TMNT Last Ronin 5 // Review
All things must come to an end eventually, even the lifespans of a mutated ninja turtle and their bladed rival. The final battle between the Ronin and the latest of the Foot Clan has arrived, and not everyone will survive.
The fifth and final issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is brought to us from the writing trio of Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Tom Waltz. Layouts for the book are by Kevin Eastman himself, while pencils and inks stem from Esau and Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop and Kevin Eastman. Samuel Plata, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Ronda Pattinson all worked on the colors, while Shawn Lee letters the book.
The streets of New York City are filled with riots as the people have had enough of Oroku Hiroto’s iron fisted rule. Some are with the resistance the Ronin has joined, while most people just want to watch the city burn. However, this makes the perfect distraction for the Ronin, as he makes his way inside the Foot stronghold. Barreling his way through all of those in his way like a old-school beat ‘em up, the Ronin and the newest Shredder meet face to face.
Who will survive?
And will there be a New York left in the aftermath?
This issue is nothing short of gorgeous. Every single issue of The Last Ronin has been fantastic in the art, but this issue takes it to a new level. The fight choreography from Eastman, however, seems to bring a lot of this to a new and brutal level. As there is no flashback sequence in this story, it looks like Kevin Eastman rededicated his effort from those pages into laying out how the comic will progress overall. It really pays off: the fight between the Ronin and new Shredder takes over half the comic’s page count, and it doesn’t give itself a chance to get boring. The fight rages from the rooftops of New York to the sewers themselves, and each page has something new and refreshing.
The non-fighting segments are also great. The Ronin has his final discussions with the ghosts of his brothers, and we see the wear and tear this has been taking on April and her daughter. Perhaps the only weakness of the issue is that we don’t see much of the rebellion and riots going on in New York City outside of exploding buildings, instead only taking the Ronin and Shredder’s words for it.
Bonus points also go to the hilariously over the top narration. It’s existed in every issue so far, bringing the Ronin's thoughts to the reader. However, this issue brings back memories of the best and most bonkers parts of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and the dialogue even seems to mimic some of the more infamous sequences. Seeing how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spawned from the influence of Frank Miller’s time on Daredevil, it’s remarkably fitting.
In all, fans who’ve been with this franchise forever are going to adore this comic. It’s got brutal fighting, themes of family and regret, and works as the perfect end cap to the story. Those who are on the fence should pick up the inevitable collection when it comes out, but you who’ve been following the story all along should not hesitate before grabbing this last issue.
