One of the most ambitious crossovers of the year took Twitter by storm in the form of mash-up art featuring Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Thing from the Fantastic Four in their "inconspicuous” attire. Throughout their respective histories on a number of different mediums, Raphael and Ben Grimm have used the foolproof method of wearing a hat and trench coat to hide their appearances and blend in with the public without being noticed for their bizarre physical appearances. Unfortunately for the two of them, those outfits aren’t fooling anyone! Though seeing them suit up side by side offers a sense of solidarity between the two that the artist behind the drawing assuredly intended.
The renowned comic book artist behind hits such as Heavy Metal, Sebastián Píriz, is the creative talent behind the original drawing of the two beloved characters. While drawing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle may have been a career first for Piriz, the artist is no stranger to Marvel characters. Piriz has been credited for his work on Marvel Holiday Special, a collection of fun Marvel adventures outside of the established narrative with more room for creative freedom and light-hearted fun. Another book Piriz has worked on in the past also features another character who rocked the trench coat look to fit into a crowd unconvincingly, though one who was not featured in the now-famous image.
Posting the image on Twitter, Píriz's artwork of Ben and Raph got a great deal of appreciation. In the replies to the Tweet, there were a number of pictures showing off other comic book characters that have used similar disguises in their respective series. One of those characters was the Autobot sleuth himself, Nightbeat P.I.! Appearing in Marvel’s Transformers #230, Nightbeat is seen on the cover of the issue sporting the same hat and trench coat look as the two in the initial picture. While the Transformer isn’t included in the artwork, Piriz has been known to partake in both Autobot and Decepticon artwork after being credited on IDW’s The Transformers series debuting in 2019.
While it could have been perceived as a bit of a snub for Piriz to not include Transformers in his drawing given their previous history, another comic character made an appearance in the comments section of the artist’s Tweet who also adheres to this silly dress code. The image is of Damien Darkblood from the comic and animated series Invincible by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker. The written comment posted along with the image reads, “room for one more?” a fun reminder of the many other comic characters who like mindedly believe a hat and trench coat can distract from their obviously abnormal appearances.
One aspect of the artwork that has many fans excited is the prospect of an actual crossover between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Fantastic Four. While nothing is in the works as of now between those two series, the Turtles are no strangers to crossovers. The immediate thought goes to the crossover between TMNT and Batman, though a more subtle one existed which tied one of Marvel’s greatest heroes to the Turtles’ origin. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it is heavily implied that the same chemical spill from the back of a truck that was responsible for creating the Ninja Turtles also gave Daredevil his superhuman abilities! So, given their origin, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles already have strong ties to Marvel comics so a Fantastic Four crossover could be imminent, though for now, the mashup will have to remain in the hilarious fan art.