The following contains major spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140, on sale now from IDW Publishing.
Over the course of the past year, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have amassed new abilities, surprising allies, and countless new enemies, all in the hopes of staving off the threat of the villainous Rat King's Armageddon Game. Along the way, the event itself has developed into what might just be the biggest the Turtles have ever known, which makes it all the worse that the ending has just been spoiled, and all without giving readers any idea what actually happened.
While fans have spent months watching the events of the Armageddon Game unfold across the pages of three concurrent comic book titles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140 (by Kevin Eastman, Sophie Campbell, Gavin Smith, Ronda Pattison, and Rus Wooton) drops them into the middle of New York City where the eponymous heroes face off against a gang of menacing foes. Unfortunately, these aren't the minions of Krang or the Rat King, but rather an ordinary gang of criminals. As it turns out, it has been almost a month since the events of the Armageddon Game came to a close, and there are scant signs of what exactly that means for the world of the Turtles going forward.
TMNT #140 Spoils the Armageddon Game Storyline
Apart from bringing the denizens of Mutant Town into the rest of the world, it doesn't seem as if things have changed all that much now that the Rat King's efforts to wreak untold destruction have been foiled. Obviously, not knowing how those plans were stopped is disappointing, yet it is doubly so when the aftermath feels so casual. If the Turtles were caught in the middle of some set of tragic circumstances as they were following the detonation of the Mutagen Bomb that created Mutant Town, maybe this story would hit a bit harder, but the ease with which the heroes have adapted to their current situation speaks to the Armageddon Game storyline having wrapped up in full within the pages of a book that hasn't come out yet.
As it stands, the eighth and final issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game (by Tom Waltz and Vincenzo Federici) is set to release in July 2023. That may only be a month away, but this is still after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140 showcased just how much the world has returned to normalcy despite all the changes brought about by the Rat King's actions. Coupled with the fact that all the mystical teachings and newfound abilities the Turtles have uncovered haven't even had their climactic moment yet, it is understandable that some fans are disappointed by this outcome. Thankfully, that doesn't mean Armageddon Game as a whole has been outright ruined, even if the ending won't necessarily be a surprise at this point.
TMNT's Armageddon Game is Still a Great Story
Plenty of comic book storylines and pivotal moments have been spoiled by publishing delays, editorial errors, and even cover art in the past. As such, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hasn't entered uncharted territory, nor has the franchise put itself in any sort of genuinely harmful position. Considering how many times publishers like Marvel and DC have suffered similar issues, it would be hard to hold it against IDW that things didn't line up as intended. And, with how quickly the Turtles and their fellow mutants have found a home among humankind, it likely won't matter at all in the long run.
If anything, this gives fans some reassurance that The Armageddon Game leaves a long-lasting impact on the ongoing series as a whole without removing any of its main players from the board. Not every single Turtle or Splinter Clan ally makes an appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140, so there is still some room for the Armageddon Game's finale to surprise readers, yet the promise that any surprises it does offer won't be utterly gut-wrenching provides a kind of relief that fans wouldn't otherwise have had. That may not be ideal for those who were hoping to ride out the tension a little longer, but with only one issue left, that was bound to end sooner than later no matter how things shook out.