Your favourite mutant?

[Icegaze]

The IDW comics has graced us readers with many interesting characters to relate to and cherish in this re-imagined plot of the TMNT.
After over 40 volumes strong, which are your 3 favourite mutants out of the 15 selected in this poll?

Kindly explain why you fancy them and what you think/hope is in store for their character in the near future.

[Powder]

Pete. He's the best. Every time he shows up I laugh my ass off, & I really like his design.

[Icegaze]

My personal favourites are:

1. Leo - All time favourite comic book character (not including manga). He has a lot of qualities that I wish I had or developed more. Diligent, thorough and wise beyond his years. Also it helps that he wields my favourite weapon alongside the twin kama.

2. Splinter - I am a sucker for the wise old master types (i.e. uncle Iroh of Avatar). I am also happy to see him participate more in the action just like the 2k3 series version of him.

3. Alopex - Her micro series sold me. Ross Campbell did an excellent job at portraying her inner conflict. I view her as a genuine wild card in the roster of protagonists, a bit like Old Hob. I wish her character design were more consistent though. Ross Campbell and Cory Smith's renditions are great. Her original more bestial look wasn't that appealing. And Santolouco's new design of her (she looks like a pup now) does not do her justice.

[mrmaczaps]

I love Mikey but so far his characterization has left me wanting so I voted for Slash. Misguided and none to smark and now, he's fighting the good fight.

[snake]

Not gonna list the main good guys, but in order,

1- B&R- The best way to do these characters. They're funny and unstoppable at the same time.

2- Bludgeon- He's a shark mutant! Armaggon without time travel!

3- Pete- Just because of how unexpected he was. He's hilarious and I can't wait for him to get more of the spotlight in MM. How great would it be if he was the getaway driver type in the miniseries? Helping Hob and his gang out of situations.

[Redeemer]

Originally Posted by Icegaze

My personal favourites are:

1. Leo - All time favourite comic book character (not including manga). He has a lot of qualities that I wish I had or developed more. Diligent, thorough and wise beyond his years. Also it helps that he wields my favourite weapon alongside the twin kama.

Same here Leo is my favorite, but the turtles are such obvious choices. But my next choice hands down would be Old Hob. He is such a awesome character and his character design is really awesome. His micro though is the most depressing issue of the series

[Icegaze]

I am surprised to see how much more popular Slash is compared to the other mutants. Didn't expect our snapping turtle friend to take the lead so soon. This is the ranking I expect to see after a few months of this poll based on what I read from forum opinions here:

1. Alopex
2. Raph
3. Leo
4. Old Hob
5. Donnie
6. Bebop
-. Rocksteady
8. Slash
9. Splinter
10. Mikey
11. Mondo
12. Herman
13. Bludgeon
14. Koya
15. Pete

Edit:

Originally Posted by snake

Not gonna list the main good guys, but in order,

1- B&R- The best way to do these characters. They're funny and unstoppable at the same time.

2- Bludgeon- He's a shark mutant! Armaggon without time travel!

3- Pete- Just because of how unexpected he was. He's hilarious and I can't wait for him to get more of the spotlight in MM. How great would it be if he was the getaway driver type in the miniseries? Helping Hob and his gang out of situations.

Bros, at the time I am typing this, Bludgeon still has zero votes on the poll. How do you explain that?! Hahaha

[Toitlefan]

1- Old Hob: I love the ambiguity of his character. He reminds me of Magneto and that is awesome

2- Leonardo: I'm usually a Mikey fan but Leonardo takes the cake in this series. I secretly want him to join Shredder again, maybe with the Rat King as the main influence or some sort of possession.

3- Alopex: I guess I just like the characters torn between two sides. The turmoil with Alopex is interesting and we have seen how vicious and kind-hearted she can be. That and the scene with Raph and Pete at the pigeon coop cracked me up immensely.

[Uki]

I ignored the guys and Splinter, since they're the natural choices to me. Thus, coming in at my fifth thru seventh picks were (in order): Hob, Alopex, and Pete.

[Icegaze]

Originally Posted by Joey Kamikaze

And AFAIK isn't Mikey supposed to be getting some more focus in the next year or so? The early stories were Raph-centric, then we were fairly Leo-heavy through City Fall, and now the Technodrome stuff is focused on Don. Mikey's time will come.

I really hope to see a more relevant Mikey in the near future. I reckon you are right. Raph, Leo and Donnie have all had their moments. Mikey still hasn't. So I expect something more from him in the next arc.

