TMNT: BATTLE NEXUS #5 (IDW PUBLISHING)

The tournament is coming to a close, but first Michaelangelo will have to fight his friend Slash. How will the Turtles make their final stand against Savanti? Will any of our Heroes in a Half Shell be the same at the end of the day?

TMNT: Battle Nexus #5 - Story By Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell, Caleb Goellner, and Erik Burnham – Script by Erik Burnham - Art By Ben Bates – Colors By Luis Antonio Delgado & Ben Bates - Letters By Tom Napolitano – Edited By Andy Khouri & Jake Thomas - Published By IDW Publishing

Credit: IDW Publishing

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

STORY OVERVIEW:

As Michaelangelo squares off with Slash he makes it abundantly clear that he will not fight him. At first this doesn’t stop Slash from hurting him, but as the fight goes on, he starts to take it a little easy. This infuriates Savanti who now enters the battlefield to take care of Mikey himself. Just when it looks like he will kill Michaelangelo, Slash stops him. But before he can go after Slash, the other Turtles return from the prison realm. As the battlefield lines up with the sides, Savanti unleashes multi-dimensional Bebop’s and Rocksteady’s on our heroes. The war is on and there will certainly be a winner and some casualties.

WRITING:

This final issue of the mini-series hits the mark and gives the reader a satisfactory ending. Erik Burnham finds a way to tie up the loose ends and give the reader an ending that makes sense and doesn’t disappoint. The angle of Mikey not fighting Slash, with love and friendship winning out, makes the readers heart full. The armada of Bebop’s and Rocksteady’s is a fun and inventive twist. Well, Umeko gaining her freedom through the Turtles is a feel-good way to give her character a resolution. The only thing that didn’t hit was the Last Ronin reveal, which lacked any real emotional tie in and kind of fell flat when it should’ve been a huge deal. Even with that the story overall was very satisfying.

ARTWORK:

The artwork in this final issue does a great job of complimenting the story. Ben Bates’ art makes the story come to life and captures the emotions of the story perfectly. The different character designs feel original and different. The action and fight scenes feel epic and leave little to the readers imagination. The only detraction is the design of the Last Ronin, just like the story, his art feels underwhelming in this one. Once again this doesn’t ruin the issue but is definitely a detraction worth mentioning.

Check Out My Review of TMNT: Battle Nexus #4

Final Thoughts:

TMNT: Battle Nexus #5 delivers a satisfactory ending to this mini-series which also leaves room for a return to this world in the future. The handling of the Last Ronin character could have been better and was the reason for my only real criticisms of this issue. Outside of that it was a good finish to a good story arc. If you missed out on this series keep your eye out for when orders start for the trade paperback and make sure you grab a copy.

FINAL GRADE: 8.9/10

Let me know your thoughts on TMNT: Battle Nexus #5 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!