Towards the end of Volume 1, I was already feeling truly relatable to Mikey and how quickly he had to grow up. No longer being able to have fun with his depression and anxiety eating at him constantly. This issue just confirms how much of his innocence was lost over the past year since he and his brothers went their separate ways. This opening scene and the metaphor used couldn't be more perfect. How many of us are guilty of beating ourselves up on the inside, only to display fake confidence on the outside?

TMNT (2024 -) Issue #2

Every version always has him being the fun loving party dude, but really he has always been putting on an act. He is always known to be the heart of the family, the one to keep everyone together and help ease animosity, but it always came at a cost: having to push his own worries and concerns to the side so he can instead be there for his older brothers.

He isn't able to throw a tantrum and storm out like Raphael. He doesn’t have the burden of being a leader like Leonardo who has to deal with his brothers always arguing with him. He doesn’t have the luxury of just shutting off his emotions and hiding away in a lab like Donatello. 

He always had to be the strong one, the comic relief when really he was always full of self doubt, depression and struggling with his own issues. After all, someone had to be the sun to bring his brothers out of darkness, and it fell to him being the youngest. Master Splinter described Mikey's personality best to Raphael.

This is why I liked/hated the emotional hell the writers put Mikey through for the last half of Volume 1 in the IDW comics. He may not have come close to death like Donatello where Donatello’s soul had to be transferred to an AI robot till Dr Honeycutt could create a new carapace for him. He may not have been corrupted to the dark side like Leonardo, fighting against his brothers as he joined Shredder and the Foot Clan. Lastly, he didn't have to deal with the fallout for unknowingly helping Hobb set off the mutant bomb that mutated hundreds of humans like Raphael did. No, the traumatic event was watching his family fall apart, everyone he ever loved leaving him and being helpless to stop it.

TMNT #101

Watching them fight amongst each other and acting like children instead of talking it out. 

TMNT #142

TMNT #142

Watching his father take control of the Foot Clan and no longer following the code of honor he instilled upon him and his brothers. 

TMNT Macro Series #2

His family was falling further and further apart and no matter what he did, he was never able to fix it to where they all eventually went their separate ways after the Armageddon Game. 

So upon reading this issue, it was emotional and heartbreaking seeing just how much of a toll all that took on him. I love how both the writer and the artists personified Mikey’s self hatred doubts into the forms of his brothers. It really ties in his anger towards his brothers and anger at himself.

His anger is so pure, so raw and completely justified. His brothers always told him he had to grow up and he did. He tried to reason with his brothers, compromise but they were the ones who acted like children, not Mikey to where Mikey feels like they abandoned him during his time of need.

Another part of Mikey that they explored more in depth was who Mikey truly is underneath the mask that he wears. A kid full of self doubt, anxiety, loneliness and most of all exhausted from having to keep it all inside that has manifested into anger after so many years of filing his true emotions away.

The writer I swear was in my head as he wrote Mikey’s inner thoughts, and it also made me think of everyone else I know, including myself who feels like they have to pretend to be someone they aren't because that is what people expect them to be. To act differently throws everyone off. 

At the end of the issue, he is so angry, so alone and dealing with so many negative emotions that no one showed him how to handle, he could only blame his brothers for everything he went through. That he didn't have a part in the fracture, that he is the victim and is blinded to the fact that he also needs to take responsibility for his own actions. All four of them had a hand in the family fallout whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Mikey's part that he played was not expressing his feelings to his brothers, but instead keeping it all inside. Deep down he knows that if he actually voiced his concerns, his brothers would have tried harder to keep their family together.

Of course it ended in a cliffhanger, however I think the writer did a great job having it be Rapahel whom Mikey fights. Raphael knows what it is like to be alone, to have self doubts and be full of so much anger that it blinds you. Raphael will not hold back either as they fight, being one who hits first and talks later. I have a hunch in the next issue, it will be Raphael who is able to help Mikey fight through his issues. 

It almost seems like each issue is a character study of the four brothers, and how they are dealing with the fall out of their family falling apart. To be honest, I am here for it because it truly does flesh them out and makes them more grounded in reality for fans to relate too.

Next month is focused on Leonardo and I am anxiously waiting to see how the master of the Hamato Clan and eldest brother has been dealing with the fallout.

On a lighter note, can I just say how freaking awesome these few panels are? Mikey the party dude got a major upgrade and you know those diamond encrusted nunchucks pack way more of a punch than the wooden ones he used to use.

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