Should Tang Shen Be Reincarnated, Too?

[Jester]

So...to keep from totally derailing the History of the Foot thread anymore, what are your thoughts on the possibility of Tang Shen being reincarnated like her husband and sons were.

So far there are to working theories:
1. Alopex is Shen reincarnated, but with no memory of her past life. There is really no basis for this theory, so hopefully it's not gonna happen.
2. Cowabunga Carl actually brings up a thought that Shen is reincarnated in April, which actually makes some sense, making her naming the boys a bit more understandable, and also possibly allowing Yoshi a chance to let go of his need for revenge.

I kinda hope she stays dead. Not every character needs to be reincarnated. It seems lazy, to me.

So....what do you think?

[Lampy]

stays dead.

[Cowabunga Carl]

I think she sort of has to come back. I mean there needs to be some closure and there wont be with her still dead and the rest of her family brought back. I think Yoshi and Saki are stuck in this dance of revenge/anger and Shen is the only one who can break it.

[Lampy]

but if saki and yoshi stop dancing... won't that end the feud too early? if she's going to be reincarnated... how about waaaay later? after idw has squeezed the last drop of juice from the Foot/Hamato lemon. and if she does convince them to stop fighting... all we'll get is teenage mutant turtles... and eventually when they're older... just mutant turtles. where does the ninja aspect fit into this?

[Cowabunga Carl]

No it doesn't stop the dance. It just makes it take a different angle. Instead of being revenge for Tang Shen it becomes a feud over honor. It would also explain why they don't kill Saki and how he could stick around.

[Lampy]

saki has a demented sense of honor. so what splinter would deem as honor may seem like foolishness to saki. it'll be a game of kill and hide. and if they try to thwart the foot's evil schemes (because the turtles want to live a peaceful life but the foot keeps reeking havoc) on new york or worldwide... you'll see the whole teenage mutant hero turtles that everyone loves so much.
splinter already tried living a different life... in a different way to avoid the cycle. so tang shen would make him realize what he knew from the beginning?

[Cowabunga Carl]

He didn't though, he still had hatred in his heart. This is shown by his last statement about being released from the promise he made his wife. Her coming back would be to confront him about it, about how until he learns not to hate he can never truly be free or move on.

[Lampy]

if tang shen came back... then it should be for that reason alone and not to stick around... i just hope they choose another medium of bringing her back to reintroduce this peace in splinter. i don't like the idea of april being a mere host for his dead wife.

[Cowabunga Carl]

But see that is just it, she wouldn't be "just a host" if done right. It would show that she is at peace with her past life and has moved on. That she is no longer trapped by the past and thus can become a new person. Yet it gives a reason why April has motherly tendencies towards the Turtles.

[Lampy]

i don't know man... you have some very valid points... but not digging the idea of tang shen and april being one.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Lampy

i don't know man... you have some very valid points... but not digging the idea of tang shen and april being one.

That's exactly how I feel. I can see it, but I really don't like it.

[Cipher]

I can only see such a development making the story more interesting and the characters' decisions more ambiguous. How would another party react to being implicated in these strange creatures' reincarnation story? What it's someone they know, like April (or at least they think it is)? What do Shredder and Splinter do with this information? I'm all for it.

That is, assuming the reincarnation angle continues to hold up. Any developments to the contrary I also feel would make the story more interesting.

[Cowabunga Carl]

At first I was kind of joking about the whole April thing, but the more I thought about it the more I actually kind of dig it. I mean even if they don't go that route I'd like to see Tang Shen show up again. I really think she is the catalyst that is needed to help Splinter forgo revenge.

[Ninjinister]

*Tang. Like the drink, the Pootie, or the Kaiji.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Prefight Doughnuts

*Tang. Like the drink, the Pootie, or the Kaiji.

There. Fixed.

[CyberCubed]

If Tang Shen is April you guys do realize Splinter will fall in love with April right?

Please no!

[Matches Malone]

I'm not inherently against Tang Shen coming back. As some have noted, she is a virtually an unused character, mostly a means to push the plot along in the turtles' origin. I loved seeing a bit more of her in the Splinter micro.

I do think that reincarnating her as an established character such as Alopex or April would be terribly lazy, though. A twist for twist's sake. You can point out as many parallels as you want to have it "make sense," but it doesn't keep it from being an unnecessary contrivance. Let the characters stand on their own. If Alopex or April aren't interesting enough on their own without doubling as another person for a shock, then those characters are in trouble. And if they are interesting, then it's definitely too much if they are two people. I supposed there's always a way to make it work, but I'm just not fond of the idea at the moment.

Plus, yeah. I don't even want the question of whether April and Splinter should "get back together" to come up.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Matches Malone

I do think that reincarnating her as an established character such as Alopex or April would be terribly lazy, though. A twist for twist's sake.

I concur with this.

[corvus]

Not gonna happen. I'll put money on that. Shen will stay dead. This thread kind of annoys me.

[Allio]

*inb4 aloplex is tangshen*