Return to New York, Part 3

**"Return to New York, Part 3"** is the twenty-third episode of the animated series *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (2003), which originally aired on October 11, 2003.

## Information

### Major Characters

* Donatello (Sam Regal)
* Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
* Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
* Raphael (Frank Frankson)
* Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
* April O'Neil (Veronica Taylor)
* Casey Jones (Marc Thompson)
* The Shredder (Scottie Ray)
* Hun (Greg Carey)
* Baxter Stockman (Scott Williams)

### Secondary Characters

* Various Foot Divisions
	+ Foot Ninja
	+ Foot Elite
	+ Foot Tech Ninja
	+ Foot Mystics (Flashbacks)
		- Earth Mystic
		- Fire Mystic
		- Wind Mystic
		- Water Mystic
		- Metal Mystic
* Mutant Shredder Clones (Flashbacks)
	+ Claw Shredder
	+ Mini Shredder
	+ Multi-Arm Shredder
* The Guardians
* The Utrom Council Trio (Darren Dunstan)

### Main Locations, Vehicles and Accessories

* Foot HQ
* Shredder's Throne Room
* Razor Jets
* TMNT Lair

## Episode

**Spoiler warning: *Plot or ending details {{[[Template:|]]}} follow.***
### *Voice-Over Introduction*

***Leonardo:*** When we decided to return to New York and face the Shredder, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. It was gonna take everything we had and then some. But what we didn't know, what we couldn't have foreseen, was that fruitcake Baxter Stockman....

***Baxter Stockman:*** In the flesh.
***Leonardo:*** ...turning himself into some kind of ultra cyborg. Nevertheless, we have come here prepared to fight to the finish and that's exactly what we're gonna do.

### *Plot Synopsis*

As Stockman aims his impressive array of mechanoid weaponry at The Shredder and the turtles, the bloodthirsty scientist rants about how smart he is and what he’s going to do to New York City and the world after he eliminates his two worst enemies. Once Stockman finishes his speech, he let’s loose a barrage of hi-tech firepower on the turtles, Splinter, Shredder, Hun and the Foot. Everyone ducks for cover, while The Foot Headqurters is torn to pieces, and then everyone comes up fighting against their new, common enemy, Baxter Stockman. The turtles find themselves fighting side-by-side with the Foot Clan and even The Shredder. However, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Baxter easily defeats Hun, and Baxter then turns his attention to The Shredder, whom he also subdues quickly. The turtles and Splinter are then forced to face the vindictive villain by themselves. Things are going quite poorly for our heroes, as the best they can do is get a grappling hook and wrap it around Baxter's mechanoid legs in a futile attempt to bring him down. Baxter snickers at this tactic, but Raph then jumps onto the cyborg, causing Baxter to loose his balance and fall into a huge hole that he made when he first entered the room. Stockman falls several floors and we hear a resounding crash. The turtles then turn their attention back to The Shredder, who quickly pulls himself up and prepares to battle the turtles......but Stockman isn't so easily defeated!! The scientific madman rises up out of the hole, thanks to jet packs on his exo-suit, and the battle between men, mutants and machines is renewed.

In a desperate attempt, Leo manages to sever one of Stockman’s rocket-launching arms. Baxter is first shocked, but then shrugs it off and says that it's only a momentary nuisance, but then The Shredder leaps in and cuts off one of the mechanoid's legs. With Baxter's exo-suit crippled, Raph, Donnie and Mikey attack with flying kicks and send the scientist flying through the windows and free falling towards the ground far below. As Stockman falls, he cries out, "This is only a minor set back!"

