Why Batman showed Raphael from Ninja Turtles where his parents died

Batman stands in the rain. That’s not unusual for Batman, but behind him is someone very out of place: a Ninja Turtle. What the Dark Knight says is absurd. With grumpy little frowns on each of their faces, Batman intones, “This is where I watched my parents die, Raphael.”

Unlike many memetic comic book panels, this one isn’t even Photoshopped. OK, sure, there’s a version that goes around where someone has drawn in a word balloon for Raph — but that’s not the part of the panel that anyone talks about. It’s the panel where Batman tells Raphael this is where his parents died, not the panel where Raphael says “Cowabummer!” to Batman. Virality is created from these things.

It is still true. You can learn more about it here.A cowabummer. Out of context, this single panel from 2016’s Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles miniseries paints the book as gratuitously, obliviously grim, when it’s actually a mashup so earnest it borders on camp. Yes, it’s a comic with a scene where Batman shows Raphael the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle where he watched his parents die. But the truth of the matter is if every Batman and Ninja Turtles story was as smart as this scene, we’d have a lot more great Batman and Ninja Turtles stories.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesIts two sequels are also pretty decent. The two writers are real talents: DC Comics legend Freddie E. Williams, and James Tynion III. Both writers began the book with Splinter, the turtles, and Shredder in Gotham. It’s all a dimensional teleportation mishap involving Krang, and to complicate matters, every day our mutated heroes spend in the DC Universe brings them closer to reverting to four regular turtles and one regular rat. Then Ra’s al Ghul gets involved, Shredder starts making animal hybrids out of Batman’s villains, Casey Jones joins the party — things get big and world-shaking pretty quick.

But between all that, Batman meets the reptile ninjas who’ve been thwarting all these heists on Gotham’s tech companies. The turtles react like any teenage boy to Batman: they think that his hideout is full of cars, computers, robot dinosaurs and pizza. And when useful leads on how to get back to their own universe are in thin supply, it’s a great way to keep their minds off their impending de-evolution. Raphael, the resident evil boy, is left out.

After this in classic TMNT fashion, Raphael leaves in a huff. Batman follows him on the road in Gotham, wearing the incognito Turtle uniform of a Fedora with a Trench Coat.

It’s the bit where Batman tells Raphael that he saw his parents killed in Crime Alley, and he brings him there to prove it. He does this to get Raphael trusting him.

Image: James Tynion IV, Freddie E. Williams II/DC Comics

If you’re thinking, That’s a pretty dramatic way to get somebody to trust your intentions, well, it’s Batman. I don’t know what to tell you. This man is very dramatic.

The idea becomes obvious after a few seconds of thinking about it. Batman, four teenage martial artists experts? Batman, meeting four teenage martial arts experts? Exactly, you can contact us by clicking here.What to do about teenage martial arts?

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Batman Enjoy the love of your lifeHelping teenagers with martial arts problems is what he does! That’s just his whole deal with Robin! He’s arguably better at it than fighting actual crime!

When the turtle rises and meets the bat falling

Cross-brand crossovers are not well-respected, despite the fact that they’re a staple of many superhero stories. Things like DC and Marvel’s famous Amalgam universe or Batman vs. PredatorThere are a few notable attempts in the sea of forgettable ones.

But even if you don’t think Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is in that rarefied pantheon of exceptions to the rule, I think you’ll have to admit that it’s a story that doesn’t merely deliver on what makes Batman and the Ninja Turtles cool. It’s a story that understood the chewy emotional themes that have allowed each franchise to become multigenerational, saw how those themes could overlap, and made it the center of the story. If that’s not the point of a crossover like this, I don’t know what is.

You can laugh at Batman when he tells Raphael where Raphael’s parents are buried, because… It’s absurd. It’s really, really funny. It’s really funny. But give a nod to the brave creators who were earnest, courageous, and wise enough for them to do it without a smile.