Which plots and character interactions did the show get absolutely right?

[The Great Saiyaman]

Writing a show like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is no easy feat, you have to take every former version in consideration and fans will always be looking at every little detail.

So let's talk about the things that the 2012 show got absolutely right.

"My place is with my sons!"
- Splinter in "I, monster"

The fact that the turtles were an actual family was the key ingredient of what made the show work so well. "Lone rat and cubs" showed that Splinter didn't warm up to his newly mutated Turtles right away, in fact he saw them as a burden at first. John Lennon once said "Life happens when you're making other plans." and Splinter found himself at a crossroads and he chose to raise the Turtles as his sons.

Also the brothers' interaction with each other also was a key ingredient here, they way they had sibling rivalry, peer pressure and in general gave each other a hard time but at the same time being there for each other regardless fits the whole "teen brothers" theme so well. And speaking of them being teen brothers...

"Well, she's really cool... And she's also a martial artist... Aaaaannd she's in the foot clan."
- Leonardo to April "New girl in town."

What's the most important thing on the mind of any 15 year old straight boy? Girls and girls tend to get you into trouble. All the Turtles in the duration of the show got a love interest but it was never a case of "We have to give them girlfriends just because." The way the boys learn how to deal with the emotions which come with being attracted to a girl and making a fool of yourself over her was very convincingly done.

"Go chase a mail man!"
- Xever to Bradford when the latter is laughing at how the Robot legs Baxter Stockman's made for him aren't working perfectly yet in "The Alien agenda"

The Members of the Foot clan NEVER got along and it's this constant friction of colliding egos and personal resentment which made their interactions work so well.

Bradford and Xever are from completely different backgrounds, the former being a privileged, successful, athlete, the latter being a street urchin who has been in gang warfare since childhood. Insults such as "Gutter trash", "Rich boy" and making fun of the other's mutation (Such as Bradford tapping on the glass of the tank Xever was stuck in because he couldn't breath air anymore.)
The reason why it worked is because it's the truth, people DO judge each other on social class and with real life criminal empires that's pretty much what makes the world go round. Keep your friends close but keep your enemies even closer.

So what do you guys think, the show got absolutely right?

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by The Great Saiyaman

"Go chase a mail man!"
- Xever to Bradford when the latter is laughing at how the Robot legs Baxter Stockman's made for him aren't working perfectly yet in "The Alien agenda"

The Members of the Foot clan NEVER got along and it's this constant friction of colliding egos and personal resentment which made their interactions work so well.

Bradford and Xever are from completely different backgrounds, the former being a privileged, successful, athlete, the latter being a street urchin who has been in gang warfare since childhood. Insults such as "Gutter trash", "Rich boy" and making fun of the other's mutation (Such as Bradford tapping on the glass of the tank Xever was stuck in because he couldn't breath air anymore.)
The reason why it worked is because it's the truth, people DO judge each other on social class and with real life criminal empires that's pretty much what makes the world go round. Keep your friends close but keep your enemies even closer.

I strongly agree with you on this one, it was an absolute joy to see the major members of the Foot Clan have these constant inner feuds and not really liking each other despite having a common goal.

Heck, not all of them respected the Shredder, which was a really nice touch.

Baxter sure didn't have any personal loyalty towards him (he did enjoy being given that chocolate though), and Bebop and Rocksteady had no other choice, because Shredder would hurt them otherwise.

Fishface was grateful to Saki for having been taken out of prison by him, but I'm sure that even he was beginning to have other ideas by the end when Shredder became a super mutant (as evidenced by him deciding to leave at the beginning of season 5).

The only mutants whom I think were fully loyal to Shredder were Razhar and Tiger Claw (except for when Shredder caused the earth's destruction in the latter's case, but that was eventually undone).

In Tiger Claw's case, we never really got to see that side of him again (doubting Shredder) after Annihilation Earth which was a shame.

The only moment which came close to showing that side was when Tiger Claw declared a truce in the beginning of season 5, but that was under different circumstances, and there is no indication that the events of the Kavaxas Arc actually made him any less loyal towards the Shredder himself.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Nickelodeon Rocksteady. Russian arms dealer who fought in the wars in Iraq, Yugoslavia and DR Congo.

