[Andrew NDB]

The Modeen trilogy:

Movie #1: Begin with Splinter telling a story. In Feudal Japan, the Foot Clan doing their thing, assassinating people for hire, quick cuts over the centuries. Establish the Shredder as a mantle that is held and feared. Closer to the present, the Hamato Yoshi/Tang Shen/Oroku Nagi incident. Yoshi kills Nagi, Shen and Yoshi have to go into exile in the US (meanwhile, quick cuts of a rage-filled Oroku Saki training, vowing revenge). Yoshi returns home one day in the US to find Shen's body carved up, then gets stabbed by Oroku Saki, but is otherwise allowed to leave. Stumbling out, he finds his pet rat scurrying about. He picks it up and stumbles into the street for help, dying... but as he sees a boy with 4 turtles in a bowl about to get hit by a truck, he lunges forward with what is left of his ninja reflexes, shoving the boy aside while the truck smashes into him (the bowl is dropped, shatters near a storm drain). A container bounces out of the truck and smashes near the turtles on the ground, also splashing the rat Yoshi still clutches in his hand. The turtles scurry into the storm drain, and the confused rat does the same (the idea being, some of Yoshi's consciousness is transferred to the rat). Quick shots of the Turtles growing up and their ninja training regimen (think, Bruce with Ra's in Batman Begins), Splinter beating the crap out of them if they seem soft. They have to earn their bandannas, and each one gets a different color (blue, red, orange, purple). Rein it all back in with Splinter's story coming back to the present, with the Turtles being raised to one day kill Oroku Saki and avenge Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen. Play to the circle of vengeance theme. Different scenes at different times: * Raphael meeting Casey. * April O'Neil being rescued by the Turtles. * Glimpses of Utroms in disguise, masquerading as people. Glimpses of Saki, running his criminal empire in New York (maybe also being annoyed at having to report to Karai in Japan). Baxter Stockman is shown to be in his employ, and a warehouse full of mousers can be teased. Splinter warns the Turtles that they're not ready, but the Turtles get cocky and issue their challenge to Saki, who accepts. Rooftop duel, but the Turtles get their asses kicked by a gauntlet of Foot, Shredder Elite, and Shredder himself who slices and pounds Leonardo into a coma. With the aid of April and Casey, they go and retreat to Northampton. Regathering their resolve after a spiritual journey on behalf of Splinter (perhaps a conversation with the Great Turtle, over a campfire), they return to New York and invade Shredder's Hudson Block complex. From here, pretty much exactly like "Return to New York," except Casey is along for the ride and Saki isn't a worm clone. The Turtles are cut to ribbons and Leonardo fails in his (sword) duel with Oroku Saki (who takes off his armor to fight mano-e-mano). He is nearly killed by Shredder's blade when Raphael dives in, grabs Leo's sword to block Shredder's blow, stabs him in the gut with a sai and beheads him with Leo's katana. Hudson Block is turned to rubble, the body is burned (with Splinter in attendance) and the circle of vengeance is complete... for now. You knew it was coming: at the end, the other Turtles, impressed with Raphael's tenacity in the face of certain death, lose their other bandanna colors and all adopt red.