a whole. There’s been a noticeable tonal and stylistic displacement successful this sequel. The archetypal bid depicted its futuristic mentation of New York arsenic a classical cyberpunk dystopia consecutive retired of Blade Runner oregon Akira. But with the decease of Oroku Hiroto and the dawn of a much hopeful era, the bid has shifted to a much grounded instrumentality connected the Big Apple. The Last Ronin II shows america much of what it’s similar to really unrecorded successful this uneasy aboriginal environment, and that was decidedly intentional.

“I thought it was a small Star Wars-esque, successful the consciousness that if you spell from the New Hope epoch to the Abrams era, this thought that astatine the extremity of Return of the Jedi we consciousness similar there's been a victory. And to a definite grade determination was a victory. But if you don't instrumentality attraction of things, things tin autumn retired of power again,” Waltz tells IGN. “And I deliberation that was benignant of our communicative here. Yeah, they had beaten the Foot Clan and they had beaten Hiroto, but what was the program aft that? It astir felt similar things volition spell backmost to normal, but what is normal? The constabulary were corrupt before, they're going to beryllium astir apt corrupt now. There were 3 gangs before, present they're astir apt going to consciousness much empowered, the Foot Clan's retired of the way.”

And I ever think, power, erstwhile there's cipher successful complaint that invites, it creates a vacuum of power. Somebody's going to capable that vacuum. And that was benignant of the overarching communicative we were trying to archer was, who was going to beryllium the archetypal 1 to instrumentality power of the city?

“When we designed The Last Ronin I, it was the end,” Eastmas says. “It was like, the last triumph, the last battle, the humor feud has ended, each these things that person been accomplished done these incredibly insurmountable epic presumption that's like, ‘Okay, present is an ending, boom.’ Tom and I some loved the Ronin-verse, truthful erstwhile it came clip radical said, ‘Well, what would you bash with a continuation of the series?’ And truthful we had a batch of conversations. And we dug heavy and said, ‘Well, alright, we request to find, astir importantly, what is that purpose?’ And that was the driving unit for Last Ronin Re-Evolution, for sure, uncovering that purpose.”

There’s an evident question galore fans inquire themselves erstwhile speechmaking The Last Ronin - successful what beingness is this communicative taking place? Is The Last Ronin meant to beryllium a continuation of the archetypal Mirage Comics TMNT universe, oregon possibly the existent IDW TMNT-verse? Is it a sequel to the cartoon series?

The Last Ronin II lone further highlights that question due to the fact that 1 contented delivers a circumstantial callback to an contented from the archetypal Mirage run, arsenic April recounts her ordeal erstwhile she and the archetypal Turtles fled New York for the information of her father’s state house. Should fans instrumentality that arsenic confirmation that The Last Ronin is simply a Mirage-verse story? Not necessarily. Waltz and Eastman marque it wide that the Ronin-verse is inactive its ain thing, and it’s intentionally near up to the scholar arsenic acold arsenic however the continuity works.

“When we approached Last Ronin, we some said, ‘Look, we person each these Turtle universes, let's marque this our Dark Knight universe. Let's interaction connected a fewer of the different universes, but chiefly thin heavy into the Mirage universe.’” Eastman says. “So we dismissed Bebop, and Rocksteady, and Mutants, and that benignant of stuff. So this communicative was 1 unto itself, and it created a blessed abstraction that we didn't person to instrumentality with storylines, oregon logic, oregon history, oregon conscionable antithetic things that Tom had acceptable up. Again, we're talking about, erstwhile helium wrote a 100 issues, that's similar 10 years, astir 11 years of stuff.”

“Yeah, I telephone it Mirage-adjacent. It's the magnitude close adjacent doorway to the project,” Waltz adds. “I deliberation what Kevin and I realized aboriginal on, I deliberation aboriginal connected we were looking astatine Mirage, specifically. And we knew we were veering disconnected that people erstwhile Karai became Shredder's daughter, arsenic portion of this story. But it worked amended for the story. And truthful successful the Mirage universe, that wasn't the case. And truthful we said, ‘Well, that's different. That's a small spot of a retcon close here.’"

Waltz continues, “And past astatine that point, we started saying the word Ronin-verse. I deliberation we're creating our ain beingness here, but I telephone it precise Mirage-adjacent. The Dark Knight Returns, for me, works truthful well, due to the fact that if idiosyncratic truly wants to say, ‘It's Adam West's future,’ it could beryllium Adam West's future, due to the fact that each the basal elements are determination for a Batman story… I deliberation it works truthful good successful a generic sense, due to the fact that there's conscionable definite elements of Turtles that you person to hit, and everybody knows those things by now. Most radical cognize what those things are, wherever they travel from, that you tin constitute this benignant of communicative and fto radical capable successful the blanks arsenic they want.”

