Nicktoons TMNT Episode 46- The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto

By Mark Rodriguez

The Shredder has had a lot of different henchmen, top men or second-in-commands throughout different versions of the franchise. He had Tatsu in the live-action movies. Hun and Karai in the 2003 series. Karai and Koya in the IDW comics. But we all know the most popular henchmen will always be Bebop and Rocksteady from the classic 80's cartoon show. That incompetent duo that Shredder still keeps around for some reason... back in the day where Shredder didn't punish failure with death. Here, he'd rather send them to their rooms, or even fire them if they failed enough times.

Well, the IDW comics has already shown us a more dangerous and threatening version of the classic duo. They were still dumb as rocks, but so powerful it hardly mattered. Well it seems we're getting Bebop and Rocksteady in the new cartoon too, though I'm surprised since interviews with the Nick cast had them say they already had the roles of mutant henchmen full when we got Dogpound and Fishface. Now we got a whole new version of them coming soon, and like Chris and Xever, we're gonna spend this episode with a guy that is clearly the human version of human Bebop and a guy that might be Rocksteady. And wow, wait til you see just how different they are this time around.

The episode opens with the return of Steranko, the arms dealer Shredder made a deal with in an earlier episode. He has a collection of several weapons and artifacts, but is missing one thing... Shredder's helmet, the legendary Kuro Kabuto. He sends the master thief, Anton Zeck to steal it, and if he succeeds, he'll forgive him for the time he accidentaly shot him in the eye. Anton is wearing a high tech suit that turn him invisible, and he's confident he can steal that helmet. And yes, Anton looks very familiar...

Leo watches as Splinter feels sad over his daughter, Miwa. The others are trying to eat pizza before Mikey gets it all, and Leo tells them they should go rescue Karai. Raph disagrees, and Leo says he'll go alone to Shredder's lair if he has to. The other follow him.

Shredder visits Kara in her cell and tells her she hopes she understands that he took her because he didn't want her to be raised by 'scum' like Splinter. As he leaves, Karai reveals a hidden blade that she's using to cut her way out of prison.

Anton sneaks in and manages to steal Shredder's helmet. Rahzar and some Robo-Foot enter the room, and the mutant wolf can smell the invisible thief. Rahzar smacks him against a wall. Anton quickly gets up and dances around as he tosses laser-boomerangs that look like his purple mohawk that take down the Robo-Foot. He also tosses glue at Rahzar, that sticks his feet to the floor. Anton blows up a window and gets away, but not before tossing his business card into Rahzar's face. Shredder steps in a while later and Rahzar tells him that his helmet was stolen. Shredder is angry and demands to get all his men together.

Meanwhile the Turtles are driving on the Shell Raiser and Don is confused when his heat sensors detect someone, but he can't actually see anyone. Don tells Leo to hit the brakes, but they hit Anton. The Turtles wonder what they hit, and Don tells them it was 'some kind of invisible guy'. Raph finds Anton's pouch and shows everyone Shredder's helmet. Just then they are completely surrounded by Robo-Foot...

The Turtles fight it out with some of the robots and then make a break for it. As they drive off in the Shell Raiser, Anton tosses a homing device at it so he can track it down.

Later on, Shredder gathers all his men and tells them to drop everything until the helmet is found. Fishface asks if he could just get another one, and gets smacked to the ground. Shredder explains that the Kuro Kabuto was forged by all the captured trophies by the most skilled ninja of Japan, and was a symbol for the Foot Clan for 1500 years. He then sends Fishface off with Baxter, and Tiger Claw off with Rahzar to find the helmet.

Fishface runs with Baxter, telling him they have to get the helmet back so they don't have to look at Shredder's face... that looks even worse than Baxter's. Tiger Claw picks up Anton's scent and tell he's using devices. Rahzar says Fishface once told him they wouldn't get along since they're a mutant cat and dog. Tiger Claw says that's ridiculous, but he admits he'd like to eat Xever since he's a fish. Rahzar would eat him just to shut him up.

Leo says they can use the helmet to trade for Karai. As Raph and Leo argue, Anton finds them and tosses another purple mohawk laser boomerang ting that knocks the Shell Raiser on its side. Tiger Claw and Rahzar jump in to attack, and the Turtles get away, only to run into Fishface and Baxter. Baxter chases after Leo, trying to nail him with his acid spit. Even though Leo dodges them all, the acid did affect a nearby billboard, and it falls over the other three Turtles. 

