Many writers try to find a metaphor or a lasting description of the character they are writing about when they write a comic. It’s hard to do, of course, but writers keep trying, because when you find one, it becomes an absolute classic, as Grant Morrison says: “But that’s Batman. Batman thinks of everything.” An even better example is Peter David who absolutely nailed Quicksilver’s personality with this very apt metaphor in X Factor #87 (illustration by Joe Quesada and Al Milgrom)…
Because your life is slowed down by the inabilities or annoying behavior of others. It’s not a rational or caring attitude, but that’s the way it is. Now imagine, Doctor, that everyone you work with, everywhere you go… your entire world… is filled with people who don’t know how to operate vending machines. I dare say, Doctor, that you would suffer from it too… You get the picture? It’s not so confusing anymore, is it?
This term has been used by other writers to describe Quicksilver many times since, and is essentially shorthand for comic book fans on how to describe the irritable superhero.
I mention this because even though Ninja Turtles #2 (by writer Jason Aaron, artist Rafael Albuquerque, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Shawn Lee), the flagship issue of the Michelangelo series, may not be quite on the same level as Quicksilver’s ATM metaphor, but it comes pretty close with a razor-sharp metaphor involving, of all things, nunchucks!
What is Michelangelo doing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2?
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of this series (as I only started reviewing it now, with its second issue), after a 150 issue run, IDW decided to revive their long-running series Ninja Turtles series (created by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz), a series that merged the approach of the original Ninja Turtles approaching the iconic Ninja Turtles animated series (including, but not limited to, of course, the four brothers adopting the animated series’ individualized colored face masks). Of course, after 150 issues, the series had built up a great deal of continuity behind it (one of the biggest plot developments was a bomb that mutated a group of people in New York, making mutants a major factor in the world), and so a new “back to basics” series has now been launched, set a year later, with the Turtle brothers separated, and they will eventually have to reunite in New York.
Each of the first four issues will feature a different turtle, with each issue drawn by a different artist. This issue’s art team of Rafael Albuquerque and Marcelo Maiolo will then take over the book as the regular art team starting with issue #5. In this issue, the spotlight is on Michelangelo, who has become a major television star in Japan with a popular Ninja TV series (which Aaron cleverly does to parody the magnitude that the Turtles animated series became in the 1980s).
However, as one might expect, just as this Patrick Dempsey film so aptly points out, money “can’t buy love,” and in Michelangelo’s case, it can’t buy a sense of ease either.
Obviously, as you probably know by now if you know anything about the Ninja Turtles, Michaelangelo’s weapon of choice is the nunchaku, or “nunchucks”, two sticks attached by chains that can be used as an effective blunt attack weapon, but can also be an effective defensive weapon (with the chains between the sticks wrapped around an opponent’s weapon).
In this issue, Aaron has Michelangelo explain that when you train with nunchaku, you’re inevitably going to hit yourself. It’s virtually impossible NOT to do that at some point, and so becoming a nunchaku master means you’ve mastered the art of fighting, and that’s obviously the powerful metaphor that sits at the top of the story, as Michelangelo beats himself up a lot for what happened between him and his three brothers.
When he is attacked by villains who had previously drugged his frozen pizza that he regularly eats (reminding him of the pizza dinners he shared with his brothers back in the day), he imagines the attackers as his brothers, as they all put him down. However, he has had enough and fights back, showing his growth as a character.
Rafael Albuquerque and Marcelo Maiolo do remarkable work on the fight sequences (Maiolo does that thing where you color a panel differently to highlight a particularly dramatic moment in the fight), but really, Albuquerque is remarkable throughout the issue, including all the broad, over-the-top stuff, but also the down-to-earth little stuff, like Michelangelo passing out while eating pizza all alone in his spacious luxury apartment.
Aaron’s decision to open the series by spotlighting each of the characters was a very smart one, as I really learned a lot about Raphael in issue #1, and now Michelangelo in this one. It makes the wait to see the brothers finally reunite all the sweeter at the end (especially because, as we see at the end of this issue, whatever caused their separation left some very nasty wounds in their souls).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024)
As the Ninja Turtles drift apart, each pursuing their own interests, dark forces work to reunite them. Raphael finds himself imprisoned and a surprise attack in prison forces him to fight for his survival. Meanwhile, an imminent threat looms over his brothers, setting the stage for a dramatic reunion.
- Stunning artwork by Rafael Albuquerque and Marcelo Maiolo
- A clever take on the Turtles, who were once TV stars
- An Insightful Look at Michelangelo’s Inner Demons
Source: IDW Publishing