If you stop and think about it, fights between superpowered beings – whether magic, mutant, extraterrestrial, or multiversal – are frightening. You could be out having dinner when all of a sudden, Doomsday punches Superman through your living room. You could be catching a cab to work and Spider-Man lands on said cab, crumpling it. But there’s also the inherent thrill; I’m sure a civilian has a story about the time they saw Batman taking out a gang or the time they saw Hellboy out in the wild.
Why am I bringing this up? Juni Ba and Fero Pe tackle this concept in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #3, which sees Jennika going toe to toe with a newfound mutant, Eliza Leonetti. Eliza was caught in the radius of the mutagen bomb Old Hob detonated during the City At War storyline, transforming into a reptilian mutant. But it turns out she isn’t the monster people think she is.
The element that makes Nightwatcher #3 unique is how the issue is structured: it’s in the form of a true crime podcast/YouTube video, which then switches to chatter on social media, which then switches to a news report. This lets letterer/designer Nathan Widick play around with different lettering formats; he designs letter boxes that resemble Twitter posts, a YouTube layout, or a news chyron, which makes things truly feel like it’s taking place in a different medium.
It’s also a chance for Ba and Pe to stretch their storytelling skills. Ba is no stranger to playing around with different formats for a comic, as anyone who’s read The Boy Wonder can attest, but it’s clear that he’s put some thought into how modern society would react to the superpowered living among us. Ba’s script also cuts between different points of view, showcasing how people view Eliza. Some view her as a monster, others view her as a victim. It’s Jennika who gets to the truth, and the issue ends with Eliza encouraging the new Nightwatcher to figure out her own identity.
IDW Publishing
This is the same approach Pe takes to his art, as he ping pongs between various video streams, and the Jennika/Eliza battle. His design for Eliza leans into that duality, as well. Eliza’s mutant form possesses razor sharp spines, a long, whiplike tail and claws, but her eyes are filled with emotions like rage or sadness. It’s such a subtle way to show that despite her mutation, she’s all too human.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #3 isn’t just a unique approach to displaying a superhuman fight in comics, but it’s also a showcase for its creative team’s unique talents. I’m definitely sure that more issues will continue to lean into this concept, and it’s all for the best.
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