TMNT "Return of the Justice Force" Talkback

[Ian]

Writer: Marty Isenberg

Synopsis: "Mikey's quest for a rare comic book leads the Turtles and Casey back to Northampton, Massachusetts where they stumble on a mystery madman's plot to kidnap all the remaining members of a now-retired super hero team known as the Justice Force. All evidence points to a former member of the team as the mastermind behind the kidnappings. But is there more to his agenda than meets the eye?" Based on TMNT (vol. 1) #15.

Edit: By the way, is there a regular poster who starts these things? If so, sorry.

[Sharklady]

> Based on TMNT (vol. 1) #15. <

Based rather loosely on it; the plot's been significantly reworked. But they did retain the central gag; elderly superheros who ain't what they used to be.

Not bad, all in all. As it's something of a send-up of old-school comics, the rather corny resolution is apt. And there's several good jokes on the way there; poor Splinter trying to mediate among adolescent shenanigans, the comic store owner trying to guess what the Turtle's 'costumes' are, an ambush lifted straight out of 'Blazing Saddles' (the decoy action-figure even looked a bit like Cleavon Little.)
To top it off, they provided a final scene to placate anybody who thinks this ep doesn't seem like a 'real' TMNT story, so everyone should be happy. :)

[Simpler Simon]

I read the summary of the original issue on the official site, and they reworked this story for the better. Most of the issue was intact I think, but having Amanda (Ananda?) want revenge against the people who got her mother killed worked better than Dr. Dome simply wanting to draw Bernice out because he loved her. The quality of the original "filler" stories vs. the new ones written for the show are like night and day. It's still goofy, nonsensical and totally pointless, but it works a lot better than Golden Puck or April's Artifact.

My only complaint is that it wasn't necessary to put all the Turtles in this one. You had four Turtles, Casey, plus all the Justice Force characters. They really could've left this one to Mikey and Casey.

So whats the deal with the Justice Force comics? Did the group consciously put down their memoirs into comic format? This reminded me of the Justice League episode Legends (where the comic also ended the day the heroes died).

Stainless Steve: "Dr. Dome always blamed us for Battling Bernice's demise." :shrug: Com'on, say it with me: death!

[Ian]

> Based on TMNT (vol. 1) #15. <
Based rather loosely on it; the plot's been significantly reworked. But they did retain the central gag; elderly superheros who ain't what they used to be.


Oh, I know; I read the synopsis at the official site before posting. Thanks for pointing it out, anyway. I have to say, I prefer this version's plot.

Random stuff:

The beginning with the comic book was inspired. I liked it.

Good to see Casey being somewhat competent again, after his (realistic) fumbling in City at War.

I liked the super-heroes, who perfectly walked the line between legitimate and campy. Glad to see Zippy's 'first' appearace (he's a supporting cast member in the current series). BTW, there's one hero missing, right, Captain Deadbolt? What was he like?

Glad to see the Silver Sentry making a cameo,although I'm still hoping he makes it back for another episode.

Also, I'm glad to see the series isn't getting soft on us. This was one of the most serious and "mature" episodes in a while, despite the silliness.

Marty Isenberg writes Mikey the best. Funny, but not over the top.

Crap, more cycles? Don, the Battle Shell is enough; now lay off the vehicles.

Yay, turtles in jackets! Shades of the Archie future turtles.

Aw, hiatus after next episode? Dammit.

All in all, a very good one-shot, with enough twists and turns to keep me interested until the end.


The quality of the original "filler" stories vs. the new ones written for the show are like night and day. It's still goofy, nonsensical and totally pointless, but it works a lot better than Golden Puck or April's Artifact.

ITA. Isn't that weird, though? The writers of the show do incredibly well with adaptations, (surpassing the originals most of the time, IMO, even with disappointing City at War), but their original stories can sometimes suck (Junklantis, I'm looking at you). I guess that was the case with the original comics, but at least they had the excuse of inexperience.