With Stockman apparently defeated, Leo raises his blade towards The Shredder and says, "Let's finish this" The Shredder replies, "I intend to", but before the two enemies can clash, Baxter Stockman returns once again!!!! The exo-suited madman crashes through the windows, using his jet packs to float in the air. The scientist brags about his sophisticated cyborg armor, and he then renews his attacks. Donatello tells Leonardo to cut the lines leading to the mechanoid's battery-powered fuel cells. Leonardo makes his attack and is successful in cutting the cables, causing the Baxter's suit to short out and he collapses. However, the genius doctor is only incapacitated for a moment, when he rises again, causing Leonardo to wonder what they need to do to defeat the villain - Ironically, The Shredder states that he's been wondering the same thing.

Baxter once again begins to brag about his exo-suit's intelligent, self-sufficient design. Apparently, every component of the cyborg-armor has it's own back up power source, thus it can still operate even when it's main power supply has been severed. Donatello then smiles and walks towards the arm that Leonardo severed from the suit. The brainy mutant looks at Baxter and says, "So, what you're saying is, this arm should still be fully functional. Right?". Stockman mumbles "Oh no" and tries to escape. Donnie aims the rocket-launching arm and fires it at Baxter, sending him flying through the windows yet again. This time, the mechanoid does not fall - This time it's propelled by the jet packs high into the sky, where it explodes (along with Stockman, seemingly).

With Baxter apparently finished, The Shredder attacks the turtles. The villain leaps into the air and prepares to deliver a killing blow to Michelangelo, but at the last second, Splinter jumps between the two and kicks his son to safety. Shredder then kicks Master Splinter, knocking the sensei through the window, where he begins to fall towards certain death! Putting any concern for his personal safety aside, Leo throws a grappling hook around an exposed pipe and dives after his master. Miraculously, Leo catches Splinter just in time and holds on as the grappling rope goes taut. The momentum of the fall carries the pair down to the helipad just below the Foot HQ building rooftop. Leonardo gently leans his quite injured sensei against a wall. Splinter tells Leonardo to protect his brothers, defeat The Shredder, and leave Splinter in the state that he's in, but the turtle is reluctant to leave his master be. Splinter tells his son that that he knows he will do a good job leading his brothers. Leo sheds an anguished tear, and then rushes to rejoin his brothers in the continuing battle with The Shredder and the Foot. Leonardo arrives on the rooftop battleground and draws the Sword of Tengu, which sends tendrils of energy into the night sky. Leonardo screams at Shredder to get away from his brothers and he then he fires a bolt of energy out of the blade, which hits the villain, sending him flying into a pond. Shredder crawls out of the water and scrutinizes the blade, knowing that, with it's power, he cannot be defeated.

Shredder summons a force of Foot soldiers riding Razor Jets. April calls in a warning to Donny, but the turtles have already seen the approaching threat. A pair of Guardians have been observing the action, and their leader reports to the Utrom Council Trio. The lead Guardian tells the Council that the turtles have engaged The Shredder in the heart of his lair. The Utrom Council worries that Leonardo may lose the sword to The Shredder, and since they fear what may happen if the villain regains control of the mighty weapon, the Council advises The Guardians to fight alongside the turtles. The Guardians are very pleased to get this order.

A Razor Jet fires on Leonardo, knocking the Sword of Tengu out of his hands. Raphael manages to dislodge a Foot ninja and pilots one of the aircrafts himself, shooting down several of the enemies. Raph is still outnumbered and eventually gets into hot water, but Don fires rockets out of Baxter's severed robotic arm and destroys the flying foes that are chasing his brother. Leonardo then faces off with Shredder, who summons his Elite Guard and the battle escalates further. While Leo is distracted by the Elite, Saki walks over to the Sword of Tengu, but before he can grab the blade, Donatello shoots down another Razor Jet, which crashes into the very spot where the weapon was sitting. The Shredder begins to dig through the rubble for the blade. After a prolonged and difficult fight, the TMNT finally emerge victorious. Leonardo once again tries to face The Shredder, who once again summons more help. An elevator rises out of the ground holding well over a dozen Foot soldiers.

