NOTICE! Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #1THE Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe designs are simple but effective, with the four brothers wearing matching headbands. In an unexpected turn of events, Raphael decided to deviate from his classic appearance and undergo a civilian makeover. The strongest of the Ninja Turtles just got a stylish redesign after being separated from his brothers, and it's easily one of his coolest looks yet.
“Attack on Area 51” by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #1 – written by Tom Waltz with art by Vincenzo Federici, Ronda Pattison and Rus Wooton – follows Raphael as he appears to temporarily give up his ninja lifestyle in New York. On your travels, Raph finds himself working as a bouncer at a bar full of regulars, marking a surprising change from his usual status quo..
Raphael is moving away from his brothers to follow his own path, and his revamped design reflects this change, as he ditches his ninja look for something more subdued and casual.
Raphael debuts a new civilian makeover after separating from his brothers
This ninja turtle swaps his iconic mask for a more casual bandana
Typically, Raph and his ninja turtle brothers wear ninja masks over their eyes, but one notable change transforms their mask into something more suited to a bar setting. Here, Raphael has swapped his eye mask for a bandana that sports the same iconic shade of red but serves an entirely different purpose.. The red bandana becomes an accessory rather than a form of ninja equipment, demonstrating that this is a version of Raphael who has moved away from his old life. Losing the mask also means he no longer fits in with the other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes this design much more individualized.
In addition to the bandana, Raphael also wears a white t-shirt and jeans. Although these pieces of clothing are simple, they are a bold choice compared to what he normally wears. During their ninja excursions, Raphael and his brothers do not usually wear any clothes, making them look alike. Now, Raphael is wearing a relaxed outfit to signal that he is officially going solo and doesn't need to match his fellow ninja turtles.. Raphael rarely has time to relax without his brothers and is taking the opportunity to experiment with his style – although his way of “chilling” is not so peaceful.
Raphael is finally embracing a solo lifestyle, but will it last?
At his core, Raphael is still as battle-hungry as he ever was.
As nice as it is to see Raphael reinventing himself beyond his brothers, it doesn't look like this lonely civilian era will last long. He ends up being threatened by the bar's customers and engages them in a fight at their sarcastic request for him to expel them. Raph clearly enjoys this bar fight, judging by his smile, and he even says in his voiceover that he knew trouble would find him eventually. Try as he might, Raphael cannot escape his calling as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtleand soon he'll be wearing his standard mask alongside his brothers again.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #1 is now available from IDW Publishing.