BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES

"THE FACE OF TWO WORLDS" | "THE CLOWN AND THE CLAN"
"GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE" | "TO LAUGH SO NOT TO CRY"
"THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS" | "THE TERROR OF THE KRAANG"
Written by Matthew K. Manning | Art by Jon Sommariva
Inks by Sean Parsons | Additional Inks by Serge LaPointe | Colors by Leonardo Ito
Additional Colors by Matt Herms, Jon Rauch, Zac Atkinson, and Sean Galloway
Letters by Shawn Lee | Edits by Bobby Curnow

The crossover you never imagined would exist, yet for some reason does! It's a Batman/Ninja Turtles story, but one that's set very specifically in the worlds of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and Nickelodeon's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES cartoon which ran from 2012 - 2017.

I've never watched that iteration of the Turtles; to tell the truth, I've never watched any TMNT cartoons since somewhere around year six or so of the original eighties run -- so I can't speak to the authenticity of that side of the crossover, other than to say that the Turtles are basically in-line, personality-wise, with their most common interpretations (Leonardo as the cool-headed leader, Raphael the hothead, Michelangelo the goofy jokester, and Donatello the brainiac). I can, however, note that the Batman side of the equation is a nicely faithful recreation of the heydey of THE ANIMATED SERIES. Jon Sommariva, while drawing in his own style (sort of "elastically cartoony", if that makes sense), mimics the character designs and backgrounds originally defined by Bruce Timm and his production team with terrific results. This isn't Timm's style, but it's still clearly his Batman, his Robin, his Arkham Asylum, etc.

The story finds dimensional portals popping up in both Gotham City and the Turtles' New York, allowing several of Batman's villains to escape Arkham Asylum to Turtle-Earth. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl pursue and team up with the Turtles, and while some villains -- such as Clayface and Poison Ivy -- prove relatively easy to dispatch, others -- like the Joker and the Scarecrow -- pose more of a challenge.

G.I. JOE VS. THE TRANSFORMERS II #4

Written by Dan Jolley | Pencils by E.J. Su, Tim Seeley, Emiliano Santalucia, & Guido Guidi
Inks by Andrew Pepoy & Sean Parsons | Letters by Dreamer Design
Colors by Jeremy Roberts & Val Staples | Edits by Mark Powers

The Plot: On Cybertron, the Joes and Cobras, having escaped from Shockwave's clutches, discus their options. Since Transformer sensors don't find anything of interest in organic material, it's decided that Lady Jaye and Roadblock should strip to their underwear and infiltrate Decepticon headquarters. There, while Roadblock distracts the enemy, Lady Jaye reactivates the time portal which Shockwave had disabled. The final Joe/Decepticon group returns from prehistoric times with the Dinobots, who quickly rout Shockwave's forces.

Later, the Autobots send the Joes and Cobras back to Earth, while elsewhere, Starscream pleads with Shockwave for his life. But when a recorded message from Cobra Commander plays from inside Starscream's cockpit, warning anyone against dealing with the traitor, Shockwave turns on him.

Three months later, on Earth, Doctor Mindbender is released from prison by the NSA and flown to a secret faclity. But the agents aren't what they seem, and Mindbender finds himself in the clutches of Pythona and the forces of the Kingdom of Cobra-La.

G.I. JOE VS. THE TRANSFORMERS II #3

Written by Dan Jolley | Pencils by E.J. Su, Tim Seeley, Emiliano Santalucia, & Guido Guidi
Inks by Andrew Pepoy & Sean Parsons | Letters by Dreamer Design
Colors by Jeremy Roberts & Val Staples | Edits by Mark Powers

The Plot: Barbecue, Spirit, Doctor Mindbender, Tomax, and Xamot are attacked by Decepticon Sweeps in the post-apocalyptic wasetland, but the Dreadnoks, now more cyborg than human, rescue them. Buzzer, Torch, and Ripper take the humans to the leader of their resistance, Duke (also now a cyborg). Duke explains that the Decepticons invaded Earth in 2014 and have ruled ever since -- but two years ago an Autobot appeared who joined the rebels' cause. Realizing this is the Transformer they came to find, the Joe/Cobra team leaves Duke to search for him. Torch joins their quest in hopes that returning the Autobot to the past will erase his history from existence.

