Fugitoid’s three-part story comes to a close this week in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. The stakes couldn’t be higher for the Ninja Turtles, and maybe even humanity, as the baddies have the ability to control mutants to do their bidding. Thankfully, Fugitoid has been training, but how much ninjitsu can one robot learn in hours? He’s a robot, so probably a lot!
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 is an entertaining finale to the series and story arc, with plenty of action and a satisfying end for Fugitoid’s origin in this universe. It juggles a couple of things, like April doing some detective work and trying to get results, and Fugitoid coming into its own as a fighting machine. Throw in a few twists and turns, and it packs a lot of punch.
The story opens with April taking her video footage to Channel 6. She needs the bigger org’s help to get the word out, and possibly put E.P.F. under for good. This allows for a clever cutaway, as we, the reader, are watching the footage, so to speak.
From there, we start with Blanque rushing Bishop to get her gizmo updated for far worse, nefarious reasons. He can already control Zog, but he wants more power. Trapped in a cage with Zog, the Turtles don’t have many options, but soon they are free thanks to some insider help. This builds to big action scenes, and Fugitoid shows what they’ve got in solo fashion. Ninja Turtles getting mind control tends to do that.
Good training scene.
Credit: IDW
Meanwhile, Fugitoid is doing some fight training versus Metalhead, with Louie Joyce bringing some fun fight moves into the mix. Throw in the cute response from Metalhead getting punched out, and there’s a good balance of endearing elements with exciting action. These elements continue throughout the issue, like the cuter look of this version of the Turtles and some great cutaways here and there. The icing on the cake is a skateboarding scene that feels right at home for the Ninja Turtles. Joyce has a tight space to work some great visual magic.
The framing device of April at Channel 6 serves to cut away naturally to the present, where the story picks up after the big action sequence. This allows for a natural cooldown before a sorrowful scene. When it comes to character deaths in comics, it’s hard to squeeze out worry, but it gets pretty close here. That said, the last two pages are a lot of fun, with a standout full-page splash by Joyce to end the story.
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 delivers a satisfying and energetic finale, balancing action, humor, and character beats with confidence. Fugitoid’s arc lands well, giving the character a strong identity in this universe, while April’s framing device keeps the story moving cleanly between past and present. It may not hit maximum emotional weight in every moment, but it sticks the landing and leaves things on a high note.
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