I had something I was going to talk about in the blog, but as I was making the page it completely left my mind. After nearly 20 years you’d think I’d lear to make a note of such things, yet here we are.
Oh, I remember now. I watched TMNT Mutant Mayhem. A lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans really hated it. It was a big talking point for a while when it came out. I don’t know how it did, but I thought it was fun. It’s certainly not my preferred TMNT universe, but it had a lot going for it. The art style is ugly as sin, and in some ways it kind of works, but in some ways it super doesn’t. Paranorman had a similar kind of look and the same kind of problem. On some characters it was tolerable but with others it tended to break kayfabe. Of the two I think Paranorman stuck the landing better. The actual voice acting was pretty solid though. Even though I didn’t love this version of Splinter Jackie Chan really sold me on him as the film progressed. The turts worked as actual teens as did April. I’m not a huge fan of race swapping legacy characters, but if you set that aside she worked in the story, and gave a really sincere performance. TMNT has been a lot of things over the years and being an action comedy isn’t new. It’s odd what the producers thought was worth keeping and what wasn’t though. Like, if you’re going to toss out huge chunks of established franchise lore then why not just make a new human teen? I guess it speaks to how little April is valued. Her function can be assumed by any kind of person because she’s just a selection of story functions to some people. Obviously the turts and Splinter are the bedrock of the concept. Since the Foot Clan weren’t present in the film it kind of speaks to how they aren’t really all that important as a concept either. In Mutant Mayhem the real villain was prejudice. Which, is also basically the same as Paranorman. Even Bebop and Rocksteady weren’t really villains. They were just misguided in this version of things. I guess it comes down to what actually matters in a franchise. What is the core that can’t be changed in order for it to remain Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It seems like the title is the only thing you can’t mess with. There has to be at least 2 teenage mutant turtles who are also ninjas. Everything else is something you can pick and choose.

Anyway, I sat here typing too long and now the page isn’t up on time. I hope you have a nice weekend. Stay safe out there on the mean streets. Please peruse the support links if you are in a place where you can help me keep the ship sailing. I will return on Monday with more low stakes romantic adventures for you to argue about in the comments. Until then, cowabunga dudes.

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Cowabunga my dude

The natural chemistry between Alex and John is still so amazing. It’s so good to see them talking again.
I’m trying to remember when John last spoke to Everina.

I’d say as long as there’s at least two, they meet the qualifications. I’ve noticed the “Last Ronin” bound graphic novels in my store, so he doesn’t qualify for the plural title any more.

The phrase “hetero lifemate” seldom fails to make me smile. Though I thought it only applied to same-sex pairings, sort of a “no homo” thing.

I haven’t seen Mutant Mayhem but I did enjoy Paranorman. Back in the 1980’s there was a fellow who lived down the hall from me in my college dorm. He was one of the first hardcore comic collectors I ever knew. He was into the Turtles and Cerebus the Aardvark, so I remember the Turtles from their origins. I watched the first cartoon and have seen several of the movies. I get the point that April is a bit of an NPC. I understand the need to come up with new story lines but it is a real turnoff for me when directors change up long established characters. If you want to say something new, come up with a new character.

as a quick reminder, April wasnt white in the original Mirage comics. there have been folks who argue that “O’Neil” is Irish, therefore she has to be white, Like Deunan of Appleseed her heritage is implied that she’s Mixed (Black, White and Hispanic) despite never seeing her parents. (Deunan appears caucasion, but is a Mix of White, Egyptian, Asian, and Russian, Masamune Shirow even commented that many Japanese readers were angry when it was revealed that Deunan wasnt Japanese, one reason Kusunagi of GITS was)

Sounds like cope. At least with Baxter Stockman he actually managed to make him look black. Although the art is such trash in the mirage comics no one looks like any particular race most of the time.

lets not discuss the obvious implications of a slightly deranged robotics genius who is black in the source material being transformed into a white, rat-obsessed robotics genius who is forcibly mutated (and essentially enslaved by the lead villains) not one of Peter’s better ideas.
though, personally, i would have loved to have seen the Triceratons in the original cartoon, i thought they were a better villain than the Utroms. (and not just cuz a friend of mine played an ultra-tiny one running around in a humanoid robot like it was a giant robot)

and since even i feel that i needed to double-check a few things.
Peter Laird – April is white
Kevin Eastman – April is modeled and named after my then GF/Wife April who is mixed race…
80’s/90’s cartoon and Movies- Peter Lairds work, Keven had his name taken off and wanted nothing to do with that iteration of the turtles. dont even get him started on the live action and Venus.
as i understand it, Kevin’s share of the TMNT franchise was bought out by Peter, but he still gets creation credits. if i recall correctly, Kevin then invested in (and later bought out) Heavy Metal Magazine.
Strangely enough, the original TMNT movie is a blend of the original comic (Mirage) and the kid-friendly cartoon (In the comic, it is not Oroku Saki who is Hamato Yoshi’s rival but his elder brother. Yoshi beats him to death, however, when he catches him trying to rape his lover, the two flee, but are eventually hunted down and killed. Splinter is just an extraordinary rat who learned ninjitsu watching his master)
the Mirage comic was QUITE bloody in places (they even, LITERALLY, Gutted the Shredder in the first issue, he eventually dies via grenade)

So, what did you think of the Rise of the TMNT, the series (2 seasons) + movies before Mutant Mayhem? It was what first introduced the turtles as different types of turtles.

Looked dumb, didnt watch it.

Did you watch 2012 Tmnt or Mutant Mayhem and its tv series adaptation? Both are way better than the Michael Bay movies.

As I said in the above post, I watched Mutant Mayhem. I did not watch the series based on it. If I remember the years correctly I watched all but the final few episodes of the 2012 series on Nickelodeon. I seem to recall it having some kind of resolution and then continuing with unnecessary material I never got around to seeing. I have seen both Bay movies and actually think they are watchable even though they aren’t my preferred turt universe.

2937 Agent Of Mild Chaos.

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