Wes Looks at TMNT vs. Street Fighter #1

Well, since it appears that fighting games are now part of my purview it looks like I’m going to have to expand my horizons past the house of mouse. As such, welcome to the first installment of a brand new comic book crossover that celebrates two of my favorite franchises. While we have discussed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here are on the blog in the past, and will hopefully do so again if we ever conclude our Gargoyles crossover game trilogy, it has been a very long time since we’ve discussed Street Fighter in any capacity. For those that may not know, Street Fighter is my favorite video game franchise of all time. Street Fighter II for the SNES was the first video game I ever played, and the franchise recently saw the release of its sixth installment. I’d go over the story of Street Fighter, but the game seems to exist in this weird state of both having no story at all and somehow too much story. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll fill you in on the need to knows throughout our recap of this issue. By the way, this will be the first article that I’ve written entirely using my phone, thanks in no small part to my clumsy ass, and a glass of orange juice placed too close to my laptop. It sucks, but what are you gonna do? In any case, let’s take a look at the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs Street Fighter and see how it goes.

Our Comic doesn’t waste any time getting right into the action as we open with a full page spread of Raphael punching Guile in the face. It seems that the turtles as well as a few of the heroes of Street Fighter, namely Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile and Ken, are all participating in a fighting tournament in Atlantic City, and Raph and Guile are up first. Watching this fight from the comfort of his office is the evil M. Bison, the main villain of the Street Fighter series. Accompanying the Shadaloo Dictator is Baxter Stockman, a mad scientist and frequent enemy of the turtles. Bison seems intrigued by Raphael and sees him as a potential candidate, though, for what we are not sure yet. Stockman tries to discourage Bison from whatever it is he has planned, but Bison mostly ignores him.

Meanwhile, at the concession stand, Mikey, carrying a ton of snacks, accidentally bumps into Chun-Li. Chun-Li brushes it off, but still scares the hell out of Mikey with an intense glare. While all this is going on, a woman approaches Leo telling him that her husband disappeared after his first match. Weirdly enough, no one seems the least bit put off, but there are giant turtles just walking around like it’s no big deal. This Comic is following the IDW continuity, hence the presence of Jennika, the newest Ninja Turtle, so I’m assuming in that particular Continuity the existence of the turtles is not a secret anymore. I don’t know, I’m not up-to-date with the IDW comics. Anywho, Leo is concerned over the missing Fighter, who is apparently the latest of many to go missing

Back in the ring Raph and Guile are in the middle of an intense grapple, and the two fighters seem equally matched as well as equally hot-headed. Bison, still watching from his office says he’s seen enough and has the crooked referee disqualify Raph. As you can imagine, neither combatant is pleased about this outcome and both are chomping at the bit for a rematch.

Later, at the casino, we learn that the turtles are here as part of their training, hoping to use this tournament as a means of testing their skills against the best fighters in the world. Raph, is still pissed about losing to Guile by disqualification, and, as Raph is one to do, goes off somewhere to sulk. Leo and the others are concerned about Ralph, but all agree he’ll probably be fine. Raph storming off in a huff is how the turtles know it’s Wednesday. Besides, Mikey’s match is up next.

Back in the ring, Mikey is squaring off with Chun-Li, who wastes no time handing the party dude his own shell. Mikey barely even gets any hits in, it’s a total squash match. After the match, Chun-Li admonishes Mikey for not taking the fight seriously, though to be fair, this is Mikey we’re talking about, when does he ever take anything seriously? Also, I’m not sure, but I think Mikey might be in love with Chun-Li. I got no problem with that. You're talking to a guy who ships Donnie with Batgirl. In the world of fiction, love has no species barrier.

Later that night, Chun-Li and the others are hanging out in an alley when Raph shows up looking for Guile. Naturally, both are still itching for a rematch and they waste no time charging at one another. Meanwhile, Bison and Stockman are watching all this transpire and Bison cannot help but admire Raphael’s potential for violence. And so our Comic ends with Bison declaring his intention to unlock Raph’s psycho power.

I have mixed feelings about this issue. The premise of the Ninja Turtles entering a Street Fighter tournament has a lot of promise, but I don’t like how the Comic throws us into the action with little to no set up. Admittedly, it’s not as bad as the Street Fighter/G.I. Joe crossover I covered very early on in this blog, but it does share lot of the same problems. I do like that Raph and Guile have already developed an intense rivalry, and Bison’s plan to unlock Raph’s psycho power intrigues me. I wasn’t crazy about Chun-Li taking out Mikey like he’s nothing but Mikey potentially developing a crush on Chun-Li has some comedic potential that I hope will be utilized over the course of this crossover. So overall, this comic was pretty good. It’s not the strongest start, but it has enough going for it that I intend to read on and may even work on a build the roster based on this series. Hope you all enjoyed and I’ll see you next time.