THE NOXIOUS AVENGER

01PLOT

The episode begins with Garson Grunge, the garbage man, picking up garbage from the dumpster and is thankful that he does not have to work in the sewers anymore. Bebop and Rocksteady sneak into the nearby building housing The Kraang's lab and Bebop acquires Mutagen and Reagent-X, while complaining about having to run Baxter Stockman's errands. The Turtles arrive soon after, while being spotted by Grunge.

During the fight, Bebop throws the Mutagen at Michelangelo's head. Mikey ducks and the Mutagen breaks open in Grunge's face, sending him falling into the dumpster as he begins to mutate. Bebop and Rocksteady escape with some chemicals. Grunge wakes up, finding himself completely mutated into a pile of garbage and holding the Turtles responsible. Grunge's eyeball, named Joe, convinces him that he can put his new look to good use, convincing him to stop the Purple Dragons from mugging someone nearby. A witness panics upon seeing him but the victim calms her down by telling her that he saved him. Joan Grody, who was reporting about the recent invasion, overhears and runs the new story, calling New York's newest hero Muckman.

The Turtles catch the story and believe that Muckman may be up to no good, despite April O'Neil's suggestion that he is called a hero. They all agree that they need to find him before the Shredder does. The Turtles ambush Muckman, who retaliates with a garbage tornado and sludge puke, knocking them down before fleeing from reporters and fans. April warns the Turtles, who have been weakened by the attack, to leave and Mikey throws down a smoke bomb--but not before Joan catches a silhouette of the Turtles.

Later that night, April, Splinter and the Turtles were watching the news. When it got to the part where the Turtles were seen, Splinter was taking it all in while April was wishing that Joan would talk about something else to avoid the Turtles from getting busted. However it was too late. When Splinter found out about his sons being on TV, he was incredibly furious. The Turtles were in hot water after the news was over. For breaking the ninjutsu code, the Turtles ended up getting grounded from leaving the lair again, despite Donnie and Leo's attempts to reason with Splinter, until they can prove that they can be trusted. If that wasn't enough, to add insult to injury, the Turtles especially Mikey were not even allowed to watch TV including _Crognard the Barbarian,_ with Splinter breaking the TV with his cane.

Rocksteady complains about getting another chemicals run while Bebop suggests they need a "sucker" when they catch Muckman on the news. Rocksteady suggests that they use him to get the next ingredient.

Donatello runs some tests on the mutated puke and realizes that it can affect their own mutations. Splinter comes in to confiscate the rest of Mikey's television-related things, much to Mikey's dismay, and banning him from even watching TV. Leo decides that it is time to prove to him that they can be ninjas by sneaking out of the lair. With April's help with the exit by distracting Splinter, the Turtles succeeded. Splinter was not happy about that.

Bebop and Rocksteady look for Muckman, who attacks them until they tell him that they are his side. Muckman is led to believe that they were mutated by the turtles and agrees to help them get the chemical they need, thinking that it is a cure. The turtles arrive and Muckman attacks them with Rocksteady and Bebop. Joe continues urging Muckman to do the right thing, the Turtles agreeing with him. Bebop hits everyone with a flash bang grenade and Rocksteady throws Muckman into The Kraang lab.

Muckman finds the chemical and takes it before being hit by The Kraang security system, Rocksteady takes the chemical from him as the Turtles rush in. Muckman retaliates against Bebop and Rocksteady by puking on them, which in turn destroys the chemical. As Bebop and Rocksteady retreat, Joe urges Muckman to do what is right so he apologizes to the Turtles for accusing them of any wrong doings. The gang spot Joan and her cameraman searching the warehouse and Muckman distracts her while the Turtles escape.

Back in the lair at the Practice Room, Splinter was not happy with the Turtles for disobeying him and leaving the lair and scolds his sons for their disobedience. Leo explains to Splinter that everything was fixed and shows him footage of a news bulletin. Muckman explains the turtle mutants do not exist and are probably just some kids in costumes like The Pulverizer to the media. The Turtles sigh in relief that their identity is still a secret to the world. Unfortunately, the Turtles are still grounded, and as punishment for leaving the lair, Splinter destroys Mikey's T-Phone with a dagger, and knocks all of them out with one hit. April secretly tries to escape, but Splinter appears startling her right at the spot as the episode ends before he can deal with her.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03SCREEN GRABS

4 frames. Auto-matched screencaps via Fancaps.net.

04TRIVIA

• The title of the episode is a reference to the 1984 horror comedy film _The Toxic Avenger_.
• Muckman speaks with a Jersey accent and has a license plate from New Jersey in his body, as his concept art reveals that he is from Camden, New Jersey. All this are references to _The Toxic Avenger_ as it takes place in New Jersey.
• The way Muckman beats up Fong, Sid and Tsoi is similar to when Toxie beats up Cigar Face and his Gang and he does a similar fighting style to what he did in _The Toxic Avenger_.
• Muckman is similar to Toxie as they are both mutants and heroes to their respected homes.
• This episode shares plot similarities to that of the 1987 TV series's episode "Muckman Messes Up":
• In both episodes, Bebop and Rocksteady search for Mutagen containing a specific ingredient at a lab. In the 80's cartoon, they search for X-7, a chemical that can undo the Turtles' mutation while in this episode they search for a chemical called Reagent-X for Shredder's Mind Control Serum.
• The creation of Muckman has Mutagen falling out of the lab and hitting a garbage man. Where as the underling duo throw out Mutagen in the 80's cartoon and it hits two garbagemen, this episode has Mikey dodging a thrown canister by Bebop which hits the garbage man who lands in a dumpster.
• Muckman is the city's "Monster Hero" while in the original cartoon he calls himself and Joe Eyeball "Mutant Heroes."
• Muckman weakens the Turtles by being near them in both episodes.
• In both episodes, the Turtles are considered criminals by the media. Though April proves them innocent to Muckman and Joe Eyeball in the original cartoon, it is the end of this episode where the Turtles are proven fictional by Muckman himself.
• Muckman blames the Turtles for his mutation and works along with the Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady in the original cartoon and teams up with Bebop and Rocksteady in this episode.
• Both versions have Muckman joining forces with the Turtles at the end.
• Both involve Muckman turning against Bebop and Rocksteady and ultimately throwing slime at them.
• In both episodes, Muckman thinks the Turtles mutated Bebop and Rocksteady.
• Baxter Stockman's grocery list as seen in the episode consists of the following:
• 10 gallons maple syrup
• 500 packets white sugar
• When Splinter takes away Mikey's TV, there is an orange VHS tape that says "Ben & Stinky". This is a reference to Nickelodeon's classic cartoon, _The Ren & Stimpy Show_, which was also released on orange VHS tapes.
• This is the second, and final episode in the series where the Turtles get grounded, following the Season 1 episode "I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman".

05FAN REVIEW

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