Originally Posted by Uki

I ignored the guys and Splinter, since they're the natural choices to me. Thus, coming in at my fifth thru seventh picks were (in order): Hob, Alopex, and Pete.

The essence of this poll was for people to pick at most their 3 favourite mutants, including the turtles and Splinter. I intentionally added them because I was curious to see if people here were more fond of the other mutants in comparison.
So please, for those who have the same reasoning as Uki, kindly vote for your three (3) favourite mutants (turtles inlclusive) then in your post you can add 3 honorable mentions of mutants who you like as well.

[Usagi Miyamoto]

Going with Bludgeon for the cool design, a unique source mutation, and filling in a great role alongside Koya as extra beef in Shredder's forces. I currently don't expect much to come from him besides pounding nameless mooks or getting pounded by a more relevant character, but watching him in action is good enough and anything more would be pleasantly surprising.

[Joey Kamikaze]

Old Hob! He's the Magneto character I never realized TMNT was missing until he appeared in IDW. I expect he'll continue to be one of this universe's defining traits as the story matures and future iterations of TMNT will probably (hopefully) include him as well. Hob reminds me of Harley Quinn too, in that it's hard to believe he's such a late addition to the mythos given how well he fits into it.

Other than that... I love Slash and Bebop & Rocksteady (who are a package deal as far as I'm concerned). We still don't know much about Koya, Bludgeon, Herman or this version of Mondo; maybe the next couple issues and the Mutanimals mini will change that. Pete's goofy fun and as long as they don't go full Jar-Jar with him I think he'll be fine. Alopex... I'm interested in her connections to Kitsune and Angel but I'd like to see some other mutants get the spotlight with how much we've seen her the first few years.

And AFAIK isn't Mikey supposed to be getting some more focus in the next year or so? The early stories were Raph-centric, then we were fairly Leo-heavy through City Fall, and now the Technodrome stuff is focused on Don. Mikey's time will come.

[Toitlefan]

Originally Posted by Joey Kamikaze

Pete's goofy fun and as long as they don't go full Jar-Jar with him I think he'll be fine.

That is hilarious, NEVER go full Jar-Jar. Haha!

[Joey Kamikaze]

Originally Posted by Toitlefan

That is hilarious, NEVER go full Jar-Jar. Haha!

I've been working on an Episode II fan edit recently so I guess it's on my brain.

[judasghost]

i voted for 4.

old hob started off really weak, but if he ever got his own ongoing (mutanimals is only 4 issues), i'd be all over it.

slash is my boy. especially in IDW.

bebop n' rocksteady; can't have one without the other. this is my all-time favorite bad guy duo in any franchise.

fyi, my all time favorite good guy duo in any franchise is billy & jimmy (sometimes bimmy) lee from Double Dragon. and yes, even their 1990 6-issue Marvel run. i still remember the initial excitement i got out of issue #3 when they had to kick the crap out of each other.

[DrSpengler]

Well, I voted for Koya, but more as a reaction to how neutered Alopex's character was. It seems that whenever a female character is introduced who is a "villain", they inevitably become sympathetic in order to transition them into a love interest for a male "hero". So instead of being "evil", the female character was just "confused" or "didn't know any better" and it took the hero's masculine charms to make them see the error of their ways. It's asinine and patronizing.

Alopex started out as a villain intelligent enough to manipulate the emotions of others (Raph), high enough in the Foot command to kick around Bebop and Rocksteady (when they were human) and become a contender for second in charge, and was vicious and cruel enough to enjoy murdering people and even made games of it. She was drawn to be monstrous like something out of "The Howling" and seemed to be a villain with convictions.

But suddenly, nope, "tragic backstory". She was just confused and now she's made a complete 180 and had a change of heart. And in the process, now she's drawn to be cute and adorable.

Bleh.

Koya seems to be the mutant filling the shoes Alopex left behind. I like her atypical female design, being huge and muscular and intimidating instead of an anorexic hourglass. By all visual evidence she seems to be firm in her convictions as a badguy and hopefully she'll stay that way (unless the writers decide to make her a hero's love interest, then she'll have just been "confused" all this time).

I dunno, of all the new characters she seems to have potential and maybe won't suffer the same indignities as Alopex. We'll see.