[Deadly Messiah]

Eh, as soon as I saw what the ep was about, I started watching my Samurai Jack box set. Now that was great action.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Pretty good episode... I was hoping for better though. I liked Mikey reading the comic at the end with him on the cover.

Dang next week is the last one until Fall. Looks like they're cutting things off mid arc. I really wanted to see all of The Big Brawl this Spring. Ah well...

[Deadly Messiah]

Pretty good episode... I was hoping for better though. I liked Mikey reading the comic at the end with him on the cover.

Dang next week is the last one until Fall. Looks like they're cutting things off mid arc. I really wanted to see all of The Big Brawl this Spring. Ah well...
What do you mean next week is the last one? I mean it is part 1. The season isn't suppose to end until all 4 parts have aired.

[Ian]

Ya, but we're getting cut off, like Season 1 did after "Shredder Strikes Back". The last three parts of "The Big Brawl" should air in september.

[Anarky]

last i heard/read, all 4 parts of "The Big Brawl" will air in consecutive weekends:

5-15
5-22
5-29*
6-5

*for dcau fans, this is also the day "Starcrossed" airs:D

this was a better than average ep. it was like TMNT meets The Tick
i liked the dbz gag as well as the comic book opening and ending

i was expecting another Silver Sentry episode but the toy cameo was cool, as well as reprising his theme song

looking forward to samurai bunnies!

[Fone Bone]

The episode reminded me of Mighty Mouse's Heroes and Zeroes where the Mighty Heroes are called out of retirement. A fun episode with a tinge of sadness. Wish the Silver Sentry had made an actual appearance rather than as a doll cameo. Pretty good. ***.

[Mysteryinfoman]

The episode was okay but nothing really special. so fox is going straight through to the finale of S2, great news. It seems Fox has a new policy with cartoons or shows that they don't air them in any order, like this TMNT season we went right through all the episodes and no repeats. 5/29 is going to be a great night, new Toonami shows, part 3 of S2 finale of TMNT, series finale of JL on CN and new WR on AS. Can it get any better :p

[Peter Paltridge]

I've seen many superheroes, and that bunch had to be the goofiest I've ever seen. Really, a guy with a steel forehead so he can headbutt stuff? We weren't supposed to take this episode seriously, were we? Mikey got a contact-them device, so they might return even.

[Sharklady]

> We weren't supposed to take this episode seriously, were we? <

Only as seriously as you want to. The final scene suggests the whole story might just be something Mikey read in a comic book.

[ClockStomper]

The original sucked...this was much better. It had a decent plot, some entertaining action (I laughed when they rolled up the "Mr. Fantastic rip off" guy) and a nice story twist (nice that that they didn't try to sidestep Amanda's parentage, even if the "mystery" was totally obvious.)

This is how Mikey should be written, not all annoying. And I think the bit at the end saved it some credibility. The original left the stupid nonsensical bit about the super-team existing (and they were much less probable then this version's take on them) which dosen't jive with Eastman and Laird's Turtleverse. The Mirage comics started to suck at this point because E&L let their friends do various one shots that bordered on horrible.

[Animelee]

Okay, so Amanda's dad was Dr.Dome, correct? There was no mention that Dome and Bernice got married, so does that mean they "did it" without getting married? I'm surprised they'd allow something like that in a 4Kids show. :sweat: I know 4Kids likes to stick innuendo into Pokémon (-_-), but this wasn't really a "hidden message" like innuendo. :o I find it amazing they still can't say "die". :sweat:

[Simpler Simon]

Something else worth noting: In the opening comic book that Mikey is reading, it mentions that Bernice is torn between Stainless Steve and Dr. Dome. Since Amanda turned out to be Dome's daughter in the end, I guess it's fair to say she went with Dr. Dome. This seems to obey the comic book law that says if the major hero gets all the guts and glory, his supporting partner will get the girl :p

[Hordesman]

