DONNIE'S GIFTS

01PLOT

During a patrol in the night streets of New York, the Turtles have come across a mutant silverfish, which is just on the prowl for laundry to consume. Instead, Raphael, in his attempts to flatten the silverfish, increases the problem, since every silverfish he smashes with his mystic tonfas splits in two because he and his brothers Michelangelo and Leonardo fool around during the fight, rather than keeping an eye on their opponents. The silverfish are beginning to gain the upper hand. Only when Donatello, the only serious one in the encounter, gets fed up and steps in to clean up the mess his brothers have caused, does the tide turn and the Silverfish retreat.

Donatello presents his brothers with some new gear for them to help them "get a little bit more in the wings": a helmet for Raph, a jumpsuit for Mikey, and a collar for Leo. However, before he can explain how the gifts work, a loud squeak lures the Turtles to a nearby alley behind the restaurant Chateau Prétenche, there they see a grotesque pig-like figure catching the silverfish they had just evicted in a sack, and then retreating to the New York Underground with his prey.

The Turtles follow the mutant, whom they mockingly called "Meat Sweats", to an abandoned subway station, where they witness that he wants to prepare the silverfish into a "gourmet" meal. Using a striking phrase ("Unleash the flavor!"), Mikey recognizes the mutant as Rupert Swaggart, a prominent chef who was stung by an Oozesquito in the midst of a live broadcast of his show and was transformed into a mutant. Then the Turtles experience how the mutant chef absorbs the mutant abilities from the silverfish by touch of his tendrils.

Meat Sweats' sharp nose picks up their scent. Armed with his meat tenderizer, Meat Sweats begins to search his hiding place for the invaders. Raph rushes in to fight, but is distracted by a voice that sounds from his helmet and nags him to form a plan. Meat Sweats takes the opportunity to strike back; but when Raph meets him with his tonfas, Meat Sweats then splits apart like the mutant silverfish. The helmet continues to nag him. Now confronted with an army of Mini-Meats, Donnie is suddenly captured in the chaos, and his gifts are putting his brothers off their game - Mikey's suit inflates whenever he tries to do his wild acrobatics and Leo's collar shocks him every time he says a terrible pun.

When the three Turtles are separated from their enemies by a passing subway and thus get a little breathing space, they find themselves hurt that Donnie wants them to change their fighting style, but Raph is reluctant to tell him so, certain that they were made with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, an urgent call from Donnie pushes this problem into the background, because Meat Sweats, who has regrouped, is preparing to use Donnie for his next meal. To save Donnie, Raph, Leo and Mikey agree to play their respective personal quirks that Donnie wanted to discipline in the ensuing fight.

Back in Meat Sweats' hideout, Raph grabs his imprisoned brother while the mutant villain's back is turned. He then follows them, only for Leo to stuff his electric collar in his underpants and activate it with his witty slogans. As Meat Sweats takes advantage of a moment of inattention to knock Leo to the ground, Mikey swings down to Meat Sweats and bounces him repeatedly in his inflated suit. Raphael intervenes and, with his helmet as a boxing glove, knocks the villain in front of the bow of the next passing subway. Donnie, at first irritated that his brothers misused their gifts, admits that he loves them as they are and invites a hug. As the Turtles hug, the A.I. voice in Mikey's inflatable suit speaks, ending the episode abruptly.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

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

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Meat Sweats: Ah-ha! I feel the rush of your delicious energy! The herbes de Provence are a nice touch! Michelangelo: That sounds good! Donatello: He's talking about eating us! Mikey: Excuse me for wanting to be eaten in style!

06TRIVIA

• Leo's shock collar is the only gift that actually hurts, foreshadowing the sibling rivalry between him and Donnie that occurs through the series. Just the same, it too can be removed at will.
• Mikey's inflatable suit is similar to the flight suit made by Disney's Professor Ludwig von Drake.
• Rise of the TMNT Season 1 episodes
• Donatello-focused episodes

07FAN REVIEW

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