Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
Story: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird & Tom Waltz
Script: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Luis Antonio Delgado (with Samuel Plata & Ronda Pattison)
Lettering: Shawn Lee
Cover Art: Esau & Isaac Escorza (with Luis Antonio Delgado)
Publisher: IDW
Written by the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Last Ronin is a brave, intriguing and dark take on the franchise’s usual fun and relatively brighter approach.
Spanning 5 issues released from 2020 to 2022, the story is set in a future in which Oroku Hiroto, the son of Karai and grandson of Shredder, rules New York City. The world suffers from environmental problems, and it has flying cars and cybernetic Foot Soldiers—a typical dark sci-fi setting.
The story opens with a lone turtle infiltrating Oroku Hiroto’s fortress palace to assassinate him. The turtle fails and escapes into the sewers to commit seppuku. He changes his mind just before passing out but is rescued by a young lady named Jones who is obviously a relation to Casey Jones.
The plot follows this lone turtle as he reconnects with an old ally in his quest for retribution. The city has its resistance cells so they are happy to help get rid of the ruling Oroku clan. The narrative shifts between the present and the past, narrating how each of the other three turtles and Master Splinter died.
The identity of the turtle is revealed early on and anyone who knows a little about TMNT can make an educated guess anyway. Skip the following paragraph if one does not want to know anything more about this.
[Potential Spoiler] One can guess it is probably not Raphael. He is most likely to go get himself killed first. If he is the last one standing, then he would have to learn to calm down but his raw attitude and abilities would get him through it. Leonardo could probably cope the best of the four and methodically execute his campaign. Donatello, in his grief, might distract himself with his gadgets at first but would eventually come up with a plan that relies heavily on his tech to do the dirty work. In this sense, he may be the most capable of carrying out the plan. This leaves Michaelangelo, the youngest and emotionally the most dependent. He is no worse a fighter than his three brothers but has no overt “extra abilities” other than the talent to see things differently. For him to be the lone survivor is the worst and most difficult.
Whoever is the lone turtle, the story is dark and at times grim. The pacing is well-managed, especially as the narrative alternates between the present and past, thereby always providing a sense of progression.
The troubles started when Karai broke a truce and attacked Splinter and the turtles. That is plausible but then some time later, Hiroto offered peace. Although Splinter and the turtles were skeptical, they went along with it and it is this act that can be better written as it is not quite plausible.
The art is mostly well-executed with clean and thin linework and solid colors. The past has slightly muted colors but is otherwise the same style. Distinct from the death of Splinter and the three turtles is the personal past of the lone turtle as he wandered in his grief. This is drawn in black and white with thick and ragged linework and cross-hatching. Whilst the distinction is necessary and the rigorous style is appreciated, the relative simplicity goes too far. Something conventional but in grayscale would work just fine.
At 5 issues, it is sufficiently long but not too long a story. It is long enough for decent worldbuilding so the reader can appreciate the setting, long enough to emotionally connect to the main characters and their past, and long enough to build up to the dramatic action and still have good pacing. Apart from one or two plot points, it is generally well-written. It is somewhat predictable but not in a bad way—it is a dark and even poignant tale that captivates and holds one’s attention throughout.
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