Riddle of The Ancient Aeons

"The Outlaw Armaggon!"

**"Riddle of The Ancient Aeons"** is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series) and the 83rd episode overall of the Series

## Synopsis

The Ninja Turtles find themselves on a planet full of evil.

## Characters

### Major Characters

* Aeons (Kevin Michael Richardson)
* April O'Neil (Mae Whitman)
* Casey Jones (Josh Peck)
* Donatello (Rob Paulsen)
* Zayton Honeycutt (David Tennant)
* Leonardo (Seth Green)
* Michelangelo (Greg Cipes)
* Raphael (Sean Astin)
* Triceratons
	+ Mozar (Michael Dorn)
	+ Zarus (Kevin Michael Richardson, credited as "Triceraton Scientist")
	+ Zovox (Michael Dorn, credited as "Triceraton #1")

## Plot

In orbit over a dark-colored planet called Xaava-Dal, Captain Mozar and his Triceratons prepare to head down to the planet surface as intel indicates the first piece of the Heart of Darkness Black Hole Generator that the Utroms scattered is on that planet. Unknown to Mozar, the *Ulixes* lies in hiding in the nearby asteroids, and using the ship's smaller scout craft, the Fugitoid, the Turtles, April, and Casey, descend to Xaava-Dal's surface, also on the search for the first piece of the Heart of Darkness and trying to get it before Mozar does. However, once on Xaava-Dal's surface, the gang are uneasy upon seeing the dark, ominous landscape, as the Fugitoid explains that the planet is home to the Aeons, the oldest alien species in the universe, but due to how things look now, it is apparent that they've all fled the planet.

However, unknown to the gang, Xaava-Dal's dark atmosphere causes tension and hostility among the Turtles and Casey, forcing April and the Fugitoid to try and maintain order. During one scuffle between Raph and Mikey, Mikey's helmet is shattered, but thankfully, the air is breathable, allowing the team to remove their helmets and fight much better against several winged creatures that seem to be hunting them. At one point, when Raph lashes out in anger at Leo, Leo embraces Raph in a hug, bringing him back to his senses, and causing them to realize that the planet is what is making them so temperamental and angry. The winged creatures soon flee when the gang come across a statue from the Aeons, which point them towards their objective in a large temple a short distance away.

Elsewhere, Mozar and his men were forced to land on Xaava-Dal as well in their fighters as the planet is causing interference with their transport system. Later, Mozar is also succumbing to the effects of the planet's negativity, and takes his anger out on his lackeys Zarus and Lt. Zovox as they try to calm him down, until Lt. Zovox gets a fix on the Fugitoid, and they go after him.

It is not long before the gang reach the temple, and after avoiding some of the temple's booby traps, find the first piece of the Heart of Darkness. Unfortunately, before the Turtles can claim it, Mozar and his men arrive, and a battle ensues. In the end, Mozar gets the first piece of the Black Hole Generator, and seals the gang in the temple by blasting the door shut. As the Turtles try to find a way out, April reveals that the pillar the first piece had been resting above also was hiding the Aeons' Sol Star, the object that made their planet so beautiful. Realizing that they need to return it to the top of the temple, the gang do just that. However, they are accosted by the winged creatures again, and while Mozar and his men make their getaway back to their command ship with the first piece, April remains steadfast in saving the Aeons' planet as well as their main mission of saving the Earth. Despite the winged creatures nearly getting the Sol Star at one point, April is able to make it to the top of the temple and place the Sol Star into the indentation there.

The effects are immediate. With the Sol Star returned, the planet is restored to its beautiful state, and the winged creatures are revealed to be the Aeons themselves. The lead Aeon reveals that when the Utroms entrusted them with the piece of the Black Hole Generator, due to how they refused to have any technology on their planet, they treated it like a religious artifact. However, as a result, it caused them to lock their Sol Star away and become corrupted, turning into the winged creatures that had attacked the gang this whole time, but now with their Sol Star restored, the Aeons owe the gang their thanks, and reward April with a piece of their Sol Star, saying that it will bring them luck and great power as well, before they take their leave from the gang.

Back aboard the *Ulixes*, the gang set course after Mozar and the Triceratons to get the first piece of the Heart of Darkness back from them, but are still in amazement and shock at how just one piece of the Black Hole Generator could cause that much damage to aliens like the Aeons. As they ponder over just how powerful things like the Heart of Darkness pieces can affect races like the Aeons, April looks over her gift from the Aeons and smiles.

## Trivia

* The first trap Casey activates when entering the temple is reminiscent of the film *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*, where the first trap when entering the temple where the Holy Grail was were saws coming from the walls and from the ground. One of the local Sultan's men in service to the Nazis met an untimely end due to being caught off-guard by said trap.
* When the lead Aeon offers his thanks to the gang for saving them from their corruption, he poses his fingers in the familiar Vulcan salute from Star Trek lore.
* The word aeon, also spelled eon and æon (in American English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timeless" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word ὁ αἰών (ho aion), from the archaic αἰϝών (aiwon). In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan.
	+ Although the term aeon may be used in reference to a period of a billion years (especially in geology, cosmology or astronomy), its more common usage is for any long, indefinite, period. Aeon can also refer to the four aeons on the Geologic Time Scale that make up the Earth's history.
	+ In the religion of Gnosticism, Aeons were angelic beings created by God, representing various positive concepts like wisdom and happiness: Jesus Christ was believed by Gnostics to have been one of these Aeons as well.
* The Aeons pure form resemble angels, while their corrupted form resemble demons.
* The Aeons have a third shinning eye on their foreheads, in some culures the third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring to a speculative invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight, stablishing the Aeons as enlightened beings.