Out of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics IDW Publishing’s been putting out, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher has been one of the standouts. Juni Ba and Fero Pe are crafting an emotionally-charged story that still has the martial arts action TMNT fans have come to know and love, but in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #6, things take a sharp turn when the Nightwatcher is mysteriously running around, being chased by…Jennika?!
There’s a simple answer for this: the Nightwatcher, despite being a suit of armor, is still a living thing and now it’s broken free to try and find its place in the world. Jennika, chasing after it, is forced to face some harsh truths. Did she become the Nightwatcher to try and become a hero? Can she bring back the Nightwatcher suit? And where do both of them go from here?
The answers to those questions don’t come easily, especially when it’s the mutant criminal Lo Ban asking them. Ba establishes an intriguing dynamic between Lo Ban and Jennika; clearly there’s no love lost between them, but he is speaking some truths that she needs to hear. It’s only overshadowed by the encounters between Jennika and the Nightwatcher armor. Since the latter has a childlike mind, it does what any child does: runs off to explore the world. Keeping in line with the emotional heft of previous issues, Ba has Jennika staring at her phone, even trying to call Sheena – their breakup is still a jagged wound that’s eating at her.
IDW
Now that the Nightwatcher is free of Jennika, Pe illustrates a change in the signature armor’s demeanor. It’s reverted to its “feral” apperance, with bony flesh that seems to grow out of the sections of its segmented armor, but Pe gives it a childlike curiosity that offsets much of the danger. Case in pont: when it sees someone toss away a half eaten candy bar, it reaches out to scoop up the treat. Pe also establishes a back and forth, cutting between Jennika’s attempts to find the Nightwatcher with her retraining after her brutal battle with Lo Ban. It’s an effective way of showcasing that she has much more than criminals to fight if she wants to find her way in the world.
Those sections are also highlighted by a unique change of color, courtesy of Luis Antonio Delgado. In Jennika’s hideout, the background is mostly grays and shadows, reflecting her uneasy state of mind. Outside, the blur of New York’s city lights, combined with the setting sun, provides a fiery blend of orange and red that complements the battle beteween Jennika and the Nightwatcher and gives insight to the latter’s internal conflict. Color sets mood, and Delgado has a lot of moods to work with.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #6 is a display of everything that’s made the series a standout, from the fight scenes to the emotional heft. Though the ending caption says “To Be Concluded”, I hope that’s just for a story arc and not the series because I could easily read 50 more issues of this comic.
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