Venom Flows Through NYC

The pairing of 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. was a stroke of genius. Two great tastes that taste great together. It was silly, action-filled, and willing to just enjoy itself, and that was really all anyone needed from a crossover comic. It wasn’t trying to be more than a mash-up of two comics titans, and that’s really why it worked so well. That, plus it was able to work with its two crossover sides in just the right way to tell a story that actually felt true to all involved. It ended up being one of the best crossovers I’ve ever read, and I wasn’t the only one to think so. The book was solidly successful.

That success, naturally, led to further collaborations. The original Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic was published in 2015 and 2016, and its sales numbers quickly lit the green light for a sequel. One year later, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II hit comic shelves, and it gave everyone a new adventure to enjoy. And, credit where it’s due, it wasn’t just the same adventure all over again. It would have been easy to simply have the Turtle bounce over to Gotham again for more wacky hijinx, but instead the creative team took the series in a different direction. What if Batman went over to the world of the TMNT?

But to do that the writers would have to come up with some kind of motivating factor, some reason for Batman to leave his world and move over to the other side. Wisely they used a villain that could actually bring Batman around, one of his great foes who could do untold damage to the world if left unchecked, and someone that would actually be interested in taking over a new world instead of just causing more chaos over in Gotham. The writers tapped into Bane, and with that one decision they created a story that really worked well in the context of both Batman and the TMNT.

It’s been over a year since the combined forces of Batman and the Turtles defeated Shredder, sending the ninja clan leader to prison. This has left a power vacuum among the Foot Clan in NYC, with some going for Karai, Shredder’s daughter and his natural successor, with others going over to the side of Bebop and Rocksteady, and more simply sitting it out and waiting. Many of the Foot don’t feel like a woman should be the successor to Shredder’s throne, even though it’s what he would want, and so the various factors have been fighting each other, and the Turtles, to stake their claim on the city.

During one battle with the Foot, Donnie gets badly beaten. He’s the smart turtle but he’s never been as good at ninjitsu as his brothers, and gets him down. Taking the loss particularly hard, he decides that he needs to talk to someone that is a skilled ninja as well as a genius when it comes to tech: he needs to talk to Batman. So, in secret, he opens a portal to Gotham so he can find Batman and have a chat. In the process, though, he accidentally lets Bane through to his world, letting the villain run loose and cause all kinds of problems. Only with Batman’s help are they able to reopen the portal, and now the combined forces of both heroes teams, including not just the Turtles, Splinter, April, and Casey but also Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, will have to join together to take on a villain so much more powerful than any NYC has seen before.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles struck a very specific balance. It was both a fairly solid take on the heroes that took both sides seriously while, within the same breath, also a completely ridiculous and over-the-top adventure. That’s not an easy balance to find but somehow the first book in the series managed it well. I would say that the sequel book struggles a little more with balance, in many regards, but that doesn’t really drag down the book as a whole. It’s less tight, and less organized, but still a fun read that leads to a satisfying conclusion.

Using Bane as the villain of the story really is a brilliant stroke. As a bruiser who relies on a chemical to get stronger, Bane fits perfectly in a world where mutagen transforms men into beasts and animals into beast men. In fact, when the story takes an interesting twist early on with Bane finding a way to spread his venom to other mutants so they, too, can be overly muscled freaks, it makes perfect sense. As with the pairing of Batman and the Turtles, this is two great ideas that pair beautifully.

Additionally, Bane was, at one point, part of the League of Assassins (depending on the lore you’re going with from one of DC’s many reboots). Having him come into a world where their own league of ninjas is looking for a leader to guide them makes sense. He can slide into the position left vacant by Shredder, becoming the new head of the Foot, and it doesn’t even strain logic. The writers clearly saw how these two worlds fit together and found a way to mesh them perfectly with it all feeling like the most natural progression of the story. It makes you realize just how much the worlds of Batman and the TMNT share in common.

With all that said, the book is not without its flaws. Chief among them is the fact that the story has too many characters and not enough time to do anything with all of them. The storyline about Donnie, where he feels weak and powerless and tries to find a way to change who he is, only to learn this makes things worse (thus showing he needs to embrace who he truly it) is solid, but the book has another character that could also go on a similar journey but who is left on the sideline instead: Karai. She’s Shredder’s daughter and should be the one to take over the Foot, but despite the book introducing her early on it then forgets she exists until the last chapter when, at that point, she barely makes an impact at all.

This book should really parallel the two stories of Donnie and Karai. He turns to venom to try and make his body as strong as his mind. Karai turns to Batman for training in how to be a leader. They each learn lessons from the mashup of ideas and come away stronger in the end. That’s where I thought the book was going to go since it introduced Karai so early (especially considering she wasn’t even in the first book). It’s wasted potential to not do anything with her, though, and the book simply refuses to engage with her for some reason.

And then you have all the other side characters that are introduced only to be ignored. April and Casey show up but hang out in the background for the Turtles, while similarly Batgirl and Nightwing are introduced and then sidelined as well. I get that these are all major characters in their respective universes, but if the book had simply not included them it wouldn’t have been that noticeable. They don’t do much in the time they have on the pages so it really would have been better to not include them at all and give their time (and page space) over the characters that could have a greater impact on the story. You know, like Karai.

Still, I did enjoy Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. While it’s not a perfect book it is still a very fun, enjoyable read. It’s light, it’s silly, and it still manages to perfectly blend the two universes together into a cohesive story. That should still seem impossible, but clearly not. Both Batman the Turtles get time to shine, and there are so many fun moments where their respective ideas mash together. It makes you wish there were more of these adventures just so you could see what else the creative team could come up with. Oh, that’s right, there’s a third book in the series, and we’ll get to that one soon…