Comic Vine Review

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #213, 214 - The Manhattan Project

5

This episode is loaded with turtle power.

Wormquake! (originally titled The Manhattan Project) is an hour-long episode that honestly feels like a really awesome animated movie. There's cheerworthy action, character development and some very interesting progress with the overall plot. But most important of all: it's really, really entertaining and is without question my favorite episode yet. Seriously, it's that good.

First and foremost, a series like this strives to make you smile, and the comedy was sprinkled perfectly throughout in this one. Splinter's phone, Tiger Claw taking a drink, and a look at Mikey's thoughts is barely scratching the surface of all the moments that are certain to make you chuckle and grin from ear to ear. To say any more would spoil some of the humor, so I'll leave it at that.

Then there's the action and, sweet mother of Mikey, there's so much ninja melee goodness for our eyes to enjoy! The new mutant, Tiger Claw (who strikes a strong resemblance to a certain Star Wars bounty hunter), offers some ridiculously thrilling combat. Watching him dance around the turtles' attacks as he spins his guns was amazingly badass. Oh, and did I mention Splinter once again steps up and shows us why he's a total boss? Because he most definitely does and it's once again a real treat. Even when he's drugged, Master Splinter will make you drop your jaw with his swift displays of skill and mobility. As if that wasn't enough action, we also see a little more as each hero matches up with a counter-part. Mikey takes on Rahzar, and while that seems like an unfair fight, the writers make it obvious that Michelangelo's speed and agility can keep him out of the savage dude's claws. Raphael once again clashes with Fishface, and Leo parries with Karai. That said, my personal highlight is a pretty brief scene involving Leo taking out some Footbots that are guarding Shredder's lair. When the eyes go white, you know it's go time. And this isn't even diving into the action that goes on with the Kraang story (prepare for more of the butt cannon!). Needless to say, there's a whole lot of excitement.

"Fun action and laughs are good and all, but what about the plot?" Good question, random reader! This episode makes major strides in both the Kraang and Shredder/Karai plot. On the Kraang side of things, we continue to see more of their society and technology. We also learn where the mutagen comes from, and let's just say Futurama fans may get a bit of nostalgia with that one. The Kraang aren't any closer to taking over the Earth (I'm still waiting for that ship in the ocean to get massive tank treads and become the technodrome!), but it's really interesting to continually learn more about them. This series is absolutely doing plenty to make sure its mythos is unique and intriguing.

Wormquake! also brings the situation with Shredder and Karai front and center. The writers give a little bit of exposition so new viewers don't feel left in the dark, but they do it in a manner that makes it enjoyable for those who already have all the facts, too. They utilize the motion comic style and it's a well-written yet short segment. Truth be told, Karai's role hasn't been all that gripping in newer episodes. It's primarily just "dad is gone, the turtles are mine" and even though Leo did tell her the truth, she's of course shrugging it off and doesn't trust him. This episode finally changes all of that and teases that a major change with the character could happen sooner rather than later.

The story successfully juggles each character, too. Major development is made in the Donatello, Casey and April situation as they're isolated from their friends and forced to work together. The other dudes and even Splinter are by no means swept aside, either. Each character has an opportunity to let their personality drive a scene. Raphael is quick to question Leo when things go wrong, Mikey drops plenty of jokes, and Leo does an admirable job considering the crazy situation he's thrown into. Even though we're talking about one story being spread across two episodes, it's still commendable how no character was left behind.

I grew up with the '87 show and all I can say is this episode filled me with joy. Words can't properly describe how happy I was with two scenes and it made me feel like a kid all over again. The team behind this show loves this franchise and episodes like this one clearly prove it. The last episode had Kevin Eastman doing a small role and now this? Man, this show is just full fan service.

This hour-long adventure had quite literally everything I love about this show and then some. It's ridiculously fun, full of laughs, gives all of the characters plenty of love, and is sure to hit you with a heavy dose of nostalgia. It's simple: this is a must-watch episode for any TMNT fan.

Missed the episode? Well, it's on Nick's site! If you haven't watched it yet, click here to do the right thing.

29 Comments

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ptigrusmagus

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This show is AWESOME

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ptigrusmagus

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Splinter is definitely the Boss!

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danhimself

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loved the Cheese Phone!!!!

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StMichalofWilson

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Awesome Episode!

The ending is just.....it will put a smile to fans' faces

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Smart_Dork_Dude

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And this my friends is why the Turtles are still loved even to this day.

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Ostyo

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I need to watch this show...

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Deadknight

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It was funny with Tigerclaw for me, because as soon as I saw him flying with a jetpack and firing pistols, I thought "he really resembles Boba Fett." Then when he was flying and a giant worm showed up, the setup became painfully obvious. Tigerclaw seems too distinct to just get shoved aside like Fett was in the movie though. Hope to see more of him.