[The Great Saiyaman]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

I strongly agree with you on this one, it was an absolute joy to see the major members of the Foot Clan have these constant inner feuds and not really liking each other despite having a common goal.

Heck, not all of them respected the Shredder, which was a really nice touch.

Baxter sure didn't have any personal loyalty towards him (he did enjoy being given that chocolate though), and Bebop and Rocksteady had no other choice, because Shredder would hurt them otherwise.

Fishface was grateful to Saki for having been taken out of prison by him, but I'm sure that even he was beginning to have other ideas by the end when Shredder became a super mutant (as evidenced by him deciding to leave at the beginning of season 5).

The only mutants whom I think were fully loyal to Shredder were Razhar and Tiger Claw (except for when Shredder caused the earth's destruction in the latter's case, but that was eventually undone).

In Tiger Claw's case, we never really got to see that side of him again (doubting Shredder) after Annihilation Earth which was a shame.

The only moment which came close to showing that side was when Tiger Claw declared a truce in the beginning of season 5, but that was under different circumstances, and there is no indication that the events of the Kavaxas Arc actually made him any less loyal towards the Shredder himself.

I just remembered two very revealing scenes that show just how much Bradford and Xever hated each other.

- During "Annihilation Earth" when the Triceratons have started the Black Hole generator and everybody is being sucked up in the vortex, we see Xever kicking Bradford in as if to tell him "YOU WILL DIE FIRST!"


- In "The forgotten swordsman" when Xever has to retrieve Bradford's corpse, we see the former on the pier, grumbling and sighing deeply before he dives in. He totally didn't want to have Bradford brought back.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by The Great Saiyaman

Writing a show like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is no easy feat, you have to take every former version in consideration and fans will always be looking at every little detail.

So let's talk about the things that the 2012 show got absolutely right.

"My place is with my sons!"
- Splinter in "I, monster"

The fact that the turtles were an actual family was the key ingredient of what made the show work so well. "Lone rat and cubs" showed that Splinter didn't warm up to his newly mutated Turtles right away, in fact he saw them as a burden at first. John Lennon once said "Life happens when you're making other plans." and Splinter found himself at a crossroads and he chose to raise the Turtles as his sons.

Also the brothers' interaction with each other also was a key ingredient here, they way they had sibling rivalry, peer pressure and in general gave each other a hard time but at the same time being there for each other regardless fits the whole "teen brothers" theme so well. And speaking of them being teen brothers...

I agree with this. I also like how it's emphasized in the dynamic of both groups.

The turtles are aware all they will truly have in this life is each other. Because of this they embrace the concept of Kokoro Itosuni (one heart) in their battles. And even though they would have moments where they fight, yell at one another, or generally get on each others nerves, there are still 'I love you's' not far behind. And when one of them is captured, injured, or sick, their absence is strongly felt by the others. And when worse happens it's like they all lost a part of themselves.

Take Splinter's death for example. All of the Turtles are affected by his murder in different ways.

Leo feels lost without Splinter's guidance as he now has to carry the family on his young shoulders. And seemingly feels Splinter's death the hardest which is why he is given visions where Splinter appears to him.

Raph was the only one there to witness the full event of Splinter's murder, as such he holds the most pain towards it because it makes him feel like he failed his master when he needed him most. He is also able to let go of his grief easier than the others because he knows that no matter how many tears they shed. Nothing they say or do would bring Splinter back, all they can do is move forward.

Mikey is so overcome with grief that he can only choke out the word "Papa". He appears to move on the easiest of the group, but his childish antics are more a mask for the pain and grief. Like Raph he also accepts

Donnie also faces is a strong sense of loss with Splinter's passing. Like Leo, Donnie did view Splinter as a someone to seek guidance from. Splinter was also the one person he saw as his champion in his life.
When it came to his technical skills he will often clash with Leo, reach Raph's ire, or Mikey's interference. While Splinter didn't always agree with Donatello's technical ideas, at the same time he also encouraged them because he wanted to see what his third son would do with it. And also because in the modern age they exist in, their traditional skills would not be enough to take on every foe faced. They would need innovation also to succeed in the mission. During the moment they are all saying their final good-byes to Splinter at the end of the Kavaxas arc, Donnie has a moment where he sadly leans his head against his bo staff. The flashback memory Donnie has is of Splinter proudly examining the t-phones after they had been created for the first time. So there may have been so much Donatello had wanted to show his sensei he was capable of, so much he wanted to show he was worthy of being a son of Hamato Yoshi. And in one act that is taken away.

