Batman TMNT Adventures #3 Review

Batman TMNT Adventures #3

Writer: Matthew K. Manning

Art Team: Jon Sommariva, Sean Parsons, Leonardo Ito,

John Rauch, Zack Atkinson & Sean Galloway

DC Comics/IDW Publishing

Release Date: January 25, 2017

Price: $3.99

Does this Sewer have a V.I.P. area?

In a perfect crossover universe, villains of both earths would be civil to one another, sharing plans of world domination, finally able to come together and take down those pesky heroes once and for all.  However the characters in crossovers, much like people in real life, make bone headed decisions quite frequently. The end result, for even the most carefully laid plans of world domination, is never good for these lovable fellas and ladies and I for one would like to see that change.  So what do you think will Batman TMNT Adventures #4 be the first crossover to start breaking new ground? Probably not but let’s find out what happened anyway.

Things start off right where last issue left off with the “Bat Gang” and the Turtles taking on Snakeweed who’s controlled, enchanted, and enhanced by none other than Poison Ivy. Across town we jump back into the Joker and Shredder conversation taking place, in typical Joker fashion, underneath a ceiling of chicken bombs.  Oh that Joker, and here everyone thought still hanging on to ever rubber chicken EVER made was a silly idea.

Needless to say the Shredder isn’t buying into any of the Joker and Harley’s shenanigans. As the conversation progress poorly, it begins to mildly agitate the clown faced fella, who ultimately unleashes his coat flower laughing gas on the turtle soup loving bad ass. Shredder, who with his mask off looks a lot like Deadpool here, begins to bust out laughing and falls to the floor and the Joker’s wheels begin to spin about how he can use the remaining Shredder loyalists to his disposal. 

Back to the big Snakeweed fight, we see Batman keeping the big guy busy, as Raph and Robin head out to find the controlling party, Ivy.  The back and forth battle takes up most of the second act of the issue before the Turtles, Batman, and the rest of the crew are able to obtain victory by over watering Ivy. They return Poison Ivy to the nearby portal she came from but it quickly closes leaving the heroes with no leads as they head back into the sewers. 

As the crew hangs in the Turtles sewer apartment Batman, Leonardo, and Splinter calculate how to attack this growing portal and villain problem springing up throughout New York/Gotham.  The giant team gets divided into two different groups with Batman, Raphael, and Leo scouring the rooftops for leads in East Village as the others try and locate the latest portal in an attempt to contain the problem.  

As the two live crews head off in their separate directions we’re treated to a double cliffhanger here. The first is Donnie and Mikey discovering a Joker henchmen, caught by Batgirl and Robin, which leads me to believe next issue may be very Joker heavy.  The second cliff hanger, and more interesting of the two, is Batman leaving Leo and Raph alone, as he goes to ground level to investigate a red smog covering the area.  As soon as Batman leaves Raph and Leo begin to become infected by the smog as we flash to a picture of Dr. Jonathan Crane looking very responsible for this disaster as the issue ends. 

Overall this book is still an enjoyable read and the characters all feel like they have their own voice you know and love. The story has centered on these red portals transporting characters between both worlds, but still nothing has really been revealed about how or why their opening yet. Humor wise this was the strongest book of the series so far with exchanges between a few of the turtles and Robin the highlights of the issue for me. If you’re a fan of these properties you’ll enjoy this title but it just feels like a typical crossover affair right now nothing too special.   

Bits and Pieces

Batman TMNT Adventures puts out another strong issue with some clever humor bits that stole the show for me personally (see Robin and anybody). The art continues to be a reason to also consider purchasing this title because if you’re a fan of either cartoon series represented here there is plenty to look at and enjoy overall.   

7.0/10