"Welcome to the apocalypse, where the world is only mutants...and Raphael has a beard?! Watch an all-new TMNT this Friday on Nicktoons."
Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse is a three-part episode story arc from the 2012 animated TMNT series.
| Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
| Season 5, Episode 18-20 | |
| Airdate | September 22nd, 2017 |
| Writter | Kevin Eastman |
| Director | Alan Wan |
| Prev. and Next | |
| Prev. Lone Rat and Cubs |
Next The Curse of Savanti Romero |
Plot[]
The detonation of the Mutagen Bomb
Sometime in the early 21st century, shortly after the events of the main series in an alternate reality, a giant Mutagen Bomb was detonated right over New York City by an unknown party. The Kraang logo was shown on the bomb, but it was not shown who or what instigated the attack. The enormous amount of the mutagen contained therein triggered, in addition to the associated mutation effects of an earthly organism, an enormous ecological shock on earth, which quickly transformed the entire world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The future of the earth
Humanity as a whole was wiped out, either because a part of it turned into mutants, or the rest perished as a result of the shock of the violent and sudden change in their physiology. Only the mutants were found to be adaptable enough to survive these abruptly induced conditions; including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The disappearance of an orderly society, anarchy and the struggle for bare survival became part of everyday life; marauding mutant gangs roam the deserts to take victims and supplies by force, or hide themselves and their meager supplies behind solid fortress walls.
Mira's map to Oasis
However, a legend gradually spread about the "oasis", a last piece of grassland, the exact location of which was not known. This fairy originated partly out of wishful hopes, but partly also out of facts; Michelangelo, who had been separated from his brothers during the apocalypse, had found the way to the oasis and created a map of it, which the Meerkat clan found in a roundabout way and tattooed it on the arm skin of every member of the tribe. Over time, the Meerkat Clan was wiped out until only one member - a girl named Mira - was left and set out to find a new home in the oasis, setting the story in motion.
Story:[]
A member of the Honey Badger Ravagers Clan
Raphael and Donatello are driving around the wasteland inside the Shellraiser whilst looking for food and other useless products. Suddenly, they are attacked by a fearless and reckless gang who call themselves the Honey Badger Ravagers. Their leader is known as Verminator Rex. They both, however, manage to overrule the evil gang, and are able to escape in the last second.
The next morning they reach the ruins of an old resting place. While Donatello is in his resting phase, Raphael is searching for suitable supplies there, but is attacked by a meerkat mutant and is put out of combat with an electro-pole. When Raphael awakens again from his impotence, the mutant, along with the Shellraiser has disappeared. Raphael drags himself through the desert, but then reaches the end of his strength and collapses. He then has fabrications and sees memories of the Mutagen Bomb detonating 50 years ago. He is then unexpectedly picked up by Donatello, who has overpowered the mutant in the meantime and has recaptured the Shellraiser again. Raphael is still quite nauseous about the theft by the mutant, and he is willing to put them in trouble, but Donatello convinces him to accept the unwanted passenger, and so they continue their journey.
When Donatello realizes during the journey that they are approaching a dangerous region called "The Impossible Desert," the young mutant, named Mira, explains that she was on her way there when she met the Turtles. Her goal, as she explained to them, is the oasis, a piece of grassland, of which only myths and legends have mentioned. When the troop stops a bit later at an abandoned gas station, Mira frees herself from her shackles and engulfs Raphael in a duel. Raphael overwhelms her quickly, but just as he wants to leave her behind, Mira tries to explain to him that there is another turtle in The Impossible Desert. Raphael gives her no faith and continues the journey, but soon afterwards they are forced to stop by a new ambush of the Honey Badger Ravagers. Verminator Rex calls on him and Donatello to surrender and give out the Shellraiser, which Raphael refuses; The Ravagers then go over to attack.
