‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto’ Crossover Series On The Way From IDW, Will Feature Race-Swapped April O’Neil
On one hand: WHOA, who would have ever though an official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover with Naruto would ever see publication?
On the other: Another day, another instance of a race-swapped April O’Neil.
Written by Caleb Goellner (Team Sonic Racing one-shot), with linework by Hendry Prasetya (Kamen Rider Zero-One Vol. 1, Power Girl Vol. 2), colors by Raúl Angulo (NYX Vol. 2), and lettering from Ed Dukeshire (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), the crossover was first revealed to the public courtesy of leak of its cover art provided by Russian TMNT fan forum Turtle Power and later confirmed as real by series cover artist Jorge Jiménez (Batman Vol. 3, Justice League Vol. 4, Super Sons Vol. 1).
“Yeah!” wrote Jiménez on his personal Instagram alongside hi-definition version of his cover for the book’s first issue. “That’s real 😀 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto!! Anyone who knows me knows that Naruto is the series that I read as an adult, and it gave me back my enthusiasm for drawing, so I put everything aside and started fighting for my dream. The ninja turtles are directly some of the first strokes I drew as a 3 or 4 year old child. So yes, I had to be involved in this project in some way, and I will be doing the main covers and being the happiest person in the world for it.”
In his own separate statement given to IGN, Goellner beamed, “I’m stoked and humbled to get to work with the coolest talent in comics and manga to introduce the ninja created by my heroes in a massive mutagen and chakra-fueled adventure for fans everywhere, What else can you call it but an honor? Let’s party.”
Per a synopsis of the series provided by publishers IDW and Viz Entertainment, the East-West ninja team-up will see the Turtles and Team 7 cross paths courtesy of a clandestine meeting between April O’Neil and the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
It’s the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared!” exclaims the synopsis. “The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about.”
“When teenage reporter April O’Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi,” it teases. “They aren’t the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April’s visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can’t be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!”
Notably, given Naruto’s pre-timeskip appearance on Jiménez’s cover and Tsunade’s confirmed role as the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it appears that the events of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto will take place sometime near the start of the orange-clad ninja’s heroic career.
Alongside the series’ official confirmation, IDW also provided a number of character design sheets revealing the Hidden Leaf Village-inspired outfits set to be worn by Michelangelo, Raphael, Master Splinter, and the aforementioned April.
Notably, in addition to revealing that the three anthropomorphic animal will be covering their faces with animal-styled masks while moving about the Village (ala Naruto‘s Anbu covert ops team), the preview artwork also confirmed that the series will yet again be race-swapping April from white to black.
Far from the first time the daring reporter was hit with the ‘modern audiences’ treatment, April was also subjected to this specific change in both the 2018 animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 2023 CGI film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
At present, the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto, featuring covers from both Jiménez and Prasetya, is set to emerge from the shadows on November 13th.
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