Review: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Man vs. Sewer; The Mutant Menace”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Man vs. Sewer

The Turtles go river rafting through the sewers of NYC but Raph gets separated in all of the commotions. Later, Raph runs into the Sando Brothers but is able to make quick work of them and is eventually reunited with his brothers who are covered in mud which causes a case of mistaken identity. Fortunately, the brothers are able to wipe off the mud, complete the “Midnight Special”, and turn a once delusional Raph back into their brother.

The Mutant Menace

The City is having serious issues with the Turtles which causes their reputation to take a dip. To help, the brothers opt to do good deeds in and around the city so as to repair their image. Who is the one responsible for leading the charge against the turtles? Baxter Stockboy. The turtles attempt to confront the evil grocery store worker (I’m not making this up), but an angry mob subdues them which leads to Stockboy taking control of their vehicle and causing them to go ballistic. Fortunately, the guys are able to make some adjustments and actually get the town to turn against Stockboy who is subsequently arrested.

Our Take

Well, that’s a little better. As premises go, “The Mutant Menace” borrows a LOT from Batman Returns, but at the very least, both episodes featured heavy doses of action-packed sequences that had me engaged enough to not have me stop and think about all of the “borrow-isms”. The show still isn’t that great, and really there isn’t that much fighting going on here, but at least the villains are starting to show signs of life for the first time in the show’s second season.