April’s Heroic Sacrifice

The Last Ronin II has surely added caller layers to April O’Neil arsenic a character. She’s go the figurehead of an underground absorption question and a grandma fig to the caller Turtles. At the aforesaid time, the bid has formed April successful a somewhat darker light, revealing her hidden intentions successful creating the caller procreation of Turtles and however she efficaciously played deity by giving them each superhuman abilities.

Ultimately, though, April is fixed a heroic decease successful contented #5, arsenic she goes retired successful a blaze of glory warring the Purple Dragons gang. As Eastman and Waltz explain, April’s whirlwind travel successful the sequel was each astir serving their larger goals with The Last Ronin saga. This bid needed to extremity with the past bastion of the archetypal TMNT procreation handing the baton to the caller generation.

“What we wanted to accidental successful The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution covered astir this precise important, I privation to accidental chaotic, but besides precise trying clip for the family,” Eastmas says. “April's determination to make these characters, was it necessary? Was it important? Was it specific? Was it thing that she missed astir the archetypal Turtles? Was thing that she was trying to make thing that was the imaginable aboriginal protectors of New York City? As the instauration of the superhero conception that we emotion truthful much, not lone with the archetypal Turtles, but past uncovering their purpose.”

Eastman continues, “So what happens successful The Last Ronin II is, of course, the unfortunate, but precise critical, communicative conception of April passing. It truly is handing the torch to a caller procreation that we wanted to marque precise specific. So she's benignant of the past of the archetypal series, past of Casey, past of Turtles, past of Splinter, past of everything. So that is officially handing the torch to the caller Turtles, overmuch similar we did with Last Ronin I, which was having each of the Turtles person a specific, and precise significant, and precise important demise successful that series, that transitions into a overmuch bigger picture.”

Art by Isaac & Esau Escorza. (Image Credit: IDW/Nickelodeon)

“It's not lone the extremity of the household broadside of things, erstwhile you deliberation of Casey, and April, and Michelangelo, and the remainder of the Turtles, and Splinter, but it's besides extremity of the aged enemies, due to the fact that that's truly the demise of the Purple Dragons,” Waltz says. “And truthful I felt similar April settled immoderate unfinished business, successful a sense, successful her last act, by taking retired a menace that, each the mode backmost to The Lost Years, she knew was posed to her household with Jigsaw and the Purple Dragons.”

Waltz continues, “This infinitesimal became adjacent bigger than I thought it would be, earlier we got to it, due to the fact that each the pieces were there, and it came together, and it was conscionable a substance of putting words successful their mouths and actions successful their hands. And I had a hard clip penning it. It was hard to constitute that with April. I similar April, arsenic a quality crossed each iterations, precise much. She's 1 of my favourite characters. But similar Kevin said, it was time. All this enactment she's done, and the Turtles before, present what is the payoff? Will these kids beryllium capable to proceed guardant successfully? Was it worthy it oregon wasn't it? And that's the communicative that's yet to beryllium told.”

The Last Ronin III and Beyond

As Waltz alludes above, this intelligibly isn’t the extremity of the overarching Last Ronin storyline, fixed that this bid efficaciously ends connected a cliffhanger. No sooner bash the Turtles and Casey Marie mourn April’s decease than we larn the Resistance was betrayed by 1 of its own. Their state Jiro is secretly allied with the Foot Clan, an enactment that has survived the deaths of some Shredder and his grandson and is present seeking to reclaim its clasp connected New York.

Art by Isaac & Esau Escorza. (Image Credit: IDW/Nickelodeon)

IGN tin corroborate that different The Last Ronin sequel is successful aboriginal development, with much to beryllium revealed down the road. But Eastman and Waltz intelligibly person ideas astir wherever their communicative is headed from here.

“What you see, the revelation of their powers successful Re-Evolution, is simply a stepping chromatic towards what we privation to bash successful Part 3. I said to [Tom] from the precise beginning, ‘This is going to beryllium our Empire Strikes Back/The Two Towers.’ This is the mediate signifier of wherever they're going. And those 2 were precise important movies.”

Eastman continues, “So we thin astir apt precise heavy towards The Empire Strikes Back, successful that determination is simply a acheronian of the ending, determination is simply a circumstantial ending to the ending. But it precise also, specifically says, this is going to continue, there's much to beryllium told here. And that was with a large purpose. But that was with Part 2, we said, ‘We don't privation to look similar it's a afloat cliffhanger, but we besides made it arsenic a cliffhanger.’ It is simply a implicit story, it has a finale, and we wanted it to proceed to a Part 3.”

“Kevin said, ‘Let Lucas and Tolkien beryllium our guides, arsenic acold arsenic operation is concerned.’ So it was decidedly The Empire Strikes Back and The Two Towers,” Waltz says. “And it was funny, due to the fact that erstwhile we were done, I said, ‘Some fans are going to beryllium ecstatic that we're continuing, and different fans are going to travel aft america with pitchforks and torches due to the fact that they had to travel backmost for immoderate more.’ But hopefully, it's thing that radical volition look guardant to. And we've got a large communicative planned for the 3rd volume. And possibly immoderate different surprises successful between.”

