Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #45

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #45 immediately walks back last month's shocking cliffhanger and the death of Donatello at the hands of Rocksteady and Bebop. The return of the Fugitoid brings new hope to the shocked family and offers a slim chance to save their fallen brother.

I understand the reasoning to bring Donnie back in some form, but wwith the announcement of the current series concluding with issue #50 the series flees from a real opportunity to delve into the change in the group dynamic following Donnie's death. I have no doubt Robot Donnie will turn out to have an interesting arc over the final five issues but with the Foot Clan looking for revenge and the Turtles down a man there were several other (albeit it bleaker) paths for the story to go down.

The issue also gives us Casey (seemingly fully-healed from his life-threatening injuries) hitting the streets and teases a new partnership for the Shredder and Baxter Stockman which will also likely play a role in the final arc of the series. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.50]