Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic writer Tom Waltz talks about Donatello's fate.

The creative team behind the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic have stated that they wanted to put a sense of realism and urgency into the modern comics. With the shell shocking ending of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 fans certainly felt it. It is now clear that publisher IDW is not afraid to take some risks when it comes to this great comic. (To get caught up on what happened you can read about it here.)

*Spoilers ahead for the current comic.

Writer Tom Waltz recently sat down with IGN and spoke about the surprising decision to (possibly) kill of Donatello. The ending to issue #44 where Bebop and Rocksteady fatally wound Donatello surprised fans and sent shock waves through the fandom.

Speaking about the reaction of fans that he has seen, Waltz stated:

"Oh, yeah… the tweets and FB posts have been numerous and have run the gamut from praise to horror to confusion to hate… to some folks wishing me dead. And though I find the hateful ones more than a little disconcerting, I’d be lying if I said wasn’t pleased to find out just how passionate so many folks are about our comic book and TMNT in general.

The truth is, I love working on this title and adore every single character I’ve been blessed to write, and Donnie’s no exception. That final scene in issue #44 choked me up when I wrote it… even more so when I saw how tragically beautiful Cory Smith and Ronda Pattison rendered it.

But longtime readers of our series know that Editor Bobby Curnow, Kevin Eastman and I always try to have more surprises in store. All we ask is that readers keep reading… we’re very excited for everyone to see the events yet to come."

If this is just one surprise among many then it seems that readers are surely in for a ride with the future of this comic.

Last page of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44.

Since it is sort of left up in the air, IGN went on to ask outright if Donatello was dead or if we'll see him injured and somehow make a recovery in the next few issues. Waltz's reply is very interesting.

"In a world of mutants, thinking robots, inter-dimensional travel and ninja crime lords, one can never really say anything definitively. I hate spoilers so all I’ll say is this -- be sure to read issue #45 and our TMNT Free Comic Book Day issue for the surprising continuation of this story.

The only hint I’ll give is there is no earthly way Donnie can survive such a terrible injury. Furthermore… can his family survive such a terrible loss? Keep reading!"

You can see that Waltz chooses his words carefully. "No Earthly way." This makes me assume that there is a way to save Donatello on another planet or dimension. I personally feel that this is the case. The comic does not outwordly say in any way that he is dead and I think it'll be a great plot point for him to survive with lasting affects due to his sustained injuries. How do you feel about the words that Tom Waltz shared with IGN? What do you think is in store for Donatello in the next issue?

You can read the full interview in the source link below.

Source: IGN