Favorite Iteration(s) of the TMNT

[MrAustin]

Throughout the early stages of the pandemic, the Ninja Turtles arguably kept me (relatively) sane; I had always tangentially been a fan, but after starting the IDW series -and with nothing else in particular to do- I decided to try and experience everything: To my knowledge, I have watched every movie/special/series and read (at least most of) the Mirage/IDW/Image/Archie runs.

Overall, I adore the series, and even the lowest points have redeemable bits of joy in my mind. I've been thinking, what would your top three (or however many) iterations/interpretations of the Turtles be and why?

Mine:

3.) 2003 Animated Series: The mood and action is equalled by the long-form narrative.

2.) 2012 Animated Series: Just infinite joy and warmth.

1.) IDW Comics: Weaves every bit of the mythology together for something all encompassing and perfect.

[Shark_Blade]

1) 2012 - Catchy tunes, revolutionary weapons upgrade and fight sequences. Some flaws like Mikey being annoying, disconnected stories between episodes due to different writers etc but overall it’s great

2) OT - watched the first season and was hooked, it’s like a full movie in itself. The quality goes down in Season 2 that’s why I didn’t bother checking the rest

3) TMNT first movie

4) IDW - Excellent characters and stories

5) 2k3 - I’m still mad only Season 1-3 on iTunes but not the rest smh

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

1) 2012 - Catchy tunes, revolutionary weapons upgrade and fight sequences. Some flaws like Mikey being annoying, disconnected stories between episodes due to different writers etc but overall it’s great

2) OT - watched the first season and was hooked, it’s like a full movie in itself. The quality goes down in Season 2 that’s why I didn’t bother checking the rest

3) TMNT first movie

4) IDW - Excellent characters and stories

5) 2k3 - I’m still mad only Season 1-3 on iTunes but not the rest smh

Wow. This is probably my list as well, but for me I'd swap out the IDW for the Archie books instead. But otherwise, yeah.

[Leo656]

- 1990 Movie. This to me is pretty much as good as we can ever expect any "mainstream" version of TMNT to be. I feel like it did a great job in wedding some of the stronger parts of early Mirage with some of the less-annoying parts of the FW cartoon to create something that fans of both could at least see as a comfortable "middle ground".

- TMNT Adventures (aka "The Archie Comic"). Some bits don't quite hold up but it was the version that kept me a fan during the mid-90s when I was "outgrowing" the original cartoon show. In many ways it felt like a natural "evolution" of the concept while not being totally foreign after watching the cartoon. Looking back on it there's still quite a bit I'm surprised they got away with in a "kids' book"; I can only assume that, like with the Sonic comic, a lot of the more "mature" moments came from the higher-ups simply not paying any attention whatsoever as long as the book sold decent numbers.

- 4Kids TMNT. It seems like this show was too self-serious for some, and too toy-centric for others, but for me it fits right in the "sweet spot" between the two extremes. I still haven't seen everything past Season 4, and have seen the first Season more than the others by far, but every time I do re-watch that first Season I'm always impressed by how solid it is. There's definitely things I would have done differently, but as far as the general overall tone and execution and not the specifics of some of the characters' presentation, this is more or less how I'd want to see TMNT done most always.

- FW TMNT. Yeah, I know. And I know I talk sh*t about that show more than most people here do, probably. But it's still the thing that got me into the Turtles in the first place, and to date it's still the one I've seen the most, thanks to the endless syndicated reruns back when I was a kid. It's definitely not what I think TMNT "should be", and when people glorify it to an extreme degree it annoys me greatly because there is a LOT wrong with it. But I can't fully erase my nostalgia for it, and there are definitely still episodes I enjoy watching, like the very early stuff in particular. I think the first movie is by far more of what the TMNT "should be", I think the Archie comic did a lot more of substance with this version of the characters (or at least SIMILAR versions of the characters, as they went pretty far off-script from the FW versions very early on, but they WERE the same version for the first bunch of issues so I count it, albeit loosely), and I think the 4Kids version is a much better example of a TMNT cartoon. But it would be disingenuous of me not to give credit where it's due on this one. Going back to it now, I definitely groan and roll my eyes a ton. But not always. And without it, I wouldn't give a single sh*t about TMNT in the first place.
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If we don't count video games, this is pretty much it. I haven't liked any other version of TMNT enough to have a very strong positive opinion. Most of them, I in fact have very strong NEGATIVE opinions. But there's some stuff I think is "fine" but doesn't speak much to me on a personal level, like Mirage. While I agree that the best stuff in Mirage is Very Good, on the whole there's still a ton of filler and even flat-out junk, so it doesn't make my personal list. But I'd still rank it far ahead of something like BayTurtles, which I think is downright blasphemous and shouldn't even exist.

