CBR’s sugarcoating Jason Aaron’s Ninja Turtles run at IDW, which is now reportedly ending, and it sounds from the following like he made sure to sneak some leftist rhetoric into the scripts before departing:
Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra’s run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to a close this week, and it both nicely resolved their particular run, while also setting up the book well for the incoming creative team, which was a nice treat to pull off, but it also marks a really impressive feat by Aaron in his twelve issues to both tell a strong overarching plot while still having each individual issue stand alone on its own, both as an individual issue, but also as interesting commentary on modern society. […]
As noted, one of the things that is the most impressive in Aaron’s run is how much each issue explored certain universal topics while also tying them all in into the theme of, well, you know, talking turtles who fight crime using ninja weapons. I noted this in some of my past reviews of the series, particularly Leonardo’s visit to the Ganges river to visit the turtles of the area, which brought up some interesting questions of what it means to be a “turtle” when you walk and talk (and fight crime). Also, the bit in the second issue where Aaron cleverly explains how mastering the Nunchuks means that Michaelangelo INHERENTLY works on beating himself up constantly. That’s the sort of sharp observations that Aaron has been doing in these comics.
However, he has also done a good job exploring the very idea of modern-day fascism. What freedoms are people willing to surrender to feel “safe?” Would you let the military invade your city to make you feel “safe”? Well, what about the Foot Clan? Meanwhile, how easily can the public be swayed by disinformation? Can you make the world turn on the Turtles, these heroes who have done nothing but protect New York City? I made a post a while back about how Silver Age Superman and Marshal Matt Dillon had a lot in common, as both of them were heroes who constantly saved their cities, and yet their cities would always turn on them at the slightest provocation. And we saw that happen in this story to the Turtles, as well, and they were framed so well that they had to escape into New Jersey!
However, in a clever recent issue from the perspective of the villainous District Attorney Hale (who is working with the Foot Clan), we see how fairness sure looks like an attack when you’re inherently UNfair like Hale. In addition, the people of New York City finally came through for the Turtles, and when the RATS of New York City chipped in, Hale was able to be proven as the monster he really was, and the Turtles’ names were all cleared. We have seen Hale be monstrous for so long, but at the end of the last issue, after he confronted Karai, the new head of the Foot Clan, she turned him from a figurative monster into a REAL one, and so now, the subtext has become outright text.
I’m sure that district attorney isn’t an allusion to Alvin Bragg. For all we know, the Hale character could be an allusion to some of the more prominent legal staff in Donald Trump’s government, or even the chief justices he appointed, like Brett Kavanaugh. And the Foot Clan’s supposed to be a stand-in for the USA military? As if the metaphors couldn’t get twisted and insulting enough. Unfortunately, when these propagandists talk about modern “fascism”, you can’t be shocked if what they really believe to be so is only right-wingers. The Ninja Turtles story in focus was quite possibly written up as a last-minute attack on Trump’s employment of military to arrest illegal immigrants, and in California, regrettably, said interlopers rioted violently and even attacked ICE offices. One can only wonder if Aaron believes anybody who reads his comics won’t see them as disinformation.
If Aaron’s stopped writing Ninja Turtles, that’s good, but whoever’s in charge of the franchise now has seen to it they’re destined to be one of the most damaged products for years to come, at least until they presumably become public domain later in the century. For all we know, it may make little difference what publisher acquires the license, whether current IDW, or even Dark Horse and Image; what matters is that they’re unlikely to produce Ninja Turtles comics devoid of political bias, subtle or otherwise, because the owners are unlikely to veto anything divisive in the name of “creative freedom” they’re unlikely to provide for a conservative-leaning writer. Maybe if Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s estates could buy back the ownership, improvement could be made, but for now, it’s doubtful.
Originally published here
English (US) · 