Down Mexico Way is a Fleetway comic, published in September 1992. Published in TMHT Adventures #69, it was the final original content comic.
Appearing in Down Mexico Way[]
Major characters[]
Minor Characters[]
Species[]
- Dog
- Humans
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtle
- Mutant warthog
- Piranha fish
- Robot
Objects and vehicles[]
- Aztec treasure
- Bō
- Grenade
- Katana
- Laser rifle
- Sai
- Turtle Van
Locations[]
- Mexico
- Aztec temple
- El Harando
Summary[]
The Turtles have traveled in their Turtle Van to a little town called El Harando in Mexico, close to the border with the United States. They park the van and get out to look around. Raphael says that the call from April O'Neil said she was in serious trouble here. As Michaelangelo kneels to pet a dog, he says it’s pretty quiet and Leonardo agrees that there is no sign of any trouble. Donatello suggests they ask one of the dozing locals. There are several people seated on the sidewalks, large hats and serapes covering them completely. Mikey walks up to one of them and asks if they’ve seen April. At the same time, the dog begins to growl.
The man suddenly stands up and whips off his serape and hat to reveal that he is actually Shredder. He says they’ll never see April again and the other “locals” surround the Turtles, revealing that they are Footbots as well as Bebop and Rocksteady. The Turtles also ditch their disguises and then Rocksteady throws a grenade at them. It hits near the Turtle Van as the Turtles dive to the ground. The van is knocked onto its side, which infuriates Raphael. He launches his sais and destroys two Footbots at once.
Raph continues his rampage and Don says that he’s lost his temper, which comes as no surprise to Mikey. Nearby, Leo slices up a Footbot and then turns his shell to Bebop just as the mutant warthog goes to hit him with his laser rifle. The rifle bounces off Leo’s shell and Bebop drops it, his hands numb and tingling. Adding insult to injury, the little dog bites Bebop’s pant leg and hangs on. Bebop tells Shredder that he thinks they’re losing, and Shredder says he’ll have to call in reinforcements.
Using a remote device, Shredder shouts for his Mousers to munch the Turtles. Dozens of Mousers come pouring out of buildings and rush at the Turtles. The green team begin battling the robots, but there are so many of them, the guys are forced to withdraw to the nearest house. They make it inside just in time and feel like they’re safe – until the Mousers start chewing through the doors and wooden window shutters. Outside, Shredder tells a bound April that the Turtles are doomed. A pair of Footbots begin dragging April away.
Meanwhile, the Turtles are fighting hard against overwhelming odds as Mousers swarm the house. Suddenly, the ceiling starts to fall apart and the Turtles rush out of the house just before the entire structure collapses, with the Mousers still inside. Leo notices then that Shredder and the mutants are gone. Don spots a boy coming towards them and the Turtles quickly don their disguises. The lad, whose name is Juan, asks who they are and Leo assures him they are friends. When Juan sees the dog, he kneels and calls him Carlo, happy to have found him. Leo asks where the rest of the town folk are and the boy says they are hiding in the hills because the man in the metal mask chased them away.
Raph asks if he saw where they went and Juan answers that he watched the man and his strange amigos leave. He says they went to an old Aztec temple nearby, a place known in English as the 'place of ghosts'. Juan adds that metal mask had a prisoner with him, a pretty senorita. Realizing that prisoner must be April, Leo asks Juan to lead them to the temple. As they follow the boy, Mikey tells Leo that the haunted business sounds dodgy, but his brother assures him it’s probably just some silly legend.
When they near the temple, they hear chanting and Juan thinks it’s one of the ghosts. He and the Turtles duck down behind some large stones to watch Shredder, who is the one chanting. He is at the top of a set of stone steps, facing the temple. To one side of him are the two Footbots holding April prisoner, and to the other are Bebop and Rocksteady. A hidden door in the temple opens to admit Shredder and his goons, who take April with them. Raph shouts that the door is closing again and they need to haul shell. Leo tells Juan to stay there with Carlo.
The Turtles dive through the opening just before it slams shut. Inside the temple, it is dark, dusty and filled with cobwebs. They see lights from lit torches ahead of them and follow. Bebop and Rocksteady are freaking out because of shadows, which are actually their own. Shredder and his group reach the top of a staircase, which the map he’s holding says leads down to the treasure of the Aztec kings. At Bebop’s question, Shredder explains the king wanted to hide the treasure from thieves like them. The treasure will finance their take over of the entire area and then Krang becomes the most powerful leader in Central America.
The Turtles have overheard everything and know they need to smash Shredder’s plan and rescue April. When Shredder reaches a solid stone wall, he announces that it’s the last barrier to the treasure chamber. Shredder orders his two mutants to use their lasers to blast through the wall, which they do quickly. He decides to leave the tied up April there and tells the mutants and Footbots to lead the way inside, but doesn’t say that’s in case there are anti-burglar traps.
After Shredder disappears into the tunnel which was behind the wall, the Turtles descend the steps. April greets them and comments that they sure took their time. Raph swiftly cuts her free. Meanwhile, Shredder and his group have descended a long series of stairs into the treasure chamber. Shredder is dismayed to see that the chamber is empty and doesn’t understand why. Bebop spots a single gold coin on a small stone podium and reaches for it. Shredder shouts for him not to touch it, but he’s too late. Grabbing the coin opens a secret booby-trap pit which the entire group falls into.
As they are falling, Shredder sees a pool of water below and yells at his mutants not to drop into it. He manages to catch a ledge and Bebop and Rocksteady grab his legs. The unfortunate Footbots aren’t so lucky. They land in the water and are immediately torn to shreds by Piranha. Leo calls to Shredder and crew to hold on because he found the lever that drains the pool. Several large rock pipes open in the walls and the water drains out. Once it is gone, Shredder and the mutants drop to the ground amidst a treasure trove of gold and jewels. Rocksteady starts chanting that they’re rich and all three scoop up armloads of gold. The joy doesn’t last as the Turtles leap into the pit and attack.
In moments the Turtles have defeated the trio of villains. A short while later the Turtles return to the town and are greeted by Juan and Carlo. Juan is happy they survived the ‘place of ghosts’ and Mikey tells him they didn’t see any spooks, but they spooked the geeks. Behind them are Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady, all laden down with the treasure from the pit. Mikey says they are carrying presents for the town residents – the missing treasure of the Aztec kings.
Notes and errors[]
- The Turtles call the boy Juan, but he never actually introduces himself by name to them.