Donnie like Leo is also severely affected by Splinter's death. He doesn't feel lost like Leo is, instead he bottles up his pain and grief believing that Splinter is gone, Shredder is dead, all they have is each other. But his pain and anger manifests itself in Heart of Evil, in Donnie's desires to seek vengeance on Vizioso. Because the desire for vengeance was only a front, the action was based out of fear.

Every villain the turtles have faced have had a legitimate reason to see them dead.

The Foot wanted the Turtles, April, and Casey dead because of their association with Splinter and by proxy the Hamato Clan.

The Kraang want to destroy the Turtles because they stood in the way of their attempts to mutate the Earth.

The Triceratons saw the Turtles as a nuisance because they were trying to obtain the pieces of the heart of darkness, which the Triceratons wanted for their own ends.

Dregg wanted them dead out of principle. While their first encounter with him was unintentional (And both Raph and Casey's actions didn't really help matters), as a crime lord he still viewed them crashing into him as a humiliation. So he wanted them destroyed both as punishment for his humiliation and also as a way to show the rest of the Universe that he would not let such slights go without consequences.

Vizioso is really the only villain who had wanted to see the Turtles destroyed because of the one thing they couldn't help being. He wanted them dead because they were mutants.

After Splinter's death, Donnie understands this viewpoint made Vizioso a very dangerous opponent, so D wanted to get him before the mob boss could succeed in taking away anyone else he cared about. Unfortunately, doing so would have destroyed himself and everything he stood for.


With the Foot Clan, the Shredder values his followers based on how useful they are to him. He doesn't care about strength in unity, he finds strength in power. He also states that his anger has made him powerful and that everyone aside from him are just pawns that could be thrown away at will when they were no longer of use. He even suggests that Karzai, the very girl he had raised and trained as his own also was expendable a couple of times. Particularly since Splinter at those times knew that Karai is actually Miwa, it would be a matter of time before Karai herself realizes the truth. And later after he Mutates himself he has accepted that Karai is no longer his puppet to control.

When he's resurrected, he points out that Tiger Claw was right that Kavaxas was controling him. Then when he was returning to Jigoku he tells Kavaxas "You and I don't belong in this world, Demon" suggesting that he has realized that he deserves the punishment he was receiving.

In the Buddhist version of the underworld, the Spirits of the Dead undergo a long journey. The journey isn't pleasant and neither are the trials faced after the journey. Though the more corrupt you were in life the more suffering you face on this journey.

For example, after the first judge, you are able to cross the river Sanzu which is a seven-day journey across. If you were benevolent in life, you were able to cross the bridge. If you were mildly corrupt you had to wade through a calm part of the river. If you were completely corrupt you were forced to swim across a rougher part of the river that had rapids as well as snakes and other things in it.

While any of the Judges can send a soul to hell for any reason, Enma Dioh -the fifth judge- is the only one who compiles the assessments of the other judges to determine punishment and then he shows you a full-length mirror so all the crimes and infractions you made in life are reflected back at them. So even he wouldn't be able to play the victim card because he would be able to see for himself that he was the author of his own misery.

[The Great Saiyaman]

"Tricky, it's not like we can pack you in a box and send it special delivery."
- April in "TCRI"


The jury is still out on if it was a good idea to make April a teenager and even more so on the fact that she had psychic powers. But one thing that I'm pretty sure we all agree on is the fact that it was a good call for her to NOT be some hopeless damsel in distress. As the eighties April was.

The 2012 April could fight, did detective work and was a skilled tactician.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

The Kraang want to destroy the Turtles because they stood in the way of their attempts to mutate the Earth.

The Triceratons saw the Turtles as a nuisance because they were trying to obtain the pieces of the heart of darkness, which the Triceratons wanted for their own ends.

I like the Kraang–Triceraton conflict better than the Kraang trying to mutate Earth.