The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Go Platinum in ‘Mutants in Manhattan’

Activision, in conjunction with Nickelodeon and PlatinumGames, have announced what everyone already knew: a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is on its way!

The press release doesn’t reveal a whole lot of information beyond what platforms it will be available on when it’s released this summer (oh yeah, and there’s that), those being the Xbox One, Playstation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC via Steam. It will have an original story by a writer for IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series, Tom Waltz, and features four-player online co-op (aw, no local?) in addition to the single player campaign.

Still, even though that’s not a lot, the trailer which accompanies this announcement speaks volumes:

Near as I can tell, this doesn’t seem to borrow from any one specific incarnation of the TMNT. Then again, I’m not too familiar with IDW’s comics (not for a lack of interest, just money) except to know that much like the Nickelodeon cartoon, it’s basically cherry-picking things from all throughout the green teens’ storied history, although they go about it in a different way. That said, the voices heard in the trailer seem to underline that this is not the cartoon show so many fans currently know and love.

Aside from the author, the biggest tell that this is based on IDW’s comics comes from Bebop’s design, which echoes the style of shades and the mutton chops seen in his design from that continuity. I’m down with this, as I’ve been wanting to get into that headline-making TMNT universe for some time, anyway.

Actually, now that I’ve begun digging for something else, it looks like April’s design in the trailer may also be a match as well.

Prior to digging all that up, what really caught my interest in the trailer was the presence of Armaggon, who (if the TMNTPedia search results are accurate) has no IDW counterpart. Recent fans may recognize the character as the spacefaring bounty hunter in a mechanical armored shark suit from an episode of the Nickelodeon cartoon, but his origins actually date way back — almost as old as Bebop and Rocksteady!

Some may remember him as a playable character from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters game, but he originally made his debut in 1993’s Mighty Mutanimals #7 before making a bigger splash as the eponymous villain of The Future Shark Trilogy, wherein he makes one heck of an impression on the Future Turtles — by blowing out Future Raph’s eye with a torpedo and establishing a new tone for the book!

Armaggon here doesn’t seem too different from his Raph-nuking self of 20 years ago, which presents some interesting and intriguing possibilities in its own right. Of course, there’s also the question of whether this story might be adapted into the IDW continuity itself, how Armaggon appears there (if he ever does), and so on. All the same, I’m eager to see what this brings.

…think Cyber Samurai Turtles would be too much to ask?

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.