Warning: SPOILERS for TMNT: The Last Ronin #1
The first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin has painted a dark and gritty dystopian future where only one turtle remains, and he is on a quest for revenge against the one he holds responsible for his brothers' deaths. The bleak future for the heroes in a half shell comes from original TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, their first collaboration in many years, and fans have been eagerly waiting its release since it was announced in April by IDW.
While the biggest reveal of the issue is that the Last Ronin is none other than Michelangelo, perhaps the next big reveal is who is responsible for Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael's deaths. The answer is Oroku Hiroto, the current Master of the Foot Clan and Shredder's grandson. The turtles were trained from the day they were mutated to fight in the war between their family and Shredder's, for both respect and honor. So after the reveal, it should come as no surprise that the one to actually kill the turtles would be a descendant of Shredder himself.
Oruko claims to have wiped out the turtles over a decade ago, and seeing that one of them is still alive is a shock to the Clan leader. Rather than taking on the turtle himself, he is more than happy to unleash his cyborgs and robots to deal with the threat while he stays atop his ivory tower with his mother- who seems to be in suspended animation.
The bastard son of Shredder's daughter Karai, Oroku is the new leader of the Foot Clan, and ruler of the dystopian future New York City. An NYC that would put Blade Runner's cityscape to shame, the setting is a walled city surrounded by radioactive wastelands. Outside the city is a wilderness not fit for human survival - the result of decades of pollution and global warming. Ruling the city within the walls (designed to keep people from getting out rather than in) Oroku Hiroto ensures his dominance with an army of cyborgs from the top of his tower. From his perch, he controls his soldiers to do his bidding, ensuring the wealthy are not threatened by those in the districts beneath them.
While Oroku claims he was responsible for the turtles' deaths, his willingness to rely on cyborgs and robots to do his fighting for him while staying in his tower with his mother may offer a clue that, while he may have given the order for their deaths, they may not have fallen by his hand directly. Whether it was by his direct action or not, Mikey holds Oroku responsible and the ruthless ninja appears to be willing to do anything to get his revenge. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is available now.