Comic Book Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #2

June 29, 2023

by Joe Schickman, Reporter

Official Synopsis:

The Rat King has gained the ability to control the Ninja Turtles! He’s ordered Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo to go on a crime spree to benefit the rodents of the city while forcing Donatello to search for a way to return the Rat King’s original powers. Things look grim for our heroes, but this is the second part of a two-part story so you know they’re going to reverse the Rat King’s control and put things right! The nostalgia-fueled Saturday morning-inspired adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continue in “The Turtle King, Part Two”! Now an all-new ongoing series because you asked for it!

Creative Team:

Story: Erik Burnham

Artist: Jack Lawrence

Letters: Ed Dukeshire

Colors: Raúl Angulo

And now, a Channel Six Action Recap Report!

In the first issue of TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures, the Rat King was doused with a chemical that altered his ability to mentally control rats! You’d think he would’ve been better off keeping his flute!

The Rat King might have lost the ability to control rats, but he gained the ability to control the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Together, they robbed TCRI for the weapons to carry out a dastardly plan.

The Shredder was also at TCRI, stealing a mysterious rock that was being examined at the scientific think tank! What could the rock be for? And how will the Turtles escape the control of the Rat King? The Answers to all these questions and more coming up next!

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Tuning back in to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #2, we find the Shredder returning from his break-in at TCRI, where he encountered a hypnotized team of turtles. After Krang analyzes Shredder’s ill-gotten gain and discovers its potential, they begin making machinations about his meteorite made of multiverse manipulating materials. Meanwhile, the Rat King still has 3/4ths of our heroes under his thrall, imposing his will and his fashion sense over them. Dressed as mechanized mice in their stolen TCRI tech, the Rat King calls upon his faux furry friends to improve the lives of his venerable vermin citizens, beginning by providing purloined parmesan and burgled brie. But the Rat King’s newfound pilfered power augments his ambitions as well as his abilities, and to satisfy his self assigned massive magnanimity he prepares to unleash a truly dastardly and destructive plot on the people of New York. Donatello and Splinter are the team, and the city’s, only hope! But can they get there in time? How will Donatello free his brothers from the Rat King’s control without falling into his clutches again himself? How will the rat king’s new powers work on Splinter, the Rat King’s previous pawn? What is the Shredder up to, and what trouble will it spell out for our turtle team?

If you were a fan of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, then you’ll love this new run. TMNT:SMA # 2 has all the humor, action, and high stakes adventure that made the cartoon an edge of your seat ride for kids. The art feels modern but is clearly rooted in the show’s aesthetic, and the dialogue could have been lifted right out of a lost episode. The creative team did such a successful job recapturing the show’s vibe that you can easily hear each cartoon characters’ voices as you read. Shredder is aggressive and shrouded in shadowy intent, Krang is full of insufferable whining and self-delusion, and the dynamic between them is perfectly putrid, balancing biting discourteous disdain with begrudging resentful respect. Similarly, Splinter’s sage wisdom and fatherly fortitude is well evidenced, and each turtle’s distinct identity is on display, even while hypnotized.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #2 was a fiercely fun read and quality conclusion to the story begun in issue 1. This book could have been given the low-brow treatment, but instead was adroit and poignant. I’m not saying that this is a heavily influential or socially important comic, or that the Rat King’s plan was much better than some other baneful schemes, but they still manage to slip in many good important messages and themes (besides just good guys are good, and bad guys are not so good). More to the point, the creative team behind TMNT:SMA #2 gave us a great episode of one of our favorite shows complete with everything you’d expect, properly paying respect to the best of its source materials. The danger was weighty, the action riveting, and the self aware 4th wall breaking humor felt completely appropriate in a TMNT cartoon or comic, and had me literally laughing out loud.

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