By [ad_1]
One of the Ninja Turtles’ closest allies learned that the biggest threat to Mutant Town isn’t one they can fight, and it might tear Mutant Town apart.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #121, available now from IDW.
Life in Mutant Town has never been easy, but its citizens have always managed to pull through whatever hardships came their way. In the case of the recent attack by the Mutanimals, the people of Mutant Town once again prevailed against the odds, bringing to a close one of the darkest chapters the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen. Now that the violence is over, the long process of moving forward has begin. For Sally Pride, that means getting to the root of just how this all happened in the first place. Unfortunately, doing so comes with the realization that the biggest threat to Mutant Town might just be everything she has been working towards.
When the Mutanimals opened fire on the rally Sally Pride had organized in the leadup to Mutant Town’s first open elections, those who found themselves on the receiving end of the violence rose up to fight back against their attackers. Despite their brutal tactics, the Mutanimals didn’t stand a chance, and before long their headquarters had fallen to the Ninja Turtles and their allies. While Old Hob was finally brought to justice for his crimes, it became clear that the attack on the rally wasn’t his doing. In fact, it was Man Ray who had ordered the assault, something that Sally Pride still can’t wrap her head around.
Though she finally gets the chance to do so in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #121 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, Jodi Nishijima, Ronda Pattison, Shawn Lee and Bobby Curnow, the answers that Sally receives couldn’t possibly be further than what she expected.
When Sally asks Man Ray how he could have stooped so low as to have her fired upon, all he can tell her is that they are at war and that has changed the nature of their world. Hearing that from her former friend isn’t good enough, though, especially after the Mutanimals kept the mutant children in cages. As she points out, this was something that Man Ray himself went through, which she knows from having been right beside him at the time. Sally and Man Ray both made their first appearance back in 2015’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutanimals #2 by Paul Allor and Andy Kuhn when they were being held captive by Null Corporation. Along with the barely corporeal Seymour Gutz, Sally and Man Ray were the only survivors of Null’s gruesome experiments with force mutations. The three were eventually freed by Old Hob and subsequently joined his Mutanimals, but the years since then have obviously sent all of their lives in wildly different directions.
As far as Sally is concerned, it was the actions of Old Hob and Man Ray which led to their current state, putting the blame for all of the tensions within Mutant Town squarely at their feet. For Man Ray, however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. From where he sees things, Sally’s allegiance with the Turtles and attempts to galvanize Mutant Town around their cause were the instigating factor in recent events. The Mutanimals were only driven to attack Mutant Town in an attempt to save their own lives, as Man Ray knew well enough that they would all be branded felons and fugitives if Sally Pride or the Splinter Clan rose to political power. It’s a painful revelation cut, yet not an inherently untruthful one — and that alone makes it the most painful by far.
Sally Pride’s efforts have undoubtedly been in the service of the greater good. Between the situation at home and Mutant Town’s reputation with the outside world both being such lynchpin issues, Sally’s push for a legitimate government within Mutant Town was a reasonable way to try and solve both of them. Her constant rallying cries against the Mutanimals on the other hand were something she never considered putting under the microscope, and they led to where everyone is now. Had she practiced any amount of self-reflection during the weeks leading up to the rally, maybe this all could have been avoided. Seeing as how that isn’t an option, we can only hope that Sally can try to mend the damage that has been done before Mutant Town comes apart in the fallout.
About The Author
[ad_2]
