‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Ending Explained: TMNT Rise

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

The Big Picture

• Mutant Mayhem
  proves to be one of the best TMNT entries to date, showcasing a heartwarming story of unity and heroism.
• April O’Neil shines as the real hero, using the power of journalism to save the day and communicate the truth to the public.
• The film highlights the importance of overcoming prejudices and forming understanding to face new challenges, like the return of Shredder.

The new animated take on the classic characters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, is here and has already emerged as one of the best of the franchise to date. Is this saying a lot considering the rather abysmal entries we’ve gotten prior? Not really, but this one is still quite good even without such comparisons. Following the titular turtles of Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Raphael (Brady Noon), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), and Donatello (Micah Abbey) as they try to take down Ice Cube’s Superfly who is hellbent on destroying New York City, it builds to one final battle everything hinges on. In case it wasn’t already clear, this piece is going to spoil everything that happens in said conclusion in detail. If you haven’t yet seen the film for yourself, you had best bookmark this page and come back after you’ve done so. Other than that, make sure to grab a slice of your favorite pizza as we dive headfirst into this latest adventure and what it means for our amphibious heroes.

In the second film of last year to feel like an echo of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, the emotional crux of Mutant Mayhem all comes down to the city banding together. When we first met these characters, they had all been mostly convinced by their adoptive rodent father Splinter (Jackie Chan) that the humans above would react with fear and violence if they were to ever see them. This was the driving force that motivated Superfly to decide to continue with his plan to destroy the city even after everyone else had decided this wasn’t the way. With the antagonist now further mutated by the technology he’d been stealing, he then becomes a massive mishmash of a bunch of different animals and begins wreaking utter havoc on everything he can get his hands on. However, at the point where everyone is at their lowest, we see that the entire premise of what both Superfly and Splinter had been saying may not have been so simple. The latter, while trying to save his boys who are being crushed to death, is given help by a human. He is initially baffled by this, but they soon come together to fight back against the threat facing their city together. All of this wouldn’t have been set in motion if it were not for the actions of someone else we had come to know over the course of the film.

Ayo Edebiri’s April O’Neil Is the Real Hero of ‘Mutant Mayhem’

As it turns out, the real key to saving the day was the power of journalism. It was the longtime non-amphibious character April O’Neil, voiced by the always delightful Ayo Edebiri of everything from The Bear to the upcoming Bottoms, who utilizes this by going on the news to communicate the truth of the situation. Where the other talking heads were operating on bad information, she makes clear to people that the Turtles and Splinter were actually trying to save the city that is their home also. She still does vomit a bit due to nerves, but the message gets out there all the same. Good thing the modern journalism landscape as we know it isn’t under threat or anything like that in reality, otherwise we might not be able to communicate such pressing information to people like she did. That would be truly a disaster in the making. As for the crisis in this fictional film, we then see Splinter work with various New Yorkers to break his sons out of the crushing grasp of Superfly and give them this new science goo to reverse the effects of his transformation. The details matter less than the emotions it taps into.

This is where the Raimi-esque nature of the film becomes apparent, as it is the people who would otherwise be overlooked in such a massive confrontation that instead become integral to its resolution. Though it isn’t quite as good at finding humanity in the neighborhood as it did in Spider-Man, its heart is still in the right place here. With everyone from a cab driver to a group of skaters helping out, they manage to get the needed goo to the Turtles and save the day. With the world now at peace and an understanding formed, all seems to be well. The fear that initially drove Splinter was something he was able to break free from, while it was too late to say the same for Superfly. The Turtles are subsequently hailed as heroes and then get the chance to go to school. This ending makes clear that there was potential for healing and understanding to be formed. All it takes is someone to bridge the gap and cut through all the noise we create when we don’t understand each other. Of course, rather than get the chance to just relax with some delicious pizza and reflect on the journey they just went on, there is still something even more dangerous that is looming on the horizon of the inevitable sequel.

Somehow, Shredder Returned

After Superfly has been defeated, a new challenger enters the arena. It isn’t the Techno Cosmic Research Institute, though they are still around too, but the infamous Shredder. Apparently he was just hanging out while this was going on and, honestly, good for him. Even supervillains deserve some vacation time, you know? Now that he is back on the clock, the Turtles and the rest of New York will be put to the test once again. What this film shows is that they’re up to the challenge as long as they don’t fall back into their prejudices and turn on each other with this more pressing threat coming for them all. Thank goodness that also never happens in reality and we all come together collectively anytime there is a danger to the public good just like these characters did here. Anyways, just going to take a bite of pizza and read the news about how we’re responding to all said present threats with the urgency required.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is now available to stream on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video