#tmnt is short 4 teenage mutant ninja turtle

[abbykmtr-13]

"Suspicion"

Another short comic that is not meant to be taken seriously.

[just-phils-things]

Holy hell screw this game lol. The frustration is real with this one 😆

[unluckilylvcky]

TMNTherapy Group: Welcome Leonardo!

From ancient books of ninjitsu to comic books tucked neatly in the shelves, who better to confide in than the Leonardos? After all, the greatest honor a ninja could ever have is a nice cup of tea! Leonardo made sure that his comrades would feel right at home!

What is TMNTherapy Group about?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Therapy Group, or simply abbreviated to TMNTherapy Group or TMNT Group, is a fun little comic featuring your favorite turtles from all current running cartoon iterations joining together to, well... Get therapy! Or at least, that's what the turtles from the 1987 universe say. In OOC terms, yes, this is basically a crossover au.

Currently, the AU has 5 introduction comics (including this one), 1 filler comic and many more fun and angsty comics to come! Join the '87 verse turtles as they try their best to unite these 3 VERY different turtle iterations with each other! It's gonna be an... Interesting ride, to say the least. Stay tuned!

DO NOTE THAT :

This AU is strictly for fun and is only meant to explore the dynamic of each turtle iterations with each other! Nothing more, nothing less, just all 4 generations of turtles either venting to each other or having fun. None of this is meant to be reflective of real life scenarios, anything of the latter is completely unintentional.

You're gonna notice a watermark on most of these panels, and I can assure you that that is me; my old user! I unfortunately do not have the original files to these, nor do I have the time to redraw these to my current style. I'm pretty sure I stopped watermarking it with my old user after the Raph group intro :]

This was posted on Instagram during October 15th of last year!

Thought I should mention: The lineart quality for this AU is LARGELY inconsistent. I really just wanna have fun with this au so sometimes you're gonna see some clean and cool lineart, but mostly you're gonna have to deal with my sketchy lineart like in this comic haha

Seeing as Instagram is my main platform, you'll have to keep in mind that this format was made with the square format in mind. Stick with me here hehe :^))

Gonna start introducing Bonus Comics! These are just short disconnected comics that I usually include out of a whim. Just click on Keep Reading and you should see it! This will be the only time I'll mention these on the notes section.

<<< Previous: Teenage Mutant Ninja... Therapy Group?!

Next Up: TMNTherapy Group: Welcome Raphael! >>>

Bonus Comic:

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Pheebs' masterpost!

COMMISSIONS: OPEN

Commissions info

Original Stories

The Future and a Robot

CHARACTER SHEETS

Origin comic

Animations: Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic 4

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My username is the same across all platforms: PhoebePheebsPhibs

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Portfolio site

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Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Fics

TMNT Write-Fight Compendium

Hide & Seek: fic, short story, compendium

Until I Found You: an ROTTMNT separated AU (Masterpost)

NFIF/UIFY Crossover / Alternate Ending

Double-Mutated Mikey Masterpost

Comics

Draxum's Nightmare

Matching: a Turtle Tots comic

Sunset Duo: Carry Me Home

Extra

Peaches - ROTTMNT OC

VelCro Duo - ROTTMNT OCs

Berryl Draxum - ROTTMNT OC

Fix You — A Portal Pals Animatic : 1, 2

Lou Jitsu's Kids AU: Character designs, origins, tiny plots, rambles, inspiration artwork, sketch comic, Adoption photo

[wynndigogh]

A TMNT tale

The Perfect Trap

Part 4: Directive Noted Attack!

Warning: No Minors, 18+ ONLY

SYNOPSIS:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles face a new threat when Baxter Stockman returns with a cunning plan and a deadly new weapon. As they battle his latest creations, the turtles realize their enemy is always one step ahead.

But the danger hits closer to home when Leonardo’s relationship with his girlfriend is put to the test, forcing him to balance his duty as leader with his heart.

With danger closing in from all sides, the turtles must uncover the truth behind Stockman's scheme before it destroys them and everything they hold dear.

But as secrets come to light, they learn that the stakes are higher than they ever imagined—and one of their own may be caught in the crossfire.

Read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

The four brothers land on the roof of a warehouse, adjacent to the docks. 

Sure enough, the docks looked like the aftermath of a warzone.  Crates were busted up and floating in the water.  Splintered wood, metal and litter, from various destroyed containers and their contents, clutter the ground.  A short distance away, more destruction is unfolding, and the sounds of officers shouting can be heard.

Leonardo is quick to dispense instructions, “Let’s hit them from both sides.  Raph, Mikey, you two go around and come up from the south, Donnie and I will come in from the north.  Let’s make this quick and as clean as possible.  Oh, and remember, we’ve had some drinks, so no monkeying around or going rogue!  Got that Mikey?  Raph?”

“Yeah, yeah, we hear-ya.  Don’t go getting’ ya panties in a wad mom”, the large brute snorts at his brother. 

Raph, the coin-toss drunk.  Heads you get the touchy, cuddling teddy bear or Tails you get ornery ass-hat; you never know which it will be.  Leonardo sighs internally, just his luck, ornery ass-hat wins this evening.

“Like my body, I’m F-I-N-E, bro”, *hiccup*, “Your orders are my command mi Capitán”, Mikey smiles impossibly wide, his body is swinging as he bobs his head like he hears a tune.

Ah, Mikey, the hilarious yet SUPER mellow drunk.  Not someone you want watching your back in a fight.

Great, that’s two he’ll have to keep on eye on while in battle.  At least he has Donnie to rely on.  Good 'ol reliable, quiet Donnie...wait…

It suddenly hits him, Donnie’s being too quiet.  Leo looks behind him and the six foot eight turtle is leaning on his bo-staff asleep.  Drool and all.  The blue leader hangs his head in annoyance.

The insomniac’s kryptonite is alcohol.

“Okay, one more order, don’t get killed”, Leo commands.

With a roll of his shoulders and a crack to his neck, Raph turns grabs Michelangelo by the shoulder and starts south so they can loop around for the fight.  Leo kicks the bottom of the bo staff jarring Donatello from his beauty sleep.  With some silent hand signals from the blue leader, the pair head toward the commotion.  

