Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #70…
“Desperate Measures” Part 4! A stand-off between humans and mutants turns deadly for one side and the consequences will have an impact for years to come!
Each month I read TMNT, then have a little think before I put some words down. This month, the first thought that came to mind was that I’ve been reviewing IDW TMNT since issue #15, which sounds bonkers. Once you include the mini-series that means a lot of TMNT. That led to some other thoughts. The next big thought was about the villains we’ve encountered so far, and how many of them are truly evil?
The Pantheon aren’t a great bunch overall. Shredder was hell-bent on killing the Turtles and Splinter in another life-time (any Foot domination aside). Baxter has been prone to helping when it suits him. Bebop and Rocksteady aren’t very bright, but they have their reasons, as does Leatherhead. I’ve forgotten plenty I know, but overall you can look at them and figure out their motivation. I might think of them as bastards or vicious but rarely evil.
This month the EPF and Dark Water show they’re true colours. It’s at times shocking and others heartening. I was genuinely surprised by some of the characters reactions, and that was a real pleasure. Add that to some very strong action scenes and you’ve got a great issue that overall resolves the arc, whilst leaving a few questions left to answer in the future.
I’ve been moaning about Leo for a few issues now, so I’m glad to say that this month I have no complaints. He can go back to being my second favourite IDW turtle.
The way Slash is treated here breaks my heart. His strengths and weaknesses are fully exploited, and it’s a sad to see someone who I’ve seen grow from a mindless weapon be reduced back down to that. It also means that in his current state I can’t see interactions between him and Mikey. I do not approve of this!
On the flip side to all this positivity, I’m concerned that Hob’s actions are being overlooked in favour of a victory. He’s done several things that were he not currently classed as an anti-hero type character, would be heavily frowned upon. Will this be addressed? Will Hob ever change? I don’t know but I don’t think he should be absolved of his actions.
Also depending on your own preferences, there might be some pretty cheesy dialogue in the through this issue. It didn’t overly bother me but it did stand out. Then again, the TMNT are teenagers, so maybe they should be given a pass? So much is done well this month that I on reflection I think I can let it slide.
Rating: 8/10
Chris Cooper
Originally published June 15, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