Mikey groans, "Oh, give me a break!" when faced with more enemies. As the tension rises, a large group of Guardians leap into the picture between the TMNT and the Foot. The lead Guardian smiles grimly and offers their assistance to the mutants. Surprised, but relieved, the turtles welcome the help. The tide then turns and the Foot appears ready for defeat, until The Shredder finally manages to dig up the Sword of Tengu. With the magic sword in his possession, The Shredder is a much more powerful foe. The turtles tell the Guardians to deal with the rest of the Foot, while they concentrate on their evil leader. Moving as one, the turtles manage to get in close to The Shredder and attack simultaneously from four sides, raining kicks, punches, sword and sai strikes down upon their nemesis. Leonardo and Raphael finally manage to rip the blade from Shredder's grasp, sending it sailing across the grounds. Donatello tosses Leo the glove needed to wield the Sword of Tengu and the boy in blue leaps to grab both the glove and the blade.

Leo raises the Sword of Tengu and faces off against the Shredder, who has recovered the Turtle's abandoned katanas. The two foes stare one another down and then leap into action. Their figures pass by the moon and we hear the clash of steel. Leonardo and the Shredder both land on their feet, but as Saki stands motionless, we see his head fall from his shoulders! Leonardo has successfully used the Sword of Tengu to deliver a catastrophic blow to his arch enemy. With their leader defeated, the rest of the Foot are quickly defeated by the Guardians. The Guardian leader is amazed and pleased that the Turtles were able to destroy the Shredder. The trench coated warriors bow to their new allies, and depart.

Donatello surveys the scene and determines that they can use the power of the Sword to destroy the systems of technology inside Foot HQ. Donny uses the severed robotic arm as a conduit between the Sword and the building's power supply. Leonardo stabs the blade into the arm, and its awesome power sends bolts of energy into the sky and throughout the entire skyscraper, short circuiting all systems in the Foot's headquarters. The Sword of Tengu explodes under the stress, and fires begin to rage throughout the structure. Police cars and fire trucks begin to arrive, leaving the TMNT no time to celebrate their victory, they need to clear the area. The ninjas go to retrieve Master Splinter, but when they get to the helipad, they find that he has disappeared! The only evidence of Splinter having been there is his walking stick. While the turtles are numb from the shock of Splinter’s disappearance, they know they must leave because of the police and authorities. They jump into a Foot helicopter and fly off, leaving the Splinter mystery to be dealt with later.

In their hasty departure, the Turtles don’t notice the strange movement of the Shredder’s headless body. The figure moves across the rooftop, picks up its helmet and walks out of view through the rooftop flames...

## Quotes

***Leo*:GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHERS, SHREDDER!!!!!**

***The Shredder:*** Ah, the power. I had almost forgotten. The Sword of Tengu! The sword with which I used to burn down villages, brought castles to ground, vanquished armies. The sword I used to conquer Japan and give power to the Tokugawa clan, IT IS MINE ONCE MORE!!!

***Leo* (to Shredder):** I rather fall in battle with honor than serve you!

**Mikey:** (After Stockman falls to his "death") I'm gonna miss that guy...**NOT!**

***Leo*:'***'*(After Stockman comes back to life for the third time) What do we have to do to stop this guy?

'''***The Shredder:*** **I have asked myself that question many times.**

## Trivia

* The Sword of Tengu is destroyed during this episode.
* The third major battle between the Turtles and The Shredder.
* In the live-action movie the Turtles return to New York but Casey found Shredder's lair and saved Splinter while the Turtles battled the Foot in the sewers. In the live-action movie Shredder only had Foot Ninjas which were defeated easily just like Tatsu was when Casey finished him off. Shredder battled the Turtles with a metal staff but in the second movie he never had any weapon at all.
* The end of this episode gives a hint that Shredder is a Ultrom, which is why the Shredder's body went to get the helmet.

## Gallery

* Return to New York, Part 3 (2003 episode)/Gallery

## External Links

* "Return to New York, Part 3" at The Official TMNT Web Site