IDW Publishing has just kicked off a new era for the flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic. Issue #13 marks the debut of the series’ new creative team, writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Freddie E. Williams II. It also serves as the first appearance of a major new villain known as Ujigami. And this villain is carrying a terrible secret.
Read on to find out what happens in this issue and learn the shocking truth of Ujigami’s true identity, but beware of full spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 ahead!
Who Is TMNT Villain Ujigami?
Easily one of the biggest plot twists in IDW’s long-running TMNT universe came with issue #100 of Vol. 1, which featured the death of the Turtles’ father and mentor, Splinter. That death has continued to cast a shadow over the franchise ever since. That is, until the previous creative team, writer Jason Aaron and artist Juan Ferreyra, ended their run by bringing Splinter back.
That’s a pretty major development for Yang and Williams to build upon in their new story, and they waste no time in doing just that. Issue #13 opens with the mysterious, masked Ujigami interrupting a heated Triad meeting and murdering Xiang Fei Tong, the leader of the Ghost Boys gang. The Turtles begin investigating the murder and discover a connection between the Triads and Baxter Stockman, now the newly elected mayor of New York.
Meanwhile, Splinter is shown eking out a meager existence in the slums of New York. He may be alive, but he’s far from well, as he struggles with amnesia and a pervasive sense of dread.
The Turtles fear it’s only a matter of time before the Ghost Boys confront Mayor Stockman, and their fears are proven correct when the gang’s new mutant leader attacks him. But once again, the battle is interrupted by the arrival of Ujigami, who seriously wounds Stockman and claims to be a true, faithful ally to the Hamato family. Ujigami then escapes into the night.