--------------------------------------------------

"Ok, ok, now do this one, do this one!", Bebop instructs Rocksteady pointing at a metal container a few feet from the edge of the pier.

The large mutant rhino stands flaring his nostrils, huffs a massive breath, pawing at the ground with one foot before running full steam, head-first at the metal object. With a massive BOOM, the now dented container plunges into water with a ginormous splash.

Bebop laughs heartily, swishing his piggy tail in excitement.

"I think I'm going to need some aspirin after that one", complains the gray skinned mutant rubbing his bald head tenderly.

"Ya gonna need more than dat when we get done with ya"

The rhino and warthog duo turn right into the punch being thrown by Raphael and Mikey's wildly swinging nunchucks. The criminal couple are sent spinning and crashing to the ground.

"I think we got their attention", Rocksteady comments to Bebop as he rubs his aching jaw.

"And why do you want our attention?"

The henchmen look to the side to see that they are boxed in, the other two turtles are closing in and that pesky purple one is being nosy.

Bebop touches the communicator in his ear, "Uh, second boss, uh, they're here."

"Don't call me that!", the irritated voice barks in his ear, "my units are about to drop in, once they do get out of the way."

"You got it secon-, uh, um...n-number two"

"Moron", the single word fades out as the communicator clicks off.

The turtles square up, preparing for an all out attack. Leonardo is about to give the signal when a screaming metallic sound is heard from above.

💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

To be continued...

PART 5

I remembered again! Tag you're it @thelaundrybitch

[fabuloustrash05]

What do you think of the Shredder from TMNT 2012? I think he did a good job of making the Turtles' and Splinter's lives miserable and causing terror. But honestly, I'm not a big fan of this villain. Sometimes, he seems forced when trying to show his evil side, and it feels like his only personality trait is hating Splinter and wanting power.

The Shredder was one of the most memorable villains in the 2012 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series. With his imposing presence and incredible fighting skills, he became a formidable adversary for the Turtles. However, despite being memorable, he had many flaws that made him a complex and sometimes flawed villain.

From the beginning, the Shredder was portrayed as the ruthless leader of the Foot Clan, driven by a thirst for revenge against Hamato Yoshi, also known as Splinter. His determination and fighting skills are undeniable, but his obsession with revenge often blinded him to other opportunities and strategic alliances, leading to impulsive and self-destructive decisions.

Additionally, the Shredder was very manipulative and selfish. He used anyone around him to achieve his goals, including his adopted daughter, Karai. His lack of empathy and willingness to sacrifice anyone showed a cruel and inhuman side, which, although effective in the short term, often alienated his allies and weakened his power base.

Another major flaw of the Shredder was his inability to recognize and correct his mistakes. His arrogance and pride prevented him from learning from his failures, causing him to repeat the same mistakes. This was evident in his repeated attempts to defeat the Turtles and Splinter, which always failed due to underestimating his opponents and overestimating his own abilities.

Finally, the Shredder's transformation into Super Shredder and later into Zombie Shredder highlighted his further decline. Instead of strengthening his position, these transformations made him more monstrous and less human, further distancing him from his original goals and any trace of honor he might have had.

I like 2012 Shredder, I’d say he’s my second favorite version of Shredder (87 Shredder being #1). He’s evil, his backstory with Splinter is tragic and his reason for revenge is interesting. The twist that he kidnapped and raise Miwa to hate her bio father is brutal. Kinda makes him look like an incel with the whole Tang Shen thing, all of this over a woman who told you no, but that’s what makes him scary. (I do wish his relationship/history with Tang Shen was explored more cause in the ep Tale of the Yokai it’s insinuated that they used to date or something cause Saki says to Shen “take me back”)

The lengths Shredder will go to ruin Splinter’s life just shows how obsessed and lost in the past he is. Splinter lives rent free in his head when the man is just trying to rebuild his life that he ruined. Though his quest for revenge began to get repetitive by the 3rd season.

He’s a good version of Shredder, but I do think he overstay his welcome come season 4. I really think Shredder should’ve been killed off much earlier to make room for bigger threats and villains for the final 2 seasons like Lord Dregg, Kavaxas, the Triceratons or even April being possessed by the Aeon Crystal. There were so many other villians the show introduced that could’ve taken Shredder’s place as the new big bad but that bitch just keeps coming back whether it’s as a human, super mutant or a literal undead zombie

[artoatsblog]

What your favorite Nick toon says about you but it's EVERY Nick toon

Doug- When you were asked what you wanted for Christmas, you said "plan white bread."

Rugrats- You're a "90's kid" who wants the modern cartoon enjoyers to get off your lawn.

Hey Arnold-Same as Rugrats, but 5 time worse.

Rugrats (2021)- You only said this one to piss off the above two.

Ren & Stimpy- You're a gay man and all you OCs are ugly men who you need to kiss each other or else you'll die (This isn't an insult, you're the strongest member of our society.)

Rocko's modern life- You relate to at least one character way more than you would like to admit to others.

CatDog- Weird furry.

The angry beavers- Weird furry with taste.

Aaahh!!! Real monsters- You like the idea of Tim Burton's movies but your too cool to actually enjoy them, also your probably non-binary.

Kablam- As a kid you wanted to make something with this exact energy and now, you're a youtuber.

Oh Yeah! Cartoons- same as Kablam but you really miss Cosmo's old voice.

The wild Thornberry's- You worship the ground Tim Curry's walks on SO BAD.

Rocket power- Honest 90's kid.

SpongeBob SquarePants seasons 1-4- You're annoying about seasons 5+.

SpongeBob SquarePants seasons 5+- You know better than me about those people being annoying about seasons 5+.

As told by ginger- You were going to say Hey Arnold, but you didn't want to be lumped in with certain other people.

Action league now- You made at least five short films that look exactly like this.

Chalkzone- Your playlist for working out has the theme song for this show looped for five hours and nothing else.

The fairly oddparents- Your trans, and you hate no other person more than Elmer Hartman.

Invader Zim- You were a vary emo kid/teenager in the late 2000's (same, no shade)

Jimmy Neutron- you're really glad that that you picked the show in "Jimmy Timmy power hour" that wasn't made by an asshole.

