It’s the stunning finale of the crossover that everybody has loved! With Shredder getting one heck of a power it’s going to take the combined might of Team 7 and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to beat him. Well, these two types of ninjas have grown to see each other like family. They’re going to have to do everything they can together against this threat. And so, the four-issue crossover between the two epic franchises is coming to an end, and the only question remaining is whether the hype was able to stay all the way through. In my opinion, yes, and here’s why: Caleb Goellner, Hendry Prasetya, and Raúl Angulo truly love these characters.
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The promise itself has always been rather simple: the two groups are going to have to work together to save their friends. It’s a tale as old as time, and one of the easiest ways to have two series cross over without hitting them against each other. In this issue, what I appreciated was how unlike the previous issues were. They’ve worked in individual pairs to team up, both groups work as a combined unit this time to stop Shredder. We’ve seen both books fight threats on their own, and it’s fun to see how the two of them work together and combine their unique skills and fighting styles into an epic showdown. While the book itself didn’t provide a lot of depth to these characters, it was never supposed to and that’s why it works so well. Through the well-crafted interactions between these teams, writer Caleb Goellner can encapsulate both worlds rather perfectly without disregarding the narrative’s focus.
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The book assumes you have a baseline understanding of these characters, and with that understanding, it’s allowed to flourish into finding ways to appreciate both universes without spending time explaining individual relationships or issues. For example, even if you haven’t finished Naruto, all you need to know is the concepts from the first arc or two. As far as the Turtles go, I’ve never read a single one of their comics, and I’ve only seen the movies and TV shows and felt like I perfectly understood each character just the same. Shredder works well as a threat here because, with his unique powers, it does provide more reason for why the characters from Naruto are even here. Altogether, the book feels like a real love letter to all of the characters involved. The writing is well done and maintains a steady pace that although at times moves a bit fast works well to wrap everything up without leaving anything remaining considering the book issue. While this isn’t the best issue in the series, it was a fantastic conclusion that gave each character a moment to shine, which is all you can ask for a crossover book between two different companies!
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As I’ve said before, this miniseries has been beautifully illustrated time and time again, and this issue is no different. Something that I appreciate is how Hendry Prasetya can depict each character’s powers with unique line work that helps to create a ripple effect when moments occur, which allows those powers to trail across the page in a very animated fashion. Another strength here is that the coloring in this issue helps to bring everything into a more vibrant setting, allowing things like an underground battle to feel just as exciting as if the sequences were on a real battlefield. Additionally, the coloring from the incredible Raúl Angulo works well to make each universe’s characters pop in all the ways, while the Turtles are illustrated with as much dynamism as they usually appear, the characters from Naruto are depicted in a very similar way to how they are in the manga with the vibrant of their anime. As a result, the book winds up being beautifully drawn and respects both art styles quite well.
IDW
Overall, this is a really fun issue that reminds readers how fun comics can be. This isn’t a book about some super complex issue, nor is it meant to be anything game-changing, and that’s perfectly OK – in fact, it’s a big reason why the book thrives. The creative team involved completely understands the core concepts of these characters and their appreciation for these worlds is evident from the first page all the way to the last.
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