Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans mourn the death of their favourite hero in a hard shell

Spoiler alert: It was tragic and brutal end - you might want to grab the tissues

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the 2014 movie

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans are mourning the loss of one of their favourite heroes in a hard shell.

*This article includes spoilers*

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Donatello, who was brutally smashed up with a hammer at the hands of Bebop and Rocksteady in the latest issue of the comic. It was a cruel, bloody end indeed.

This all came about when the Ninjas betrayed Shredder, who swiftly enacted sweet revenge, unfortunately effectively. Metalhead tried in vain to save Donnie, known by his purple mask, but the villains were too powerful and all hope was soon lost.

Tom Waltz and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman wrote the story, which ends with Splinter cradling Donnie’s head and calling him his “poor brave son”.

The comic is part of ‘Attack on Technodrome’, the storyline which sees alien Krang battle to terraform the Earth. Whether or not Donnie will make a miraculous return in future issues remains to be seen, but Bebop and Rocksteady had better watch their backs.

Meanwhile, a sequel for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is in the works, with shooting scheduled to begin in Buffalo, New York next month.

A lot of pizza will surely be eaten in tribute to Donnie this evening - it’s what he would have wanted.