Leatherhead Struggles With His Very Existence In TMNT #85

April alerts the Ninja Turtles of a break in at the local museum. It’s not just any criminal, though. It’s the mutant Leatherhead and he’s ready to brawl. Leatherhead’s return is not a pleasant one and not just because he’s a vicious adversary. He’s seeing visions of Krang, who he had previously eaten alive.

Leatherhead has a nihilistic view of mutantkind. It’s the polar opposite of someone like Old Hob, who appreciates his newfound strength. Leatherhead sees his very existence as unnatural. He’s not quite at the point where he’s wishing for death, but he’s pretty close. After an encounter with a mouser that took a couple of his fingers, he laments that they’ll just grow back.
This view is interesting for a number of reasons. As sentient beings, we tend to anthropomorphize animals, thinking about what they might say if they could talk. Leatherhead began life as a regular alligator and then transformed into a mutant with the ability to think and speak. He still remembers his life as an animal and realizes how simple his life was then. Writer Tom Waltz presents a rather intriguing dynamic here.

This doesn’t sit well with Raphael. If Leatherhead was really thinking about suicide, this is definitely not the way to respond to it, however he sees the value in the life he’s been given. There was a time where Raph was all alone in the world, with no memory of his family. Now that he’s together with his brothers, he wouldn’t trade that for anything. Leatherhead is all by himself so perhaps that’s what he’s missing. He should join up with the Mutanimals.
Artist Brahm Revel fills in for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #85. He has a rougher style that makes the artwork look more sketchlike than fully-formed characters. This is especially true for the Turtles, who look more like a first draft with smooth, circular heads and bodies and stick-like arms and legs. It’s strange how the Turtles receive this treatment, while Leatherhead is more detailed and unique.

Colorist Ronda Pattison helps make each Turtle stand out with their own color scheme. Otherwise they’d all look exactly the same, aside from their weapons of course. Leatherhead’s colors are a drab green with these dingy brown shorts. This works well with his dreary outlook on life. When he flies into a rage, the panel gets an angry yellow hue to coincide with the violence he’s dishing out.
The visions of Krang act like a conscience of sorts for Leatherhead. Krang is putting him down, representing all of the negative qualities Leatherhead feels about himself. Letterer Shawn Lee shows Krang’s dialogue in pink word balloons, adding to the unnatural quality of his appearance.

I’m glad to see the Ninja Turtles getting back to basics and dealing with other mutants like Leatherhead. The issues this character brings up are reminiscent of the themes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has dealt with for years. These mutants sit in a space between man and animal. They don’t fit in either arena so they struggle with identity and where they belong in the world. It makes for some riveting storytelling that’s only amplified by the high stakes they deal with in their everyday lives.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #85 from IDW Publishing is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.