What Would People Call the Turtles in the Real World?

[Monte Williams]

In my head canon, the Turtles are like your classic, big-eyed Roswell aliens: a contemporary myth so pervasive that cartoony Turtle likenesses are on bumper stickers and T-shirts and the like, even though 99% of the populace is certain the Turtles don't exist.

But it seems unlikely that anyone debating the existence of the sewer-dwelling mutants would call them the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".

So if the Turtles were real (or, if you prefer, you can simply apply this question to the in-world reality of a given TMNT television or comic series or film), how would the average person on the street refer to the Turtles?

Here I'm thinking for example of Batman, who is frequently referred to as The Bat; would someone in NYC say, "Some lady spotted the Sewer Mutants in an alley last night" or "Those creepy Turtle People are back" or...?

I'm writing a goofy little something wherein I want the media to refer to the Turtles, and it struck me that the full TMNT name would not likely develop naturally, so I thought I'd solicit your suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your contributions, and simply for tolerating a silly discussion prompt.

[neatoman]

Kung Fu Frogs.

[Candy Kappa]

Turtle men, morlocks, sewer dwellers, mutants, terrapin sapiens or sewer monsters.

[Coola Yagami]

The mysterious green men. The turtle men. Or just flat out, the monsters.

[Monte Williams]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Or just flat out, the monsters.

That actually seems the most plausible to me.

I'm thinking of the 1978 Superman movie, specifically the article Lois Lane wrote, titled "I Spent the Night With Superman". If April O'Neil wrote a similar article (or hosted a news segment in the same spirit) to introduce the world to the Turtles, what would she call it?

"I Spent the Night With ____________"?

Obviously the fun implication of Lane's article is that she slept with Superman, and I wouldn't want to imply that of April and the Turtles, ha ha.

But still: what would she call them? When addressing a large audience, I mean.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Monte Williams

But still: what would she call them? When addressing a large audience, I mean.

Imo, "mutant turtles," prob including the term "human-like." Accurate for the public and unoffensive to the Turtles. Esp since they're bound to see the article sooner or later, via either a stray copy of the paper or, these days, online.

I could seen an uninformed public going with something like "sewer mutants." (Sorry Futurama, the Turtles were here first.)

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Imo, "mutant turtles," prob including the term "human-like." Accurate for the public and unoffensive to the Turtles. Esp since they're bound to see the article sooner or later, via either a stray copy of the paper or, these days, online.

I could seen an uninformed public going with something like "sewer mutants." (Sorry Futurama, the Turtles were here first.)

But that's only if they know the Turtles are from the sewers. They'd be pretty sloppy ninjas if people knew that's where they were 'vanishing without a trace' to.

[IndigoErth]

Valid point. Okay, I side with your "green man" suggestion also as an alternative.

Though, ninja or not, why they don't get spotted more often coming up in the middle of streets in NYC... *shrug* Or is it a case that New Yorkers have seen everything and just pay them no mind. lol


edit: Actually that would be kind of amusing if they got outed and most of the locals were unmoved by their existence. Like, You really bothered to hide for all these years? We've seen weirder things.

[pferreira]

'Them Turtles from the Sewer".

[plastroncafe]

8 Seconds into this seems about right.

[Monte Williams]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

But that's only if they know the Turtles are from the sewers. They'd be pretty sloppy ninjas if people knew that's where they were 'vanishing without a trace' to.

Valid point, indeed!

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Actually that would be kind of amusing if they got outed and most of the locals were unmoved by their existence. Like, You really bothered to hide for all these years? We've seen weirder things.

Think of the '90 film; "Looked like sort of a big turtle. In a trench coat... so you heading' to LaGuardia?"

[Ulisa]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Actually that would be kind of amusing if they got outed and most of the locals were unmoved by their existence. Like, You really bothered to hide for all these years? We've seen weirder things.

Actually one of my friends is from NYC and I asked her about this kind of thing, and her response was "Nothing surprises New Yorkers."

[Mexiun]

Probably just "aliens" and then lots of theory videos will show up.

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, "mutants" is pretty specific. People would venture "monsters" or "aliens" way before that.

[Monte Williams]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Yeah, "mutants" is pretty specific. People would venture "monsters" or "aliens" way before that.

Excellent point.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by Mexiun

Probably just "aliens" and then lots of theory videos will show up.

Does that include a 100 or so photoshopped videos?