TMNT Changes Splinter's Place in the Franchise in the Darkest Possible Way
WARNING! Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6Master Splinter has been dead for some time in the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlescontinuity, but the Turtle brothers’ father may not be entirely gone. The new TMNT series, which began last year, saw Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mike separated before a new plan from the Foot brought them together again, but it appears that Splinter may be joining them sooner than later - perhaps from beyond the grave.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra sees all four brothers reunited and working together again after their time apart. The reunion is anything but happy, however, as Raph and Mike are immediately at each other's throats.
Perhaps worst of all, Donatello finds himself severely emaciated after being lost in time due to a magic spell. His mind seems shattered, as well, as Donnie seems convinced that a dead rat he’s been carrying is actually a reincarnated Splinter.
Splinter May Be Returning in IDW's New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 by Jason Aaron, Juan Ferreyra, and Shawn Lee
Wanting to be sensitive to his current state, the other three brothers go along with Donnie’s delusion. In a moment of frustration, Mike tells Donnie the truth: the rat he’s been carrying around isn’t their father, but merely a random rodent that Don found on his travels. The story then takes an interesting turn, as Donnie confesses that he’s been hearing a voice inside his head - and if it’s not Master Splinter, fans have to wonder who is communicating with Donatello in this fashion. Perhaps even more intriguingly, the running narration throughout the issue is revealed to be Splinter.
“I pray you will hear my voice, from beyond the veil between worlds,” Splinter says to his four sons, knowing the fate of New York City is at stake. Now that fans know that Splinter is trying to contact his sons from beyond the grave, it would be easy to assume that Donnie has in fact been in contact with their father in some way. But perhaps the creators have something more sinister in mind, as it's possible that the voice Donnie’s been hearing doesn’t belong to Splinter, after all, but someone merely pretending to be the Turtles’ father.
Who Is the Voice in Donatello’s Head?
Panels from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 by Jason Aaron, Chris Burnham, Brian Reber, and Shawn Lee
Splinter’s death has stood for a while in the current continuity, since all the way back in 2019’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dave Wachter, Ronda Pattison, and more. Since the new era seems to be taking a “back to basics” approach by assembling all the classic TMNT pieces together in new, exciting ways, it will be very interesting to see how Splinter will join the new series. It's possible that the voice in Donnie’s head will be revealed to be Splinter after all, with the Turtles’ father resurrected in upcoming issues. It’s an intriguing mystery currently playing out in the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 is available now from IDW Publishing.
- Created by
- Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
- First Film
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- Latest Film
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- Upcoming Films
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2
- First TV Show
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Latest TV Show
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
- First Episode Air Date
- December 14, 1987
- Cast
- Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, Barry Gordon, Townsend Coleman, Seth Green, Sean Astin, Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon
- Current Series
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Spin-offs (Movies)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
- TV Show(s)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Video Game(s)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - The Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Radical Rescue, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger Of The Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project
