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Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids. |
Solicit[]
By the power of Grayskull…Turtle Power!
When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came across Krang and Shredder making a deal with some otherworldly ‘demon-mage’ named Skeletor, things got hella-weird and they ended up in Eternia! It turns out, when you mix Utrom mutagen with demon magic you get a nasty purple poison-and it’s brought Eternia to the brink of chaos. So, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey are teaming up with the Masters of the Universe to kick some blue boney butt. The only problem is… He-Man is missing in action.
Appearing in Turtles of Grayskull issue 1[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
- April O'Neil
- Beast Man
- Bebop
- Buzz-Off
- Fisto
- Foot Ninja
- He-Man
- Leatherhead
- Mekaneck
- Metal-Boto
- Moss Man
- Ninjor (debut)
- Mouse-Jaw
- Mousers
- Neutrinos
- Orko
- Ram Man
- Renet Tilley
- Rio Blast
- Rocksteady
- Shredder
- Sla'ker
- Snout Spout
- Sorceress
- Splinter
- Stratos
- Stridor
- Sy-Klone
- Teela
- Triceraton All-Star Team
Species[]
Locations[]
Objects, vehicles, and weapons[]
- Bō
- Katana
- Kusarigama
- Mutagen
- Nunchaku
- Ooze Pit
- Sai
- Sansetsukon
- Short Swords
- Spear
- Technodrome
- Time Scepter
Synopsis[]
As the sun sets over New York City, April O'Neil has joined Splinter in the Turtle Lair. They are awaiting a 'call' from the Turtles, who are still on Eternia. Lights begin to spark against one of the walls, and a magical rhyme opens the Window of Spirits. The Turtles all start speaking almost at once, but Splinter interrupts to ask if they are okay. Donatello apologizes, saying they did sort of disappear and then tell him "we'll call ya with a weird elf", (Orko). Leonardo tells his brothers to chill so he can tell Splinter and April everything. Michelangelo cuts in to ask if he can tell it because he thinks the story will be more compelling if he does. Don agrees, saying Leo is too dry and while they are bantering, April assures Splinter that his sons are all right. Leo acquiesces to allowing Mikey to tell the story, though with something of a huff.
Mikey begins the story with how the Turtles were tracking some of Stockman’s Mousers back to the TCRI building. They figured it would be the usual fight, but then things got weird. Krang and Shredder were making a deal with an otherworldly demon mage called Skeletor. In exchange for his dark magic, Krang had been supplying Skeletor with mutagen. The Turtles burst upon the scene to put an end to things, but by interrupting the evil spell, they wound up on Eternia. Upon meeting Man-At-Arms and Teela, the Turtles learned that Skeletor was an old enemy of theirs. Skeletor wanted the power stored in Castle Grayskull, but they had been keeping him at bay for years with the help of a barbarian hero named He-Man.
Unfortunately, Skeletor had gotten a big boost because mixing Utrom mutagen with demon magic gives you a purple poison that will turn any henchman into a total boss. Man-At-Arms and Teela had to fight them without He-Man, because since just before the Turtles arrived, he’d been missing in action. Leo cuts in and says that is the reason they remained on Eternia. Bushido requires them to deal with Krang and Shredder because they are their enemies. Raphael adds that they also have the experience of kicking their butts. Then Mikey dons his blonde wing and shows it off. Orko interrupts to remind them that it’s time and that Man-At-Arms is very into punctuality. April wishes them good luck and Orko begins to chant the spell to close the Window, but Don stops him. Don tells Splinter that Man-At-Arms took him under his wing and told him a secret – that Prince Adam is He-Man, the champion of the whole planet. Man-At-Arms said that he could have stopped Adam from taking up the magic sword and becoming He-Man. He thinks that if he had done so, then Adam wouldn’t be missing. He knew Eternia needed a hero, but sometimes he wishes he’d let Adam be a normal teenager. Don asks if Splinter ever felt that way about them. Splinter begins to answer, but Orko seals the Window. April puts her arms around Splinter as he answers that he feels that every single day.
In the storage bay of the palace, Man-At-Arms addresses the gathered troops. He holds up a small vial of purple mutagen and tells them this is the substance that has brought their world to the brink of chaos. Though it has given their enemies new power, it’s also given them new opportunity. Man-At-Arms indicates the Turtles and says that the mutagen gave them intelligence and ingenuity and their mentor gave them skill and honor. This, he says, give them new allies too. Man-At-Arms says that Skeletor and his allies have established a position near Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress was only recently able to get a call through and they must assume that the power contained in the Keep is under grave threat. He ends the speech by reminding those who have gathered, both from Eternia and beyond, that together they are the Masters of the Universe. With this rallying cry, the amassed fighters head out to defend Castle Grayskull.