Also cool that we finally got to see Bradford again.

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Drewyetti

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Edited By Drewyetti

I loved it!! 10/10 from me as i am high with the feeling of nostalgia

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Lurkero

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Edited By Lurkero

When it was revealed that Tiger Claw uses guns it kinda disappointed me because I knew that no matter how effective he was as an enemy, most of his tactics wouldn't pass since the turtles are unlikely to get shot. It was funny when Tiger Claw had a clear shot against Raph and the loaded his gun with a rope rather than a laser. In the end, Tiger Claw still put up an impressive performance and ultimately was not disappointing. His showdown with Master Splinter was especially great. It's always great when Splinter has a chance to show off.

The way they handled the situation with Karai was good too. I was beginning to worry that it would be kept secret for far too long and would be a plot thread that lingers. When Karai eavesdropped at the end it gave a little hint that she senses the truth. The way Shredder was willing to kill Splinter when Splinter was injured is a hint to Karai that Shredder is not as honorable as he says he is.

I still don't buy Casey and April's romantic interest, but they are just teenagers so whatever. The writers worked on a lot of plot threads over these two episodes and everything turned out great. Now let's hope they progress the Kraang plot forward. I want to see the turtles move on to Dimension X so that we can see more adversaries like Tiger Claw and perhaps friends like Karai and Usagi Yojimbo.

And the way that Tiger Claw was an homage to Boba Fett without being too on the nose was good. Down to the worm.

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k4tzm4n

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k4tzm4n  Moderator

It was funny with Tigerclaw for me, because as soon as I saw him flying with a jetpack and firing pistols, I thought "he really resembles Boba Fett." Then when he was flying and a giant worm showed up, the setup became painfully obvious. Tigerclaw seems too distinct to just get shoved aside like Fett was in the movie though. Hope to see more of him.

Also cool that we finally got to see Bradford again.

Well, his action figure is wearing an eyepatch, so something tells me we'll see more of him ;)

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Edited By Jonny_Anonymous

Unleash the kath... the ka... the k-k... UNLEASH THE GRABOID!

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Lvenger

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Edited By Lvenger

This was also my new favourite episode as well. Superb action, a majorly well developed plot, subtle but fitting humour and an awesome cameo of the 1980s TMNT. Plus Tiger Claw was such a badass and a great reference to Boba Fett. He also appears in the new intro to the show so I bet this won't be the last we see of him. They dropped a subplot of him trying to find the duelist who cut off his tale so that'll come into play.

Excellent review Gregg, I think this might be one episode I'll have to watch again given how good it is.

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Vaeternus

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Edited By Vaeternus

@stmichalofwilson: Twice with the oldschool references ;) not every turtle fan depending on age will get that though lol. But I loved that, brought me back.

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Gracetrack

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T-U-R-T-L-E power!

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Wolverine008

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Gracetrack

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ectoborge

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Holy Crap that was a good episode!

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the_stegman

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the_stegman  Moderator

I want a crossover between the current turtles and the old turtles now.

Crisis on Two Shells.

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Mezmero

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Edited By Mezmero

This episode was amazing. Perfect blend of comedy, action, plotting, and fan service. I like how they even threw in a line from the movie. Tiger Claw is a pretty cool new baddie to toss into the mix. Say what you will about the lack of tension that comes with having guns in a kids cartoon, I still love seeing gunmen fighting melee dudes on even ground. The same thing happens in One Piece where guns aren't a huge threat to most characters but I still like seeing them used as much as possible. The only thing I would have wanted to see is April using at least one Haoshoku blast though I suspect they're saving that ability as a deus ex machina if the plot calls for it. I seriously don't know how they can top this episode but I've felt that way about a lot of episodes in this series.

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ghost_rider_888

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Edited By ghost_rider_888

@sarahpmontez: piss off already

how do you people even get here ?!!

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IronAngelX

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What day does this show come on?

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w0nd

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Edited By w0nd

Splinter is definitely the Boss!

It's good to see him do stuff now instead of sending his boys out. He doesn't seem ill or THAT old, and when he does come out he dominates for the most part.

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sonova

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The end was just.... 5 year old me was as pleased as a person gets. COWABUNGA!

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amazing_webhead

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Edited By amazing_webhead

Positives:

  • Tiger Claw was badass!
  • The cheese phone scene was hilarious
  • I knew we were gonna see Kurtzman again
  • The ending, full stop. "COWABUNGA!!!"

Negatives:

  • I was really hoping to see the Neutrinos in Dimension X