The Pulverizer Returns!

The Pulverizer Returns! is the 22nd episode of the TMNT 2012 TV series. It first aired on May 11th, 2013.

"Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."

Official Description
When Shredder schemes to create a fearsome army of Mutants, the Turtles have no choice but to rely on the help of the newest addition to the Foot Clan: The Pulverizer!

Plot
The episode begins with the Turtles fighting and easily defeating a legion of Foot Soldiers on a rooftop. The four brothers gloat about their victory, commenting that the Foot is no longer challenging to them. The scene then cuts to the Shredder, who is attacking Dogpoundfor his failure to recruit new deadly soldiers to redeem the Foot Clan's past screw-ups. The Shredder emphatically instructs Dogpound to find more soldiers now and is told that this is impossible; the Shredder then settles on stealing a resource (Mutagen) from the Kraang to consolidate the Foot Clan for future battles.

Meanwhile, the Turtles are keeping an eye on the TCRI building with the goal of witnessing suspicious Kraangactivity. When Leo settles on throwing in the towel when nothing is happening, Raph presumes that they've run out of butts to kick. Leo disproves Raph's presumption when he notices a plump Foot ninja jumping up to a reach a narrow opening in the TCRI building and getting himself stuck in it. The Turtles jump off of their stakeout spot to battle this unsuspecting ninja when they are suddenly encircled by a small contingent of Foot ninja, whom they fight instead. They beat the Foot easily, and the chubby ninja, unfettering himself from the opening, comes to assist his already fallen comrades but is knocked down by Donnie and reveals himself to bethe Pulverizer! Donnie asks him what he's doing with the Foot, and the Pulverizer explains that after the Turtles' turned their backs on him, he joined a Chris Bradford dojo to practice martial arts and apparently wowed them with his skills. He was given an offer to join the Foot Clan and accepted. According to him, he has been with them for a couple of days and proudly says that they gave him the rank of Ashigaru Sha (Cannon Fodder). Donnie explains to the unknowing teenager that the ranking he received means that he is looked upon as expendable, being entrusted with the tasks of wasting enemies' ammunition and setting off traps, both of which the Pulverizer agrees he's been forced to do. Donnie tries to convince the Pulverizer that the Foot Clan is no place for him, but the teen insists on becoming a spy for the Turtles, offering to provide them with an explanation as to why the Foot has been fighting the Kraang.

The Turtles head back to their lair, where Splinter grimly acknowledges that they've defeated much of the Foot Clan with ease. On wondering why Splinter made it sound like that's a bad thing, Raph is told by his sensei that he and his brothers have grown complacent in fighting the Foot and have become thoroughly dependent on their own weapons, though there are times in which they will not be able to fight with what they know, at which point they must adapt to their environment. So that they can embrace the unfamiliar, Splinter orders the Turtles to swap weapons with eachother and spar. The brothers spar two on two, but their lack of acclimation to one another's weapons causes them all to misuse them and accidentally hurt themselves (Donnie gets the Sai,Raph gets Mikey's Nunchucks, Leo gets Donnie's Bo, and Mikey gets Leo's Katanas). Splinter tells his sons that they will continue to fight in their new weapons configuration, promising that it will only do them good.

Later, while practicing using their new, temporary weapons, Donnie receives a text from the Pulverizer that tells them where the Foot are going to strike next (the same alley where the Turtles and the Pulverizer had their last encounter). Raph relishes the fact that the Pulverizer is actually of use to them, but Donnie is reluctant to let their friend stay in the Foot Clan. Raph tells Donnie that, for the sake of being told info about the Shredder's plans, they should be willing to risk the Pulverizer's safety. Leo settles on following the Pulverizer's lead and then busting him out of the Foot. At the rendezvous point of the Turtles and the Pulverizer, the Turtles are almost immediately set upon by Dogpound, Fishface, and a bunch of Foot ninjas. In the name of remaining the Turtles' spy and not garnering suspicion from the Foot, the Pulverizer blurts out that the Turtles have captured him. Pushing the Pulverizer out of harm's way, the Turtles begin to attack the Foot Clan with their new weapons, but find themselves easily defeated by their opponents. Toward the end of the fight, Leo orders his brothers to switch their weapons back, allowing the team of turtles to claim their victory against the Foot ninjas. Once the battle has ended, a couple of the Foot ninjas manage to overtly steal some Mutagen vials from the adjacent TCRI building and they, along with Dogpound and Fishface, escape in their getaway van. Seeing this, the Turtles approach the Pulverizer, who tells them that the Shredder is (predictably) planning to create a mutant army to destroy them. Leo allows the Pulverizer to stay in the Foot to gather more intel on the Shredder's mutation plans, but Donnie is dissatisfied with the Pulverizer being placed in danger.

