The Gumbus (Episode)

**"The Gumbus"** is the fifteenth episode (Episode 9A) of *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*. It first aired on October 13th, 2018.

## Plot

The episode begins with Mikey watching his favorite can-stacking channel, StockBOii, online. He freaks out and explains everything and shows one of his videos to Leo and April, who check on the scared box turtle. April decides to go investigate the haunted Stock n' Stop supermarket, all out of the action, while Leo simply wants to go to prove that there is no such thing as ghosts.

They arrived at the Stock n' Shop through the vents. Leo asks why Mikey has a vacuum cleaner with him, in which Mikey says that he can suck up the ghost. While the group explores the area, a mop hits Leo, They suddenly realize it was Baxter Stockboy. Leo was shocked and asked what was the big deal. Baxter apologizes and thought that he was the Gumbus and was surprised that he saw the giant turtles. April asks him about the ghost, in which Baxter explains the story.

He said it happened in this shop in 1987, and explained that the Gumbus was originally named Jeremiah Gumbus. He got crunched by the chains after he was in the milking plant. Now as a scary ghost, he lurks in the night through the aisle. Before he can tell them how they can stop the Gumbus, ghostly chains dragged him into the darkness.

Leo stated that it was a prank and said that he’s behind the cans. Suddenly, when he knocked the cans down, he saw that there was nothing here but light blue smoke and Baxter’s glasses.

They heard a noise and saw that it was coming from a turkey which is alive. BAxter explained that his soul is trapped inside it/ April could smash him out of it but he warns her that it will destroy his soul. The way to appeal to the Gumbus is that they have to build the Liberty stack.

Determined, April, Leo and Mikey started to head over to the bread aisle only to be attacked by flying bread. Mikey begins to tell the others to cover him while he builds it. After he had completed the Liberty stack, the objects stopped moving.  April congratulated Mikey that he appeased the Gumbus. Proud of himself, Mikey said that he is the best.

Suddenly, the flashlight went out and everything went pitch black. Leo tells Mikey to use his flashlight but then, they see something behind him. Mikey turns around and screams, seeing that the Gumbus is real!

The monstrous ghost started to chase after the two turtles and girl, using its telekinesis and blocking obstacles around their path. During the chase, April became seperated from Leo and Mikey.

Mikey began to use the vacuum to suck the ghost away until it was revealed that it was a blue sheet that was covering a robot. The robot overpowers them but luckily April sliced the chains that was holding the robot and it crashed into the ground.

It turns out, the robot is controlled by Baxter who hasn’t gotten his soul taken. Leo saw a  phone and realized that he was recording everything. The boy explained that some people never subscribed to his videos and donated the money.

The boy was about to get revenge on them until his parents came into the store. April and the two turtles begin to retreat in the vents while Baxter is being comforted by his parents.

## Characters

* April O'Neil (Kat Graham)
* Baxter Stockboy (Ramone Hamilton)
* Leonardo (Ben Schwartz)
* Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)

## Trivia

* Mikey trying to suck up the Gumbus with a vacuum cleaner is a reference to *Ghostbusters*.
	+ This could also be a reference to *Luigi's Mansion*, as Luigi uses the modified vacuum cleaner, the Poltergust 3000, to suck up the ghosts that haunt the mansion.
* Baxter says the story of the Gumbus began in 1987, the year when the original cartoon series premiered.
* During the episode, Leo says "h'uhhhh boy", which was one of Randy Cunningham's catchphrase in *Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja*; both characters are voiced by Ben Schwartz. In a 2021 Twitter post regarding *Sonic the Hedgehog 2*, Schwartz said he often adds that line into his roles as a reference to the series, indirectly confirming the nod as deliberate.
* When Baxter first sees Mikey and Leo, the former says "[they are] not into labels", which is similar to what he told to Rebecca Vincent in *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows*.
* Leo and Mikey using food as weapons is similar to the opening action sequence in *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze*.
* This is the third episode (and also second in a row) in the series where all four Turtles do not appear; in this case, Donnie and Raph did not make an on-screen appearance, nor were they mentioned.

## Quotes

* **Mrs. Stockboy**: Baxter, are you in there? You were supposed to be home an hour ago! What happened to the store?!
* **Baxter Stockboy**: Oh, no, guys! It's my parents! *[frowns as Leo, Mikey and April escape through an air vent on the ceiling]*
* **Leo**: Tell us if you got grounded in your next video, OK?