African Adventure is a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles comic. It was first published in TMHT Adventures 57 on March 21, 1992.
Appearing in African Adventure[]
Major characters[]
Minor Characters[]
Species[]
- Humans
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtle
- Mutant warthog
Objects and vehicles[]
- Anti-Footbot Bombs
- Bō
- Katana
- Sai
- Technodrome
- Turtle Blimp
Locations[]
- Africa
- African Plain
- King Salmon’s Mines
Summary[]
Open on the African Plain. Many different animals roam the land. Suddenly, the Technodrome appears, frightening off several animals. Krang exits the Technodrome, pleased that the Trans-Dimensional Portal worked. Behind him, Shredder urges his mutants to hurry up, but Bebop and Rocksteady are afraid. Krang yells at them that they are wasting time and that there is a fortune in gold waiting for them. Bebop trips, falls on Rocksteady, and both roll to the bottom of the ramp.
Krang orders the pair to listen as he tells them the legend of King Salmon’s Mines. Many centuries ago, King Salmon was a famous African ruler who owned the biggest and best gold-producing mines around. The King ordered the mines sealed on his death and their exact location became lost. Many have tried finding the mines despite the curse the King placed on the gold. Rocksteady asks how they are going to find the loot and Krang informs him that they have a map. Rocksteady remembers it was the map he stole from a New York Museum.
Bebop starts to argue that he helped with the theft more than Rocksteady did. Suddenly, a large lion walks up and roars at the two mutants, who race past Shredder and Krang. Shredder laughs because it was his robot lion. He’s happy to have Bebop and Rocksteady lead the way in case they encounter any real wild animals.
They soon reach a large pile of rocks and Krang says the entrance to the mines is in the rocks. Shredder tells the pair of mutants to start searching and so they begin pulling rocks away. A cobra rears up and scares Bebop who jumps back against the rocks and then falls. The disruption reveals a cave opening. Krang tells Shredder to move quickly, and they grab flashlights. After further clearing the entrance, Krang marches everyone forward.
Back at the Technodrome, a group of Footbots listen to a recording left by Shredder. He orders them to mount a careful guard, ready to fight off any intruders, especially the Turtles. Just as the recording reaches that point, a Footbot points skyward to where the Turtle Blimp has appeared. They begin firing on the Turtles, who realize that they’ve been spotted. Donatello makes an attack dive and then drops Anti-Footbot Bombs.
With the Footbots destroyed, Don lands the Turtle Blimp and Leonardo enters the Technodrome. He soon returns to report that no one is at home. Raphael guesses that the bad guys are off somewhere with the map they stole. Leo says they’re lucky that Shredder was spotted stealing it from the museum. The group begins jogging as they follow the tracks left by Krang and crew. They soon reach the cave, but as Michaelangelo starts to climb, he’s startled by the cobra. Don quickly throws his bō, hitting the snake and scaring it away. Leo laments the fact that they didn’t bring flashlights, but Don produces one of his inventions. It is a sphere that beams light in multiple directions and can be attached to the end of his staff.
A short distance ahead, Krang and team have come upon a wall of fallen rocks. Though Rocksteady thinks they won’t get past it, Shredder proves him wrong by producing several sticks of dynamite. The explosive does the trick, and another tunnel entry is revealed. Stepping inside, they see chunks of gold lying around everywhere. They’ve found King Salmon’s Mines and Krang chortles with glee that the gold will finance his operations.
A frightened Rocksteady says that they have company as his flashlight beam reveals a skeleton. It is seated on a throne of gold, wears a jeweled crown and several jeweled rings. A jeweled sword in its scabbard rests against one leg. Shredder states that judging by the crown, this skeleton is old King Salmon himself. Krang adds that he must have been guarding his gold for centuries. He also says that it’s a pity they are about to remove it. With such wealth, Krang believes that unlimited power is within his grasp.
As if on cue, the Turtles arrive and confront Krang. Shredder orders his mutants to open fire and both Bebop and Rocksteady begin shooting at the Turtles. A laser shot hits the light sphere on Don’s bō and destroys it, much to the Turtle’s annoyance. Don retaliates by knocking the weapon out of Bebop’s hands. Rocksteady yells for him to leave Bebop alone and turns to fire upon Donatello, who leaps aside. Shredder tries throwing a chunk of gold at Raphael, who deflects the gold by hitting it with a sai. Leo jumps forward and slices the end off of Rocksteady’s laser gun.
Rocksteady decides that the green team is too strong, and they have to escape. Leo yells for Mikey to cut him off. Mikey jumps and kicks Rocksteady, who falls against King Salmon’s throne, knocking it over. Suddenly, there’s a loud rumble and the cavern begins collapsing. Everyone makes a mad dash to escape the cave and Leo points out that the throne was booby-trapped to stop people stealing the gold.
The entire group escapes the cave just in time as falling boulders cover the entrance. Krang whines about the loss of the gold, but Shredder yells for him to head for the Technodrome. Leo tells the other Turtles to let them go this time. Mikey has managed to grab a chunk of gold and thinks to himself that it will make a mondo souvenir. Unfortunately, the collapsing mine causes a large crack to open in the ground under Mikey’s feet and he starts to fall. His brothers grab ahold of him, but Mikey’s gold falls into the crack, making Raph believe there really was a curse on King Salmon’s gold. The Turtles decide not to hang around and board their Turtle Blimp, which is soon airborne and headed for home.
See also[]
Trivia[]
- The story of King Salmon and his mines is a reference to the book King Solomon's Mines.
- After destroying the Footbots, Michaelangelo holds up one of the robot heads and says "Alas, poor Footbot! I didn't know it well!". This is a reference to the Shakespearean play "Hamlet".