Okay, so Amanda's dad was Dr.Dome, correct? There was no mention that Dome and Bernice got married, so does that mean they "did it" without getting married?
Maybe it was a Watchmen thing :evil:

[ClockStomper]

Okay, so Amanda's dad was Dr.Dome, correct? There was no mention that Dome and Bernice got married, so does that mean they "did it" without getting married? I'm surprised they'd allow something like that in a 4Kids show. :sweat: I know 4Kids likes to stick innuendo into Pokémon (-_-), but this wasn't really a "hidden message" like innuendo. :o I find it amazing they still can't say "die". :sweat:
They couldn't have been married if Steve was still in rivalry with Dome for her affections (hard to hide your last name being changed to "dome", no?) She must have been sleeping with Dome without Steve knowing.

[Animelee]

They couldn't have been married if Steve was still in rivalry with Dome for her affections (hard to hide your last name being changed to "dome", no?) She must have been sleeping with Dome without Steve knowing.
Exactly what I thought. Heh, like I said, it's still amazing 4Kids won't allow the words "death" or "kill" in their productions after allowing something not-so-subtle like this.

[raykremer]

Who voiced Stainless Steve Steel? It sounded vaugely like Adam West.

[Pic1360]

> Based on TMNT (vol. 1) #15.

Based rather loosely on it; the plot's been significantly reworked. But they did retain the central gag; elderly superheros who ain't what they used to be.

Like how many other cartoon shows have doing for the past few years: Powerpuff Girls, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, and going way back, The New Adventures Of Mighty Mouse for which a poster told me in another thread (and I did remember back then) that he brought The Mighty Heroes out of retirement!

[ClockStomper]

Like how many other cartoon shows have doing for the past few years: Powerpuff Girls, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, and going way back, The New Adventures Of Mighty Mouse for which a poster told me in another thread (and I did remember back then) that he brought The Mighty Heroes out of retirement!
Of course TMNT #15 was doing it in the 1980s, well before "the last few years". But TMNT #15 (much like all issues Eastman and Laird didn't work on together) sucked big time.

[Pic1360]

Of course TMNT #15 was doing it in the 1980s, well before "the last few years". But TMNT #15 (much like all issues Eastman and Laird didn't work on together) sucked big time.
What happened with Eastman and Laird? They were the ones who made TMNT who they are today!

[HellCat]

Like how many other cartoon shows have doing for the past few years: Powerpuff Girls, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, and going way back, The New Adventures Of Mighty Mouse for which a poster told me in another thread (and I did remember back then) that he brought The Mighty Heroes out of retirement!
An episode of Earthworm Jim did it too. Jim and his allies celebrate the birthday of the first ever superhero, who's now a soreheaded old crank. Psycrow (powered up by WAY too much caffine) storms the party and only Jim, Peter and the old hero escape. Jim turns to him for advice but only gets nagging and complaints.

[Fone Bone]

Like how many other cartoon shows have doing for the past few years: Powerpuff Girls, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, and going way back, The New Adventures Of Mighty Mouse for which a poster told me in another thread (and I did remember back then) that he brought The Mighty Heroes out of retirement!
I was that poster! Bwu-hah-ha-ha-hah!!!

[ClockStomper]

What happened with Eastman and Laird? They were the ones who made TMNT who they are today!
They teamed up for issues 19-21 (Return to New York) and the final 13 (City at War) but they never drew another issue since #12. They must have had a falling out at some point...Peter bought out Kevin's shares after the Next Mutation fiasco.

[Pic1360]

They teamed up for issues 19-21 (Return to New York) and the final 13 (City at War) but they never drew another issue since #12. They must have had a falling out at some point...Peter bought out Kevin's shares after the Next Mutation fiasco.
TMNT, The Next Mutation was one of Fox's biggest mistakes for a live-action
version of "The Green Team". Even worst, was the story arc of them teaming up with the Power Rangers!