Raphael breaks through the ring of the Ravagers and escapes across the desert, but their opponents turn out to be very stubborn persecutors. But just as the situation for the two Turtles started becoming seemingly dangerous, they get unexpected support from Mira, who was able to free herself from her shackles before Raphael's departure and was in the bottom of the Shellraiser, hanging as a blind passenger. When she finds herself in between Verminator Rex, the Ravager discover a map tattooed on her arm and recognizes her as the girl he was looking for. Since the Turtles still do not want to be captured, the Ravagers use their largest combat vehicle against them. Verminator Rex tries to steal the Shellraiser, but is thrown on board by Mira and Raphael, and by sacrificing a fuel keg, Donatello succeeds in destroying the enemy vehicle.
After they have stopped to repair the damage to the Shellraiser, Raphael and Donatello express their respect to Mira and accompany her with them. Mira tells them that the Turtle in The Impossible Desert is a hermit who knows the way to the Oasis and is known as the "Holy Chalupa". When this name is mentioned, Raphael and Donatello are surprised, for among the Turtles only one has ever made use of these words: their youngest brother, Michelangelo!
In the hope that the hermit "Holy Chalupa" could actually be their long lost brother Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Mira continue their journey towards The Impossible Desert. Mira is mainly interested in finding the legendary Oasis, to which she can lead the map, which is tattooed on her arm; and only the Holy Chalupa is able to identify the drawing.
However, in order to find their way, the three friends must take an extremely dangerous path, because The Impossible Desert consists of a huge drifting sand surface, which is only interrupted by some rocky platforms and ruins of the fallen human civilization. Raphael dares to drive through, but the drift sand is far more treacherous than expected, as the rock slabs that he drives over, begin to sink in the sand due to the weight of the Shellraiser. Only by escaping to the front and to the remains of a highway can the friends just escape danger. Only a little later, however, the car is caught by an phenomenon that moves through the sand at unimaginable speed and is brought to a standstill.
Raphael, Donatello and Mira evacuate the Shellraiser and try to get to safety, but the unknown creature picks up the the pursuit and catches up with Raphael. Before it can devour the turtle, the monster is whipped back by a strange figure. This person turns out to be Michelangelo, and the monster, which had almost eaten Raphael, is none other than his old (and now grown up) pet animal Chompy. The three Turtle brothers celebrate their reunion, and after that, Michelangelo brings them to his home-a still standing restaurant of a Mexican version of Antonio's Pizza-Rama-where there is also a reunion with Ice Cream Kitty. There, Michelangelo immediately throws a reunion party, but when the language comes to the last of their brothers, Leonardo, he can only tell Raphael and Donatello that Leonardo was in the midst of the epicenter of the mutagenic explosion and must therefore have perished with it. Then Mira shows him the map on her arm, and Michelangelo immediately recognizes it as a map to the Oasis, which he himself made, but subsequently lost it years ago.
However, Verminator Rex has not remained idle; to get Mira and the map into his hands, he has entered into an alliance with the leader of the Scale Tail Clan, whose leader is Imperius Reptilicus. With the reptilian mutants as reinforcements, he picks up the trail of his fugitive enemies and pursues them to the restaurant, in which he breaks into with his allies and demands Mira's surrender. There is a fight in the restaurant, and the four friends defend themselves to the best of their ability; but in the end they can not prevent Mira from being caught and carried away by the ravagers. Raphael snatches a motorbike from a straggler and pursues the escaping looters. Verminator Rex sends some of the Scale Tails against him, but Raphael hijacks their cars. One of the Scale Tails then fires a rocket at him; Raphael dodges the projectile, but the rocket hits the restaurant and blows the building up to pieces. Full of rage about the recent loss of his family, Raphael now goes into full attack mode, but his mobile base is destroyed by leader Reptilicus.
The Ravager retreat to the fortress of the Scale Tails, where Mira is thrown into a cell; but the Ravagers cannot decipher the map, and Mira refuses to cooperate with them. Later in the night, Raphael, who has survived his accident, sneaks into the complex and takes Mira out of her cell. Unfortunately, however, one of the guards he has encountered on the way regains consciousness and triggers the general alarm; the two are quickly overwhelmed by the growing predominance of their enemies and are brought to a battle arena in the fortress, where as punishment for his invasion, Raphael must serve as an involuntary participant in a cruel gladiatorial game.
