The Pulverizer Returns!

"The Pulverizer Returns!" is the twenty-second episode of the 2012 TV series. It aired on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Plot Synopsis
The episode opens with the Turtles fighting the Foot, and easily winning as usual. However this time the Turtles find it too easy and comment that the Foot have been lacking in skill. At the Shredder lair, Shredder punishes Dogpound and threatens him for his life, if Dogpound cannot acquire more Foot Soldiers. However, seeing the captured Kraang in the building, Shredder plans to use their technology to his benefit, in order to upgrade his army.

Later that night, Raph complains that they've 'run out of butts to kick'. Leo also says it's time to go home, but then they notice a chubby Foot Ninja trying to break into a place. When the Turtles try to attack him, they are surrounded by more Foot Ninja. After a brief fight, the ninjas are defeated and the Turtles find the chubby one.

This guy actually turns out to be The Pulverizer, who joined the Foot after training in Chris Bradford's dojo, since Donnie advised him to practice. The Turtles are surprised that he joined them, thinking Shredder must really be desperate. Pulverizer says he's one of the 'Hōdan no Ejiki', which Donnie explains is basically the expendable cannon-fodder. Pulverizer tells them that he's helping the Foot fight the Kraang. Realizing that the Foot are the bad guys, he decides to stay with them as a spy for the Turtles. Even though they say it's a bad idea, Pulverizer leaves and continues to insist on being their spy. Donnie is concerned that he's puttng himself in danger, but the rest of the Turtles think they need the intel.

At the sewers, Splinter tells the Turtles that they have gotten dependent on their weapons. Splinter commands them to switch their weapons, and so Mikey has the swords, Raph has the nunchucks, Leo has the staff and Donnie has the sais. Splinter tells them to fight each other, and they're so busy fumbling with their weapons that they lose before the fight even starts. Splinter demands they continue to fight with their switched weapons for the rest of the day.

Donnie gets a text from Pulverizer that tells them where the Foot will strike. They soon arrive and get attacked by the Foot, Dogpound and Fishface. The turtles are easily defeated by the foot clan, due to Splinter's lesson. The turtles have to quickly switch back their weapons, allowing them to decimate the soldiers with ease. The turtles notice The Foot stealing mutagen canisters, as they find out that Shredder is planning to utilize the mutagen to make a mutant army.

At the lair, everyone brags about how easily they won their fight with their weapons, and Splinter is angry to find out that they ignored his lesson. He then demands their weapons, so now they must fight without them.He reminds  them that a true ninja can make a weapon out of anything.

The Shredder orders Dogpund to obtain more mutagen in order to experiment with The Pulverizer. The Kraang reveals that the mutagen is unstable on the Earth, so Shredder goes along with the proceedure.

The Turtles head out on the Shell Raiser and run into a bunch of Foot Ninja on Dragoncycles. As they try to stop them, Fishface also drives on his own Dragoncycle and jumps onto the roof of their vehicle. He manages to overturn the vehicle and the ninjas get away. Donnie is worried about Timothy, feeling he is his responsibility and grabs the Stealth Bike. As he drives off, the rest of the Turtles head off on foot.

The Foot Clan are getting Pulverizer ready for his mutation, and the guy can't wait to become some sort of mutant hero. Donnie manages to crash through the building unarmed, but Donnie finds a similar broom and fights the foot, while The Pulverizer wants to get mutated. Donnie manages to overwhelm Dogpound and Fishface, with the help of the other turtles to finish off the soldiers.The turtles become overwhelmed eventually, and Pulverizer mutates himself,  turning into a giant transparent blob. However, Dogound sets explosives up in the building, and locks the turtles in, allowing the villians to escape.

Seeing the bombs, the Turtles want to escape too, but Donnie doesn't want to leave Pulverizer behind. Donnie is able to store him in some sort of barrel, just before the building explodes, with the turtles escaping. The Turtles decide to keep him as Donnie will try to figure out some way to cure him. Elsewhere, the Shredder is upset with the turtle's victory, and The Foot Clan's incompetence. However, this makes the captured Kraang reveal that the turtles need to be destroyed, while Shredder clarifies that the turtle's are a common enemy.

Trivia

 * Pulverizer was last seen in The Pulverizer.
 * The Shellraiser is used again along with the Ninja Stealth Bike.
 * This is the fourth episode to focus on Donatello. The first one being Metalhead (episode) and the second one being Monkey Brains and the third being The Pulverizer.
 * This episode is similar to 2003 episode Adventures in Turtle Sitting.
 * This is the first time Shredder tries to creates an army of mutants.
 * In this episode the turtles exchange weapons.
 * In this episode the turtles have to switch weapons, Leo gets the Bo Staff, Raph gets the Nuchunks, Mikey gets the Katanas and Donnie gets the Sais, this could be a refrence to the new animated adventures comic but in the first issue leo gets the nuchucks and raph gets the bo staff.
 * ​Donnie getting the Raph's Sais could be a reference to his voice actor Rob Paulsen having voiced Raph in the 1987 cartoon.


 * This is the sixth episode where April does not make an appearance.
 * It is revealed that The Pulverizer's real name is Timothy.
 * Donnie uses the Stealth Bike for the first time.
 * The Pulverizer is turned into Mutagen Man after pouring mutagen on him self.
 * In the end of the episode, The scene where Shredder and the captured Kraang agreed  that the hatred of the turtles is the one thing they have in common is base on their 80's counterparts.
 * This is the first episode where Raph says "High three!"
 * Donatello using a push broom as an improvised weapon could be a nod to the "Turtles in Space" arc where, divested of their ninja weapons while locked in an alien prison, the boys raided a janitor's closet and used what was at hand to fight off the guards.
 * The monster on the front of Mikey's comic book bears a strong resemblance to the original Mutagen man.

Gallery
See: Pulverizer Returns! / Gallery