All grown up- Come on guys "As told by ginger" is right there.

Avatar: the last airbender- I don't want to hear the lore of the fantasy book you wrote.

Avatar: the legend of Korra- Same as atla but You also made a LOT of shipping fanfics.

My life as a teenage robot- Transfem.

The X's- You don't exist, if you're going to go into the comments and say this is your favorite Nicktoon, you're lying.

El Tigre- This is just the good version of Danny Phantom.

Danny Phantom- That was a Joke don't yell at me.

Mr. meaty- You want this odd but cool type of puppetry to come back (if you thought I was going to make fun of this one your wrong.)

Tak and the power of Juju- Your enjoyment of this show is based entirely on the fact that you liked the games.

Back at the barnyard- Shitposter.

Fanboy and Chum Chum- Shitposter but awesome.

Catscratch- Yeah, I think Wayne Knight's voice is hot too.

The mighty B- Gay.

The penguins of Madagascar- I don't have a joke for this one I just think you have impactable taste.

Planet Sheen- You always wanted Jimmy Neutron to have more "Rawr XD" swag.

T.U.F.F puppy- You ether are Jerry Trainor, or you have a Jerry Trainor stan account.

Kung fu panda: legends of awesomeness- You have a three-hour lore video on this franchise, and I hope it does well.

Winx club- You wanted to help them get free from Netflix.

Robot and Monster- It may just be me, but I think you might enjoy Dan vs.

Teenage mutant ninja turtles (2012)- You don't like rise of the tmnt.

Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles- You don't like tmnt (2012).

Sanjay and Craig- You used to freak other kids out with your scabs.

Monsters vs aliens- me (sorry).

Breadwinners- Your about to go into every cartoon reviewers house with a shit ton of water balloons.

Harvey Beaks- In the middle/late 2000's you were more of a cartoon network kid, you loved Cowder.

Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket- Same as Harvey Beaks but with Flapjack instead of Cowder.

Bunsen is a beast- Your Elmer Hartman.

Welcome to the Wayne- You wrote at least one fanfic for the ending of this show.

The adventures of kid danger- We don't talk about this one.

Middle school Moguls- it's ok monster high is about to come to Nick for real.

The loud house- Your ether a sapphic girl or a straight guy with a DeviantArt account who needs to be punished.

The Casagrandes- Same as the loud house but with the added advantages, because if you have a DeviantArt account in this one you're more likely to have a normal relationship with your family.

It's pony- You don't hate the British as much as the rest of us.

Middlemost post- John trabbic III is such a bad ass name though, wait this show has Del the funky homosapien and Tony Hawk as guest stars, I might need to which this.

Star trek: prodigy- You really like Netflix original animated shows don't you.

Big Nate- You haven't read the books.

Monster high- You the perfect in-between of goth and prep.

Transformers: earthspark- Why does this show have better non-binary rep than most other shows...I mean they are called Transformers for a reason.

[rainbowfoxes]

Yet Another IDW TMNT Theory: The Mystery of Donnie's Kids

Since the existence of Donnie's kids were first hinted at in #139, I have been foaming at the mouth about them. I adore turtle tots with my whole entire soul, so to say I was happy to have them confirmed in #146 is an understatement.

However, as we get closer and closer to #150 without seeing hide nor hair (or rather, shell nor mask) of these turtles, I become more and more insane about them and concerned that we will never see them at all, given the impending relaunch. I've got some Thoughts about these kids and since none of my friends read IDW TMNT, I'm going to inflict them upon you, the general public.

What are you even talking about, anyways?

For those of you who don't know, IDW! Donnie was recently confirmed to have kids in issue #146

[Image ID: Two panels from IDW TMNT #146. A young/current Donatello speaks with an elderly Leonardo. Their conversation is as follows: Leo: You created your children, and you left. Donnie: What? My Children?! Leo: Ah... I've said too much already. It's still hard for me to talk about. Donnie: I'm sorry, but... Is my future self still alive in this time period? Leo: Yes. He Lives in a Tower west of here, near Venus and Bludgeon's Aura Clan training grounds. :End Image ID]

These children were first hinted at in issue #139, during a vision Donnie had

[Image ID: A full page from IDW TMNT #139. Donatello holds a meditative hand sign with deep concentration as he sees four visions. The first is a vision of his past life as a human boy. The second is a vision of how he and Venus are connected through her having parts of his shell. The third is a vision of him looking into a tank containing four small turtles. The fourth is him in a cloak, holding a staff in one hand and small stick emitting some sort of energy in the other. In the air and on the ground around him are drawings of mutant turtles. behind him are three mutant turtles we've never seen before. There is a short monologue in text boxes scatter across the page. The text boxes read: "The lives you touch all have their own pasts and futures, and these are part of you, as well. And, in turn, your past and future are part of them. It is an eternal cycle. This is what the tenth cut represents. It is the whole." :End Image ID]

Now we don't know ANYTHING about these kids besides the fact that they exist. But there's enough hints available to us that I've come up with some Theories...

(Theories below the cut, to save you the long scroll)

Theory One: Donnie's Kids were Created Via Magi-Science

This one I'm pretty confident in. In #139 we see Donnie holding that weird looking stick. But this isn't the first time we've ever seen it! It actually first appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game — Alliance #4. Donnie, having been messing around with time manipulation, ends up in the future.

[Image ID: Two panels from IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game — Alliance #4. On the far left is a fully body image of a much older Donatello. He is wearing a ragged cloak and various mystical-looking accessories. In his right hand he carries a staff with some sort of skull strapped to the top. In his left hand he carries a small stick with a glowing crystal attached to the end. He is saying "... Before my memory is wiped of all of it." Behind him is a larger panel, set inside his workshop / wizard tower. It features a close up of old Donatello contemplating his stick, which now appears to resemble a pencil. Hiding in the background, young Donatello looks on, whispering "It's me." :End Image ID]

But more importantly, we see the stone on that stick even earlier! It's part of Donnie's Gofu, an amulet he made back in #132 with crystals from the thin place to help him channel mystic energy.

