This week's TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 (of 5) by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, Samuel Plata, Luis Antonio, and Shawn Lee sets up the world of the dystopian, dark future where only one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is left standing, undertaking a quest for revenge against his family's ancient enemies.
The first issue paints a brutal picture of a world with only one mutant turtle hunting its sewers - and reveals not just his true identity, but which still-living allies he has left.
Spoilers ahead for TMNT: The Last Ronin #1
TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 opens with a lone, unnamed turtle making his way from the outskirts of a dystopian, future New York City through pollution, sewage, and decay to the city's high-tech urban heart on a mission of revenge. Along the way, the unnamed turtle talks to his deceased brothers for advice and guidance – and they answer in kind, providing a kind of Greek chorus for the turtle's mission.
Reaching the city, the turtle steals a motorcycle from a young punk girl, who watches as he executes a daring series of stunts to reach the Foot Clan's tower headquarters.
Fighting his way through legions of cybernetic Foot Soldiers, the turtle cries out for the new leader of the Foot, Oroku Hiroto (the Shredder's grandson), to face him and end their families' feud once and for all. But Hiroto, having killed the other three turtles, sees no point and unleashes more forces to kill the turtle.
However, as a skilled ninja with the weapons of all four turtles at his disposal, the lone remaining turtle fights his way through nearly everything the Foot throws at him. Almost reaching Hiroto, he's faced with one last cyber-ninja.
But even as he defeats his last opponent, the turtle's vengeance is thwarted, as the pair go crashing through a window all the way to the ground. Hiroto orders his men to bring him the turtle's body, but they find nothing.
Instead, the punk teen follows the turtle back into the sewer, discovering his identity as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Just as the turtle is about to commit seppuku with Leonardo's sword he passes out from lack of blood.
Waking up in a bed in the team's old lair, the turtle awakens to discover he's now in the care of a much older April O'Neil – who immediately recognizes the last remaining turtle as Michaelangelo, the most boisterous of his brothers now downtrodden and out for hard-boiled revenge.
The story continues in TMNT: The Last Ronin #2 (of 5), which goes on sale on December 16.
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