| “The Wasteland Warrior” | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series) episode | |||||||
| Season Code: | 518 | ||||||
| Episode: | 115 | ||||||
| Original airdate | September 22, 2017 | ||||||
| Written by | Brandon Auman | ||||||
| Supervising Producer | Patrick Krebs | ||||||
| Producers: | Brandon Auman | ||||||
| Directed by | Rie Koga | ||||||
| Voice Direction | Andrea Romano | ||||||
| Supervising Director | Ben Jones & Ciro Nieli | ||||||
| |||||||
"The Wasteland Warrior"[1] is the eleventh episode of the fifth and final season of the 2012 TV series, and is the one-hundred and fifteenth episode overall in the series.
Production-wise, it is the eighteenth episode of Season 5, as well as the one-hundred and twenty-second episode overall. It first aired on September 22nd, 2017.
Synopsis
An older and weathered Raphael battles road gangs in a post-apocalyptic mutant wasteland.
Characters
Major Characters
- Donbot (Rob Paulsen)
- Honey Badger Ravagers (debut)
- Verminator Rex (Nyambi Nyambi) (debut)
- Aviator Ravager (Kevin Michael Richardson) (debut)
- Eyepatch Ravager (Nyambi Nyambi) (debut)
- Grill Ravager (Kevin Michael Richardson) (debut)
- Jock Ravager (Nyambi Nyambi) (debut)
- Leather Ravager (Kevin Michael Richardson) (debut)
- Painted Ravager (Nyambi Nyambi) (debut)
- Ravager Spy (Dee Bradley Baker) (debut)
- Top Hat Ravager (Dee Bradley Baker) (debut)
- Honey Badger Ravager #2 (Kevin Michael Richardson) (debut)
- Honey Badger Ravager #3 (Dee Bradley Baker) (debut)
- Mira (Jessica DiCicco) (debut)
- Raphael (Sean Astin)
Plot
Sometime in an alternate future, the earth was hit by the detonation of a massive Mutagen Bomb, which disrupted the ecosphere and completely changed the world as we know it. The earth turned into a single sand-covered wasteland. Humanity was completely extinguished, and only the mutants were tough and adaptive enough to survive in the twisted environment. Through this apocalyptic world, Raphael, whose memories of his former life after the explosion of the bomb are only misty for him, and Donatello, trapped in a robotic shell, as the seemingly only survivors of their family in the Shellraiser, constantly fighting for bare survival.
The survival of the two will one day be put to a hard test, however, by Verminator Rex and his plunderers, the Honey Badger Ravagers, who discovered and tracked them. They attack the two Turtles after they have pitched their night camp, and overpower Raphael, who is keeps vigil. Instead of killing or robbing him immediately, Verminator Rex asks him about a girl and a map; Raphael, impulsive as always, answers this question with his fist and is beaten up by the Ravagers. A help call to Donatello turns the tide, but Raphael and Donatello then notice a huge horde of Ravagers, which is gaining strength, and can escape after a wild chase with scarce distress.
The next morning they reach the ruins of an old resting place. While Donatello is in his resting phase, Raphael is searching for suitable supplies there, but is attacked by a meerkat mutant and is put out of combat with a electro-pole. When Raphael awakens again from his impotence, the mutant, along with the Shellraiser has disappeared. Raphael drags himself through the desert, but then reaches the end of his strength and collapses, then unexpectedly is picked up by Donatello, who has overpowered the mutant in the meantime and has recaptured the Shellraiser again. Raphael is still quite nauseous about the theft by the mutant, and he is willing to put them in trouble, but Donatello convinces him to accept the unwanted passenger, and so they continue their journey.
When Donatello realizes during the journey that they are approaching a dangerous region called "The Impossible Desert," the young mutant, named Mira, explains that she was on her way there when she met the Turtles. Her goal, as she explained to them, is the oasis, a piece of grassland, of which only myths and legends are known. When the troop stops a bit later at an abandoned gas station, Mira frees herself from her shackles and engulfs Raphael in a duel. Raphael overwhelms her quickly, but just as he wants to leave her behind, Mira tries to explain to him that there is another turtle in the Impossible Desert. Raphael gives her no faith and continues the journey, but soon afterwards they are forced to stop by a new ambush of the Honey Badger Ravagers. Verminator Rex calls on him and Donatello to surrender the Shellraiser, which Raphael refuses; The Ravagers then go over to attack.
Raphael breaks through the ring of Ravagers and escapes across the desert, but their opponents turn out to be very stubborn persecutors. But just as the situation for the two Turtles became dangerous, they get unexpected support from Mira, who was able to free herself from her shackles before Raphael's departure and was in the bottom of the Shellraisers hanging as a blind passenger. When she finds herself in between Verminator Rex, the Ravager discover a map tattooed on her arm and recognizes her as the girl he was looking for. Since the Turtles still do not want to be captured, the Ravagers use their largest combat vehicle against them. Verminator Rex tries to steal the Shellraiser but is thrown on board by Mira and Raphael, and by sacrificing a fuel keg, Donatello succeeds in destroying the enemy vehicle.
After they have stopped to repair the damage to the Shellraiser, Raphael and Donatello express their respect to Mira and take it with them. Mira tells them that the Turtle in the Impossible Desert is a hermit who knows the way to the Oasis and is known as the "Holy Chalupa". When this name is mentioned, Raphael and Donatello are surprised, for among the Turtles only one has ever made use of these words: their youngest brother, Michelangelo!
Trivia
- The three episodes of the Mutant Apocalypse series are the finale in the production line-up of the series, but their broadcast dates have been moved to the middle of the fifth season in favor of "Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady", " The Foot Walks Again!" And "The Big Blowout".
- The events of this episode are very similar to the movie Mad Max.
- The first broadcast of the episode trilogy took place instead of via Nickelodeon on its sister channel Nicktoons.
- Donatello's robot shell could be based on the robot Chappie from the film of the same name from 2015. Likewise, the transfer of his consciousness into a robotic shell reminds of his situation in the IDW comics ("Vengeance" # 1).
- The drums of fuel read "Tromaville", which is the fictional New Jersey setting of many of Troma Entertainment's films.
- Raphael's utterance of "What a day, what a lovely day!" was a notable line from Nux in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road - which this story arc is heavily inspired by. However, whereas Nux says it in earnest, Raphael says it sarcastically.
- Donnie references The Jetsons by saying "Raph, stop this crazy thing!"
- This episode, along with its other parts, bear reference to the final season of "Samurai Jack", in the case that both series jump 50 years into the future and show how it's lead characters were drastically changed during the gap within.
- This episode, along with its other parts, bear reference to "After the Bomb" especially "Road Hogs".
- This is the first episode of the series without all four turtles.