Waltz continues, “But it felt right. It felt similar this was the communicative we needed to archer for this centerpiece, and the bookends volition beryllium bombastic. We got the centerpiece that truly conscionable sets the tables for a batch of things that request to beryllium said. And again, it benignant of tells its ain communicative sometimes, we're conscionable pursuing along, these characters person minds of their own.”

With The Last Ronin III shaping up to present a caller instrumentality connected the seemingly never-ending feud betwixt Clan Hamato and the Foot Clan, it’s wide that the much things alteration successful this universe, the much they enactment the same. As Eastman explains, arsenic overmuch arsenic the archetypal Last Ronin bid was astir ending the humor feud betwixt the Turtles and Shredder erstwhile and for all, the world is that these feuds person a mode of persisting.

“At the extremity of The Last Ronin I, we wanted the humor feud to end, with Michelangelo sidesplitting the, punctuation unquote, the past of Shredder's bloodline, ending his ain beingness successful the aforesaid time,” Eastman says. “So we wanted that end, but it's like, you'd similar to deliberation that should beryllium the end. But if you've work thing astir Japanese history, surely feudal Japan, determination were ever antithetic warlords, and shoguns, and antithetic things that would emergence up and make antithetic situations.”

Eastman continues, “We came up with a planetary picture. And thing we'll research much successful Part 3 is there's portion of a dynasty and firm concern infrastructure successful Japan, and Europe, chiefly England, with our characters and New York City, that's creating this triad that could power the satellite economical powers, and make a precise antithetic universe. But what wasn't expected was having radical that would halt the power of immoderate of those things that would affect... It's similar having a rebel basal base up against the powers that be, to impact the alteration that everybody thought would be.”

In the end, the extremity with The Last Ronin II was to present a wide acceptable of Resistance characters who tin reason the Foot Clan, the Crusader Knights, and the different planetary powers successful The Last Ronin III. The caller Turtles and their sensei person been tested, but the existent situation is inactive up of them.

“This is going to beryllium precise idiosyncratic for our heroes, whereas, it's concern for the powers that beryllium close now. And I besides think, a quality that I truly look guardant to exploring much is Jiro, due to the fact that helium has had a narration with Casey. And possibly that was much genuine close present than it appears to be,” Waltz says. “And truthful that's a dynamic I look guardant to exploring. But I besides think, erstwhile it comes to the household aspect, it's clip for Casey Marie to measurement up and beryllium that household leader. And we've thrown elements of the Hamato Clan into the premix too. So there's chill things happening down the scenes that I deliberation are going to marque for immoderate really, truly breathtaking play successful the 3rd volume.”

Finally, we couldn’t speech to Eastman and Waltz without bringing up the assorted adaptations of The Last Ronin that person been announced successful caller years. We cognize that some a live-action Last Ronin movie and a Last Ronin video crippled are successful improvement close now, though determination person been fewer updates astir either task lately. But Eastman wants to reassure fans that this isn’t needfully due to the fact that enactment has stalled connected the projects.

“The video crippled was thing that has been developed aboriginal on. Tom and I were brought successful initially for looking astatine immoderate of the concepts, looking astatine immoderate of the improvement issues, and the things that were perchance happening there,” Eastman says. “There was a resting period, I think, oregon restructuring period. With the large developer, but I recognize that, the past I heard from Nickelodeon, it's backmost connected track. So we anticipation to each stock quality successful the future. We've got thing definitive. We anticipation to each stock quality connected the advancement connected the video game.”

As for the movie, Eastman notes that the tendency is to get the communicative close alternatively than unreserved thing retired to prehend connected the hype of the comic.

“I person had conversations and shared immoderate details with Tom connected the discussions connected a Last Ronin movie,” Eastman says. “Hollywood is simply a precise magical, confusing, challenging spot arsenic things develop. But immoderate of the conversations I've had aboriginal connected person been wonderfully positive, and they emotion what Tom and I person done. And I consciousness like, to punctuation the writer that I talked to a mates of times, helium conscionable loved what we did successful The Last Ronin I, and said, ‘I conscionable don't privation to beryllium the feline that messes it up.’”

Eastman continues, “So they're precise sincere. They're paying attraction to what's been done before, but we've got thing specifically we could share. I privation we could. And I deliberation we'll perceive worldly much successful the aboriginal arsenic things spell along, but determination is decidedly a tendency from Nickelodeon and Paramount to do, not lone a video game, but a live-action movie, and I've been told successful the R-rated space.”

TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #5 is successful stores now. You tin besides preorder the collected The Last Ronin II hardcover connected Amazon.

For much connected the TMNT franchise, spot what TMNT writer Jason Aaron had to accidental astir the aboriginal of his series, and larn much astir the recently announced TMNT: Shredder spinoff.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by pursuing @jschedeen connected BlueSky.