The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a big year in 2023, not just because they fought an elder god and learned how to wield ancient magic, but because they have official successors, ones that have already been established with their own names and weapons. The next generation of TMNT was introduced within the pages of The Last Ronin continuity, as these new Turtles will take the place of their fallen ancestors in this futuristic sequel.
The names of these new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja, and they were introduced as infants on the final page of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. Then, their stories continued in the 2023 prequel/sequel series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years, and that’s when they were given a proper introduction.
In The Lost Years limited series, Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja were shown being raised by April O’Neil and her daughter, Casey Marie Jones. Using the journal Michelangelo left them – which originally belonged to Master Splinter – Casey and April trained these young mutant turtles in the ways of ninjutsu, as it contained every technique learned by both Splinter and Michelangelo. Readers bore witness to every bit of the new Turtles’ progress as they grew from young toddlers into more mature teenagers – and their story isn’t even close to being over.
SDCC 2023: TMNT The Last Ronin Team Breaks Down ‘Re-Evolution’ Sequel
At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Screen Rant sat down with Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop to discuss TMNT’s upcoming Last Ronin sequel.
2023 Introduced TMNT’s Next Generation, But 2024 Will Truly Tell Their Story
In February 2024, fans will be able to read Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Isaac Escorza, Esau Escorza, and Ben Bishop. This series will continue the adventures of Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja in the borderline post-apocalyptic landscape of the Last Ronin world. While at the moment it’s unclear exactly who or what the new Turtles will be going up against, what is clear are the weapons they’ll be using to do so.
One might assume that these Turtles would simply inherit the weapons used by the original TMNT, and basically, they’d be right. However, it’s a bit more than that, as each set of weapons isn’t passed down to an individual Turtle, Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja are all wielding all the weapons used by the original TMNT, meaning each of them will be fighting with katana, sai, nunchucks, and bo staffs – adding a cool new element to this next generation of Ninja Turtles while staying true to the originals.
TMNT’s Next Generation Isn’t The Only Exciting Development In 2023
The prospect of all-new Turtles taking over for the iconic Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael is undoubtedly exciting, and is easily the biggest news to come out of TMNT canon in 2023. However, it certainly isn’t the only development. Over in the prime TMNT universe within IDW Publishing continuity, the classic Ninja Turtles defeated the Rat King – a literal deity – and saved the world during The Armageddon Game event, learning ancient magic to do so. They have also undertaken a mission to defeat a greater threat to existence than even the Rat King posed: Armaggon. Armaggon is a cosmic entity powerful enough to consume timelines, and the TMNT are going to tap into the ancient mysticism they learned to fight the Rat King to take Armaggon down. This is a storyline that is being chronicled in ‘Road to 150’, which is a milestone that will mark the completion of TMNT writer/artist Sophie Campbell’s current run.
From defeating a god, learning magic, and challenging a Lovecraftian nightmare, to passing the torch to the next generation, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had quite the year in 2023, and 2024 promises to be even more exciting.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #1 by IDW Publishing is available February 28, 2024.
