Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Crisis in a Half Shell Part 2

By James Tynion, IV

I'm starting with this single issue 2nd part, since it's the only physical copy I have, but I will be going back and reading the whole digital vol. from the start, and I'll get to it after I finish the Bone series. The only other downside, per my "cover", above is, it was damaged and missing the front page, but was hella cheap, so I may be starting a page deep into the story. It looks as if a dimensional-traveling turtle is going up against this dimension's bros plus Batman. Mikey recognizes the xerox-looking bro was Raph, and Splinter deduces traveler Raph doesn't want to ditch them, but mess with them.

RaphX is quicker than his counterpart, and doesn't hold it against him for claiming to having trained longer than them. RaphX then eggs on the rest of the bros on, for being weaker when combined, they should being able to overpower him. Batman is first to ask who, RaphX was, he claiming to be the 1st incarnation, and they were meant to be something different, going into backstory: An escaped pet rat of a murdered expert martial artist, he looking for someone to bring rightful retribution to the killer, but ofc, not having the ability to accomplish this, runs down the street, and sees the bed of a truck loosing some cans of radioactive waste all over the street. 1 of the cans hits a terrarium a little boy is holding with 4 turtles.

The rat views the small turtles fall into a sewer by manhole, the rat following since they'd lost their master like him. Next day, the turtles'd grown due to the r.w., and a few days later, they could talk and stand on 2 legs, the rat also having a nimbler mind. This meant everything Hamato Yoshi had practiced, Splinter could now perform with expertise, and passes on the talent to the turtles, and 1 day avenge H.Y.'s murder. Raph then states they were the TMNT and were flipping oh-awesome!

Batman denies this story, spouting how his pop'd bought the turtles off a street vendor, and he'd cut through the alley where his parents were murdered, and Splinter'd discovered them all and trained them. RaphX confides this wasn't Batman's real past, but'd share later. He proceeds to toss Donnie a device to somehow connect to his computer monitor, and Raph states not being impressed to how closely RaphX sounds characteristically similar to himself when Donnie makes comment of this. Leo pipes in with Raph disliking this because RaphX was correct, which they all felt.

RaphX continues his story by starting with how he'd left the sewer after a fight with Leo, and was going to intervene the Purple Dragons on Foot Clan grounds, because they were injuring innocent people. As RaphX is about to attack, the sky turns red, a spaceship appearing "crackling" the same color. This is when RaphX gets circled on, and blacks out. The next part would be viewed from his digital device, which shows DonnieX and RaphX in an exchange with DonnieX pointing out big trouble coming, and identifying it as an Utrom after hearing the creature saying how long he'd looked to locate them, and they were the original world of multiverses.

Utrom then shares how powerful he'd be on his own world if he destroyed them, but then addresses Batman for confirmation of his claim, BatmanX answering to Batman's shock, and RaphX saying this was the other bit which he'd explain. Utrom continues about how Batman won't be able to stop him, since upon controlling 2 original worlds, he'd be able to create a multiverse where he always won, giving credit to BatmanX's world's Anti-Monitor, once Utrom defeated him. When Utrom has the crisis tower activated for the worlds to merge, BatmanX breaks free of the pain with a pick in his hand, he explaining after stopping the effect, but the bros pointing out he had gloves on... Batman focuses on sharing how Utrom was using a sort of portal to cross worlds.

BatmanX urges they use it to go and fix the other world, but before the whole group could jump, Krang's minions catch up to them, and RaphX gets handed the device, traveling to the other world. RaphX concludes how he needs to know how to defeat Krang, and what with this world's bros experience with this, he requested their help to get their world's Krang, in the 2nd multiverse he'd visited to locate them, to defeat him quick, since Krang most likely knew where he was, already. Krang, currently on a roof, is confronted by Utrom with promises of info which'd provide all he'd require to succeed keeping his empire intact. Definitely dig it, will look forward to starting properly!