Leo stops Xever from stabbing the Turtles, but Raph tells him to go and rescue Karai. As Leo runs, Tiger Claw and Rahzar give chase while Xever and Baxter stay to finish off the Turtles, but Raph helps them escape with a ninja smoke bomb. Leo runs from the bad guys and hides in a nearby dumpster... only to end up with dirty diapers on his head. 

After the mutants run, Leo runs into invisible Anton. There's steam coming from the sewer vents which helps Leo see him just enough to kicks him down. Leo then gives Anton his pouch back and runs since now Shredder's crew is after him. Anton runs and says he just needs to lose the pouch and they'll never find him... but his suit's been damaged and won't turn invisible anymore. He gets smacked to the ground, but before the mutants could beat him down, Steranko arrives in a helicopter and helps him escape. Anton shows Steranko the pouch.... but it turns out to be full of dirty diapers.

Leo still has Shredder's helmet and heads off to his lair. Shredder finds him and Leo says he wants to trade it for Karai. One of the Robo-Foot brings her in with a bag over her head. Shredder and Leo fight it out, and the Turtle is no match for him. The other Turtles arrive and they all gang up on Shredder. Shredder is still too much for them all, but Mikey points out they were just keeping him busy long enough to be able to rescue Karai. Don tosses the helmet back at him. Shredder sees that it has a smoke bomb in it, which blows up in his face. After the smoke clears, he notices that the Turtles are gone. He puts the helmet back on and laughs evilly.

Leo thanks the others for coming to help out. When they take the sack off Karai's head, they see that she was a fake dummy with a bomb for a head. The Turtles just barely make it off the rooftop as the bomb explodes.

My Opinions

Wow. What a random episode. First off, most abrupt ending ever. Plus honestly, this would have almost been filler if they used some one-shot character as the master theif. I'm surprised they actually remembered Karai and were out to rescue her the very next episode. But yeah, they're lucky she's alive at all. I'd like to see the look on Raph's face if they found that Shredder killed her the moment Tiger Claw brought her back. 

I like how Shredder's helmet has its own backstory and is even considered a legend. In any other version... It was just his helmet. I guess when he decided to become Shredder adding one of the Foot's symbols that has been around for 1500 years is the finishing touch. It's also funny to see how he sometimes sends a few of the Foot after the Turtles in other episodes, but when it comes to his helmet he calls in ALL his minions. 

Speaking of which, I like seeing Shredder surpass past versions and have more than two mutants on his side. There is no unwritten where he has to always send one or two guys after four turtles. I liked the short scenes between the bad guys. I mean they work together and I assume live in Shredder's lair together, we should see how they interact. It's noticeable that Baxter didn't talk in this episode, but he does have a few lines in a later episode so I guess Phil Lamar just wasn't available today. Though it's still weird and stands out, or maybe they could have cut his scene with Xever. 

I also realize that Xever and Baxter are Shredder's B-team, mostly because Baxter was never a fighter to begin with, and for whatever reason Xever has become a joke and 'the idiot' of the gang in recent episodes. Why? Why do we need a 'funny incompetent one' among the bad guys, especially since Xever was no laughing matter before. Leave that crap in the 80s please. 

Now for the main reason we saw this episode. Mr. Anton Zeck who looks like a human Bebop. Quite a big change from a big thug to a wisecrackin master theif. Just like Tiger Claw, there's no explanation for the high-tech Tron suit, he just has it. Paige and I were surprised by his antics, and she was quick to point out  his Micheal Jackson/Prince-ish 'hee-hee' and 'hoo-hoo' and such similar sounds. 

Honestly for some reason his dancing and other mannerisms reminded me of Fatal Fury's Duck King, if he wore a high-tech Tron suit that is. 

Another thing is actually giving the character a name. I mean who names their kids Bebop and Rocksteady, right? While in the 80's cartoon we can only assume they're gang names, the IDW version actually states it. This version finally named them Anton and Steranko. Again, makes sense because those would be weird-ass normal names, though I'm curious how they'll name themselves as such. Or how Mikey comes up with their names. Will Anton throw a Tron-ish boom box at them and Mikey will say 'whoa they're playing cool bebop and rocksteady jams there'. I don't know. 

One thing that stands out though is that Anton isn't much of a fighter and relies on the suit's gimmicks and tricks to do everything for him (Paige couldn't help but say 'aw geez' when he threw his laser Mohawk energy thing). I assume that'll change whenever he gets mutated... But who knows?

