TMNT Is Reinventing Leonardo with a Conan the Barbarian-Style Redesign

Summary

• Leonardo gets a badass Conan-style redesign in
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green
  #1.
• 2024 marks
  TMNT
  ‘s 40th anniversary, and one of the ways the franchise is celebrating is with this all-new anthology series, with one of the stories featuring Leonardo transported to a barbaric new world.
• Leo embarks on a classic Conan-style quest, becoming a king and vanquishing evil in this exciting new storyline!

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green #1! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are currently going through a great number of changes in many different forms, though none of them are as dramatic (or badass) as Leonardo being reinvented with a Conan the Barbarian-style redesign. 2024 is TMNT’s 40th anniversary, and that milestone is being celebrated with the conclusion of the TMNT‘s Road to 150 event, an all-new TMNT #1 from acclaimed writer Jason Aaron, and a four-issue miniseries Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green – and it’s that last one where fans will see Leo’s barbaric upgrade.

In a preview shared by Popverse for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green #1 (of 4), readers are given a first-look at some of the stories in this new anthology series, including one titled “The Brutal Sword of Leonardo” by Dave Baker and Jesse Lonergan. The preview shows Leonardo sitting with Donatello while Donnie tinkers with an interdimensional teleporter he’s just invented. Then, suddenly, the machine turns on and sucks Leonardo through a wormhole, spitting him out into a strange new world.

“The Brutal Sword of Leonardo” isn’t the only storyline of this TMNT anthology that’s shown in this preview, as a story showing Donatello experimenting with a strange green ooze, and one showing the TMNT brothers fighting Leatherhead are also featured!

The world he’s transported to is akin to Conan’s Hyborian Age, except it seems to be almost fully populated by mutants. Being the trained warrior he is, Leonardo quickly adapts to his new surroundings, and even gains the trust and respect of the people to the point where they actually make him their king. However, when a villain steals the energy source of Leo’s kingdom – an artifact called the Crystal Shard of K’azz – Leonardo goes on a quest to find him, and bring the crystal back to his people.

TMNT’s Leonardo is Embarking on a Classic Conan the Barbarian Quest

Leonardo’s new aesthetic matches that of Conan, and his storyline does as well!

Conan the Barbarian is famous for his quests, as his nomadic and money-driven nature means he’s traveling constantly, and is always ready to take on a mission if the price is right. Throughout his many quests, Conan has battled equally strong and skilled warriors, immensely powerful sorcerers and mystics, and even literal demons and elder gods. Conan even battled Crom himself to complete one of his quests from beyond the grave.

In other words, the quest Leonardo embarks on at the start of this preview is one the likes of which Conan has seen many times over. A villain steals from a kingdom, and it’s up to the strongest warrior and his team of brave soldiers to get it back. Leonardo is tackling a challenge like this for the first time, and at his journey’s end, he will assuredly achieve victory in a way that would even make the seasoned Conan the Barbarian proud.

Leonardo Has Actually Surpassed Conan the Barbarian in This TMNT Preview Alone

While Leonardo is about to embark on a quest Conan the Barbarian would find very familiar, the comparatively inexperienced Leo actually has Conan beat in one regard, and it’s made clear in this preview alone: Leonardo is a king. Conan spent most of his life going on quests and accumulating wealth in order to one day rule a kingdom of his own as King Conan, and while he does accomplish this goal by the time he’s an old man, Leonardo becomes a king almost immediately after arriving in this more primitive world.

It’s interesting that, even with Leo’s relative lack of experience as a barbaric warrior akin to Conan the Barbarian, he’s still able to surpass Conan in terms of how quickly he became a king. Now, only time will tell if Leonardo has what it takes to be as great of an adventurer as Conan by completing his quest and saving his kingdom. However, no matter what ends up happening in this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story, the fact that Leonardo is getting a Conan the Barbarian-style redesign alone makes it incredibly exciting.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green #1 (of 4) by IDW Publishing is available May 8, 2024.

Source: Popverse