[Powder]

1. Mirage/Image. It's the roots, it's for adults, it's got a wide variety of themes & art styles, we owe it everything. It's dark, cynical, introspective, surprisingly deep & poignant for a series rooted in such a ridiculous concept. It manages to seamlessly blend depressing & wacky material at the same time, & I love that balance, which also shares space with high-octane action, & sci-fi of all kinds. Others have had the same formula over the years, but never with the same feeling. Image, in particular, turns so many things on their head, completely subverting your expectations, & delivering the most consistently brutal material shy of Bodycount, as well as a refreshingly multi-dimensional Michelangelo, for once. On a whole, the gritty art styles sell me more than any other version.

2. The 1990 movie. Gets it right. Respects the source material, looks & feels "real", dripping with mood, style, aesthetics, and magic. It's pretty much perfect. Holds up amazingly to this day. Probably the best likeness of the turtles themselves, ever, & I might even say the same for Shredder & The Foot. It's a real time capsule of the era it was made in, yet doesn't really feel dated.

3. The original Playmates toyline. While not a version you can read or watch, we all immersed ourselves in that "universe" when we played. So many incredible designs & vivid colors, & heavy on gross-out body horror. Sure, everyone grew up on the cartoons, games, & comics, but when you think of almost any given character, it's their toy likeness that comes to mind.

4. The original cartoon. I hate that its legacy pretty much destroyed the TMNT's potential & is regarded as what TMNT "should be", but taken for what it is, in the context of the time it existed, I love it. Dry, sarcastic humor, references to 60's pop culture & Chinese martial arts films, a wide variety of original characters & takes on familiar ones, on a whole, it's pretty solid. I may prefer most aspects of other iterations, but the fact I revisit this one more often is what helps it rank higher. Blame it on nostalgia, or the fact its one-and-done episode writing makes it more accessible for re-watching.

5. The 2012 Nick series. Pretty good mix of all things TMNT. I hate that the casual Fred-Wolf-only fans, & rabid shippers whined their way into having their influence rub off on it, but yeah, pretty great overall. Gets very emotional & dark, like Mirage, has a lot of body horror, like Playmates' toyline, pop culture references up the yin-yang, like the old toon, it hits a lot of the right notes, & had incredible sound design to boot. & the fight choreography, yoooo!

Honorable mention to Supermutant Legend, the two anime OVA's, as they're some tip-top material for my personal taste. I'm a huge tokusatu/kaiju guy, & you can feel the influence of Ultraman, Super Sentai, Godzilla, etc. in these like crazy. They're insanely Japanese, that's my thing. Devil Shredder & Turtle Saint are some of my all time favorite designs.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Powder

2. The 1990 movie. Gets it right. Respects the source material, looks & feels "real", dripping with mood, style, aesthetics, and magic. It's pretty much perfect. Holds up amazingly to this day. Probably the best likeness of the turtles themselves, ever, & I might even say the same for Shredder & The Foot. It's a real time capsule of the era it was made in, yet doesn't really feel dated.

This is very much how I feel, especially with regard to the character designs. "In my head", that's how the characters look, period. Maybe not April, to a T, but everyone else for sure. I don't see anything ever changing that, either. When I imagine them/write them/read them/etc., that's how they look, that's how they sound, That's It.

It's not like I'm immune to ever changing my mind - Keaton was "My Batman" until Bale came along, who I also thought was "perfect" until I fell in love with Affleck's portrayal, just for example... so it DOES happen - but in this case, it would take a LOT to ever change my mind.
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I also wondered after I posted how long it would take for someone to cite the Action Figure "Universe", as it pretty much was indeed its own "universe" with its own character depictions, origins, storylines, etc. As a kid I was always pretty blown away by how wildly different some of the stuff on those cardbacks was from the "established" TMNT canon, what little of it existed by that point. As a young kid it was admittedly a little bit confusing that some of these characters who were clearly based on the cartoon show had nothing in common with them otherwise - kinda like, "Don't these people communicate?" - but that was also part of the toy line's own unique "charm".

At the time, it did bug me at least a little bit that the toys didn't resemble the cartoon more often - I was always a stickler for that stuff - but the toy designs were also cool in their own way. In a lot of cases the resultant figures were more memorable than they probably would have been if they were bound to their cartoon counterparts. So that was neat.

Downside being... that original Shredder is the WORST goddamn officially-licensed action figure I've ever seen of anyone, and I will take that opinion with me to my goddamn grave.

[neatoman]

Aren't there countless threads like this one? Like on the same exact topic? Seems like this sort of discussion would be exhausted by this point.

[Leo656]

Yeah but apparently nefarious forces working from the shadows are planning to "shine a light" on all our "toxic negativity" and hatred, and maybe even get us shut down or at least "shame" the site's owners into not letting us have such a long leash anymore, if certain Facebook posts are to be believed. So we may as well get in as much conversation as we can before that happens.

