Stockman returned in the third-season episode "Return of the Fly", beginning a series of episode titles that referenced and homaged those of typical horror B movies. Having been shunted out of phase with our dimension, the invisible, intangible Stockman could still observe the world around him, and spent months searching the sewers as a wraith, eventually locating the Turtles' lair and forming a plan to get revenge on both them and the Shredder at the same time. Realigning his molecules with the rest of reality by allowing himself to be struck by a lightning bolt, Stockman kidnapped April O'Neil in order to lure the Turtles into his trap, but once again, the Shredder was able to smooth-talk the addle-brained fly into teaming up with him again. Unfortunately for Stockman, an accident with a freeze ray foiled his scheme and entombed Baxter in a block of ice. Sent tumbling into the Technodrome, Stockman burst free from his icy prison just as the Shredder and Krang were mocking his ineptitude, and flew out of the base in a rage.