Elections Are Attempted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #119

April O’Neil is on the run, as confined to Mutant Town as the rest of its residents. She’s just in time for the fireworks, though, as a rally to depose Old Hob and hold free and fair elections is being held. With the future of Mutant Town at stake, you can bet there are going to be those seeking to disrupt proceedings – but protecting their own is exactly what the Splinter Clan has been working toward. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #119: Story by Sophie Campbell, art by Nelson Daniel, colors by Ronda Pattison, letters by Shawn Lee, and story consulting by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz.

For the past 18 issues, the Turtles have had to deal with some fairly personal tragedies. They followed this up with the establishment of a new Dojo in the heart of Mutant Town. Now they’re experiencing the life they’ve never had before, in a new community that lets them walk about in daylight, a community they’ve adopted and are taking up the responsibility for. They’ve fought mutants new and old, had themselves a battle of the bands on behalf of a time-traveling turtle, and are now trying their hand at politics. 

The thing about TMNT, though, is that unfortunately things aren’t really big until the humans get involved.

Mutant Allies

The outside world has been a looming threat ever since the first issue of this new era, but they’ve been kept at bay because things in Mutant Town have been relatively quiet. With the mutant rally to depose Old Hob in TMNT #119, though, things aren’t going to be quiet for long – and a number of the Turtles’ enemies are positioned to be able to profit greatly from chaos in the community. 

First and foremost amongst them is Baxter Stockman, the mad scientist turned city Mayor whose plans were discovered by April O’Neil last issue. She’s now been forced to to throw her lot in with the mutants – the significance of which doesn’t escape her allies’ notice. While April’s always been an ally, her stakes haven’t been their stakes until now. It’s a minor thing, but an important thing that I’m glad the comic took a moment for. I’m excited to see April be a more active part of the comic!

Someone I’m less excited for – at least, as he is now – is Casey Jones, who’s been wallowing in his own comfort out in the city. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him – I think TMNT #119 is the first time since this new TMNT era began.

Casey Jones is not doing well. 

Despite his efforts to the contrary, Casey’s following in his father’s footsteps in the worst way. Beer cans strewn through the apartment, gross guy jokes thrown at Raphael, and, of course, insults hurled at the turtle the moment Raph pushes back against Jones’ grossness. I don’t quite know what’s going on with Casey, though he does hint at feelings of abandonment. If that’s the case, then he’s even less sympathetic than his behavior warrants – the reason he hasn’t seen his friends or his former girlfriend is that they’re literally walled off in another part of the city, their very existence declared illegal outside it. 

TMNT’s been doing its own spin on the mutant metaphor, and this issue seems to be focusing on the kinds of allies people get. From the well-meaning who sometimes forget their own privilege, to those resentful when things aren’t all about them, to those who, sometimes, put themselves in harm’s way to make sure the right story gets heard.

Lola Cruz, the intrepid reporter (we know very little about her, actually, but as a journalist in a comic book, “intrepid” is what she’s getting called, those are the rules) we met last issue, comes up against some of the less friendly mutants in town. Fortunately for her, the dojo’s littlest ninjas – Lita and the ferrets (incidentally, that would make a fantastic band name) come to her rescue… though it ends up going about as bad as things can get.

A Rallying Cry in Mutant Town

The rally outside Hob’s home base seems to actually be going pretty well, at first! Though Sally Pride had her doubts about running for a position of leadership, she’s clearly someone who has the people’s best interests at heart – and more importantly, is able to communicate that to them. She’s got grit, she’s got style…and she’s got four snipers taking aim at her, right in the middle of her speech.

The Turtles (and their Fairy God-Shredder) do their best to take out the snipers before anything too bad happens – but all it takes is one shot before things start spinning out of control. Someone – and it’s not yet clear who – has been manipulating things, pitting peaceful mutants against Hobs’ Enforcers. 

I like Old Hob. He’s one of the series oldest and most fascinating villains. His end goals are admirable, his means terrible, but all the same, he’s never been an out-and-out bad guy. There’s always been a rough-edged sense of honor to him – one gets the sense that if Mutant Town did have free elections, he would step down and adhere to their choice, despite the other underhanded things he’s been a part of. 

It’s easy to see why Raphael has such a particular hatred for Old Hob, even beyond their long history. In worse circumstances, if Raphael had no family to smoothen out his rough edges, Raphael could very easily be someone a lot like Old Hob himself.

For now, things are out of both their hands. Whoever the true manipulator is, the war’s been sparked, and the students of the Turtles’ dojo are about to be put to the test – though as they tell Leonardo, they’re ready to defend their community against those that would tear it apart. It’s a strangely cute moment for something so serious, especially so soon after a panel of the approaching Enforcers had Nelson Daniel rise to the challenge of putting tough-guy scowls on at least a dozen different species. You have to admire the variety Daniel puts into the art, the level of detail in crowded pages. I don’t think I’ve seen any two animals look alike aside, of course, from those who are actually related. 

As big as this conflict is, it feels like the opening act for something much bigger. The pieces have been well set. While the Sophie Campbell-led era of TMNT has been a lot quieter, warmer, even sillier than the TMNT comic IDW started us out with, one thing it has accomplished is giving the Turtles more to fight for than they ever have before. Yes, they’ve saved the world before, even entire galaxies – but somehow, with all the work they’ve put into the community of Mutant Town, the stakes here feel a lot more important. It’s scarier, too – because while everyone knows that the good guys always win, the people caught in the crossfire aren’t always so lucky.

Armaan Babu

Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.