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Of all the unbelievable moments that the Ninja Turtles have lived through, none are more impressive than April rescuing the angel of Times Square.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have lived through some truly incredible moments in their almost four-decade career on the comic book page. From fighting fellow mutants to saving the world from interdimensional invaders, there is almost nothing that the Heroes in a Half Shell haven’t seen. Of course, they aren’t the only ones in their world who get to play the role of hero, and they certainly aren’t the only ones who have been swept up in the monumentally strange. In fact, it was the Turtles’ longtime ally April O’Neil who experienced what might have been the weirdest saga in TMNT history when she took it upon herself to rescue an actual angel.
By 1995, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures was already pushing the weird envelope by giving readers a glimpse at the heroes’ far-flung future and rebranding them (temporarily) as the Cyber Samurai Mutant Ninja Turtles. No matter how wild it was seeing the Splinter Clan battling brainless zombies and bodiless brains within their own shining suits of high-tech armor, it was the far more grounded back-up story that ran for the same five issues which ended up being somehow less believable. Written by Dean Clarrain and featuring the art of Gray Morrow, “The Angel of Times Square” starred the Turtles’ longtime ally April O’Neil in an adventure unlike any other. A sleazy stage producer named Hollywood Hoey had caught April’s eye on television when he boasted about the real-life angel that anyone could come see for themselves for the low price of a hundred dollars. While plenty of New Yorkers had been enthralled by the show, April couldn’t help but think that something was wrong with the entire situation. When she went to see for herself what all the fuss was about, April realized just how right she was in the worst kind of way.
April was apparently the only one in the crowd to notice that the Angel was crying on stage, not to mention the shackle chained around her ankle. After donning her own ninja garb and taking to the streets, April managed to sneak inside the theater where she quickly overpowered the goons inside before finally finding the angel. The divine figure, already knowing April’s name, was overjoyed to see the savior she had already been counting on. With kind words and a loving touch, the angel introduced herself as Gabrielle before explaining that she had merely wanted to experience the world of mankind and its beauty for herself before being subjugated by the worst of it. As Gabrielle and April stepped out into the night air, the angel reminded April of all the beauty in the world before ascending to the sky in front of dozens of awestruck bystanders. It was a fitting end to a heartfelt tale — though it remains one of the strangest Ninja Turtle stories of all time.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are by their very nature not what anyone would consider normal. In fact, it is hard to think of a single relatively mundane encounter that they have had. Even the Turtles’ most terrestrial foes have some sort of mutation or mystical connection. Putting aside all of the time and dimension-hopping and aliens and monsters, there aren’t many ordinary situations that the Heroes in a Half Shell can claim to have lived through. And still, none of them stand out in the way that “The Angel of Times Square” does. Maybe this is due to the biblical nature of Gabrielle herself, who is a far cry from any of the other divine beings that the Turtles have come to know, or it could be due to the ridiculous setup of the story. Whatever the case may be, an angel being saved by April is a hard plot to forget, and it’s one that fans aren’t likely to ever see play out again.
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