Toad Baron's Ball is a story arc in IDW Publishing's TMNT Universe line of comics. The story introduces a member of the Pantheon to IDW's TMNT through an encounter with Alopex and Angel.
- This story is preceded by Metalhead 2.0.
- This story is followed by The Jersey Devil.
Credits[]
- Story: Sophie Campbell & Bobby Curnow
- Script: Sophie Campbell
- Art: Pablo Tunica
- Letters: Shawn Lee
- Editor: Bobby Curnow
- Publisher: Ted Adams
Part One - Issue #9[]
Released on April 26th, 2017
“Toad Baron’s Ball,” Part 1! Alopex and Nobody are looking for a little rest and relaxation but get more than they ask for when they become the unwilling guests of a never-ending party thrown by the hedonistic Toad Baron!
An important lead-in to a future TMNT ongoing story!
Plot Summary[]
Alopex and Angel are in Northampton, where a frustrated Angel is trying to maintain her armor, and Alopex is recovering from her run-ins with Kitsune. They ride a boat out onto the lake, only to be swallowed by a monstrous frog rising out of the water.
They land in a strange stone building, and find themselves in a vast, never-ending party full of anthropomorphic frogs, lost humans and strange flying fish. Presiding over the Den of Delights is the Toad Baron, a vast hedonistic frog who welcomes them to his party and seems particularly interested in Alopex. He reveals that he is hosting a once-a-century gathering of his family - including Kitsune, Aka and the Rat King - and that nobody ever gets to leave the Den of Delights once he's pulled them in.
After trying his food, Alopex and Angel start getting woozy and enjoy the party, until finally Angel snaps out of it and tries to find a way out. But every door leads to more bizarre partygoers rather than an exit, and the Toad Baron declares that they will never leave his party...
Part Two - Issue #10[]
Released on May 24th, 2017
“Toad Baron’s Ball” Part 2! There’s seemingly no escape from Toad Baron’s reveries but Alopex and Nobody must find a way before the next guests arrive... Toad Baron’s immortal and deadly family!
Plot Summary[]
Alopex and Angel try without success to find the way out of the Den of Delights, but none of the guests seem interested in leaving. They're becoming disoriented by the "shiny loud stuff" that fills the place, as well as the endless frogs, but decide to fight back by using who they really are.
After Angel mentions her desire to "hit the world" until it starts making sense, the two friends hug and decide to start a fight to get themselves thrown out of the party. They feign disinterest in how the party is progressing, and the Toad Baron tries to dazzle them with enticing delights as they start fight training in the midst of the guests. He becomes increasingly desperate as the guests start being intrigued by the fighting rather than "the delights," and Angel begins teaching the guests how to fight.
Angered, he gives all the guests weapons, only to have things get even more out-of-hand as the guests - led by Angel and Alopex - start smashing his possessions. They argue that if the delights are never-ending, then smashing them should be just fine. The party becomes a wild destructive mess, and the Toad Baron rages at Alopex that he can see why his siblings like mutants if they are so destructive. He finally tells them to get out, and dissolves the floor under their feet. The Toad Baron laments that he tried hard, but they didn't like him, and is comforted by the remaining partygoers.
Back at the lake, Alopex and Angel suddenly erupt from the lake and land on their boat. That night, they discuss what happened, and Angel discovers that her gauntlet tracked where they went, allowing them to know precisely where the Toad Baron's palace is.