Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher has managed that rarest of balancing acts: it’s acknowledging the events of previous TMNT comics (particularly the rise of Mutant Town in Sophie Campbell’s run) while charting a new path for Jennika as the Nightwatcher. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #4 takes it up a notch, featuring an appearance from New York’s new District Attorney, Hieronymus Hale (who’s set to play a major role in future issues of Jason Aaron’s current TMNT) has been sending bounty hunters to kidnap mutants. One of these hunters, Ysengrin, comes into conflict with Jennika after she contacts one of his targets.
I’m not going to mince words here: Ysengrin is a very cool character. That’s thanks mostly to his design: Fero Pe gives him gunmetal gray armor with glowing blue effects that resembles a wolf (and as the issue goes on, there’s a very good reason for that design.) He also has a weapon that can damage Jennika’s Nightwatcher armor, and can match her blow for blow. One page is fully dedicated to their fight, with a series of arrow-shaped panels outlining the direction of the fight.
Ysengrin also shows that Pe and Juni Ba are more than willing to raise the stakes. Up to this point, Jennika’s faced an assortment of criminals, and managed to beat them due to her skill and her armor. Fighting against someone who can actually challenge her introduces a new level of danger to the book, as does the revelation Ba throws in about Hale’s connection to a crime lord. It only heightens the anticipation for future installments.
IDW Publishing
Special mention should also go to Luis Antonio Delgado for his use of color throughout Nightwatcher #4. There’s a blending of shadows with other muted colors; the only source of light tends to come from Ysengrin and Jennika’s respective armors. In sharp contrast, Delgado utilizes a reddish hue for most of the flashback sequences that take place throughout the issue. That same use of color spills over into Nathan Widick’s lettering, which further highlights the similarities – and the differences – between Jennika and Ysengrin.
As if fighting someone on her level wasn’t enough, Jennika is also ambushed by a new foe, and it’s one who’s tied to her battle with Ysengrin. It’s a great example of how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #4 is raising the stakes. New enemies means new danger, but it also gives the creators leeway to continue bringing a unique approach to their story.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #4 is a game changer in a lot of ways, introducing a new foe for Jennika as well as significantly higher stakes. It’s also a great example of how to add your own unique flair to a long-running comic book universe.
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