[ABrown]

My favorite versions of the TMNT are the 4Kids series, the 1990 movie, the 2007 CGI movie, and the original cartoon (specifically the red sky era, though I definitely enjoyed seasons 1-7 as well).

[MrAustin]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Yeah but apparently nefarious forces working from the shadows are planning to "shine a light" on all our "toxic negativity" and hatred, and maybe even get us shut down or at least "shame" the site's owners into not letting us have such a long leash anymore, if certain Facebook posts are to be believed. So we may as well get in as much conversation as we can before that happens.

Wow, really?

[Leo656]

You'd be amazed by how much nonsense certain people talk from the confines of their "Safe Space".

But no, nothing's gonna happen. Just more hot air from the Sensitive Sallys who lurk but never post because everyone here is a Big Meanie. They'll just keep pissing in the wind on FB because they soak their drawers every time anyone disagrees with them out loud.

They talk a big game, though. I mean, for a bunch'a crybabies.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Leo656

You'd be amazed by how much nonsense certain people talk from the confines of their "Safe Space".

But no, nothing's gonna happen. Just more hot air from the Sensitive Sallys who lurk but never post because everyone here is a Big Meanie. They'll just keep pissing in the wind on FB because they soak their drawers every time anyone disagrees with them out loud.

They talk a big game, though. I mean, for a bunch'a crybabies.

Wait.

What exactly is their issue with this forum? I've seen nothing objectionable here. Like, at all. Even the stuff deemed controversial around here is small potatoes compared to stuff you find in other places online, including in TMNT related circles.

[TigerClaw]

Mines would have to be

1. IDW due to how it pulls from all iterations in a respectful way.

2. 1987 series because its my first discovery of TMNT.

3. Archie Comics because its loosely based on the 1987 series but with more character development and stories.

4. 2003 because it brought the turtles back into the mainstream after not having a show for a couple of years after Next Mutation.

5. 2012 series was a good series despite all the questionable decisions made on some legacy characters. My only grievance was that many the characters on this show were actually new characters. They just had the names of classic characters slap onto them for no reason other then to call them by those names just cause they can.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by superstaff

Wait.

What exactly is their issue with this forum? I've seen nothing objectionable here. Like, at all. Even the stuff deemed controversial around here is small potatoes compared to stuff you find in other places online, including in TMNT related circles.

They're just sawft.

Although most of their whining was about the General Discussion section. But they also swear that people are "trashing" IDW instead of just giving their critical opinions, for example.

It is what it is. Pouters gonna pout.

[Teddygaming reviews]

1) 2003 as i grew up on but i do love the more series and action packed tone throughout the series. i also think that this show is the only one that properly feels like a comic.

2) we wish you a turtle Christmas and the idw comics. the reason the Christmas special is because i just like to annoy people with 12 day of Christmas song. the reason for idw is because of they have taken all the good parts of the turtle verse and combined it into something special.

3) 20007, 1990 movie and rise. the reason for 2007 is because it was the first tmnt movie i saw in cinema and because of the good raph vs leo fight. the 1990 movie is because its a great movie that has changed cinema. rise because its funny, good animation and has a good story.

[aprilbound]

The original 80/90's cartoon

[Walkabout]

Well, the "formative" versions for me are:
* early FW cartoon
* The toys/toy artwork
* 1990 movie

And then a bit later
*Mirage
*Palladium RPGs- which I envisioned (my canon, I guess) was a mix of Mirage with the toyline

Was "too old" for the 03 show but I've seen the first few seasons and liked it

Thought the 2012 show was awesome, even if I didn't like some of the designs etc.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Powder

3. The original Playmates toyline. While not a version you can read or watch, we all immersed ourselves in that "universe" when we played. So many incredible designs & vivid colors, & heavy on gross-out body horror. Sure, everyone grew up on the cartoons, games, & comics, but when you think of almost any given character, it's their toy likeness that comes to mind.

That's a really fucking solid point you make that I've never actually considered. But if it weren't for the action figures and my own imagination, TMNT would NEVER have stuck for me. I've never properly credited that before.

Originally Posted by Walkabout

Well, the "formative" versions for me are:
* early FW cartoon
* The toys/toy artwork
* 1990 movie

Originally Posted by Walkabout

Well, the "formative" versions for me are:
* early FW cartoon
* The toys/toy artwork
* 1990 movie

"Formative." I like that. I like that a lot.

Fred Wolf cartoon and the toys were both the hook, the formative. Since then, it's been Mirage/Image, IDW, and 2003 4Kids.

At some point, I really do want to try watching the 2012 series again. I've made it very clear what I don't like about the series, but it did do a lot of interesting things.