Last Ronin’s Dead Ninja Turtles Return in Breathtaking Cover Art

Warning: contains minor spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin

In a bleak world like that of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, a warrior’s memories are often their only companion. For the titular Last Ronin, that couldn’t be more true, as the tremendous hole left by his brothers’ death is something that is always on his mind. As heartbreaking as it all seems though, a newly released variant cover shows that these memories can bring just as much comfort as sorrow.

Last Ronin comes from original TMNT creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman in addition to Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop, Esau, Isaac Escorza, Samuel Plata, Luis Antonio Delgado, Shawn Lee, and Bobby Curnow. The series takes place in a dark dystopia where all of the Ninja Turtles have died except for Michaelangelo. As Mikey attempts to exact revenge on the Shredder’s tyrannical grandson for what the Foot Clan did to his family, readers see just how everything turned out as bad as it did. Even though Michaelangelo finds hope with April O’Neil and her daughter, Casey, he is still haunted by ghostly images of his brothers. While these after images often emotionally tax Mikey, that isn’t always the case.

Artist Kael Ngu showed just how much Michaelangelo missed his brothers with a stunning variant cover for The Last Ronin #5 he revealed on Twitter. This new cover is part of a series exclusive to the comic shop, Jolzar Collectibles. The cover shows Michaelangelo sitting on a rooftop with his brothers standing over him and smiling, as though one of them just told a joke. Particular praise should go to Kael’s use of expression, as it’s clear that the specter of his brothers is actually breaking through Michaelangelo’s shell. Despite the stomach wound and the blood coming out of his mouth, the Last Ronin smiles, as though smirking at a joke just cracked by Leonardo. The entire image comes together to create a cover that’s at once beautiful and tragic.

This is not the first Last Ronin variant cover Ngu has done for Jolzar Collectibles. The artist has done a variant cover for each other previous issue of the explosive comic series. All of them are remarkable in their own right, depicting Michaelangelo’s ninja skills. This one, in particular, stands out as capturing the heart of the series though. Brotherhood is one of TMNT’s most enduring themes as it plays a role in every single adaptation, and this cover proves that even death cannot sever the bond of brothers.

Readers looking forward to the next entry in the series will have to wait some time as the series’ fifth issue, the last, won’t be released until February of 2022. Every single issue of The Last Ronin has been worth the delays though, so fans can hope that the conclusion will live up to their expectations. Regardless of how that last issue turns out, it’s hard to argue that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin didn’t end its run with one of the best TMNT covers ever.

About The Author

Evan Mullicane
(362 Articles Published)

Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California’s Bay Area. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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