Half Shells in the Dark City

On its face, a crossover between BatmanOne of the longest running, consistently in-print superheroes ever (matched only by Superman and Wonder Woman), Batman has been a force in entertainment for nearly as long as there's been an entertainment industry. It only makes sense, then that he is also the most regularly adapted, and consistently successful, superhero to grace the Silver Screen. and the Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesOriginally dreamed up as a parody of Marvel's Daredevil comics (going so far as to basically reproduce to opening shots of that comic's hero gaining his powers), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles not only launched a sudden boom of anthropomorphic fighting animal comics but have, themselves, starred in multiple comics series, TV shows, and movies. sounds absurd. It’s the kind of “two great tastes that would be awful together” vibe that permeated other crossovers like Superman vs. Predator or Star Trek/Green Lantern. Two franchises that have nothing in common that would be slapped together more as a joke than anything you could take seriously. Batman is dark and adult while the TMNT are silly superheroes for kids. How could these two work in their own comic book?

It’s important to remember that each of these characters have had long and diverse histories. Batman has been around since 1939 and has been through many different phases of his existence, from the dark and dreary pulp stories of his earliest issues, the light and zany comics of the Silver Age, and then a shift back towards darker tales in the current era of comics (while still finding time for weirdo tales every once in a while). Meanwhile, the TMNT might have a reputation as silly, toyetic superheroes for kids but their earliest comics under Mirage were dark, violent, and very bloody. There absolutely is room for both of these comics lines to exist in the same space if given a shot by the right comic team.

Written by James Tynion IV, and drawn by Freddie E. Williams II, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is exactly the right kind of story needed to make this crossover work. Released in 2015 and 2016, the six-issue series finds the Turtles crossing into the world of Batman, dealing with his rogues and his villains, as well as battling the Shredder (who also crossed over), all while trying to figure out a way home. It is silly, and funny, and kind of weird, but it also manages to find just the right tone, just the right story, to make all of this work in a world where Batman and the TMNT can somehow coexist. Hell, it was successful enough it even got an animated adaptation a few years later (which we’ve already covered).

The comic opens with Batman investigating a series of crimes around Gotham. Major tech developers and research institutes were hit, with their big R&D projects getting stolen in the process. It seems like a coordinated attack, with specific (sometimes not always lucrative) items being stolen while other (far more expensive) items are left behind. Whatever is being taken is being done with a purpose, a theory later confirmed when Batman comes face to face with another team of heroes investigating the same crimes: anthropomorphic turtles from another dimension.

It seems that in their world, the TMNT were locked in a battle against their greatest nemesis, the leader of the Foot Clan of ninjas, the Shredder, when both they and Shredder were thrown into a dimensional portal by another villain, the evil alien Krang, all so Krang could get rid of all of his foes and have full reign on the world. Stuck in Gotham, the Turtles just want to get home. Worse than that, though, they have to get home because the mutagen that transformed them and keeps them alive is going inert. If they can’t get back to their world they’ll die. Together, with Batman’s help, the Turtles have to find Shredder, get the tech for the portal, and beam back before they’re no longer the heroes in a half shell any longer.

If I’m being honest, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a messy book. It takes some time to get Batman and the TMNT together, and while their interactions are great, there’s a lot of setup that has to be dispensed with before the fun of the story can really get going. Beyond that the book has to establish the Shredder, it has to exposit on how the crossover happened, it has to introduce a number of Batman’s rogues (so they can all later be ignored)... it’s a lot, not all of it with purpose or done as well as it could be.

The rogues are of particular note. Batman has many of them, from JokerOne of Batman's first villains, and certainly his more famous (and most popular), the Joker is the mirror of the Bat, all the insanity and darkness unleashed that the hero keeps bottled up and controlled., Harley QuinnCreated to serve as "Joker's Girlfriend" as well as his primary minion for Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn quickly grew to be one of the most popular characters of that show, eventually finding a solid life beyond the cartoon in comics, movies, and media., Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and more. It barely uses them for most of the book, instead putting all the focus on Shredder. When a proper villain, in the form of Ra’s al Ghul, finally shows up, even he gets upstaged by the Shredder. Batman’s world, outside of Batman himself, feels like an afterthought. And all those rogues I listed above only appear in a show sequence of pages, turned into monster versions of themselves due to convenient vials of mutagen and, well, it feels like the book is only doing all this because it’s what it thinks the fans want.

Don’t get me wrong, Joker as a snake, Harley as a coyote (or dingo or whatever), Mr. Freeze as a polar bear, and more are certainly inspired ideas. Knowing the rules of how mutagen works I’m not actually certain how they could turn into those animals when, as we see them, all the rogues are trapped in Arkham, but that’s neither here nor there. Them as monster versions is an inspired idea that plays to the toyetic, monster-of-the-week vibe that the TMNT have and I actually enjoyed it. I just wish the book spent more time on it instead of having the Turtles constantly chasing after Shredder until they could finally have a confrontation with him in the final pages of the story.

The book is at its best when it focuses on Batman and the Turtles. Their interactions are an absolute highlight. The Turtles bring a little fun into Batman’s life, which feels like something he needs. But his dark and gruff demeanor actually matches two of the Turtles, Leo and Raph, really well. At one point there’s even a training montage of Batman and Leo working with Master Splinter that feels perfectly tuned to the strengths of the characters. It works really well and shows just how much potential a crossover like this could have.

Even when it’s not firing perfectly, the book is still a lot of fun. Mikey skating around Wayne manor, eating pizza feels perfectly set alongside a Batcave filled with the trophies of all of Batman’s greatest battles. He has a dinosaur and a giant coin in his cave, so, really, how weird is it to have four humanoid turtles hanging out around there as well. The comicness of the world of Batman is a perfect place to dump the TMNT and it’s amazing how much fun and joy the book gets just blending these two hero teams together.

Meanwhile, the art in the book is great. It’s clean and polished, with bright colors that accent the dark atmosphere. This is a crossover between DC’s modern Batman and the IDW versions of the Turtles, and the artwork suits both sides well. Batman is large and imposing, his battle suit armored and slick. The Shredder is sketchy and shadowy, looking a lot like the villains of the old Mirage books. Everything reads like a proper blending of these two worlds, with sharp artwork and bright colors bringing out the best of both sides.

So yeah, the book isn’t perfect but it’s a lot of fun. It’s a crossover that makes a hell of a lot of sense, especially in context, even when compared to others like Star Trek/Green Lantern. This is a natural fit, two great tastes that taste great together, even though it seems like they shouldn’t work at all. The creative team made them work, and did it so well that it inspired two follow-up books, a spin-off crossover from a different continuity, and that aforementioned movie. That’s a lot from just one silly crossover, but the book reveals just why it worked so well. It might be silly, but that’s the charm of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: it can be silly and still pay tribute to all the heroes perfectly.