TMNT Just Ushered In Its Darkest Moment Yet for Splinter, Raising Red Flags About the Master's Current Status

The lore-changing death of Master Splinter shook the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to their core, but their fallen mentor has now made a surprising return - just not in the way they, or anyone, could have expected. Donatello has revealed to his brothers that Splinter is alive again, bringing an iconic character back to the franchise in a truly haunting fashion.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 by Jason Aaron, Chris Burnham, Brian Reber and Shawn Lee shows readers what Donatello has been up to in the TMNT's new era. As it turns out, Donatello has been held captive in a mutant zoo and forced to fight for his life. When his brothers finally reunite with him, an unhinged Donatello declares, "Master Splinter is back from the dead!"

Donatello is referring to a dead, decaying rat on his shoulder, and he's the only ninja turtle who fails to realize that this rat isn't Splinter. This "resurrection" for Master Splinter exists only in Donatello's mind, making his comeback a tragic fake-out.

Master Splinter Returns to TMNT Lore in the Most Devastating Way Possible

Donatello's Broken Mind Convinces Him That Splinter Is Alive Again

Donatello's time in the mutant zoo is nothing short of horrific. Without his brothers by his side to aid him in fights, he must fight alone for the crowd's enjoyment if he wants to live to see another day. To make matters worse, because of Donatello's ninja training, he is the only fighter among the captured mutants in the zoo. Therefore, he takes it upon himself to draw the attention of onlookers so that he's the only one picked for brutal cage matches. Simply put, Donatello is enduring insurmountable torment, and he has no one to help him through it - until he finds a rat.

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Because Donatello is alone in captivity for an extended period of time, his mind starts to fade, and he begins to lose his memories of life before the zoo. The rat allows him to ground himself and remember who he is by bringing back memories of Splinter and, by extension, his family. As Donatello himself explains, "He reminds me who I am. Sometimes...when I forget." The rat he's mistaken for Splinter may be farcical, but at the end of the day, he plays a key role in keeping Donatello from being broken by his trauma. Splinter isn't really back from the dead, but he still continues to help his sons.

Splinter's Tragic Death, Explained: What Happened to the TMNT's Sensei?

Master Splinter's Death Marks a Pivotal Moment in TMNT History

Splinter being dead - and, for the forseeable future, remaining dead - is a massive change to the classic TMNT status quo. His presence in the turtles' lives is a staple of every adaptation, but IDW's continuity has uprooted that tradition by killing him off. This tragedy took place in 2019's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz and Dave Wachter, when Splinter made the ultimate sacrifice to save his loved ones. With the Dragon using the Shredder's body as a vessel, Splinter gave his life so that Oroku Saki could stop him and redeem himself, leaving the turtles without their teacher.

The ninja turtles' master has also been killed off in other continuities, such as The Last Ronin. In this story, Splinter dies with Donatello by his side in an all-out battle against the Foot Clan, with Michelangelo being too late to save them. However, what sets this death apart from Splinter's death in TMNT #100 is that the latter takes place within the main continuity rather than being relegated to an alternate version of events. Splinter's death has real stakes for the series moving forward, affecting every turtle on a deep level, though Donatello is coping in the worst way.

Donatello Thinking Splinter Is Alive Proves How Far Gone He Is

Master Splinter Is Still Dead, Despite Donatello's Beliefs to the Contrary

The rat Donatello carries with him in the mutant zoo is, of course, not the real Splinter. Thus, Donatello mistaking him for his father is a testament to how his torture has warped his mind and perception of reality. The pitying looks on his brothers' faces when he tells them about Splinter says everything about what has happened to him, as the former smartest turtle has been reduced to hallucinating their deceased father. Master Splinter remains dead, and the rest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles must now navigate explaining the situation to Donatello so he doesn't keep carrying a rat corpse wherever he goes.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 is available now from IDW Publishing.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.