Batman discovers the joys of Pizza Power.
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is hardly the strangest comic book crossover ever to hit the stands, but there is something bizarre about the idea of the Caped Crusader sharing the page with the Heroes in a Half Shell. This crossover certainly taps into the sheer, ridiculous fun of that pairing. But even as writer James Tynion IV and artist Freddie Williams II mine the crossover for all its goofy charm, they also find a surprising amount of emotional depth in this superhero team-up.
In terms of premise, Batman/TMNT follows a pretty standard crossover template, linking the current IDW Publishing incarnation of the Turtles with the New 52 Batman cast. By the end of the first issue, both Splinter and the Turtles and Shredder and his Foot Clan find themselves transported from their New York to Gotham City. From there, Batman is forced to come to terms with the existence of these mutated warriors and join forces to stop an alliance between Shredder and one of the most iconic villains in the Bat-franchise.
The plot is very straightforward, and not exactly brimming with surprise twists or subversions of the usual crossover formula. But that's okay, because the series more than makes up for its lack of originality in the quality of characterizations and sheer entertainment value. It never gets old seeing Batman and his allies interact with the Turtles. What happens when Batman is induced to finally try pizza? What happens when Damian battles Michelangelo and Donatello for control of his video game system? What happens when familiar Bat-villains are given Bebop and Rocksteady-esque transformations? From start to finish, Batman/TMNT does a great job of exploring the potential when the two franchises cross paths.
Williams' art makes the most of that pairing as well. His style, coupled with Jeremy Colwell's striking colors, manages to toe the line between the cartoonish excess of the TMNT comics and the grim, dreary tone of the Batman comics. Williams' massive, hulking depiction of Batman might be out of place in other books, but here that approach is necessary to ensure that Batman stands out on the page alongside his four colorful new partners. The action is plenty dynamic (especially in the final issue when the conflict reaches new heights of absurdity), and the characters' emotions are always palpable.
Above all, this series thrives on the poignant emotional bond that forms between Batman and the Turtles. Tynion risks beating a long-dead horse by fixating on Bruce's trauma over the deaths of his parents. But that pays off handsomely as the series hones on the idea that the lonely Bruce has found a surrogate family in the Turtles. It might sound silly, but there's a really touching dynamic linking these characters by the end of the story. The final farewell scene in particular manages to tug at the heartstrings.
Re-reading the entire series in collected form does offer a slightly different perspective on the overall product. As our review pointed out, issue #1 is a bit slow to get the ball rolling and put Batman in the path of the Turtles. That problem is less pronounced when the whole story is read in one sitting. Conversely, however, it only highlights the pacing problems in the final issue. It would have been nice to see a few more pages devoted to the aftermath of the final showdown. It's also strange to see the six issues reprinted as one seamless story with no visual chapter breaks, resulting in an abrupt shift from one page to the next at those points.
While technically published by DC, this collection shares more in common with IDW's hardcovers in terms of build quality and presentation. That's a very good thing. IDW's books are far superior to most in terms of binding and paper quality, and that alone may be cause for some readers to double-dip. This hardcover doesn't include much in the way of supplemental material apart fro ma cover gallery and a few pages of concept art. But given how many variant covers DC commissioned for this series, that winds up adding several dozen pages to the book.
The Verdict
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel when it comes to superhero crossovers, but it doesn't need to. This mini-series offers nonstop entertainment as it explores this unusual pairing, and it minds a surprising amount of emotional depth from the dynamic between Batman and the Turtles. Having the whole series collected into one finely crafted hardcover is just icing on the cake.
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