Later, at the Foot HQ, the captured Kraang overhears the Shredder talking to Dogpound about the Foot's Mutagen experimentation plan. The captured Kraang intrudes on the discussion, commenting that the Mutagen is currently unstable in this dimension and that the results of using it are unpredictable. Hearing this, the Shredder orders Dogpound to ensure that fail-safe measures are put in place. Back in the Sewer Lair, Splinter catches the Turtles boasting about their victory over the Foot with their signature weapons in their hands, making Splinter ask why they chose not to follow his instructions. Raph replies that switching weapons in a fight doesn't help and that they were doing fine on their own. Splinter, remarking that Raph doesn't understand the point of the lesson, confiscates the weapons from the Turtles so that they can adapt to their environment in coming battles. Not long after, the Pulverizer calls the Turtles, telling them where the Foot's first Mutagen experiment is being performed and that he volunteered to be the test subject as the first portion of the plan. Donnie chastises the Pulverizer for his grave mistake, telling him that the Mutagen can do unfavorable things to him. However, the Pulverizer is resolved to unleash his mutant powers on the Shredder afterward. Determined to save the Pulverizer, the Turtles board the Shellraiser and drive to the warehouse where the Foot operation is going down. On the way there, the Turtles run into a big legion of Foot Soldiers commuting to the warehouse with Dragon Choppers for transportation, and Fishface momentarily gets off his bike to stall the Turtles. He manages to flatten one of the Shell-Raiser's tires, rendering it immobile, and then departs on his bike. Donnie, recalling that Splinter told him that the Pulverizer is his responsibility, resolves on personally saving him and chooses to use the stealth bike as a mode of transportation to the warehouse, forcing the other three turtles to go there on foot. Upon busting into the warehouse with the bike, Donnie grabs hold of a broom and fights off the Foot ninjas inside while, at the same time, tries to prevent the Pulverizer from mutating himself by pulling down on a lever attached to a tank of Mutagen. Leo, Raph, and Mikey shortly arrive and locate/make use of makeshift weapons fairly similar to their signature weapons, such as the length of a chain (Mikey), wooden boards (Raph), and a piece of a pipe (Leo), fighting alongside Donnie. With the aim of assisting the Turtles in their fight, the Pulverizer seizes the opportunity to pull down the lever on the tank of Mutagen, causing it to be released on him. He mutates into a hideous, mindless blob that begins to chase the Turtles around. Dogpound rigs the entire building to explode with plastic explosives already placed inside, and locks the Turtles in with the mutated Pulverizer. The mutant attacks the Turtles, but they are able to calm their former ally down when they reason with him. They manage to contain him in the now empty tank of Mutagen (it was emptied when the Pulverizer mutated himself) and escape the building with him on the Stealth Bike before the plastic explosives detonate.

Back in the Sewer Lair, Donnie promises Timothy (the Pulverizer's real name) that he will get to work on finding a cure so that he can be human once again. Back at the Shredder's hideout (the Foot HQ), Dogpound informs him of the explosion he perpetrated that was intended to kill the Turtles, but only eradicated the Foot's Mutagen supply. Tracing Dogpound's action back to the Turtles' meddling, the Shredder comments that they have dismantled his army and fought at his plans, catching the attention of the nearby captured Kraang, who agrees that the Turtles' meddling must be stopped. The Shredder contentedly comments that he and the Kraang share a common enemy, ending the episode in a comic style.

Splinter's Wisdom
"In the hands of a ninja, anything can be a weapon."

Character Debuts

 * Mutagen Man (In mutated form)

Trivia

 * It's revealed that the Pulverizer's real name is Timothy.
 * When Donatello found a coin it made a sound when Mario gets a Gold Coin.

Errors

 * When Timothy calls the Turtles over to the dumpster he was hiding behind, the Turtles were all holding their weapons in their hands, but, when they all reach the dumpster their weapons are suddenly back in their holsters.
 * In one scene when Donnie was arguing with Timothy about getting mutated over the phone, Leo's eye flickered.