‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #139 takes a beat to prepare for the Armageddon Game finale

A breather before the Armageddon Game finale, but not without its own significance.

April 25, 2023

Issue #139 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the final tie-in for the Armageddon Game event that started way back in September of last year. As such, it’s more of a deep breath before the plunge of the finale that’s coming in The Armageddon Game issue #8 in June. The issue involves the five Turtles learning the tenth and final cut of Kuji-Kiri: Tǒng. The teacher is an old enemy of the Turtles, but they reluctantly agree to train with them. The Kuji-Kiri has been an extremely powerful tool in the Turtle’s arsenal so far, and they realize it could be essential to defeating the Rat King once and for all.

SPOILERS AHEAD for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #139!

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There’s a lot of technical terminology used to try and explain what exactly Tǒng is and represents, but it boils down to unification and interconnection. It involves space-time and gravity. The close connection the Hamatos share with each other, that indeed has been weaving throughout the centuries, means the Turtles have an especially strong connection to Tǒng. People in their orbit can’t help but be pulled into their lives, their battles, and their struggles. There are a lot of confused looks from the Turtles, all illustrated perfectly by Fero Pe, as all of this is explained to them, and it is all a bit convoluted. But by the end of the issue, it all seems to come together. There’s a nice moment when Jennika is assured that even though she isn’t technically a Hamato, she is still an equally important part of the connection.

The art by Fero Pe and colors by Ronda Pattison are where this issue really shines. The three dimensional diagrams are a nice way to illustrate the explanation for Tǒng and if you look closely, you can even recognize characters like Old Hob, Alopex and others amongst the figures in the diagrams. The pièce de résistance however, are the five splash pages, each featuring one of the Turtles and scenes from their past and potential future. It’s an amazing trove of memories for long term readers, as some of the events depicted go back well over 100 issues. Each page is beautifully rendered and uses the primary color of the Turtle depicted. At a certain point in the story, the panel borders transform from solid black boxes to stylized tree branches and green smoke, a beautiful transition.

Though the story is mostly comprised of explaining the Tǒng, there are also some heartfelt moments between the Turtles. Raph questions the very premise of the Hamato Clan. Perhaps if others are destined to be pulled into their affairs and troubles when they’re together, they would be better off splitting up. Hopefully this is just Raph’s loner tendencies rearing their ugly head – he always makes his way back to his family eventually.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #139 serves as a breather before the Armageddon Game finale, but it is not without its own significance. The Turtles are learning the final cut of Kuji-Kiri, which they realize could be the key to defeating the Rat King. The explanation of Tǒng may be a bit convoluted, but the art by Fero Pe and Ronda Pattison’s colors are impressive. The splash pages, in particular, are a beautiful showcase of the Turtles’ past and potential futures. Additionally, the heartfelt moments between the Turtles add depth to the story. Although Raph questions the premise of the Hamato Clan, readers can hope that he will eventually make his way back to his family.