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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemis jostling with mutants, heroes, and villains, and since there’s such a large character roster present to duke it out in New York City, it’s easy to lose track of their arcs.
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This modern entry into the Turtles franchise is ripe with nostalgia, returning classic adversaries and allies from their comic book glory days, including mad scientist Baxter Stockman whose fate in Mutant Mayhem is unclear. Here’s everything you need to know about Baxter Stockman and what happened to him.
Who Is Baxter Stockman?
Baxter Stockman is amad scientist and creator of the Mouser robots, who often joined forces with Shredder and Krang, thus making him a frequent enemy of the Turtles. First appearing in the Mirage Comics era, Baxter’s high intellect was often overshadowed by his wrongdoings, including using his Mousers to commit bank robberies. The scientist was put in prison once after targeting April O’Neil with his Mousers, but he later escaped using DARPA tech that turned him into a cyborg.
In the 1987 animated series,Baxter invented the Mousers for Ajax Pest Control, but his work was soon terminated. Viewing Baxter at a loose end,Shredder was quick to offer him a more gratifying job building a mastercontrol for the Mousers in order for the Foot Clan to use it against the Turtles. The 2012 animated series saw Baxter join the Foot Clan because of a harsh childhood being bullied, and the IDW comic run made Baxter the head of the StockGen company that created the Turtles and Splinter.
In Mutant Mayhem, Baxter is the creator of the film’s villain Superfly (Ice Cube), presented as a Frankenstein creator during the animation’s opening while experimenting with the ooze used to create the mutants,including Leatherhead. His creations triggered an investigation by the TCRI, which lead to the scientist being targeted in his home by soldiers. Superfly jumped in to protect his creator, but Baxter’s fate after this event is rather vague.
What Happened To Baxter Stockman In Mutant Mayhem?
During the TCRI’s invasion of Baxter’s home, Superfly began attacking the soldiers, and the event quickly accelerated. TheTCRI began shooting bullets blindly throughout Baxter’s laboratory, and a number of rounds hit a concoction of chemicals which triggered an explosion in the premises.
Therefore,it’s implied that Baxter died during this explosionwhilst trying to save Superfly because the character is not seen again for the entirety of the animation. With an explosion of that magnitude, it’s hard to imagine a human could survive that circumstance, but not farfetched to see the mutants survive.
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However, since we didn’t see Baxter’s body to confirm his death, it’s very possible that the scientist is still alive and primed to return in a future installment. Films have delivered implied deaths countless times before to misdirect the audience, only to reveal down the line that the character survived their harrowing ordeal. Baxter could still be alive, and he was possibly taken by the TCRI in order to have him work for them in secret, using the explosion as a front to fake his death.
Meet Giancarlo Esposito, Baxter Stockman’s Voice Actor
Another reason for Baxter Stockman to return in a future installment of the Turtles franchise is that he’s voiced by acting heavyweight Giancarlo Esposito, and it’s hard to imagine they would bring an actor of his stature on board for such a small role.
The American actor made his Broadway debut in 1968 performing opposite Shirley Jones in the musical Maggie Flynn and later joined the Stephen Sondheim–Harold Prince collaboration Merrily We Roll Along in 1981. Esposito’s theater work paved the way for over 190 roles in film and television since his live-action debut in the 1952 series The Guiding Light.
Esposito’s prolific roles include playing Jack Baer in 1995’s The Usual Suspects, and he entertained a number of episodes within the Law & Order franchise, however, the actor’s breakout role arrived in 2009 when he played Gus Fring for 26 episodes of the hit show Breaking Bad. This iconic role saw Esposito delve into The Maze Runner adaptations as Jorge, portray Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian and Stan Edgar in The Boys, guest star on Westworld as El Lazo, and lead the 2023 Netflix series Kaleidoscope.
In addition to his live-action performances, Esposito is also a veteran voice actor in films, television series, and video games. The actor voiced The Dentist in the 2013 co-op shooter Payday 2, played the overbearing villain Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6, and voiced Faraday in the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners animated series on Netflix. Additionally, Esposito has also done a lot of work for DC including his performances as Ra’s al Ghul in the 2014 animation Son of Batman, Black Spider in Batman: Assault on Arkham, and more recently, voicing Lex Luthor in the animated Harley Quinn series.
