BRIEF STORYLINE: Krang recruits some local criminals to drill for anti-freeze, to melt the ice the Technodrome is lodged in, in the Artic. Meanwhile, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady are sent to the Louisiana swamps to search for a pool of mutagen dumped in the past, and extract it with a device called the Mutagen Shooter, which will be used against the turtles.
Napoleon Bonafrog sees this and contacts the turtles. He is then accidentally blasted by the Mutagen Shooter by Rocksteady's clumsiness, and he becomes bigger in size, and changes into a grumpy hulk of a frog. Shredder captures him, and he becomes their latest addition.
They go to the New York sewers, and they lead Napoleon to the turtles lair. However, the mutagen wears off Napoleon, and he becomes his calm, more intelligent self. Shredder has no time for this, and zaps him again, becoming the hulk yet again. Shredder instructs the big Napoleon to attack the turtles, but he runs away with no desire to.
Meanwhile, New York gangster Big Louie discovers the diamond retrieved for his delivery of the Anti Freeze to Shredder and Krang, called the Star of Hoboken, is fake and made of glass. Louie is now angry and drives all over town looking for Shredder. He bumps into the normal-sized Napoleon, who he did meet before, and holds him for ransom.
Big Louie is back at his hideout, and is followed by Shredder and the turtles. However, Napoleon is back to his mutated state, and is furious, refusing to be Shredder's slave. Shredder simply zaps him with the Mutagen Shooter, and he is his loyal servant yet again. Having luck on his side, Shredder also takes Donatello prisoner, and takes him back to his secret hideout.
Shredder is forcing Donatello to fix the Mutagen Shooter or heat-seeking missiles will be unleashed onto the turtles? Will this be the end, or another stupid mistake by Shredder? Will Napoleon Bonafrog ever return to his normal size for good?
TMNT REVIEW HQ COMMENTS: A sub-standard episode, but a welcome return for the Punk Frogs. What we really see in this episode is sort of like the unstable mutations the turtles develop in the "red sky" seasons(1994-1996), One minute we see Napoleon Bonafrog as a hulk, then the next, as his normal self.
Anyway, the start of the episode is ok, and if it wasn't for the title of the episode, the appearance of Napoleon on the Turtle Comm would've been a surprise. What else we see as the start is Krang's funny way of greeting gangster Big Louie on the large Technodrome screen with "your my kind of slimeball!". What does stand out in this episode is that Bebop and Rocksteady do not wear their normal gear, but in sunspecs, shorts and Hawaii shirts for the trip to the Florida swamps, and wear this for the rest of the episode.
The action scene where Napoleon gets hit by the mutagen and mutates into that hulk, is slightly dissappointing, with half-lame editing. It's funny how Shredder proves he has a mutant of great strength to Krang, by telling Napoleon to juggle Bebop and Rocksteady. The next major action scene is in the sewers, where the now normal-sized Napoleon shouts and warns the turtles of Shredder's Mutagen Shooter from round the corner, which gives much-needed drama and excitement.
When Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady hijack the taxi, it's sharply edited which is a welcome change, and this leads to a quite exhilarating car chase, as Big Louie's gang and the turtles are on their backs, leading to Big Louie getting a hold of Napoleon. It's quite funny when Napoleon starts to mutate in the "colossus" again, and Big Louie worries about his discomfort, as to not be sick over his seats in the very 1930s-style car.
Other impressionable scenes that stand out is Shredder boasting he has captured the "brainy one" of the turtles (Donatello), who he orders to fix his Mutagen Shooter gun. The final action scene involving the heat-seeking missiles is nicely done, and at least they have remembered the turtles are cold-blooded reptiles, so they are useless. This leads to an entertaining ending where Napoleon is given a bug pizza, but complains there are no flies, and just when you think everything was OK, he becomes the hulk again. Raphael groans "Here we go again", which i could say myself, as this episode isn't really a stand-out one at all.
"NAPOLEON BONAFROG: COLOSSUS OF THE SWAMPS" GETS A: 2/5 RATING.