[Image ID: Two panels from IDW TMNT #132. In the top panel, Donatello contemplates a glowing green crystal. To the right, a textbox reads "Rin, the first cut, is 'strength' and 'confrontation.'" In the bottom panel, there is a multifaceted glowing green crystals wrapped neatly in what appears to be some sort of vine or twine. To the right, a textbox reads "It is courage and steeling oneself for what will be confronted." :End Image ID]

And in IDW TMNT #135 — which takes places before Alliance #4 — we see Donnie experimenting with some of the crystals. Most notably, we see it attach to a pencil on his desk.

[Image ID: A page from IDW TMNT #135. It depicts Donatello in his workshop, tinkering with his gauntlet and adding pieces of his mystic crystal into it. A small chunk attaches itself to the eraser of his pencil. Swirls of energy curl off the various chunks to twist around his outstretched hand. As he is working, he is speaking into a tape recorder. His monologue is as follows: Donatello: After cutting the thin place crystal into sections, the gauntlet installation is much smoother. The energy of the crystal fragments — I hesitate to say magic, maybe arcane energy is better? — is successfully powering Dr. Lilja's gauntlet, but it's inefficient. Until I can determine where the crystal's power actually comes from, I won't know what limits this energy has, both physical and temporal. In any case, it's a very promising start, and I hope whatever I can create with these materials... will be enough to protect my family, friends, and community. Seri, off page: Donatello? :End Image ID}

So you might be asking: What's so important about these dang crystals?

I'm glad you asked!

Way back during Mirage Vol. 1, the very first Micro-series came out. Donatello's book was a story called "Kirby and the Warp Crystal." In it, Don meets April's downstairs neighbor, an artist named Kirby (in honor of the late great Jack Kirby). Kirby has a magic crystal that, when strapped to his pencil, makes whatever he draws become real, but only for a short time before they disappear.

That in-of-itself gives credence to the theory that Donnie drew up his children, but wait, there's more!

Mirage Vol. 4 #22 it's revealed that April is a living drawing herself. After being unable to conceive a second child, her father found the crystal and discovered it's magical properties. First attaching it to a pencil, he drew up a bouncing baby girl, who disappeared after a short period of time. He tried several more times before giving up. But he had one last idea — he strapped the crystal to a pen and drew the baby one more time. And she remained real, growing into the April we know today.

So, not only is it possible to create life with the crystal, it's possible to create permanent life with it. And it's not just the Mirage crystal, either! in Alliance #4, we see old Donatello draw up his family so he can say goodbye to them.

[Image ID: Two panels from IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game — Alliance #4. In the top panel, old Donatello draws ghostly green images of his family onto a blank white background using a pencil with a glowing green crystal attached. In the bottom panel, he addresses the drawings of his family morosely, "Hey, guys." :End Image ID]

So knowing what we do, we can conclude that magic was definitely involved in the creation of the Donnie-Spawn. However, I do not believe it's the only factor. For one, these drawings of his family are generally lifeless and disappear quickly. For two, We did see him looking at those baby turtles, and there were all those drawings in that vision, too...

I posit that Donnie did his preliminary designs on paper, then used magic to mutate his children from ordinary turtles. It has a nice circularity to it, I think, considering Donnie's own origin as an animal test subject.

Also of note is that Sophie Campbell once said that she wanted to make a turtle character that was a drawing come to life but for the life of me I cannot find the source on that.

Theory Two: One of Donnie's Kids is Artemisia

This one is really just me going

[Image ID: The "I've connected the two dots." "You didn't connect shit." "I've connected them!" Meme from Buzzfeed: Unsolved. :End Image ID]

But I like it and you can't prove me wrong (yet).

In IDW TMNT #117, we get a shot of what the future Splinter Clan will look like.

[Image ID: A page from IDW TMNT #117. Along the bottom, the six core members of the Splinter Clan observe a portal haloed in sparking blue energy that shows them a glimpse of the future. The image shown to them is a camp set up in a desert. There is a small waterfall and what appears to be a Japanese maple tree in the background, as well as the ruins of skyscrapers to the right. The clan and their various allies are there, along with new members we haven't met yet. Despite the rough conditions, everyone looks happy. :End Image ID]

At the top left, sitting on a balcony, there is a mutant turtle. She has a bow and pink face paint. Her name is Artemisia — her name is not mentioned in the comic, of course, but we know this thanks to Sophie Campbell's presence here on Tumblr and the website formerly known as Twitter.

Notable about Artemisia is that she's the ONLY turtle in that glimpse into the future we haven't met yet.

I'd also like to draw attention back to the panel from #139:

[Image ID: A panel from IDW TMNT #139. It is framed in wispy purple smoke, indicating it's part of a vision. in the center foreground, Donatello stands wearing a dark cloak. In his right hand he carries a staff with a bird's head on it, in his left a short stick with a crystal emitting a magic aura attached to it. Behind him stands 3 mutant turtles. In the air above them and on the ground below them are drawings of mutant turtles. :End Image ID]

That turtle in the middle reads female to me. They have a more feminine shape language — wide hips and a slim waist, softer facial features, and the impression of wearing a skirt and crop top.

Plus the naming scheme fits. Artemisia is named for Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi — it would not be out of line for Donnie to name his kids in a similar manner to how he and his brothers were named.

And that's about it for this one, really. The only "extra" turtle we have is a girl, one of the Donnie-Spawn reads feminine, ergo Artemisia = Donnie-Spawn.

I will not be upset in the slightest if this is not the case; the more turtles the merrier if you ask me!

Other Interesting Information

There was once a TMNT TTRPG called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness. One of it's expansions, Road Hogs, included a small comic set in a post apocalyptic future that featured old man! Raph with three students he all calls Mike (I am SO NORMAL about that fact, I promise). This is likely the inspiration between the old man! Raph we've been seeing in the current arc, as well as potential inspiration for the Donnie-Spawn. Sophie Campbell is a fan of the TTRPG turtles, and even drew them herself. It would not be impossible for her to have drawn inspiration from there.

Sophie Campbell also created another turtle for the group shot in #117. His name is Kirby, but he didn't make the final cut. His name is clearly a reference to Jack Kirby (tin-foil hat time: which could be a link to the Mirage Donatello Micro-Series story). There's another scrapped turtle named Kirby (again, for Jack Kirby), who was going to be in the would-be fourth TMNT movie who could also be a source of inspiration. He was dimensional traveler. Make of that what you will.

