Roy Reimagines... TMNT

So it is now time for my most requested "Roy Reimagines Something" journal. It is time to tackle the Heroes in a Half-Shell.

First, let me begin by telling you how much of a diehard shell-head I am. The Turtles got me interested in superheroes through their original cartoon, early arcade games, and the movie adaptations. I kinda checked out of the franchise for a while until the CGI TMNT movie restored my interest and then later along came Nickelodeon's 2012 to 2017 series which was a series I loved to watch with my daughter, convincing me to check out the newest IDW comic series.

So that establishes my influences. Now would I bring them into Earth-27? Honestly? I would love to, I just don't know if I should. That said, I know both Phil and I would love to do that so of the fanbase likes my ideas here, we might just do that... so sit back, grab a slice of pizza, and let's dive in here to "What if the Ninja Turtles showed up in Earth-27?"

Background Idea

The Safinat Dakhma, or the League of Assassins, has many branches. We have heard so much about its Demon's Head, its Black Hand, and its White Hand, but what of the Demon's Feet?

The "Demon's Feet" is made of the Foot Clan. In the mid-1980s, the Foot was overseen by two prominent followers of Ra's al Ghul. The purpose of the Hands was to do the Head's bidding, but the Foot kept the Demon standing and was also tasked to invest in technology and research to keep the League modern and secure. One of the Foot's leader was Hamato Yoshi, an honorable man who followed Ra's al Ghul as he believed that the world was in peril and sacrifices needed to be to ensure the good of all. Yoshi was opposed by his partner, Oroku Saki who sought power and often used fear and violence to secure it.
After coming to believe that Saki is acting ruthlessly, putting the League in jeopardy, Yoshi confronts him and tells him that if he does not change his ways, he will take his concerns to Ra's al Ghul. Before Yoshi has the chance, Saki sends his best warriors to accompany him on a mission to put Yoshi and his entire family to death. Yoshi's wife, Tang Shen, is attacked and severely wounded, and with her last breath, she beseeches Yoshi to protect himself and their young sons. But, try as Yoshi might, challenging Saki to one on one combat, Saki uses dirty tactics and has his men murder the boys in front of Yoshi before running Yoshi through as he screams in horror. As Yoshi dies, he calls upon his ancestors' spirits to find a way to bring Yoshi and his sons back from death to curse Saki for his treachery.

Two decades later, Yoshi and his sons' spirits are reincarnated in Star City in 2003 as a gray rat and four turtles in a subsidiary research laboratory belonging to STAR Labs ran by Baxter Stockman, a scientist who has secretly allied himself with the Foot Clan and their new alien allies, the Utrom. Stockman's partner, Dr. O'Neil, is unaware of Stockman's criminal dealings as he is too focused on raising his daughter: April O'Neil. April spends a lot of time at the lab and takes a liking to the turtles, naming the turtles after Renaissance artists when she is doing a report on the Renaissance.

One night, in 2006, members of the Foot Clan break into the facility to threaten Stockman who they suspect is stalling for more money. Dr. O'Neil, having forgotten his keys, returns to the lab causing the Foot Clan to quickly hide and in so doing accidentally knock over a canister containing a mutagen Stockman and O'Neil had been working on. The canister smashes open and leaks onto the shelf, dripping over the cage of the lab rat and the aquarium containing the four turtles. O'Neil gets his keys and leaves and soon after The Foot leave Stockman to his work. Stockman likewise leaves for a long holiday weekend, unaware of the mutagen contaminating the test subjects.

Hamati Yoshi, aided by the mutagen causing his rat body to rapidly grow and become more human-like, quickly begins to remember fragments of his past life and begins to train the turtles, who he recognizes as his sons and are also likewise affected by the mutagen, in the art of ninjutsu. But for all he remembers of his past, his identity as Yoshi eludes him and he thus keeps the name Splinter, the same name Dr. O'Neil had given him.

Splinter and his sons escape the lab and flee to the sewers, where they make their home and train in secret. As time progresses, Splinter recalls more details of his past, cued in on seeing signs of Foot Clan activity in this new city. Realizing that the Foot Clan threatens the city, and possibly the world, Splinter decides in 2016, it is time for his now teenage sons to make their presence known.

Characters 

• Hamato Yoshi was once known for his unruly temper and lack of discipline. But with the help of his mentor Masato; and his love, Tang Shen; he learned to control his temper and become a skilled assassin. His contemporary, Oroku Saki, seeks to make the Foot a clan to be feared. When Yoshi openly objected to the needless slaughter of a village connected to an assassination target, he and his family are declared traitors. Yoshi cannot save Tang Shen or his sons from being murdered but swears eternal vengeance. Now reincarnated as a mutated rat slowly regaining his past life's memories and adopting the name Master Splinter, Yoshi is on a collision course with his former rival and murderer.

• The reincarnation of the oldest of Yoshi's son is Leonardo. Leonardo is the most dedicated of Splinter's students and is debatably the most skilled. He seeks to carry out Splinter's teachings above-all, and often carries this burden with no small amount of stress, causing him to often butt heads with his brothers, particularly Raphael.

• Raphael is one of the reincarnated sons of Hamato Yoshi, the second son. Raphael is the biggest and strongest of the turtles, but also the most violent and angry. He often bucks Leonardo's orders to go on patrol by himself or with his new friend Casey Jones.

• Donatello is the reincarnated third son of Hamato Yoshi. Donatello is a genius and what's worse is he knows it. Donatello is a superb machinist, computer hacker, and even a talented blacksmith, but his combat skills are subpar compared to those of his brothers. Donnie's skillsets required the most interaction with the human world, albeit usually through the Internet. He has a crush on April O'Neil.

• Michelangelo is the youngest of the turtles. He is also the most immature, laid-back, and arguably the dumbest of his brothers. But Mikey has heart and he is an idiot savant in a few areas, like extreme sports and nunchaku. Mikey is also the one who introduced his brothers and Splinter to pizza, which has been a mainstay of their diet since Michelangelo brought it home one day after saving a pizza delivery boy from being mugged.

• April O'Neil is a college student trying to decide on her major. She has eclectic interests, studying genetics, journalism, and computer science with equal interest and passion. She also is an expert on antiques and history as she and her father have been struggling to run her mother's antique shop since her mother passed a few years ago. April and her father were recently attacked by the Foot and would have died if not for the intervention of the Turtles. While Dr. O'Neil is in a coma, April is taken in by the Turtles seeking to keep her safe as they unravel why the Foot seeks to kill her.