I was conflicted a bit for my vote, since I really like how Hob turned around. He was a lousy character when introduced but has grown over the past few years in a truly organic way, learning his racket and becoming a genuinely interesting character. Hob isn't a genius or a superior fighter, but he knows how to coordinate the talent needed to get the results he wants. He's a natural leader and he's actually been PROVING it. The book isn't telling us how underestimated he is anymore, but showing it to us through his actions and I'm really digging it.


Donatello would have been up there, too, if only for the new angle Waltz and Burnow have given him. They toyed around with his rebellious attitude when the book began, sort of let it drift away when the plot got too complicated, but now they've brought it back with a vengeance. It's nice to see something NEW done with a character that feels wholly organic for them and that's definitely exciting.


Bebop and Rocksteady get an honorable mention if only because they're hilarious and great. They're that ideal difference between "comic relief" and "USELESS comic relief". They're stupid and funny, but they're powerful and serve their function. They aren't the useless bumblers who constantly ruin their boss's plans (like the Fred Wolf versions).

[Icegaze]

^
Thank you for your detailed take on your favourite mutants, along with the disappointments.

It is a pity that you feel disillusioned with Alopex's character development. I for one am glad that she seems to be a wild card. Her allegiance is not yet carved in stone. Kitsune's influence is gradually creeping in and might lead to big reveals.

Koya has the potential to be the sort of female villain you are looking for in this comics but she isn't the type of character that I'd consider a favourite of mine. Alopex most definitely is though. Especially since her micro drawn by Ross Campbell.

My major gripe about Alopex's character is the design/artwork inconsistencies. I cannot believe how Santolouco has let her turn into a pup. Her size, facial expressions, they look so infantile. Out of character in the last couple of volumes. Cory Smith in volume 37 does her way more justice. Even Ross Campbell draws her in a less childlike way - despite the fact that his drawings are always cute-ish. Anyway, fingers crossed for Mateus to revert to his City Fall style when he returns.

[DrSpengler]

I'm not averse to villainous character who undergo redemption, per se. It's more that if a character is going to make a sincere change, then they have to be held accountable for their previous behavior.

When a character does something terrible (all of Alopex's murders, including the ones she was shown to enjoy, making a game of them) but they want to make good later on and go for a sincere change, then the writer can't just sweep those terrible actions under the rug and forget about them. It may be more convenient to do so for the writer, but for the consistency of the narrative and the integrity of the character's growth, you can't just IGNORE events that might get in the way of the new direction.

Steve Murphy pulled a similar move with Ninjara in TMNT Adventures. She teamed with a villain bent on mass genocide and was fully on board with his plan. When it came time for her to be Raph's love interest though, Ninjara's attempt to ethnically cleanse the globe was forgotten and never referenced again.

The writer may want the characters to forget that such inconvenient events took place, but the READERS won't, and doing so allows us to see the seams in the story and that breaks things down.

I think there's room enough for villains with conviction and villains that can be swayed; I'm not an all or nothing kind of guy. But if a writer is going to aim for the latter, then they have to take EVERYTHING into account, even the behavior that will most get in the way of that character's redemption.

Leo spent more time atoning for his actions as Dark Leo (where he didn't kill anybody) than Alopex has spent atoning for her time with the Foot (where she killed numerous people for kicks). And there's just something really wrong with that.

[neatoman]

Herman I guess? Just because he looks awesome. The rest... Eh, they're not bad characters, it's just that they're either older characters or a little underdeveloped (apart from Hob and Alopex of course).

[Icegaze]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

I think there's room enough for villains with conviction and villains that can be swayed; I'm not an all or nothing kind of guy. But if a writer is going to aim for the latter, then they have to take EVERYTHING into account, even the behavior that will most get in the way of that character's redemption.

Leo spent more time atoning for his actions as Dark Leo (where he didn't kill anybody) than Alopex has spent atoning for her time with the Foot (where she killed numerous people for kicks). And there's just something really wrong with that.

I don't think we readers can claim just yet that the writers have totally put Alopex's past with the Foot under the rugs. There is still room for development and her actions might catch up with her.

As for atoning, Alopex is not a central protagonist like Leo, so she may be doing all these things behind the scenes. She was all alone in the woods in Northampton, probably in turmoil. Perhaps in the next volumes we may get flashbacks of those moments.

Originally Posted by pingclang

I am gonna do like everyone else and say that outside the turtles, if I had a second pick, it would be Old Hob. He's just turned into such an awesome character.

But you DO have a 2nd pick. And a 3rd one even. I thought my original post was clear enough. I guess not. ^^'