Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are some of the most iconic characters in comic book history, not just because they’re heroes on a cosmic scale who have saved the day across multiple dimensions countless times, but because they’re undeniably cool. However, after the latest installment in TMNT lore, it’s fair to say that the Turtles have officially been usurped as the coolest characters in their own comic book, as that title now belongs to their long-time friend and ally, Casey Jones.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 by Jason Aaron and Darick Robertson, readers are given the backstory of this story arc’s main villain: Hieronymus Hale. Hale is the District Attorney of NYC, and he is being blackmailed by the Shredder’s granddaughter, Karai, who is the current Foot Clan leader. Karai has a video of Hale attempting to murder a mutant, and she will share it with the world if he doesn’t do everything she says. So, the Foot Clan has become New York City’s new police force, and there’s one person in particular who cannot stand for that: Casey Jones.
After the Foot Clan police force brutalized a group of peaceful protesters, Casey Jones decided to ruff them up a bit himself. Wearing his iconic hockey mask and wielding his equally iconic hockey stick (with a golf bag filled with other make-shift weapons slung on his back), Casey Jones smashes faces and stomps heads, giving the Foot Clan a taste of their own medicine. Even when he’s inevitably beaten and brought to Hale in handcuffs, Casey still never stops fighting. This issue proves that Casey Jones is a one-man army, and totally leans into his well-established reputation as a rebel.
TMNT is About to Make Casey Jones Even More Badass
This TMNT Issue Establishes a Personal Nemesis for Casey Jones
Casey Jones’ conflict with the Foot Clan in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 ends with DA Hale putting a bullet in his stomach. As Hale shoots Casey, readers are given insight into what Hale is thinking, and at that moment, Hale is calling himself the King of New York. Beating Casey Jones – a known vigilante, gang leader, and hero in New York – so thoroughly has only emboldened Hale, and has allowed him to believe that he’s more than just a puppet controlled by Karai. He really thinks that he’s the King of New York, and that makes him dangerous.
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Hale’s villainy will only grow from this point forward, and his atrocities against New York City will assuredly only get worse. However, by personally shooting Casey Jones, Hale has made an enemy for life. Hale has effectively become Casey Jones’ nemesis in a way that could mirror the rivalry between Daredevil and the Kingpin, which is an exciting development for not only Casey Jones’ character, but the TMNT series as a whole. This issue is the origin story of what could become one of the most iconic rivalries in TMNT history, and serves to make Casey Jones that much cooler.
Casey Jones’ fight against the Foot Clan in this issue has paved the way for an exciting future for the iconic TMNT vigilante, but the reason he picked that fight to begin with could be because of some unresolved issues in his recent past. Interestingly enough, Casey Jones was just a member of the Foot Clan, and even acted as Karai’s personal advisor. In fact, that’s the current standing of his character in another ongoing TMNT comic series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation.
The events of that series take place immediately after TMNT‘s “Road to 150”, and a short time before the events of the new TMNT story arc. And in Mutant Nation, Casey and Karai are having a major falling-out, as she is possessed by a demonic spirit that’s pushing on her worst impulses. TMNT #5 subtly confirms that Karai is still possessed by this entity, which means she chooses it over Casey Jones in Mutant Nation. That explains why Casey is no longer with the Foot, and why he’s hellbent on breaking the organization down however he can.
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Casey Jones is making it his mission to stop Karai and the Foot Clan, because he knows what kind of otherworldly evil is really pulling the strings of that organization thanks to his time with them in Mutant Nation. However, the fight he picked with the Foot Clan in TMNT #5 resulted in Casey finding himself a new arch enemy: Hale. Truth be told, Casey Jones’ personal lore in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon has never been more rich and exciting, and only proves why he is actually the coolest character in the series.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 by IDW Publishing is available now.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