Fero Pe's designs for the Donnie-Spawn remind me of the new turtles from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin — The Lost Years. Particularly, the one on the far left is rather large like Odyn, and the one on the right is tall and slim, a bit like Uno. Considering IDW TMNT #139 came out in April of 2023, and the first issue of The Lost Years came out in January of 2023, it's possible that this is a result of synergy at the office — artists taking inspiration from each other.

Donnie being spiritual/magical isn't entirely out of left field. In Rick McCollum's "Donatello: The Ring" and "Twilight of the Ring" stories, Donnie proves to be very spiritual. I believe it also makes sense specifically in this context, because the crystal has always been heavily associated with him, even after the reveal of April's true origins. It'd be Odd to give the Kirby Crystal to anyone else, and having him use it to create his children is a nice homage to the original. Which also — it didn't come up in the main post, but old Donatello leaves a note for himself that reads "Life at best is bittersweet." This itself is a callback to "Kirby and the Warp Crystal" as Kirby leaves Donnie a note reading the same thing just before his death.

Donnie's design as an old man could possibly be a reference to the character Tsou-T'an-Jin from the TMNT/ Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa crossovers, being an elderly, mystically inclined turtle. That would be a bit of a stretch, I think, but it's not off the table.

Unanswered Questions

How many kids does Donnie have? We see four turtles in the tank, but only three mutants. For there to be a "true" next-gen, there should be four (potentially five, if you include Jennika, or even six if we consider Venus) turtles. If Lita is included in the count, there could be three Donnie-Spawn, which would be in line with one of their potential sources of inspiration the TTRPG turtles. But there were four turtles in the tank Donnie looks at, and why wouldn't he make a "full set," so to speak? Were there four at one point, and something happened to the fourth?

Where are they? We only see Artemisia in the group shot from #117, and Leo is not specific about what happened to the kids after Donnie left, and that conversation takes place after that group shot. Where are the others? What happened to them?

Why did Donnie make them? We don't know why, exactly, Donnie made them. We just know they exist. Does he make them because he was told by future!Leo that they exist? Because he wants children? Because he's lonely? For some larger purpose?

PLEASE talk at me about IDW turtles. Do it in the reblogs, send me an ask, messenger pigeon, smoke signals — l do not care so long as it's about IDW turtles. Tell me your theories, argue with me about MY theories, I do not care. I am chewing on my own arms for lack of people to talk IDW TMNT with.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are about the show or the upcoming final season! :)

Stranger Things Reviews/Theories

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tales From Hawkins

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 1 of 2)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 2 of 2)

Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors Review

Stranger Things Flight Of Icarus

Stranger Things Lucas On The Line

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Season 1, Episode 1)

Synopsis: Set before the events of Season 3, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max take a field trip with Mr. Clarke's class to New York City (with El secretly tagging along) to explore all the sights in the Big Apple. However, when the group gets separated from the class and encounters an old enemy, they're forced to join with some unexpected allies as they attempt to stop a world-ending threat........

Observations:

This is one of those comics where I wish I had been in the writers room so I could understand what their thought-process was.

The premise: Sometime in 1985, the Party is in New York City on a field-trip with Scott Clarke's class (why and how they get this trip arranged is never explained). Along the way, they split from the main group and end up lost in the underground subway. As they try to come up with a plan, they hear sounds coming from the tunnels and go to investigate. Guess who they end up running into?

DEMODOGS...........except with robotic parts attached to them?!

To make this more surreal, the Party gets saved by (you guessed it) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMMTs for short):

Later on, after introductions are made and explanations given, the kids and TMNTs (with encouragement from their sensei Splinter) discover that:

a.) The robotic demodogs (referred to as Demomousers by Dustin) are being controlled by Baxter Stockman, a mad scientist who's one of the Turtles adversaries.

And b.) There's a gate in NYC allowing demodogs and demogorgons to come through, and the Mind Flayer is preparing to invade.

Realizing they need to join forces, the Party and TMNTs attempt to take down Baxter and the Mind Flayer before they bring ruin to the city.

If all of this sounds weird, you now know how I felt reading it.

I'll admit when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I'm not an expert. I have some knowledge of the franchise from when I was growing up, mainly from the 1987 cartoon and the first two live-action TMNT movies (no, NOT the Michael Bay produced ones), but as far as the comics go, I've never read the original ones. In terms of my knowledge:

I know the 4 turtles are named after famous Italian Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

I know they have a sensei named Splinter, a former human martial arts instructor from Japan named Hamato Yoshi who was transformed into a rat via a chemical mutagen (since the chemical mixes the DNA of living beings who've been in contact with one another, and Splinter had constantly been in contact with rats while living in the sewers).

I know that the turtles were originally ordinary turtles that Splinter adopted in the sewers before they also got infected with the chemical and (because they were in contact with Splinter when he was human) became humanoid turtles.

I know Splinter named and trained the turtles in ninjutsu, adopting them as his students/children.

I know Splinter and the Turtles arch-enemy is Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. He was responsible for dumping the chemical that transformed them, he runs a criminal ninja organization called "The Foot Clan," and (in the 1987 TV show at least), he has two animal/human hybrid henchmen named Rocksteady and Bebop. Also, Shredder aims for world-domination.

I know Shredder was allied with an alien brain named Krang from Dimension X, and they operated from a station called the Technodrome.

I know there was a scientist named Baxter Stockmam (who's one of the main antagonists in this comic) who created MOUSERS (also present here) that did his bidding and reeked havoc.

