 I get that many people were heartbroken the day when the birthplace of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Barrage Studios, closed down after many years of dormancy. Following the sale of the Turtles to one of the biggest animation brands in the world, Nickelodeon, Barrage decided to just reduce operations to sell whatever merchandise they had left in the studio, apparently having been collecting it beforehand for display. But do any of you know the reason why Barrage sold the Turtles to begin with? Think about it. You have a worldwide sensation, complete with films, shows and games. You have to juggle all that, plus the fame from it, and then you had to give it away, so not only would you could go back to making comics like you had been doing beforehand, but also to prevent it from deteriorating. But there would be a few repercussions, at least. If the Turtles had a place where they had more recognition than any other brand, Northampton MA, would have to be it. They were everywhere in town. Murals and graffiti would feature them, and everybody knew about them. They were even mentioned on TMNTTV shows. It had become like an idol to the town. The creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, are treated like celebrities. Of course, there had to be flaws in such a beloved franchise. The live-action trilogy was a bit campy, and there are some bad episodes of the many shows in the franchise, if you can name any. Now, if you look through Barrage's history, then connect them with certain points in the franchise, you will get some interesting stuff. The next mutation, and the inclusion of Venus, represents Barrage's expansion in the 90s and the subsequent increase in TMNT popularity. Then there's, Turtles Forever, the first TMNT special to be released under Nick. Since Shredder is bent on destroying the Turtles across the multiverse, it would be logical that he represents the deterioration of the franchise, while Eastman and Laird's cameo in the special refers to the origins of the franchise, while also the duo's desire to return to comic publishing. TMNT 2007's main plotline of the Turtles separation refers to the Marrage team having grown apart since the sale of the franchise, while their reunion refers to the team getting back together to create the Last Ronin. Many of Barrage's characters that were TMNT were later integrated into the franchise, including the Fugitoid. They pretty much got rid of merely all of their library and gave them to Nick, while they sank into dormancy, and, eventually, dissolution. So, what happened? Why did Barrage kamikaze itself by giving away all of its characters in a single sale? Well, if you notice the tenants, Barrage had been in three or four of them across the 25 years it was operating, at least after the expansion. The only way you could tell if Barrage was in there is if they had their corporate logo somewhere on it. One of the more noticeable offices was a white, three-story building in the middle of town that housed an AT&T store. Another noticeable thing was that there were turtle gargoyles on the building. In between the release of TMNT 2007 and the sale of the franchise, there have been a few claims of strange events happening around buildings where Barrage used to be housed. In October 2007, several months after the release of the movie, people reported seeing one of the turtle gargoyles with glowing eyes, either having turned its or went in a different pose. Some people even claim they saw it was missing from its pedestal. There have been numerous sightings of a figure, who first appeared at the Roundhouse Plaza, another Barrage tenant. It almost looked like the familiar visage of Michelangelo, judging by his orange mask and non-jucks, but according to the reports, he looked very different from what you would expect. The witnesses could not see much due to it being nighttime, and that Mikey was seen in the distance, but from what they could tell, his arms were longer and thinner, his fingers were long sharp claws, and his mouth was open while he was taking a deep breath, revealing sharp teeth that looked like tiger things. No casualties or injuries were reported from that night, since the people claimed he just walked around the Plaza before leaving. Across the span of the two years leading up to the 25th anniversary, and eventually, Nick's purchase of the franchise, multiple other events began sprouting up, all of which were reported near the Barrage offices. They often involved Mikey in some way. There was even an instance where Mikey was spotted near a local pizza hut, one of the turtle's favorite restaurants in the franchise. Then in 2008, Eastman said in an interview, that he saw Mikey in a nightmare he had one night that year, and that's when he got a closer look at the figure. The mask was no longer cloth, but rather piece of flesh, stitched to the space around his eyes, then painted orange. The eyes themselves were completely white, much like in the comics. The mask strings behind him were still flapping like a breeze was blowing them, but they were now strips of skin, also painted orange. There was no visible blood from what Eastman could tell, but the sight of the mask alone was enough to make him gag. Mikey's tiger things were drooling, but he had no urge to eat the man, his creator, let alone slash him with his claws. Spikes were on his neck and torso, some even having been merged with his shell. Eastman stated that Mikey told him that he and the other turtles have become too powerful for him to handle, and that he must give them off to someone else. He stated that Nickelodeon is the perfect candidate for the job, since Jettics was merged into Disney XD, see Unreal is taking over most of the Cartoon Network schedule, and for kids was already too notorious for its own dubs, that it can't afford to buy another franchise. When Eastman asked Mikey what would happen to him, he replied by saying that his career in the industry would be untouched. He would continue to produce comics and shows for everyone to enjoy. Of course, Eastman did exactly what Mikey told him about. He sold the TMNT franchise to Nickelodeon, and he and the Mirage crew went their separate ways. After all, it is a phenomenon that cannot be undone through dumbass executives weaving their way into its business or other reasons. However, there is something I cannot understand regarding what Mikey said about continuing to produce comics and shows. If he can get his hands on a copy of The Last Ronin, then maybe he and Eastman can negotiate a deal with Nickelodeon to revive the Mirage Studios brand. After all, they did make a new comic series called, Reborn. Didn't they?