Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teases Powered-Up Casey Jones, But At What Cost? (Exclusive)

When IDW Publishing first revealed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Casey Jones spinoff series, they teased he would be getting a major new villain, though I still don’t think we were prepared for Ludovic’s first appearance. Since then, we’ve seen exactly what he’s capable of in a battle that almost killed Casey, but he’s not on his deathbed any longer in Casey Jones #4. In fact, he might have gotten a power-up, but the question is at what cost, and you get an idea of what’s at stake in our exclusive preview.

In our exclusive preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Casey Jones #4, we not only get more background on Ludovic, but we also get our first glimpse at a very alive Casey Jones, who is feeling better than ever. If you recall, he swiped Ludovic’s vial of Nostrum and drank it, not knowing how it would affect him. As we see in the preview, Casey seems to have gotten a nice power-up, but we all know it will come with a cost. The question is, what is that cost?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Casey Jones Might Have Created Casey’s Arch Nemesis

The other aspect of the preview is showing more of Ludovic’s formative years and the early dynamic he had with Marlin. Being the last subject to survive the process, Marlin would read stories to Ludovic and sit with him, and you can start to see how, despite being so reliant on Nostrum and how Marlin weaponizes that, Ludovic would continue to be so loyal to him.

After their earlier battle with Ludovic, we are likely headed to another showdown between Casey and Ludovic, and Raphael is also looking for some payback. Ludovic wants nothing more than to be rid of mutants and fully accepted by humanity, while Casey is a great defender of all mutants. It’s an interesting juxtaposition between the two, and this could truly be the creation of Casey’s greatest villain at the end of it.

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Casey Jones #4 is written by Alex Paknadel with art by Amancay Nahuelpan, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, and lettering by Darran Robinson. You can check out the official description for Casey Jones #4 below.

“All Ludovic has ever wanted is to be a real human… instead he is cursed to a life of having what little humanity Nostrum has granted him constantly torn away. Meanwhile, Casey Jones doesn’t appreciate his humanity and spends the majority of his time around mutants when he could easily live happily among humans. Casey effortlessly has everything Ludovic wants, and he hates him for it. Not only will Ludovic not let Casey get in the way of the Lodge’s plans, but his disdain will fuel a brutal fight that even Casey Jones might not be able to walk away from…”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Casey Jones #4 hits comic stores on January 28, 2026.

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