WARNING! Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #1TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' designs are simple yet effective, with the four brothers wearing matching bandannas. In an unexpected turn, Raphael has decided to deviate from his classic appearance and undergo a civilian transformation. Thestrongest of the ninja turtlesjust received a stylish redesign after being separated from his brothers, and it’s easily one of his coolest looks yet.
“Attack on Area 51” fromTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation#1 - written by Tom Waltz with art by Vincenzo Federici, Ronda Pattison, and Rus Wooton - follows Raphael as he appears to temporarilygive up his ninja lifestylein New York. On his travels,Raph finds himself working as a bouncer at a bar full of rough-around-the-edges regulars, marking a surprising shift to his usual status quo.
Raphael is taking time away from his brothers to forge his own path, and his revamped design reflects this change as he foregoes his ninja look for something more subdued and casual.
Raphael Debuts a New Civilian Redesign After Parting Ways With His Brothers
This Ninja Turtle Trades His Iconic Mask for a More Casual Bandanna
Usually, Raph and his ninja turtle brothers all wear ninja masks over their eyes, but one notable change transforms his mask into something more fitting for the setting of a bar. Here,Raphael has traded his eye mask for a bandanna that boasts the same iconic shade of red but has an entirely different purpose. Thered bandannabecomes an accessory rather than a form of ninja gear, demonstrating that this is a version of Raphael who’s strayed from his old life. Losing his mask also means he’s no longer matching with the other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes this design much more individualized.
TMNT Reveals Nightwatcher’s New Origin, Redefining Raphael’s Vigilante Persona
Raphael’s iconic alter ego undergoes a massive lore change, as the shocking origin story of TMNT’s new Nightwatcher is unveiled at last.
In addition to his bandanna, Raphael also wears a white t-shirt and jeans. While these clothing items are plain, they’re a bold choice compared to what he typically wears. During their ninja excursions,Raphael and his brothersdon’t tend to wear any clothing, causing them to resemble each other. Now,Raphael is wearing a laid-back outfit to signal that he’s officially going solo and doesn’t need to match with his fellow ninja turtles. Raphael rarely gets time to unwind without his siblings, and he’s using the opportunity to experiment with his style - though his form of “unwinding” isn’t all that peaceful.
Raphael Is Finally Embracing a Solo Lifestyle, But Will It Last?
At His Core, Raphael Is Still as Battle-Hungry As He’s Ever Been
As nice as it is to seeRaphael reinventing himselfbeyond his brothers, it doesn’t seem like this solitary civilian era will last very long. He ends up getting threatened by patrons of the bar, and he engages them in combat at their sarcastic request for him to throw them out. Raph clearly enjoys this bar brawl, judging by his smile, and he even says in his narration that he’d known trouble would find him eventually. Try as he might, Raphael can’t escape his calling as aTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and soon enough he’ll be wearing his standard mask alongside his siblings again.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation#1is available now from IDW Publishing.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
