Don is steadily becoming more and more obsessed with retrieving Master Splinter's data bits from cyber space. Meanwhile, his brothers have discovered that there is an ongoing civil war between the Purple Dragons and the Foot, and they must do something to contain it. But when the Cyber Shredder hacks into Stockman's new cyborg body and takes control of it Don's brothers find themselves up to their shells in trouble.
This episode provides examples of
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Stockman asks for the Turtles help, as soon as they arrive.
- An Aesop: Don learns that he can't let his guilt over what happened to Splinter prevent him from being there for his brothers.
- Big Damn Heroes: April at the start of the episode, Don at the end.
- Big "NO!": Cyber Shredder after getting booted back to his lair in cyberspace.
- Call-Back:
- This episode has Leo directly reference the "City at War" arc, and— in case that wasn't clear enough— there's also Don's response to him, which is oddly similar to Raphael's from "City at War":Don: "Sorry, but it's not my problem."
Compared to
Raph: "It's not our fight, Leo!" - Stockman's Brain in a Jar (with a face mask) is attached to a robot spider's body, echoing a form he had for the "Secret Origins" trio of episodes.
- Upon possessing Stockman’s body, the Shredder alludes to his mutilations of the former.
- Stockman offers to build Shredder a bigger body with more Spikes of Villainy, which more or less sums up the exo-suit the Shredder wore in Same as it Never Was. The Shredder isn’t interested this time around.
- Stockman built a manual eject into his new body as a last resort, as he's learned from all the times his various bodies have been destroyed to never get too comfortable in one.
- This episode has Leo directly reference the "City at War" arc, and— in case that wasn't clear enough— there's also Don's response to him, which is oddly similar to Raphael's from "City at War":
- Chekhov's Gun: Mikey making an off-hand comment about Donatello being in cyberspace is how Stockman later thinks to try contacting him for help.
- Crazy-Prepared: Stockman admits that after all the bodies he's lost over the series, he's learned to not get comfortable in a new body and has his head able to detach from his body as a failsafe.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Stockman's tech allows the Purple Dragons to seize Foot strongholds with ease and put the Turtles on the ropes.
- Delaying Action: Raph, Mikey and Leo fight Shredder while Stockman tries to hack into his robot body's systems
- Didn't See That Coming:
- The other Turtles expected Donatello to be at the controls of the helicopter.Raphael: "Cut it a little close there, Bro."
April: "Beggars can't be choosers, Bro." - The Turtles didn't expect to bump into Stockman in the Purple Dragons' headquarters. The Shredder didn't expect to encounter them there, either, though he's thrilled by the prospect of taking them out along with Hun.
- Stockman admits he didn't take additional precautions with his robot body because he never expected a cyberspace threat (particularly in the form of the Shredder).
- The other Turtles expected Donatello to be at the controls of the helicopter.
- Enemy Civil War: The Purple Dragons and The Foot are back at war again.
- Enemy Mine: When the Cyber Shredder takes control of Stockman's robotic body, Leo, Raph and Mikey work with Stockman to purge Shredder's code from his systems. Later, when Shredder's getting the upper hand, Stockman contacts Don for help, forcing the other to choose between rescuing Splinter's data bits or saving his brothers.
- Evil Is Bigger: Stockman's new body is almost as big as the 7'2" tall Hun. When the Shredder takes over the body, he easily smacks around Hun like a ragdoll.
- Grand Theft Me: The plot of the episode.
- Hypocrite: Thinking Stockman betrayed him, Hun calls him a traitor.Cyber Shredder: "Traitor? Interesting choice of words coming from you, Hun!"
- Mythology Gag: April wears a yellow jumpsuit modeled after the one she wore in the 2007 movie, which was in turn a nod to her outfit in the original cartoon.
- Off with His Head!: Stockman ejects his head from his new body, when Shredder takes over it. Shredder replaces the head with his makeshift helmet. Later, the headless helmet gets kicked off by Raph.
- Oh, Crap!: Hun, when he realizes he's facing the Shredder.
- Pet the Dog:
- Gleefully subverted by Shredder, who says if he knew Stockman was so brilliant, he would've treated him better. Stockman wistfully asks if he's being honest - and the Shredder snaps back into the status quo, coldly telling him "no".
- At the end of the episode, Stockman genuinely praises Donnie while telling him his brothers are okay.
- Sadistic Choice: Donatello has to choose between recovering some of Splinter's bits or helping his brothers. He chooses the latter and says he'll simply wait for the bits to resurface.
- Silence, You Fool!: Cyber Shredder in response to Stockman's offer to make him a different body.
- Skewed Priorities: Stockman wants the Turtles' help, but he also doesn't want his expensive new robot body to get damaged, either. Raph lampshades it.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Mike and Raph's stealth outfits are sleeveless, revealing their muscular shoulders and arms.
- Spy Catsuit: Male variations of these are worn by Leo, Raph and Mike. Leo's is skintight, while Raph and Mike wear sleeveless versions.
- This Is Gonna Suck:Cyber Shredder: "Turtles! Fate smiles on me this day."
Mikey: "'Fates smiling' doesn't sound very Stockman-y." - Villain Team-Up: Stockman lends the Purple Dragons his technological expertise in exchange for Hun funding the construction of the robotic body.
- Voices Are Not Mental: Implied, while Shredder and Stockman have distinct voices, neither the Turtles, nor Hun realize that the person in control of Stockman's body isn't really Stockman. Mike realizes the guy attacking him isn't really Stockman when the Shredder says "fate smiles on me", something that doesn't sound very Stockmany. Hun on the other hand, thinks that Stockman betrayed him until he sees him wearing a makeshift Shredder helmet.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Bishop is completely unmentioned despite Stockman having last been seen in the present day being hauled off to work for him, let alone Fast Forward later showing he stayed with Bishop for decades.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Raph reads Don the riot act for not coming to help them when they called.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: The Shredder, upon possessing Stockman’s body.Shredder: If I knew you were capable of such fine work Stockman, I would’ve treated you better.Stockman: Really?Shredder: No.