I know about April O'Neil, the news reporter who is an ally to the turtles, and Casey Jones, a violent vigilante who wears an ice hokey mask and has a bag of weapons, who is also an ally to the turtles. They make a brief appearance in this comic towards the end:

Finally, I know about this earworm of a song:

Like I said, my knowledge primarily comes from the 1987 show and the first two movies. What little I'm aware of about the original comics is that the turtles all wore the same red-eye masks before later media would color-code each turtle (likely so audiences could tell them apart). In typical 80s fashion, the comics were dark and gritty. Judging by how the Turtles are depicted here in this crossover, it appears they based the Turtles characterizations off their original comic book iterations:

This brings me to one of my problems with the crossover: Because it's dead-set on portraying the characters in a grim fashion, it doesn't leave much room for humorous interactions between the turtles and the kids. What little humor is present is either forced, or just recycled jokes from the show. Stranger Things is rooted in the science-fiction/horror genre, but it balances it out by having funny moments between the characters to level out the tension. Same thing can be said for the 1987 TMNT cartoon: Part of what made that work is the creators realized how absurd the premise was, and embraced the weirdness while having fun with it. This comic expects the reader to take the story solemnly, and all it does is highlight the ridiculousness of its premise.

Another issue I have is the whole crossover aspect. I know this isn't unique to TMNT and characters from this franchise have done crossovers with Batman, Power Rangers, Street Fighter, Transformers, Archie Comics, etc. The difference though is that 1.) These were usually done with other superhero or cartoon characters franchises, and 2.) To my understanding, most of those crossovers weren't usually considered canon in either universe.

This comic on the other hand tries REALLY HARD to make itself canon in the Stranger Things universe by setting it between seasons 2 and 3, before The Battle of Starcourt:

On top of that, when the kids and the Turtles finally confront Baxter at his lab about his motivations, he reveals he was a colleague of Dr. Brenner, which is how he knew about El:

This ends up creating several plot-holes:

1.) You'd think that if the events in this comic took place in the show's continuity, the kids would have talked about it at least once during seasons 3-4. I have a hard time imagining, for instance, that Dustin wouldn't have been chatting Steve's ear off about encountering a bunch of humanoid turtles living in NYC sewers, or the Demomousers they had to fight off.

2.) Same problem with Baxter Stockman and Dr. Brenner's relationship: No mention of it on the show? That's not even including how this relationship is at odds with Brenner's character since he considered other people (even fellow scientists) to be beneath him in terms of intellect. Brenner was NOT a man who saw others as his equal.

3.) Since Stranger Things is a show set on referencing 80s media and paying homages to it, and since the TMNTs were a big franchise in the 80s, does that mean the first volumes of the TMNT comics that came out in 1984 don't exist in this universe? Especially when the kids reactions to first encountering the TMNTs is not knowing who they are:

I get that Stranger Things is a fictional show that requires suspension of disbelief when it comes to its science-fiction elements (i.e. The Upside Down, El's powers, etc), but for the most part, it was grounded in a believable way. By that, I mean its universe was set up to be one that could conceivably take place in this reality. From its references to historical moments that occurred in real life, to its disturbingly realistic portrayals of bullying, bigotry, Cold War paranoia, homophobia, racism, government corruption, abuse, forced conformity, trauma and grief, and other social issues, to the whole dynamic of the Party being outcasts trying to survive middle school and high school. It's a coming-of-age story that also acts as a deconstruction of the 80s, and uses science-fiction elements in service of that goal. I've talked before about the Upside Down being a not-so-subtle metaphor for Hawkins and the 80s as a whole: Things look shiny, bright, and appealing on the surface (especially since the 80s continues to be a decade our current culture is obsessed with romanticizing), but when you actually dig deeper, there is rot underneath.

By setting the Stranger Things universe in the TMNT universe, it breaks that illusion in favor of turning it into popcorn entertainment. Some would argue Stranger Things was already this to begin with, but considering how the Duffer Brothers incorporated the themes I've just described into their work when they could have ignored them altogether, and considering how Stranger Things has a passionate fanbase dedicated to analyzing the show, its characters, and how it acts as a commentary for events and situations in the present, I would argue the show transcends that in a way TMNT never could. This comic tries to achieve this, with the Turtles (and Splinter) preaching about the importance of friendship, how everyone has challenges, not being defined by where you come from, etc, but all of these themes were already examined on the show way before this comic ever came out (and in a much more satisfying manner). Here, it comes off as repetitive without offering anything new to the table.

This isn't to say that the comic itself is bad. It still has cool moments and impressive visuals, and the fights between the heroes and the monsters of the Upside Down are a treat to behold:

The levels of detail put into these images is impressive, and it's neat seeing each member of the Party take up weapons to deliver damage to the Mind Flayer and his monsters.

On top of that, there were elements in the comic that (whether intentional or not) tie into the show and leave a lot to chew on.

For example, the whole fight against Baxter Stockman's forces and the Mind Flayer gives an idea of what we might see in Season 5. Whether it's the main characters dealing with Colonel Sullivan (who's still set on capturing El) or Vecna's impending invasion.

Even Baxter Stockman and his ambush of the heroes reminds me of Colonel Sullivan and the soldiers under his command from S4:

There's also Will's description of the Upside Down being worldwide and how the dimension isn't just limited to Hawkins (which is something S4 also confirmed):

There's also the Turtles speculating that El's powers are tied to the Upside Down, which is something I've discussed in my reviews (specifically Six and Suspicious Minds):

Additionally, the comic introduces the idea that there are other dimensions out there besides the Upside Down that can be traveled to.

While I doubt the Utroms (i.e. the alien brains) that the Mind Flayer possesses will be making an appearance in season 5 (or the TMNTs for that matter), the idea of multiple dimensions is something the Duffer Brothers could explore in the final season. It could also give more detail about what the Upside Down is, and whether the Mind Flayer really was just black particles with no conscious that Vecna formed into his avatar, or it was a multi-dimensional conqueror (as I've seen speculated by parts of this fandom) and it was simply dormant until Vecna woke it up and started collaborating with it:

But like I said, this is all speculation.

Overall, my feelings about this comic are mixed: On its own, it's a decent read and has plenty of cool moments and creative imagery. However, when you look closely at the story and how it's supposed to tie into the Stranger Things universe.........it starts falling apart. I think fans will enjoy this crossover for the sheer entertainment of it, but I seriously doubt this is going to be counted as canon.

[whispering-about-the-tmnt]

Just posted a new recipe/short in my TMNT Cookbook!

Not sweets this time, but Sausage and Kale Soup... and a little bit about how Donnie (in my 70s AU, anyway) can't get enough spicy food!