At Castle Grayskull, Sorceress stands at a window looking out at the forces massed together by Skeletor, Krang and Shredder. Sorceress murmurs to herself that the message she sent to Man-At-Arms was meant to keep them away from this place. Skeletor believes that Sorceress is frightened of them and tells Krang that the forces of Eternos, with the Turtles in tow, are on the way. Krang assures him that they are prepared. Shredder chortles that the unified forces of Dimension X, the Foot Clan, and Snake Mountain will crush all who have dishonored them. Sorceress drops to her knees as the two teams begin their battle.
An unseen narrator follows the fight, noting that looking back on things, it all seems really obvious. Moments like this, where everything really comes together. Heroes and villains, worlds perfectly meshing, all the threads tying up nicely – this is when it starts to come apart. During the narration, the battle begins to turn in favor of the aligned forces of the Turtles and Masters of the Universe. Skeletor notes that the tide turns and asks Krang if they should join the battle. Then Skeletor laughs at his own joke and says that it is time to unleash the real weapon that will eliminate their enemies and get them into Grayskull.
Using his magic, Skeletor opens a rift in the Ooze Pit. A muscular arm rises and to Skeletor’s utter surprise, grabs and destroys him. The new “weapon” is the mutated He-Man and he goes for Krang next, smashing his mutated android body and mangling both it and Krang. The narrator continues, stating that this isn’t supposed to happen like this. He-Man leaps into the midst of the battle, sword drawn, and begins attacking everyone. The narrator says they should have known, because they had spent time with the Turtles and had literally traveled to the past and the future and across the universe multiple times with them. The narrator knows the world around them is fluid and thin and they cross other paths all the time.
Continuing, the narrator says that He-Man is the bearer of the Power of Grayskull. That marks him the center of the center of the universe. Around him run all threads and the narrator knew they had to stop the Ninja Turtles and He-Man threads from getting all tangled up. As the narrator speaks, He-Man finishes destroying everyone, good and bad alike. Then he slowly transforms back to his original form. Sorceress clutches her head and begins to cry. He-Man drops his sword and falls to the ground, the carnage all around him. The narrator says that knots in the universe cause all kinds of trouble, but mostly pain and death. And, if it weren’t for the fact that someone stole their scepter and they had to use Lord Simultaneous’ ancient prototype they would have stopped the knots from forming.
The narrator introduces herself – Renet Tilley, Apprentice Timestress. She hovers above He-Man and the killing field, watching as he suffers. Late again, Renet says she does not want to be there when Splinter finds out, so she tells the scepter to take her away. Scepter responds that it needs a place and she tells it before all of this began, not wherever the knots got knotted. Scepter responds that “not knot” is a nonspecific place and it is guessing. Renet begins to fall, shouting at the fact that it's ‘guessing’. Meanwhile, she is being watched by a powerful being, who comments that there are always students flailing, failing, falling.. ruining everything. Now is the time of The Master.
Renet lands with a hard thud, flips over and loses her headdress. She stands up as Scepter announces their arrival and is stunned to find herself in a jail cell. She fusses that she didn’t give a specific place so it dropped her in prison. In the cell next door, Raph says he feels like he’s heard that whine before. Renet looks through the barred window and sees all four Turtles there, each using an atmosphere converter. Raph asks if she’s there to rescue them, because he has thoughts and Leo tells her they went to space and found out the hard way that they have enemies here.
Renet dons her headdress and takes up the scepter, saying this is good, because it means she’s not too late. She tells the Turtles to hang tight and she’ll get the scepter to… Before she can finish, the Turtles are taken from their cell. Renet goes to look through another barred window, which gives her a view of a large arena and stands crowded with spectators. Large, manned hover-cameras are positioned to film the action below. An announcer tells the audience that their beloved Prime Leader have delivered what they’ve all been demanding. All the way from Earth, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The Turtles step into the arena and Raph says he smells violence while Don comments on the size of the crowd.
The announcer next introduces their opponents, the Triceraton All-Star Team. Four huge, muscular Triceratons enter the arena, hold their weapons aloft and tell the crowd “We who may be about to die salute you!” Renet says this is bad, but the guys have survived this before and it’s better than Skeletor and purple mutagen. Then the announcer tells the crowd that’s not all. Because the Prime Leader loves them and the All-Star team has so much to prove, a new combatant will enter the ring. From the tunnel, someone says that they don’t want to fight, they were just trying to protect the prince. Don wonders who this could be and the announcer tells the audience that the newcomer hails from the very center of the universe. A frightened Renet says “no, no, please not a ….” He-Man steps into the arena and Renet finishes her sentence “Time Loop!”
Trivia[]
- After the Turtles speak to Splinter and April through the Window of Spirits, Orko begins to chant the rhyme to close the window. The beginning of the chant goes "Sword of Crognard...". This is a reference to the character Crognard, the primary protagonist in the Turtles' new favorite show Crognard the Barbarian in Season 3 of the 2012 TV series.