Back in 2018, Nickelodeon debuted a new Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Despite some initial fan backlash over the radical departures from established TMNT lore and the big swings with the tone and direction, the show has gained a following and appreciation over the last few years. In fact, IDW is set to release an Art of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles later this year. Whatever your opinion on the series, Rise of the TMNT must be commended for the various new antagonists that it added to the franchise’s proverbial toy box. Chief among them was spider yokai Big Mama.
Voiced by Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey, Big Mama made her introduction in the episode “Bug Busters” as the prim and proper proprietor of the Grand Nexus Hotel that broadcasts the Hidden City’s brutal fight competition known as the Battle Nexus. With an ability to disguise herself as human and a penchant for nonce words, the character played a major role in the show’s larger storyline. So it’s not surprising that IDW Publishing has finally incorporated Big Mama into the comics.
The current TMNT: Battle Nexus comic series event sees transdimensional villain and former Time Lord apprentice Savanti Romero has been gathering iterations of Turtles from various media and pitting them in combat against familiar foes and allies. With Lord Simultaneous captured alongside his fellow members of the Dimensional Council, a collection of ancient and ageless beings hailing from different dimensions, Savanti appears to have the upper hand. While the names of faces of most of the Dimensional Council have remained anonymous since they debuted in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual, the Battle Nexus series has been revealing the Council to be made up of characters connected to the Battle Nexus from other Turtles media such as the Daimyo from the 2003 animated series. With the release of issue #3 today, another member of the Council is unmasked as Big Mama in her human form.
The return of Big Mama comes on the heels of Shinigami, a fan-favorite character from the 2012 TMNT animated series, debuting in the main ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ongoing series. With only two members of the Dimensional Council whose identities still remain a mystery, readers can hopefully expect their identities to be revealed by the end of TMNT: Battle Nexus.
