The following article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #131!
For a comic book that started out as a parody of the superhero genre, the they share the same origin), but when Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were creating the heroes in a half-shell, they stopped short of giving their heroes extraordinary powers beyond their humanoid mutations. All of that is seemingly about to change, as now that the Ninja Turtles are training in black magic Kuji-kiri techniques, they may be trading their iconic weapons in for new powers.
The TMNT have formed an unlikely union with their arch nemesis the Shredder, who is tutroing them in the Ninja mysticism of the “Nine Cuts.” While these techniques can harness special powers, they are incredibly dangerous, but the Shredder assures the Ninja Turtles that they are necessary to defeat their common enemy, the Rat King. After the Turtles experience a series of grotesque nightmare visions surely brought on by the dark magic at play, they seem one step closer to unlocking these new mystical abilities, but how exactly will they work?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #131 (from Sophie Campbell and Pablo Tunica) depicts a range of powers that should get fans excited, each of which would be perfect for one of the turtles. The ability to breathe fire seems tailor-made for the hotheaded Raphael, while Michelangelo's reluctance to perform violence would suit the enhanced agility that Shredder uses to stand on a thin tree branch, allowing him to run rings around opponents without necessarily hurting them. The ability to wield air like a blade is perfect for swordmaster Leonardo, while enhancing one's body to be stronger than stone might offer a sense of security for Donatello, who is still traumatized from the loss of his shell. Finally, the invisibility/camouflage power shown by Shredder would suit Jennika, whose assassin training makes her the group's truest ninja.
However, Eastman and Laird have also shared in the past that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were inspired by Marvel and DC's teen heroes, such as the New Mutants and New Teen Titans. So what if each Turtle got a power based on a comic that inspired them? Team leader Leonardo's discipline and skill would make him the perfect candidate for Daredevil's heightened senses, which would mean he was always hyper-aware of the battlefield. Meanwhile, Raphael would benefit from an offensive superpower like X-Men leader Cyclops' optic blast, which he could use to clear a room in moments. Donatello's technological genius would make him perfect technomancer like Forge from the X-Men or Teen Titans' Cyborg, while Michelangelo would suit a more varied, creative power such as Beast Boy's Teen Titans shapeshifting. Lastly, Jennika is a prime candidate for phasing powers like X-Men’s Kitty Pryde, though with a decidedly more deadly application.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has remained so iconic because of its incredibly relatable characters, and whatever powers they end up wielding should reflect that. Every kid who is introduced to the Ninja Turtles very quickly understands their distinct personalities and which one they see themselves in. Now that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are seemingly getting superpowers, their personalities need to dictate what enhanced abilities they receive, just as their weapons always have.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #131 is available now from IDW Publishing.