Back in the present, Shockwave and Cyclonus discuss the imminent failure of the force field protecting the remaining Autobots and Joes from an all-out Decepticon assault. In the future, the Joes and Cobras are led by Torch across the wasteland to find their quarry, Ratchet. Now hardened by his fight against the Decepticons, Ratchet agrees to discuss returning to the past if the Joe/Cobra group will help him rescue a group of human slaves from a nearby factory. Their mission is a success, but Ratchet refuses to leave the timeline. Barbecue forces him back to the past, but as soon as the group materializes on Cybertron, Ratchet is shot in the back by Shockwave. The force field has failed and the Autobots have been defeated.

G.I. JOE VS. THE TRANSFORMERS II #2

Written by Dan Jolley
Pencils by E.J. Su, Tim Seeley, Emiliano Santalucia, & Guido Guidi
Inks by Andrew Pepoy & Sean Parsons | Letters by Dreamer Design
Colors by Jeremy Roberts & Val Staples | Edits by Mark Powers

The Plot: In the 1930s, Beachhead, Roadblock, the Baroness, and a Cobra Viper named Percy locate Optimus Prime and restore him to robot mode. In the present day on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus informs Stalker that the force field he's using to protect the Autobots and Joes will fail in six hours, meaning the various time-teams have that long to return before the Decepticons attack.

Back in the past, Roadblock and the Baroness infiltrate a gangster's nightclub and find their way to four more Transformers who turn out to be Sunticons Wildrider, Breakdown, Dead End, and Drag Strip. The Stunticons chase Optimus Prime and his human allies across town until they bump into Motormaster. As soon as Motormaster is transformed back to robot mode, the entire group vanishes back to the present.

Meanwhile (sort of), Barbecue, Spirit, Doctor Mindbender, Tomax, and Xamot materialize in an apocalyptic future.

Continuity Notes: Roadblock, pretending to be Miles Davis, plays trumpet for an all-black band as part of his cover.

G1 References: Not really any to speak of here.

G.I. References: Likewise.

G.I. JOE VS. THE TRANSFORMERS II #1

Written by Dan Jolley
Pencils by E.J. Su, Tim Seeley, Emiliano Santalucia, & Guido Guidi
Inks by Andrew Pepoy & Sean Parsons | Letters by Dreamer Design
Colors by Jeremy Roberts & Val Staples | Edits by Mark Powers

The Plot: G.I. Joe thwarts a Cobra arms deal while Cobra Commander meets with Destro. The Commander has gotten wind of a private lab in Boston which has used Cybertronian technology to open a wormhole to Cybertron. He convinces Destro to help him steal the device. G.I. Joe's undercover agent, Chuckles, reports this new scheme to headquarters as he escapes Destro's mansion.

Eventually the Joes burst in on Cobra as they attempt to harness the wormhole tech. Joes and Cobras alike are transported to Cybertron, where the wormholes go wild and send several Transformers back to Earth at various points in the timestream. Aided by Ultra Magnus and Perceptor, groups of Joes and Cobras are transported back in time to recover the missing robots.

In the California Bay Area of the 1970s, Lady Jaye, Storm Shadow, Snake-Eyes, and Zartan recover Jazz, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, and Blitzwing, and return to the present. Meanwhile, the Baroness, Roadblock, Beachhead, and a Cobra Viper appear in another timeframe in the middle of a skirmish between two groups of mobsters.

Continuity Notes: We're told that it's been two years since the previous G.I. JOE VS. THE TRANSFORMERS miniseries. In that time, the Joes have integrated Transformer technology into their own gear. We see two of the large mechs left behind by the Autobots when the prior story ended, and the Joes have a number of smaller enhancements as well, such as portable force shields.