Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #4 – James Tynion IV, Writer; Freddie Williams II, Artist; Jeromy Colwell, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The final chapter of the crossover trilogy between two of comics’ biggest properties enters its second half, as Batman and the Turtles have their original memories back in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #4– and so does the Shredder, who they tracked down at the end of the last issue.
Figuring that the only way to restore the balance is to take down the Smile Clan, they’ve reluctantly unleashed Shredder to take back his former Foot Clan and knock the Joker from the top of his perch. That’s led to a tense alliance between the former enemies, as Batman and the Turtles struggle to keep Shredder’s bloodlust restrained, and Joker becomes extra-determined to consolidate his rule over the kingdom and take out this pretender. There’s not as much comedy as in previous issues, as the battle is ramping up and the stakes are rising – Krang even threatens to depose Joker and rewrite reality again to put someone like Bane or Two-Face in charge of the fake reality
This series has been a lot of fun for the way it explores the supporting cast of both universes and creates intersections. Casey Jones, for instance, is now a police officer under the command of Commissioner Gordon, and he’s the next person April seeks out to wake up by reminding him of his classic hockey stick and goalie mask.
Gordon’s response to finding out about all of this is one of the best parts of the issue – he’s just so very tired and isn’t even surprised by any of this anymore. The next part of the issue involves the heroes trying to track down Joker so they can wake him up, but this creates a problem – when has Joker ever done anything that makes sense? Instead of returning to his normal activities, he decides to sign on with Krang and throw the universe into further chaos. This is definitely a middle chapter with a lot of transitions, but things are looking exciting as we head into the final chapters.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
