A massive tournament is on the horizon in the TMNT Universe and who will be left standing. TMNT: Battle Nexus is a huge bi-weekly event from IDW Publishing that kicks off with Issue #1 on December 24th. IDW provided us with the first 2 issues of the series (Issue #2 FOC is Monday November 24th) for us to give you a SPOILER FREE First Look!
TMNT: Battle Nexus
Written By Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell
Caleb Goellner, and Erik Burnham
Art By Esau & Isaac Escorza – Colors By Luis Antonio Delgado
Letters By Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – Edited By Andy Khouri & Jake Thomas
Published By IDW Publishing
***SPOILER FREE***
Story Overview:
The Battle Nexus is located outside of space and time, hosts a brutal fighting tournament every 12 cycles. Champions are brought from every dimension and time, selected by the Dimensional Council and overseen by Lord Simultaneous. However, recently the tournament has been hijacked by an evil tyrant Savanti Romero, who has a major grudge against the heroes in the half shell. He has now summoned the turtles of our time and dimension to get his vengeance on them. For the one-on-one matches in this tournament Romero has found enemies and friends of the Turtles from other dimensions to take them out one by one. Can the Turtles survive this methodical and brutal gauntlet, or will they succumb to the wrath of Romero?
Writing:
The writing team has come up with an exciting event that will really take TMNT fans on one hell of a ride. The first 2 issues do an amazing job of setting up the concept of the tournament well also showing us the peril our heroes are in. The threat is very real, and the head villain poses one of the greatest threats the Turtles may have ever faced. Couple this with some awesome callbacks and surprise characters and this event is setting up to be one for the ages.
Artwork:
The art in the first 2 issues is awesome and captures the TMNT world perfectly. The style of the Battle Nexus is super cool and gives a Roman Gladiators feel. The character designs are very cool and bring not just the turtles, but every other character to life. The designs of the characters from the other dimensions sets them apart from our dimensions characters well still keeping them recognizable. The colors make the art pop out of the panel and draw the readers’ eyes to each and every page.
Check Out My Review of TMNT #12
Final Thoughts
If the first 2 issues are any indication of what is to come, TMNT: Battle Nexus may be the best comic event of 2026. The biweekly nature of this series will keep the excitement and anticipation going. Well, the surprise guest appearances, action, and drama are guaranteed to keep the reader hooked. If you haven’t ordered your copy of issue one, make sure to run to the LCS on December 24th and secure your copy and a copy or two to give as gifts. Better yet, make sure to get to the shop before Monday November 24th and get your copy of issue 2 ordered so it is locked in.
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