WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #109, by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, Ronda Pattinson, Nelson Daniel, Bobby Curnow and Shawn Lee
In IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, the world has taken small steps towards accepting mutant-kind, but the hatred and distrust of mutants is so prevalent it can even be seen between the mutants themselves. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #109 readers see that the Turtles have set up a dojo to help train those living in Mutant Town, but the secluded town designed to give mutants some safety from humans doesn't feel safe at all -- humans are shown to sneak in easily and the characters constantly remind the small mutant-girl, Lita, that she shouldn't be alone because Mutant Town is a dangerous place.
Readers see this firsthand when they see Jennika, another mutant Turtle. Jennika stands outside of a music club and talks with Sheena about her desire to start a band. Before her mutation, Jennika was a talented guitar player and lover of rock music. She tells Sheena that she's finally getting the hang of playing the guitar with her, "chunky fingers" and now all she has to do is round up some people to form a band.
Related: TMNT: One Turtle Is Having a Hard Time Adjusting to a MAJOR Mutant's Death
As they talk, a mysterious Porcupine-mutant walks over and begins to say something about a band when Jennika jumps into action and begins pummeling the mutant. As they fight, the porcupine shouts out that they didn't want to fight, but Jennika either doesn't hear or doesn't care because she doesn't let up. It isn't until she pulls out her claw weapons that she stops dead in her tracks and has a flashback to the trauma of her life before her mutation. After she apologizes, the porcupine angrily says that before their mutation, they were a talented drummer, but then walks away dejected. This event weighs heavily on Jennika and she becomes emotional and embraces Lita tightly.
Jennika's actions towards the porcupine seem to come from nowhere, but when looking at her past, her attitude makes more sense. Jennika was a high-ranking member of Shredder's Foot Clan where she fought and killed without remorse, so when Master Splinter defeated Shredder and took over the Foot Clan, Jennika thought Splinter was weak and not fit to lead. After being defeated but spared by Splinter, Jennika had a change of heart and became the Ninja Chunin of Splinter's Foot Clan.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #93 by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastmann, Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison, Jennika and the fierce ninja Karai meet up for what is supposed to be a truce but quickly turns into Karai speaking out against Splinter and offering Jennika the chance to rebuild the Foot Clan to what it once was under Shredder. Jennika refuses, saying instead that she respects Splinter too much, and Karai responds by stabbing Jennika clean through her chest with a katana. Later in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #95 by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastmann, Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison, the Turtles are running out of time and options and Jennika is dying fast, so as a last-ditch effort, Leonardo transfers some of his mutant blood into Jennika. The plan worked perfectly and Jennika is quickly healed, but with a dire side effect -- the transformation into a mutant turtle.
Jennika is still haunted by her actions with Shredder and the Foot Clan, and in the scene with the porcupine, readers see three images of her past flash before her eyes: fighting alongside the woman who saved her life in prison, being stabbed by Karai, and Shredder's terrifying gaze. Jennika wants so badly to leave this side of her behind, and with the help of her friends in Mutant Town, she might just be able to. Shredder's influence is almost impossible to overcome, but now as a mutant turtle, Jennika has a new perspective on life and what it means to be a hero and protect those in need.