Repo Mantis (Episode)

### Air date

September 20, 2018 (Nickelodeon)September 18, 2018 (Nicktoons) July 20, 2018 (online)

### Director

Jamie Vickers

**"Repo Mantis"** is the sixth episode (Episode 4A) of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It first aired on September 18th, 2018.

## Characters

* Donatello (Josh Brener)
* Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)
* Repo Mantis (Fred Tatasciore)
* Todd Capybara (Thurop Van Orman)

## Plot

Donnie and Mikey are going through a car trunk in a junkyard when they are accidentally sent falling down a stack of wrecked cars. When they land, they see that the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy is being towed into the yard, and Donnie is instantly fixated upon getting it.

As they try to figure out how to get the car for themselves, they encounter Repo Mantis, a mutant praying-mantis who owns the salvage yard before his mutation. They attempt to "play it smooth" as Donnie attempts to cut a deal, but they don't have enough money. Repo Mantis offers them a deal; if they do some repo work for him, he'll let the brothers have the Moon Buggy. Donnie is dubious about Mikey's ability to be sufficiently mean as a repo man, but Mikey insists he can do it, and they accept the assignment.

Their assignment is to reclaim an RV from a powerful, shady mutant who lives deep in the forest of Long Island. Donnie and Mikey hitch-hike there easily, but Donnie is still concerned that their target might be the "Spine-Breaking Bandit", and the two are frightened when the mysterious mutant ends up behind them. However, he turns out to be the genial Todd Capybara, who lives in the forest and runs Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue.

After Todd offers the two brothers some lemonade, Mikey is won over by the puppies and finds it difficult to be "hard as nails". Even Donnie is soon finding it difficult to resist Todd's niceness, and they end up staying the night, and clearing the yard of puppy poop. It seems that the main reason the RV has not been repossessed is not because Todd is some kind of Spine-Breaking-Bandit, but because nobody has the heart to take it away, with Todd's mutant superpower apparently being sheer Niceness. Donnie remains calm and points out that puppies or no puppies, Todd is two years overdue on his RV payments. Legally, the RV just doesn't belong to him. Rain begins falling as Todd concedes defeat, while describing the impending homelessness of himself and the puppies, and when Mikey bursts into tears, Donnie gives up and suggests that they build Todd and the puppies a new home, and *then* they will take the RV.

The next morning, Donnie and Mikey get to work, and over the next few days, they construct a new home for the puppies and Todd, who are overjoyed. They finally take the RV back to Repo Mantis' yard, only for the mutant mantis to declare that he isn't gonna give the Moon Buggy to the Turtles. Instead, he's decided that it's more profitable to keep it as an attraction for Jupiter Jim nerds who wish to sit in it.

When Repo Mantis attacks Donnie, Mikey uses an electromagnet from one of the construction vehicles to temporarily trap the villain. They hop into the Moon Buggy and drive it out of the lot, but Repo Mantis is in hot pursuit in his tow truck. Mikey tries to use some of the Moon Buggy's advanced weaponry without success, only to remember that it has a fake dashboard. The real dashboard allows them to access the "turbo mode" and move at great speed, as well as aid from an oil slick and finally a bug zapper. Repo Mantis is finally defeated as Mikey and Donnie drive away. Outside the city, Todd and his puppies watch the two brothers from a distance.

## Trivia

* + This episode, along with four other episodes, were posted early on July 20th, 2018 as a sneak preview on Nick.com.
		- This episode first aired on Nicktoons on September 18th, and then it aired two days later on September 20th on Nickelodeon.
	+ This is the first episode in the series where all four Turtles don't appear; in this case, Leo and Raph did not make an on-screen appearance, however they were both mentioned by Donnie.
	+ Two of Todd's puppies resemble *Rise of the TMNT* co-executive producers Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, often appearing on-screen near on another.
	+ When Mikey and Donnie first arrived at the Long Island Forest, a boy in a yellow raincoat and a chubby person with whiskers were briefly seen standing at the bus stop. This is reference to the popular Studio Ghibli movie, *My Neighbor Totoro*.
		- Another reference of Studio Ghibli is seen when Mikey is holding a puppy while holding an orange umbrella with holes on it. This is a reference to *Grave of the Fireflies*, another popular Studio Ghibli movie. Both *Grave and the Fireflies* and *My Neighbor Totoro* were originally released in Japanese movie theaters as a double feature.
	+ The Turtles receive the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy in this episode, which would later become the Turtle Tank.
	+ The events of this episode supposedly occur simultaneously with "Hypno! Part Deux!", for there were puppies in the background when Donnie received April's phone call in said episode.
	+ Mrs. Nubbins from "One Man's Junk" pre-mutation form (a yellow kitten) makes an appearance in the scene Mikey and Donnie are hiding behind a car.
	+ The full text on the repossession order for the recreational vehicle:

```
**RV CAMPER   $20,000**

REG. OWNER:  TODD CAPYBARA
             CUDDLE CAKES PUPPY RESCUE
             702 SHADY LN. LOT 2279
             LONG ISLAND WOODS, NY 80017

DELINQUENT PAYMENTS:  RV CAMPER 74' TAN/WOOD PANEL
5 MONTHS
REQUIRES IMMEDIATE RECOVERY

TIE LINE 1298 NTT COMMUNICATIONS REF: PER/MAS/U232

```

* It was revealed in August 2020 by *Rise of the TMNT* writer Ron Corcillo in a Tweet that, "Repo Mantis and Hypno Part Deux were supposed to take place at the same time. They were the first eps that didn't use all 4 turtles: Raph and Leo were on one adventure while Donnie and Mikey had another. There was even a crossover Mikey-Raph phone call, but it was cut for time.".
* Donnie has been confirmed as being on the Autistic Spectrum. In this episode his sudden fixation on acquiring the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy no matter the lengths, resembles an attack of Hyperfocus, common in Autistics.
	+ Donnie will go on to have another, far more severe attack of Hyperfocus in "The Purple Game".

* Mikey tells Donnie "Think of all the awesome adventures we could have in the Moon Buggy!" This is probably what inspired Donnie to go on to rebuild this 'collectors item' into the Turtle Tank as a personalised gift for the whole family.

## Errors

* When Mikey and Donnie first notice the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy through a car's rear view mirror, the truck towing the buggy has the "Repo Mantis Salvage" logo shown unmirrored. If viewed reflected through one mirror, the text should have appeared mirrored.
* The ZIP Code for Todd's Long Island address is 80017, but addresses with this ZIP Code are actually located in Aurora, Colorado.