Summary
- TMNT is producing content that highlights its iconic characters in creative ways, with three separate continuities happening simultaneously.
- The TMNT creative team is excited about the potential of a Spider-Verse-style crossover for the franchise.
- The introduction of Armaggon as a villain and the existence of a weapon that can slice through reality sets the stage for a possible crossover featuring different TMNT variants.
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution Turtlemania is back in full-swing as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to produce content that not only highlights its iconic titular characters in increasingly creative ways, but is doing so all at the same time. Right now, there are three separate TMNT continuities happening concurrently – including The Last Ronin – with a villainous presence brewing in the background of every established universe just waiting to strike. In other words, TMNT needs to launch an official Spider-Verse-style crossover, and according to the creative minds behind the TMNT series, that’s something fans could be seeing sooner rather than later.
The Spider-Verse concept has truly made a name for itself with the critical acclaim and fan praise of Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse, not to mention the anticipation of the final installment in the trilogy, Beyond the Spider-Verse. Though the idea of a multiverse consisting of a number of Spider-Man variants teaming up against a cosmic threat is one that existed in the comics first. In Marvel Comics’ 2014-15 Spider-Man crossover comic event, Spider-Verse, the villainous Morlun – a being who hunts Spider-Heroes across the multiverse – is on a mission to do just that. With this imminent threat to all Spider-Heroes approaching, a number of Spider-People decide to team up and take the fight to Morlun, as that’s the only way to ensure their own survival. And now, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have the chance to do something similar.
TMNT Has A Solid Multiverse, Now It Just Needs A Crossover
In a Screen Rant exclusive interview at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, co-writer Tom Waltz, and artist Ben Bishop, the creative team behind the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution discuss the process of creating this new chapter in TMNT lore. While the main subject of the interview was the new book, the creative team were also asked about the ongoing ones, and – more specifically – if those concurrent continuities would ever merge into one giant crossover event akin to Marvel’s Spider-Verse. Tom Waltz’s answer to that inquiry was as follows:
Ronin can exist at the same time that Cowabunga Dude in Saturday Morning Adventures, you know, Mikey, can exist. It’s just all part of the bigger reality. So I would say, I’m not saying there’s any specific plans for that, but I do know, generally speaking, the multiverse is something that we’re really excited about.
The three ongoing TMNT continuities are the main flagship series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the continuation of the ‘90s cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, and The Last Ronin universe otherwise referred to as the Roninverse. All three are expanding in ways that make the timing for an epic Spider-Verse-style crossover absolutely perfect, especially when considering there’s already a villain who would fit the mold perfectly as the catalyst to bring these TMNT variants together: Armaggon. Armaggon is the current big-bad of the flagship TMNT series who has the power to literally bite through the timestream and seemingly consume entire realities. Not only that, but Saturday Morning Adventures introduced a weapon that has the power to slice through reality itself, which could lead to other dimensions, and even other TMNT universes. All this with the introduction of the Roninverse’s new Turtle heroes – Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja – which would allow them to fight alongside their predecessors in a cool ‘passing of the torch’-type storyline.
While Tom Waltz made it clear that there are no plans for a multiverse story right now, even with all the makings for one right at their fingertips, the TMNT writer did say that the entire creative team is excited about the potential of the multiverse. So, even though Armaggon may not drive these Ninja Turtle variants to each other the way Morlun did for the Spider-Heroes, that doesn’t mean Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won’t have a Spider-Verse-style crossover sometime in the near future.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #1 by IDW Publishing is available December 13, 2023.