[my-name-is-bunnyfoxy]

TOP 10 FAVORITE ROTTMNT CHARACTERS

10) Big Mama

9) Baron Draxum

8) Kendra

7) Splinter/Hamato Yoshi/Lou Jitsu

6) Cassandra Jones

5) Casey Jones Jr.

4) Oroku/Hamato Karai

3) Raphael Hamato

2) April O'Neil

1)Leonardo Hamato

Happy 5th Anniversary Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I'll always appreciate you for being the thing that brought my love for TMNT back and got me all obsessed over it again. Plus it helped me a lot since I got back to TMNT in 2022.

While it is most likely you will probably not return, I will still hold you close to my heart and love you with every inch of my body. Even if it's cancelled or nah I don't care. I love you a lot.

Thank you and shout out to the creators for bringing such an amazing series. It's sad to know that it lasted really short but hey. Whether it will come back or won't, we can still love it all we want.

So thank you ROTTMNT.

[askseriousrainbow]

Numbers 90 to 81 today.

90. Carmageddon Previous Rank: 93 Carmageddon is one of those games you either love or hate with a passion. You have three ways of winning a race, but it's very open with its objectives.

89. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Previous Rank: 86 VTMB is one of those games that was unfortunately doomed to failure because of both the state and the timing of its release. It's still a great game, and adding the Unofficial Patch makes the game much more playable. Gotta love those Malkavian runs too.

88. Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche New Entry I'm not gonna sugar coat it... this game's weird. But it's oddly charming with a silly storyline and... interesting weapons. You start out as a normal horizontal 2D shooter, but you get weird power ups that change how your gun works, based on a completely different genre. It's quirky, but it's fun and doesn't overstay its welcome.

87. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Previous Rank: 50 The best TMNT games were beat-'em-ups and Shredder's Revenge is one of the best, in my opinion. Getting the '80s series's voice actors for the Turtles is great as well, really feels like the cartoon.

86. The Outer Worlds Previous Rank: 83 When Obsidian makes a good RPG, you know. And The Outer Worlds, to me, is a good RPG. Well balanced combat and really interesting characters, in my opinion.

85. Sid Meier's Civilization IV Previous Rank: 75 Civ IV was the last of the classic “square” map Civ games and a lot of people prefer this to V, VI, and VII. I haven't really tried those last three, but Civ IV is a good time.

84. Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Previous Rank: 80 This is what made me take EA off The List. A faithful remastering of the original C&C games with bonus content done by the original team? Yes please!

83. Saints Row IV Previous Rank: 90 My favorite of the Steelport games, Saints Row IV ratchets up the silliness up a notch, and makes you feel like a superhero. Sure, the Re-Elected version forces you to use the inferior Epic Online Services, but I play solo anyway, so it's just a mild annoyance in this one.

82. Little Kitty, Big City New Entry Little Kitty, Big City is just a cozy game about getting a little kitty back home to their balcony. Fish unlocking your stamina bar just makes sense, and controlling the kitty is intuitive. It's short but it's fun.

81. SimCity 4 Deluxe New Entry Okay, so it got a little complicated for SimCity when we got to the fourth entry, but it's a good one regardless. The region play is an interesting concept, and I like the U Drive It mode.

Next part tomorrow!

Link to part 1. Link to part 3. Link to part 4. Link to part 5. Link to part 6. Link to part 7. Link to part 8. Link to part 9. Link to part 10.

[akimasuri]

Blood warning on second picture

Leonardo, leader of his family (but just on missions)

Big, big info dump and some doodles (and my rant):

Also I know I fucked up and wrote 27/7, let's just ignore it for now

Leonardo's trauma response was becoming the funny one.

If you laugh loud enough, no one will notice darkness inside of you.

- or something like that, pretty sure that's how Raph commented on it. Leo is not so sneaky about seriousness of his trauma. But he will fight and win. You just have to hope he will listen to at least one thing he heard from countless speaches.

It's not a final character sheet for Leonardo. (it's his second one actually) But I like writing informations. I'm a writer... After that, an artist.

And

Most important. I finally got a name for them. First, they were supposed to have some sort of mutation powers (probably still will, just weaker), definetly not the level of RotTMNT guys.

But then I changed kinda concept. I like slice of life parts of TMNT, so I decided to make them focus on it more. (except Leonardo, but someone has to collect trauma like pokemons)

So, there it is, I present to you all:

Family of Mutant Ninja Turtles

Or FoMNT for short. They are different age, so Teenage part had to go.

Also, I like to think that is really more family of that 4. Don't worry, Master Splinter, April and Casey exist in this world. Just, some of them are different.

April has a concept almost finished. Casey is just a few quotes. And Master Splinter has a story for now and future, but I'm missing design.

What is consistent style :)

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @ibenholt Thank you!

how many works do you have on Ao3?

708 and counting!

2. what’s your total Ao3 word count?

50,781

3. what fandoms do you write for?

A lot...my top fandoms on ao3 are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Avatar movies, and Life is Strange 2, but rn I've been writing a bunch of Mayfair Witches and Interview With The Vampire.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

i never noticed the clouds gather round (oh, how fast we fall, how slow we drown) (one of my Batfam fics, that fandom is fucking gigantic lol)

oh. oh, shit. you absolute fucking bastard. (Star Wars Codywan reunion fic, some of my best comedy if I do so say so myself)

i think it's about time i put up a fight (one of my very few Spiderverse fics! It's funny, I hadn't thought about that one in a while, lol.

Conversations Between The Folds Of Time And Space/In A Warehouse (one of my earliest TMNT fics, a big crossover thing I finished...two years ago, holy fuck)

anger is an energy (may the road rise with you) (TMNT 2012/2018 crossover, bit of a spitefic with energy on the 2012 side, for once lol)

5. do you respond to comments?

Yes! Sooner or later, anyway, lol.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably too much to believe, too much to deny. That one is meeeean (and I love it)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I've written a lot of fics with happy endings, but I think you and i were fire, fire, fireworks is one of my favorites.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes, from annoying people who have no lives. luckily I do have a life and have very cool and sexy opinions about the boundary between fiction and reality, so it's always more entertaining than anything.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

All kinds! Fluffy, gory, noncon, the deadest of dead doves. I especially like writing stuff in pairings nobody's thought of yet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Sometimes--the craziest I've written is definitely give me something good to eat.

