Mutants' Day Off is a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles comic. It was first published in TMHT Adventures 57 on March 21, 1992.
Appearing in Mutants' Day Off[]
Major characters[]
Minor Characters[]
Species[]
- Humans
- Mutant rat
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtle
- Mutant warthog
Objects and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- New York City
- Boat yard
- Empire Slade Building
- Technodrome
- Turtle Lair
Summary[]
Inside the main control room of the Technodrome, Krang and Shredder discuss their latest plan, which they are sure will give them ultimate power. Bebop and Rocksteady arrive and want to know what’s going on, but Krang thinks they will wreck everything. He and Shredder hold a whispered conversation before Krang tells the two mutants to take the day off, because they deserve a break. After Bebop and Rocksteady leave, Krang issues instructions for all Footbots to report to the main control room.
Soon, Krang, Shredder and a group of Footbots are on a city street. The Footbots remove the cover from a manhole in order to get to the sewer tunnels. Krang reminds Shredder to speak quietly so that the Turtles don’t hear them. Shredder whispers orders to the Footbots to hurry as they roll a machine up close to the manhole. They run a hose into the opening and then Shredder starts the machine, which will pump gas into the tunnels.
Inside the lair, Splinter is sharing a story with the Turtles of his past. He tells of how he triumphed over a dozen of his ninja enemies and then called in the Tokyo police and had them arrested. Splinter then reminds the Turtles that sometimes the brain is mightier than the sword. Unseen by them, gas has started to seep into their home. The Turtles begin laughing and then Splinter says that he even feels the need to laugh. It isn’t long before all five of them are rolling around on the ground laughing.
Above ground, the sounds of their mirth can clearly be heard. Shredder and Krang are delighted that their laughing gas defeated the Turtles. They leave a single Footbot behind to continue operating the gas machine and take the remainder of the Footbots with them. Krang says that with the Turtles out of the way they can do what they like. Shredder agrees that stage one of their ‘Big Bang’ plan is complete, and stage two is next. Stage two is that tonight, the Footbots will plant a mass of explosive devices inside every historical building in the city. With a threat to detonate the devices hanging over the city, they’ll have control over the whole of New York.
Meanwhile, Bebop and Rocksteady happen upon the Footbot standing guard over the laughing gas pump. The walk over, wondering what the machine does, and the Footbot holds up a hand to halt them from coming closer. Bebop tells the ‘bot to get out of the way and then bumps it hard, knocking it into the open manhole. Rocksteady insists that they have to save the Footbot, so they remove the hose to clear the entrance, and then wonder what the white gas stuff is. Rocksteady holds the hose up to his face to look inside, giving himself and Bebop a strong whiff of the gas. They both fall over laughing and a small crowd gathers, wondering why the two are dressed up like that and what has them laughing so much. The laughing gas spreads to the crowd and it isn’t long before everyone is laughing uncontrollably.
In the lair, the gas has cleared, leaving the Turtles to wonder what made them laugh in the first place. Splinter says that it was laughing gas pumped into the sewers and that it could only have been done by Shredder and Krang. Raphael says they must be up to something, and Splinter agrees, sending the Turtles out to discover what evil they threaten. The Turtles throw on their hats and coats and head out in two teams. In a short while, Michaelangelo is peeking out of the manhole and tells the others that he sees laughing people and a couple of laughing mutants. Placing kerchiefs over their faces, the Leonardo and Mikey rush to the laughing gas machine and turn it off. Using his turtlecom, Leo contacts Splinter to tell him that the gas-maker is all gassed out.
Splinter replies that his team has tracked down Krang and Shredder, and that they have discovered their explosive plans. Splinter, Raph and Donatello watch as Footbots raid the Empire Slade Building and race out carrying boxes of explosives. Seated in a Demolition Express van, Shredder yells at them that their first target was supposed to be the Empire State Building, not Empire Slade. Shredder is still shouting at them to get in the van when Krang spots Splinter and two of the Turtles. Krang wonders how they escaped the laughing gas, but Shredder doesn’t care, he orders the Footbot driver to run them down.
Donatello tells Raph and Splinter to stand back when he sees the van coming at them. He says that this is a job for his bō staff and throws it through the van’s window, striking the Footbot and knocking its head off. Krang and Shredder leap out of the van when it veers out of control. Splinter rushes to stop the van, but it is too close to the Empire Slade Building. The van rams into the building and explodes, destroying the entire building. Fortunately, it was old and abandoned.
Thoroughly angered that the three mutants ruined everything, Krang shouts for Shredder to get them. Krang himself goes after Don and Raph, his huge robotic body tossing aside the two Turtles like they are ragdolls. Shredder attacks Splinter with a sword and slices the rat’s walking stick in half. Splinter counters by delivering a powerful kick to Shredder’s face. Splinter then turns to see Krang has hold of both Turtles. The ninja master doesn’t need to act though, because Leo and Mikey arrive on the scene and deliver a dual flying kick to Krang’s back, forcing him to release the other two Turtles.
As Krang falls, he yells out a warning to Shredder, but the latter is unable to move fast enough. Krang lands on Shredder, smashing him to the ground. When they get to their feet, the pair make a run for the Technodrome and Leo asks Splinter if they shouldn’t give chase. Splinter tells him it isn’t necessary because he knows the Technodrome’s location. He read where the geeks’ van was issued the parking ticket he’s holding, which had been blown clear in the explosion.
An hour later, in a derelict New York boat yard, Krang and Shredder arrive back at the Technodrome. Inside, Krang expresses confusion as to how the Turtles escaped the laughing gas. Shredder says that normally he would suspect their two mutants, but they had the day off. However, when they enter the control room, they find the Bebop and Rocksteady are waiting for them. Rocksteady asks Shredder if he knows about a Footbot and a strang machine. Shredder realizes that they are to blame for everything that happened. Krang begins laughing, saying that they’ll suffer for this, and the two mutants laugh as well, though they are begging not to be hurt. It is Shredder who realizes that the Technodrome is filling with laughing gas.
Outside, the Turtles tell Splinter that his idea to use their machine against them was awesome. The laughing gas machine is hooked into the Technodrome. Inside, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady are falling over with laughter, but Shredder’s mask has protected him from the gas. Later, in the lair, Splinter and the Turtles are once more laughing, but not from laughing gas. They are laughing about their defeat of their enemies.