Summary
- Screen Rant has an exclusive first look at TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 for this SPOILER FREE review.
- TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution is a gritty and hardcore take on the TMNT franchise, allowing the all-new Turtles to become battle-ready warriors in a wasteland setting.
- The new Ninja Turtles: Yi, Uno, Moja, and Odyn, have the opportunity to become the definitive TMNT for the next generation.
It was first confirmed that the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution at San Diego Comic Con 2023, and fan anticipation has been building ever since. While the prequel/sequel miniseries The Lost Years effectively bridged the gap between the dystopian future of Last Ronin and its chapter, that was just a precursor to what’s in store for TMNT fans with Re-Evolution.
Screen Rant got the chance to read TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 in an exclusive first-look at the series, and the one thing that is abundantly clear is that these new mutant heroes are not your parents’ Turtles (and that’s a very good thing).
2023 Unleashed TMNT's Next Generation, as 4 New Turtles Got Names & Weapons
2023 saw the TMNT defeat the Rat King in Armageddon Game and challenge Armaggon in the Road to 150, but the biggest news was the rise of the new TMNT.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop, Isaac & Esau Escorza, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Shawn Lee picks up right where readers of The Lost Years left off with the four new Turtles, Yi, Uno, Moja, and Odyn. New York is still a cesspool of criminal activity, and the death of Oroku Hiroto and the subsequent fall of the Foot Clan (as shown in The Last Ronin) somehow only made things worse.
Enjoy these images from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - The Lost Years for a spoiler-free glimpse into the world of Re-Evolution!
Casey Marie Jones, daughter of April O’Neil and Casey Jones, is one of the leaders of a resistance working to fight the rising criminal warlords in New York, while the police and local government simply lie to the media about the growing crisis. New York has effectively become a post-apocalyptic wasteland right under everyone’s noses, and only a select few are willing to fight to restore it. And in this first issue, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles officially that fight.
Last Ronin: Re-Evolution Is Allowed To Be Gritty In Ways The Original Wasn’t
While it may seem impossible for any modern TMNT comic to top the grittiness of the original black and white chronicle of murderous, sewer-dwelling mutants, Re-Evolution actually pulls it off. The new Turtles themselves aren’t darker or more 'edgy' than the original TMNT by any means--in fact, they’re all the perfect embodiments of classic teenage siblings. But it’s the setting that allows this story to be more grim, more brutal, and more hardcore than the classic TMNT.
In the original, the Ninja Turtles had to operate in the shadows, maintaining secrecy lest the modern world discover the existence of mutants. In Re-Evolution, however, the world has been through a lot (as shown in the two previous miniseries). Which means mutant turtles ing an underground resistance against an army of Warriors-esque gangs isn’t that shocking. Ultimately, leaving the new TMNT free to bash heads as battle-ready warriors in this wasteland setting, and do so in ways their crime-fighting, vigilante predecessors never could, which gives the entire series the freedom to be gritty in ways the original wasn’t.
Yi, Uno, Moja, & Odyn Could Be The Definitive TMNT For The Next Generation
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 immediately finds a perfect balance between honoring the original Ninja Turtles, while still allowing the new Turtles to come into their own. Not only that, but the world building is a welcome accomplishment, deftly revealing the exact state of its futuristic New York, previously an ambiguous wasteland. The end result is a foundation firmly laid, setting up this world and these characters to flourish without the looming presence of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
Makee no mistake: the heroes Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja have an opportunity to become the definitive TMNT for a new generation. And based on Re-Evolution #1, there is a good chance they will. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 is available everywhere on March 6, from IDW Publishing.