As for Rocksteady, it looks like Steranko will eventually become the mutant rhino. A lot of his gear matches the stuff Rocksteady is wearing in some photos that were released of the 2014 version of the infamous duo. Of course this means we're going to see a Russian Rocksteady  but hey, if it worked for Spider-Man, why not here? 

People wonder how they'll end up working for Shredder since they have a very different character dynamic this time.... But I'm thinking who says they'll work for Shredder? He already has his mutant crew and Tiger Claw alone is more than enough. 

A great episode overall, but wow what a drastic change for a classic character. Anton is literally a whole new character modeled to look like a classic one. 

Stay tuned as we continue with more episodes. Let's see what happens whenever he eventually mutates. 

Nicktoons TMNT Episode 45- Wrath of Tiger Claw

By Mark Roriguez

Karai is in the Shredder's hideout looking at a picture of her mother, while having flashbacks of the Turtles telling her that Splinter is her father. Shredder walks into the room and she demands to know the truth about Splinter and her mother. Just then Tiger Claw comes in, much to Karai's surprise as she saw him get eaten by an alien worm and trapped into the 80's TMNT world. Tiger Claw explains that he was able to escape the worm (and defeat the 80's TMNT) and fight his way through Dimension X for months until he could finally return home. Shredder sends Tiger Claw and Karai together to find the Turtles and Splinter, much to her disagreement.

Honestly, with how no-nonsense and downright brutal Tiger Claw can be, the OT TMNT are lucky to be alive. They're kinda... not equipped to handle someone that will skip the bad puns and get right down to actual fighting.... Kinda don't think they can trip up this guy by pulling the rug out from under him, or defeat him by hitting him in the face with a pizza.

The Turtles are hanging at Murakami's, where Don, Mike and Raph fight it out over who will catch one of the blind chef's pizza gyozas. Leo gets involved at the last second and wins the gyoza. Leo's happiness quickly fades as he still worries about Karai working for Shredder despite knowing Splinter is her father. Mikey feels it's not her fault she was raised by Shredder, and Raph just doesn't trust her.

Tiger Claw and Karai run across the rooftops, and he tells her Shredder chose her for this mission because she knows more about them. They soon go to Murakamis to ask him about the Turtles, but he doesn't know where they live. Karai refuses to attack a blind man, but Tiger Claw doesn't have that problem.

April, Casey and Irma walk out of the movies and April was super excited by how awesome it was. Casey was disappointed that Irma had to come along and be a third wheel on their 'date', though April never considered this a date. Suddenly, April feels they're being watched and they decide to split up, leaving Irma alone.

Mikey forgot his doggybag at Murakamis, so they have to go back. When they do so, they see the place has been attacked. Murakami says he was questioned by 'the girl' and 'the growly man', and sadly, he told them about April and Casey. The Turtles figure that Tiger Claw is back, and Raph insists 'the girl' just has to be Karai. Don calls April and receives no answer. Later on at April's apartment, her dad tells them she went to the movies recently.

Tiger Claw runs into Casey and starts to chase him down.Karai is chasing April, but when she catches up to her, she wants to talk rather than fight. Karai says she believes them about telling her that Splinter is her father and is having doubts on Shredder's honor (even April says the G-rated version of 'no shit Sherlock' to that one). Don and Leo find April, and she tells them Karai's story.

 Eventually Casey runs out of tricks and unfunny oneliners and decides to fight it out. Tiger Claw easily defeats him and throws him off a roof. Before passing out, Casey manages to activate his T-Phone. Raph and Mike are hanging around the skating rink (not sure if waiting in case Casey showed up... they could have just left after seeing that he wasn't there and continued the search) and get Casey's distress signal. Raph and Mike find Casey and take him back to the lair.

Leo is happy to see Karai come around and is happy to take her back to the lair. Raph is pissed that they were crazy enough to bring Karai to the lair, especially after how Tiger Claw nearly killed Casey. As Leo and Raph argue, Karai activates a device that lets Tiger Claw home in on the lair. Splinter shows up and tells Karai to follow him.

