IDW's 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' #44 Spoilers: Twitter Reacts To TMNT's Donatello Shocker!

A shocking moment occurred inside the action-packed issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44, from IDW Publishing. Nothing could have prepared readers, even Twitter was at a loss for words, as TMNT's very own Donatello fought against his longtime enemies, Bebop and Rocksteady. 

According to IGN, in the issue, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo were busy stopping Krang from terraforming the planet using the alien "Technodrome." While Donatello was running command from Turtles home base, Bebop and Rocksteady showed up to wreck havoc. Rocksteady delivered the death blow as he smashed Donnie's shell with a sledgehammer.

Co-writer Tom Waltz reveals to We Are The Nerdy, "First and foremost, I'd thank them for reading our comic and being so passionate about the characters and their stories.  Second, I'd say the one thing we've tried to do with TMNT at IDW from the very start is to keep the core of our stories grounded and as realistic as possible in such a fantastical world. This storyline was no exception."

The Ghostbusters scribe continues, "The TMNT are in a war, fought on multiple fronts against multiple enemies, so to think that they could come out of all that unscathed is more unbelievable than a weapon that can terraform the entire planet at the push of a button.  Donnie, sadly, is a casualty of war... one of the good guys who has sacrificed his very existence to protect others.  He's a true hero and that won't be forgotten by his family or his friends... as we will show in upcoming issues as well as our Free Comic Book Day offering."

Check out what Twitter had to say with the hashtag #RIPDonatello:

@MarkNasso shares this image and tweets, "RIP Donny!"

@Conradicalness shares this poem, 

"Roses are red

Violets are blue

Dear Donatello

I will miss you

#NationalPoetryDay #RIPDonatello #TMNT44 #TMNT"

@peggggs adds, "In honor of Donatello's death I am changing my twitter to purple and profile picture to Donatello #RIPDonatello"

@Kev_415 shared this snapshot with his Bebop toy, "I'm avenging Donatello's Death! How does that feel Bebop? #RIPDonatello 1984-2015 "

@blurrygil mentions, "#RIPDonatello. You were always my favorite. ;_; #TMNT #TMNT44" 

@Ethan_Valentine states, "Did they really have to kill off my favourite Ninja Turtle? #RIPDonatello"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 is out in stores now.

Readers, what do you think of Donatello's demise?