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Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids. |
Origin of the Species is a story that was printed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie.
Appearing in Origin of the Species[]
Major characters[]
- Bebop
- Donatello
- Leonardo
- Manmoth (debut) (mutates)
- Michaelangelo
- Raphael
- Rocksteady
- Shredder
Minor characters[]
- April O'Neil (on screen only)
Species[]
- Humans
- Mutant mammoth/caveman
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtles
- Mutant warthog
Locations[]
Objects and vehicles[]
Synopsis[]
Shredder watches April O'Neil report on the fatal capsizing of a ship due to a winter storm, leaving no survivors and its only cargo, a caveman frozen in a block of ice, missing. Saki puts on his helmet and walks into the other room, where it it's revealed that Bebop and Rocksteady fished the caveman out of the bay, and Shredder is experimenting with "the most potent mutagen ever" to turn the ancient human into a weapon against the Ninja Turtles.
Shredder insists on giving the contraption they're applying the mutagen through more power, but despite his underlings' attempts at warning him, the machine explodes. The caveman, now mutated into a "Manmoth" due to the hide he's wearing, continues to grow upwards of twenty feet, and grabs a wrench to smash out of Shredder's lair. Shredder orders his goons to exterminate the Manmoth since he can't control it.
Meanwhile, the Turtles are playing in the snow on the street just above Shredder's lair, with Leonardo building a snowman while his brothers attempt to ambush him. They tackle him and destroy his snowman, but before Leo can complain any more, the Manmoth suddenly springs out of the ground, swinging the giant wrench. He grabs Michaelangelo, who somehow intuits that he's just in pain and confused. He pleads with his brothers to help him help the beast, but Bebop and Rocksteady suddenly ride in on a Footcruiser and attack the Manmoth, knocking him into the frozen bay. The Turtles attempt to save him, but he sinks below the ice before they can get to him.
Bebop and Rocksteady celebrate killing the "monster", but Leo wonders just who the actual monster in the equation is.
Trivia[]
- In this story, Donatello wears a belt with a double strap over his left shoulder, but for one panel on page 10 (57 of the book overall), it changes to a single strap over each shoulder, like Leo's.
- This story was reprinted as a back-up in TMNT Adventures #71.
See also[]
- Comic gallery
- Comic transcript