Last Ronin's New Generation of TMNT Officially Debut Their Answer to April O'Neil

Summary April O'Neil's role is taken over by Amanda Konnor, an ace reporter and ally to the TMNT in Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution.

Konnor and the new TMNT team work to fight global criminal organizations in a corrupt New York City, inspired by April's legacy.

Amanda and Casey's dynamic in Last Ronin II could pave the way for a new iconic romance akin to April and Casey Jones in TMNT lore.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1-2! In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Last Ronin continuity, April O’Neil has adopted the role of Master Splinter, as she is the oldest member of the Hamato Clan who gave life to the new TMNT team and even trained them using Splinter’s old journal. However, with April now in Splinter’s role, she left the original role she played on the team vacant. That is, until now, as the new generation of the TMNT officially debuted their answer to ‘April O’Neil’.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop, and Esau and Isaac Escorza, readers are officially introduced to the TMNT’s successors: Odyn, Uno, Moja, and Yi. These new TMNT are a part of the resistance that was formed by April and her daughter, Casey, which stands against the corruption of their world. And one of the resistance’s primary sources of information is a deceptively simple one: the local news.

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Amanda Rose Konnor is the investigative reporter for Channel 6 News that April, Casey, and the other leaders of the resistance turn to for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding the state of New York City. Konnor isn’t afraid to go where other journalists won’t, and she’s willing to tell the truth no matter what. Indeed, Amanda Konnor is the true successor of April O’Neil, though that wouldn’t be solidified until the next issue, when Amanda started to play a less passive role on the TMNT team.

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Amanda Konnor Joins the TMNT the Same Way April O’Neil Did

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #2 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop, and Esau and Isaac Escorza

While Amanda Konnor was introduced in Re-Evolution #1, it wouldn’t be until the second issue that she completes her ‘April O’Neil origin’ arc. The world of TMNT’s Last Ronin is currently controlled by global criminal organizations, with New York City being the hotbed of this worldwide corruption. The powers-that-be don’t very much like the fact that Amanda Konnor exposes the true nature of their evil methods of control on Channel 6’s nightly broadcast, so they orchestrate her murder during one of her investigative pieces.

When the TMNT see Konnor reporting live from the center of a gang war in the streets of New York, they jump into action, both to protect their favorite reporter and to resolve the conflict as only they can. The new TMNT protecting Amanda from harm after she’d proven herself to be an ace journalist and an ally to justice is exactly how the original TMNT met April O’Neil, who was also marked for death by an evil organization - completing Amanda’s origin as TMNT’s new ‘April O’Neil’.

Amanda Konnor’s Introduction Could Mean a New Iconic Romance in TMNT Lore

Amanda Konnor is filling the role of April O’Neil, all while April’s daughter, Casey, is filling the role of her father, Casey Jones. Casey Jones and April O’Neil have famously been romantically involved in practically every incarnation of the TMNT series - could history repeat itself with Amanda and Casey? As it stands, there is no evidence that Amanda and Casey are romantically interested in one another (indeed, they just met, and under distressing circumstances). However, with Amanda filling April’s role, it would be perfect if she fell for the new version of ‘Casey Jones’.

Regardless of whether Amanda and Casey end up together, there are already enough similarities between Amanda and April to conclude that Konnor is filling O’Neil’s role in the future of the TMNT franchise: ace reporter, champion of truth and justice, rescued by the Turtles. Now all that’s left is for Amanda to become a life-long ally of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and then she’ll truly be the new ‘April O’Neil’.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1-2 by IDW Publishing are available now.