Meanwhile, it turns out that the other Turtles are not dead. As if by a miracle, Michelangelo and Donatello have survived the destruction of Antonio and are dug out of the sand by Chompy. Raphael and Mira are taken to the arena of the Scale Tail Fortress, where Raphael is thrown on an island in a sewage ditch to compete in a duel against Imperius Reptilicus. Verminator Rex, however, also interferes in the duel, in order to not miss the pleasure of being able to process Raphael personally into minced meat. The two leaders join together and attack Raphael, while only a withered branch was left as his only weapon. He is subdued by the two in the first round and is sunk into the ditch, but aware that Mira needs his help, he dives back up and defeats the two Ravager bosses. Meanwhile, the rest of the team follow the trail of the Ravagers and break into the fortress, only to witness that their help is no longer needed and Raphael is chosen as the new leader by the cheering crowd of the Scale Tails and the Honey Badgers! Together with their new comrades, the Turtles form a convoy, with which they immediately continue their search for the oasis.
Verminator Rex, however, cannot accept his defeat, but makes himself up and informs his leader, the great Maximus Kong, and tells him about the existence of the map that Mira carries with her. He picks up the search convoy as they work through a canyon labyrinth, and asks for Mira's publication. When Raphael refuses this, Maximus attacks her with his mighty warfare vehicle and begins to decimate the turtles' Ravager escort with the help of Verminator Rex and his Synthezoids crew.
To take up the fight with them, Raphael splits up his squad: while pushing himself on Maximus, Mira's contender Verminator Rex is to be turned off, and Donatello and Michelangelo take care of the Synthezoids. Raphael programs the Shellraiser to self destruction, which inflicts serious damage on Maximus's war wagon. He then enters the vehicle and climbs up to Maximus. This is Raphael's challenge, but it proves to be very difficult and too tough for a quick victory. At the end of a hard blow exchange, Raphael can beat the helmet off of his head; but the shock is great, when he recognizes Maximus Kong as the last missing member of his family, Leonardo! He tries desperately to get through his brother's mindset; but Leonardo's mind is clouded, and although Raphael's words begin to show effect, he continues his attacks on him. Finally, he grabs Raphael firmly in his grip and in his mental conflict hurls him from his car, before the vehicle crashed on a rock wall.
With the end of this violent Chase, Michelangelo and Donatello now learn that their lost brother is still alive, and in their presence, Leonardo regains his memories and his clear mind. The others turtles wonder what happened to him. Raph told Leo that the last time they saw him, he was caught in the mutagen blast. Leo remembers how it happened. He remembered pushing his brothers to safety before getting caught in the blast. He mutated into a giant freak, but then he was back. Reunited, and with Mira's map in their hands, they now find the legendary oasis, an old reservoir with clean water and dense forest all around, and found their new family in the last paradise on Earth.
At the end, the younger versions of themselves took a picture with their Sensei until the episode, and the arc itself, fully concludes.
Debuts[]
Trivia[]
- This episode takes place 50 years into the future and show how its lead characters were drastically changed in a possible timeline.
- A dedication picture at the end of the episode has the Peter Laird drawing version of Leo holding the signboard saying 'For Kevin and Peter', which is dedicated to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; the original creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series from 1984. It is similar to the dedication from the last page of the first issue, even though it is dedicated to comic book authors Jack Kirby and Frank Miller.
- This story arc pays homage and borrows elements from various historical post-apocalyptic films, including Mad Max II, Mad Max: Fury Road and Waterworld.
- Originally - especially from Ciro Nieli's point of view - Mutant Apocalypse was planned to be the canon series finale so that no one could ever mess with his version of the Turtles ever again. It was admitted by him during an interview. But then was officially described as part of an alternate reality with the release of the DVD-box Tales of the Turtles V3: The Final Chapters.
- From one of the writer's point of view, Owari/End Times is the canon series finale. Tales of the TMNT are mainly just fun side stories - adventures the Turtles went on that don't necessarily follow the continuity of the show.
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
"The world has changed. It's a never-ending wasteland now. Not a single human is left, only mutants. Something happened in my memory a few years back when the Mutagen Explosion went off. All I know is only me and Donnie made it out alive."