In his room, Karai sees that famous family portrait of Yoshi, Shen and baby Miwa and realizes that they were telling the truth. Karai realizes this out loud and Leo asks why she's 'just now' believing she was Miwa if before she was telling them that she did believe it. Karai regrets her treacherous actions and warns the Turtles that Tiger Claw is on his way. Splinter suspected this and says this was something she had to see with her own eyes. They leave quickly so they can lead him elsewhere, and Mikey knows just the place.

Tiger Claw finally homes in on the gang, but his search leads him to a meat locker. The Turtles fade in and out of the shadows and get some cheap shots in.... but they're still unable to take Tiger Claw down in actual fight (I again feel sorry for the OT Turtles and hoped for the life of them they chose to stay down). Tiger Claw aims his sword at Leo and asks if Karai wants to finish him off. Karai decides to regain her honor and starts to attack the tiger.

Unfortunately, she doesn't fare any better than anyone else did, and she is quickly knocked out. He holds Karai over a bunch of sharp machinery to keep the Turtles at bay and escapes with her. Leo is worried about her and Raph, in probably one of the dickiest things to say ever, says she's raised by Shredder and he's probably welcoming her now. Um... cause Shredder will be glad to welcome home a traitor and will just let bygones be bygone, right? Leo has no time to decide since Mikey is gravely injured and needs medical care (his shell was knocked loose... really?? How would they cure that???).

Karai is taken back to the Shredder, where Tiger Claw informs him of her betrayal. Karai demands to know if Splinter really is her father. Shredder finally admits that yes she is indeed the daughter of Hamato Yoshi... and then has her taken to a cell and locks her up.

My Opinions-

Well, let me get the good stuff out of the way. Tiger Claw is awesome and he is a completely unstoppable threat. He really is Shredder's second in command and it shows. Chris and Xever might be jokes now, but they were more dangerous in their first episodes.... and even then the Turtles defeated them. Even if just barely. Against Tiger Claw it really is a fluke if they win.... or they just have no choice but to escape. He really is a huge threat.

We do have minor plot holes in how Karai somehow knew about Casey Jones, even though they have never shared any screen time. Tiger Claw also seems to know April and Casey, even though he only saw them for half a second when the giant worm swallowed him hole.. and in that instant I assume you're attention is more focused on the giant-ass alien worm than the two random teenagers riding it. Also, Irma sure is incredibly lucky the bad guys didn't decide to chase her as well. Sure she's got nothing to do with anything... but it's not like the bad guys have used innocent friends as bait to capture the main characters before.

Irma is... pretty much useless at this point of the show still. She's just 'that friend' that suspects that April and Casey are into some kind of strange trouble, and also there to showcase that April has more than one friend. And well, also to bring back an 80's character. I wonder when she'll actually do something.

It was nice to see Karai finally see the truth. She was conflicted with honor back and forth throughout the episode. Having her see the famous portrait of the Hamato family. Paige did wonder why Karai (and possibly Shredder) has colored pics of Miwa while Splinter has a black and white one.

Now for my main complaint.... as this show continues to suffer the whole 'well the episode's almost over so let's wrap things up real quick and not care about the consequence' thing. Karai openly betrayed the Shredder's forces... is captured, and is taken back to Shredder. And Raph acts like she's fine. Dude. Shredder, for all you know, could have killed her as soon as he was told of her betrayal. And aside from Leo, zero damns were given. And yes, I know Mikey was in bad shape... but even Paige asked why they just didn't split up. I mean, had Tiger Claw captured April instead of Karai... or hell, one of the other Turtles, they still would have found time to go after him. Or have one of them stay with Mikey while the others followed. It's just sloppy 'who gives a damn' writing just because it's 11:57 and Spongebob is eager to start his ten hour marathon.

Overall, still a good episode, but that kind of rushed ending still bugs the hell out of me. It reminds me of the one where the Turtles had to get the Power Cell back from the Kraang so they wouldn't be able to use their portal to bring stuff from Dimension X... and then had to bail without stealing the crystal back or otherwise destroying the portal machine.... because reasons. Speaking of which, I am finding myself to be a little bored of the show... or at least any episode that isn't about Shredder and the Foot and doesn't further the Karai is Miwa storyline. It's just the best part of the show, and anything else is wasting time or padding out the series so it has X amount of episodes. The show can't be episodic and have long story arcs at the same time. Choose one and stick with it.

Oh and to end the article, here's the link to the trailer for the season finale of this season, and our thoughts about it. Also for more TMNT goodness, we're going to start reviewing all 4 TMNT theatrical releases before the new movie hits theaters.