11. has any of your work been stolen?

Not that I know of, heh.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Like Lead In My Veins (translated into Russian!) and fly, fly, fly high against the sky (translated into Tiếng Việt!)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet, but who knows!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I've got a soft spot for Leo/Saki, my first major OTP...although I've written the biggest number of fics for Spider Soccoro/Miles Quaritch. And rn my obsession is definitely Marius de Romanus/Armand. I think I just generally really love shit with fucked-up dadson vibes, although I do also have a soft spot for sibling ships like turtlecest and Diazcest.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Honestly don't think there are any major fic WIPs I'm working on rn, although there is one Avatar series I really want to get back to when I have the hyperfixation again.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm really good with metaphors and stream of consciousness stuff; I can communicate a lot in a short space, although I can spool it out longer if I need to. I've been told I write some very good lines of dialogue and I'm good at coming up with fucked up Scenarios to put the blorbos in.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm not good with chapter fics, since I lose interest quickly. I worry that my prose strays towards the purple and that the ideas I'm trying to explore get lost in the proverbial sauce. I'm better at writing random little scenes than setting them up more fully.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I try to avoid it, it's better than subjecting anyone to Google Translate butchery.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

TMNT! Those little green bastards have done so much for me and introduced me to so many great people, holy shit.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Right now? probably i can walk between raindrops. i can be insensible. I really loved the chance to explore Paul and Louis's relationship and to build off a structure developed by an older writer in the VC fandom through a new lens.

tagging @freshairforrabbits @bl00dh0rs3 @kayjaydee17 @mayfriend @midnight1404 @honeybunchesobees @honeyhobi

[nintendowife]

I'm super late to the party but I finished Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge on PC about a week ago. What a pleasant nostalgia trip! I used to be a big fan of TMNT as a kid. Feels like it wasn't long ago that I was running around with a shell made out of cardboard strapped on my back and pretending to be Turtles with my friends (ok, actually that was over 30 years ago and now I almost hear the crowd go "whatever, grandma").

Anyhow, the game is quality stuff! You should play it if you even remotely like side-scrolling beat 'em ups. Gameplay is fun, the pixel graphics are beautiful, detailed and humorous. Level design is quite good and there's plenty of interesting environments to go through and there's a co-op possibility. The soundtrack is very good and in some songs they had even managed to capture that 90s recording sound.

I started with Donatello who is my favorite turtle and at some point I noticed April O'Neil is a playable character too, so I tried playing as her as well. I ended up liking her agility and combos. The characters learn new moves as the game progresses so there's more to do than just press one attack button.

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is a nice short game and it took me 3-4 hours to finish the story mode (Chill difficulty level). There's replay value in form of clearing additional challenges, seeing all the characters' endings, etc. There's many difficulty levels to adjust for your own skills/preferences. I had fun playing this via Game Pass and maybe you'll find an enjoyable game here too.

[reelvibes91]

Top 10 Movies of 2023

10. The Creator - It had a really poignant message about how far we can take technology. Can we replicate the human experience but have it be placed in a human body. It raises the questions about what the future of warfare will look like. Add in some of the most stunning visuals that have been seen in a sci-fi movie, and the final product leaves you in a debate. One that does not have a wrong answer.

9. Scream 6- Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera return as the Carpenter sisters, and this film takes the franchise to a new location. Changing up the scenery allowed for fresh thrills to be infused into this series and created a new level of tension. It was a very solid entry as it developed the legacy characters more and continued to give depth to the new core 4. Very good movie.

8. Talk to Me- One of the most original horror films that has been released in a long time. It plays on themes of loss, the supernatural, what happens after death and contact with the world beyond our own. It is well made, well acted and completely immerses you in this unique premise. This is a gem among other films that thankfully makes the list due to other films being pushed back beyond 2023.

7. The Killer- Fassbender is a revelation in this stylish action thriller. It may have a simple plot but sometimes all you need to do is breathe fresh life into something that has been done before. Fincher relies on the fast talking narrative and multiple set pieces to beautifully craft this story that plays out before us. It works and excels because you connect with the story and want to see how it plays out.

6. The Super Mario Bros- This film sat atop the list for a long while but ultimately found itself bumped down. It is such a fun experience for anyone who grew up with the games and a delight to share with the younger generation. This is the single movie from this year that has played the most in my household. It holds so much Nostalgia and brings such a smile to my face.

5. Air- Ben Affleck brings this story to life in such a compelling manner. For anyone who followed MJs career this story is not new. For those who have forgotten MJ used this platform to become the single most recognized athlete of all time. This story, this deal and how it played out changed the landscape of the name, image, likeness game. The Air Jordan symbol is truly iconic and now this film will fully cement that legacy within cinema. Absolutely the kind of film we need more of.

4. Oppenheimer- When Nolan's career is said and done there will be so many achievements we can look back upon. This one will be considered the most important due to the historical nature of it. The way Nolan paints the picture of how this all came to be is a crowning achievement in film making and could likely win the director a slew of awards. Nolan knows how to make a stunning film while getting the most out of his cast and he was some amazing talent to choose from here. 

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse- Miles Morales is my favorite Spider-Man and this movie continues to showcase all the reasons why he is a phenomenal character. The sequel also added more layers to how the multiversal aspect of it all works. Easily some of the best animation we have ever seen. This film is on the short list for best picture at the Oscars and definitely deserves all the praise it is getting. 

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - No kid grew up in the 80s and 90s without knowing who the Ninja Turtles are. Now we have them present for the next generation and what a treat it was. There was so much story and world building in just over 90 minutes. You could feel the chemistry among the actors as well as they brought the brothers to life. The animation was once again on point, and the stellar cast overall helped bring the classic characters to life. This is the TMNT movie we have been needing for the last decade or more.

1 Killers of the Flower Moon- This 3.5 hour long Martin Scorsese epic told probably the most heartbreaking story of the year. What we see in this movie is the death and betrayal of the Osage people. Led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone this is the type of story that needs to be told to help educate people on the past. The Osage murders were about greed and corruption. Scorsese continues to make films with bold statements and that will help preserve the truth about history.