Warning! This article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game #7 The villains featured in the classic ‘90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon have not only become integral characters within the current continuity, but also lasting fictional figures for an entire generation of fans. Now, after becoming a household name more than three decades ago, one of those iconic villains has finally been permanently killed.
In IDW Publishing’s current TMNT continuity, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are battling a deity known as the Rat King in a mystical and street-level war that will decide the fate of the entire planet. This event is known as The Armageddon Game and while the Turtles have assembled their allies – which shockingly includes the Shredder and the Foot Clan – so, too, has the Rat King. Under this god of chaos are his ‘Trio of Terror’, which includes General Krang, Baxter Stockman, and Madame Null. Each of them have played a pivotal role in the Rat King’s efforts towards planetary conquest, but in the latest chapter of The Armageddon Game, TMNT kills General Krang for good.
Krang is Finally Dead in TMNT Continuity After Decades of Villainy
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game #7 by Tom Waltz and Vincenzo Federici, Krang decides that he no longer cares about commanding the Utroms to take over Planet Earth, and that he’d rather simply use the Technodrome to decimate the world and then escape through an interdimensional portal. However, once a portal opens before Krang activates the machine, he realizes that the Ninja Turtles and their Neutrino allies were ready for Krang’s attack, and they prepare a counterstrike against him.
Right there on the spot, the leader of the Neutrinos, King Zenter, declares Krang guilty of war crimes spanning across multiple universes, and he sentences him to death. Zenter then shoots Krang right between his eyes, and the mech-suit Krang was wearing (which is actually Metalhead) states that Krang’s life functions are at zero, confirming that he is, in fact, truly dead.
This isn’t the first time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans thought Krang was dead, but this seems to be the time that it will actually stick. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #75, Krang is tried in court on Planet Neutrino for his previous war crimes, and before he was sentenced, the mutanimal Leatherhead ate him right there in the courtroom. Fans thought that was it for Krang, but he ended up coming back (and in a truly repulsive way, at that).
Then, more recently, Krang was thought dead in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game #5 when he was shot by a traitorous Utrom, Kleve. While these events admittedly don’t seem like great indications that Krang is gone for good, there are other factors to consider as well that make it a bit easier to consider. Firstly, The Armageddon Game is something that IDW Publishing’s TMNT has been building towards since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #36 (at least), and it will mark a new beginning for Turtles after it’s complete–something the Turtles themselves have commented on throughout the event. With that new beginning inevitably comes saying goodbye to some of TMNT’s more classic characters, and that undoubtedly (finally) includes General Krang.
Krang’s permanent death is an immensely significant moment for the TMNT series, but most notably for ‘90s kids. Unlike the Turtles, Shredder, and the Foot Clan, Krang was introduced in the ‘90s cartoon rather than the comics, which immediately made him synonymous with perhaps the most iconic iteration of TMNT to date. His more recent comic book depiction was way more brutal and mean spirited, to be sure, but many fans will assuredly remember Krang fondly as the colorful, goofy, and hilariously gross TMNT villain he originally was. While he may not be missed in-continuity, Krang’s death will undoubtedly leave a lasting mark on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, especially for ‘90s kids everywhere.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game #7 by IDW Publishing is available now.