One Mystery Turtle Stands Alone, Searching For The Man Who Killed His Family.
In my last review, I spoke to the ongoing adventures of the Ninja Turtles as well as important events that had occurred in the long running series. This was done in the hopes of providing a little more background to the events that occur in another one of the series latest off shoots, The Last Ronin. While it was helpful in many ways, it may have also not been entirely necessary, as this latest series seems to take place in an entirely different timeline, or perhaps more accurately an alternate reality. In eany event, The Last Ronin is a comic which can be undertaken immediately, and none the less looked both intriguing and gritty from the outset.
Given the title of the series, I could only imagine, at first glance, that I would be looking at one of the four brothers embarking on a solo journey. Perhaps Rafael was looking to branch out and carve out his own path as he often desired to do, or Leonardo was heading off on yet another pilgrimage to improve on his leadership abilities, but I would be wrong on both fronts. Instead, I was hit with the incredible reality that three of the four turtles were no more, and that the remaining one found himself on a personal mission to avenge the deaths of his fallen brothers, as well as their father and mentor, Splinter.
The comic takes place in a time where the Shredder’s legacy is ensured by his grandson, Oroku Hiroto, the ruler of a futuristic city heavily policed by loyal servants that uphold their leaders will and keep the “peace’ with advanced smart Foot Clan robots. The identity of our lone turtle remains a mystery throughout as he carries the weapons of each of his fallen brothers along with his own.
As he infiltrates this totalitarian territory and navigates through its streets and sewers, he is pushed by his mission to regain the honour of his fallen family, while kept company by their spirits. While more of a psychological coping mechanism, the voices of his brothers serve as a means of our hero to avoid completely accepting his crippling loneliness and the outright futility of the mission at hand. But driven by the Bushido code ingrained into him by his master and using the skills of a ninja, the protagonist pushes forward with the determination to stand face to face with the man he holds responsible for his families demise.
The Last Ronin instantly stood out with its darker take on the adventures of this cartoon classic, the absence of the full quartet really cutting deep with it’s sense of finality. I enjoyed the fact the last remaining turtle’s identity was kept a secret until the very end, his name or nickname never given away by the spirits of his siblings, and the usual coloured mask that often served as the most reliable identifier, was replaced with a neutral black mask. The comic kept a good pace and entertained with action packed pages that required a great deal of improvisation and stealth on the part of our hero. Of course, as a first issue, the comic lays down important groundwork that will hopefully springboard a story that will tie all questions together, such as how the turtles fell and how Shredders grandson would ascend to power.
As stated earlier, The Last Ronin is a pretty good entry point for old fans of the cartoon who have been out of the loop of the Turtle's more recent adventures, but the 2011 series is still a good read given that it has the more recent issues that document the death of Master Splinter, among other crucial events. It feels good to have more TMNT series to get excited about, and this is one short series that will no doubt bring the nostalgia along with a whole lot of feels.
Happy reading :).