ScreenRant: 11 Ways TMNT Have Strayed From Roots

[AquaParade]

Regarding body types, I prefer the subtle differences between the brothers to the exaggerated body types, but it's easier to accomplish the subtle tweaks when you are working with more detail. And Leo, I agree, Henson did a fantastic job. A Saturday morning cartoon may need a different angle.

Regarding the masks, that's a bit of a delicate situation. I'm not too into the idea of different masks for different occasions, because the next logical step is to question why they should wear masks in the first place, to which I've yet to hear a great answer. As a form of tribute to the Hamato clan might work, but even so, I think it's best to not "poke the bear" and stick to one mask each. Put another way, the masks are highly illogical but have yet to affect my suspension of disbelief for 30 years. Leave well enough alone, personally speaking.

I prefer the turtles in red masks with colored highlights throughout the rest of the design that help you tell each character apart, similar to the recent designs by Santolouco for his dream "Netflix TMNT" project. I can get into the colored masks - it's essentially the classic look at this point - but again, that's sort of "poking the bear" in my mind.

[Leo656]

I mean, I get it, but I'unno. I think it's harmless. Some people bring up Batman; Batman's got his lightweight stealth outfits, his heavier armored outfits, or even just his gray/blue or all black stuff, and it's all in-canon and useful for different situations; if the Turtles had "situational" masks and gear in a similar fashion, even if it were just the different colored masks for different types of missions, I really don't see the harm. And everybody would get to see their own preference represented from time to time, which is a nice bonus.

People who'd ask "Why even bother with the masks" with sincerity are like the people who ask why Superman wears trunks, or even a cape. People sometimes question both of those things. Y'know what kind of people do that? Very, very silly people. To those kinda rubes, I can only say "Why is anything anything?" and that's all the time they get from me, fella.

[AquaParade]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I mean, I get it, but I'unno. I think it's harmless. Some people bring up Batman; Batman's got his lightweight stealth outfits, his heavier armored outfits, or even just his gray/blue or all black stuff, and it's all in-canon and useful for different situations; if the Turtles had "situational" masks and gear in a similar fashion, even if it were just the different colored masks for different types of missions, I really don't see the harm. And everybody would get to see their own preference represented from time to time, which is a nice bonus.

People who'd ask "Why even bother with the masks" with sincerity are like the people who ask why Superman wears trunks, or even a cape. People sometimes question both of those things. Y'know what kind of people do that? Very, very silly people. To those kinda rubes, I can only say "Why is anything anything?" and that's all the time they get from me, fella.

It is harmless.

But the reason it works for Batman, in my mind anyway, is because you can sell his gimmicky outfit, even down to the pointed ears, on the fact that he means to intimidate his enemies or appear to be something larger than life.

I like the masks, simply because they look cool. That's always been enough for me. It just seems goofy to me that they would "gear up" with a new color. It's too much for me. The gear I can totally get behind. Everyone's suspension of disbelief has limits or particular quirks. But hey, I'm sure there is a way to make it damn cool and fit my tastes. That's just my initial feeling.

I don't mind them expressing themselves through clothing, tattoo's, etc, which seems similar, but I think that's different.

[Leo656]

I'd never even thought about it until I mentioned it, but I personally now feel like I would mark out huge if in some version or other, I saw the TMNT don all-red masks because they were about to go on some kind of "We're coming for blood and vengeance!" type mission. Like that's what they'd wear when sh*t was about to get real. I admit, it might be needless pageantry and all, but I just think it'd be neat anyway. Like I could also see it being a unity thing, like symbolic of them coming together at their strongest because the situation's so serious. I'unno, it could be lotsa things. I'm not saying it'd help anything but I'unno, little things like that tickle me sometimes.

I mean, even Ric Flair almost always wore purple when he was about to win the World Title (and red when he was gonna lose it and/or bleed). Even Hulk Hogan had his insipid, fist-shaped "War Bonnet" for a brief moment. Sometimes a little razzmatazz helps get ya in the Zone, nah'mean?

I could see it being something Leo or Splinter came up with, and the others just went along. Not sure why.

I've sometimes wondered about some of them getting tattoos. Tattoos are awesome and all the cool kids got 'em, it's just a fact of life. And I want the Turtles to be the Cool Kids, but I'm not sure what kind of things they'd get tattoos of. Leo'd probably have some kinda Japanese thing. Raph might have something with a skull. Mikey might have some kind of band logo or video game character. No idea about Donnie. That's a tough one.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I've sometimes wondered about some of them getting tattoos. Tattoos are awesome and all the cool kids got 'em, it's just a fact of life. And I want the Turtles to be the Cool Kids, but I'm not sure what kind of things they'd get tattoos of. Leo'd probably have some kinda Japanese thing. Raph might have something with a skull. Mikey might have some kind of band logo or video game character. No idea about Donnie. That's a tough one.

The universal symbol of chaos, I think. Something mathematical or philosophical for Don.

One of his defining character moments for me is in Shades of Gray, when he's dropping sticks in the water at Northampton and contemplating chaos theory and fractal patterns.

[The-Shredder]

I don't really have an opinion on April's ethnicity when it comes to the comics, but here's a quote straight from the man himself, Peter Laird.

"Well, April has always been of dubious ethnicity in the comics. She fluctuated from being very white to tan to semi-black then back to white. We've always just treated April as a woman. I've always thought of her as a girl with a good tan." Peter Laird, Comics Scene #9, August, 1989.

[PizzaPower1985]

I like the idea of tattoos. But we have to be careful in trying to make them hip. Like with a lot of other things that fans get wrong, TMNT would NOT be conventional modern millennial teens. They're outside of society. TRAINED EXECUTIONERS. VIOLENT. They've been trained in a difficult, unfathomably disciplined life by a stodgy, decidedly unhip, old ninja master. I think that to the extent that the outside world bleeds into their personalities it's via hobbies and TV/movies, radio. They use these outlets to cope with their rat bastard father who won't let them go topside. They are more repressed than a Baptist preacher's daughter. And they have no choice either because they are literally freaks of nature. They can't make contact with us... FB pages and posting selfies on Instagram are NOT their style. They would NEVER make YT videos about geeky $hit. Neither would they ever want to. PD turtles are not TMNT. Their only contact with us is through April, Casey and a select few humans who are already weird and damaged themselves.

A lot of the problem Nickelodeon has is that they market these guys as cutesy, lovable, funny animal characters. And THAT is why they are not the company that has any right to own them. It's the reason why 30 year olds and beyond get fed cow dung... Rise, Platinum Dunes, fan-made animation that sucks, artwork that makes them look like children. The other thing some have forgotten is these guys come out of the 80's. Punk rock/metal/hardcore rap, skateboards, video arcade machines, Public Enemy and NWA, awesomely bad kung fu flicks and horror movies, comics... This is the $hit they are raised on. I think that the real TMNT got marketed only once. One time. It was in 1990 and parents of very small children FREAKED! Because that is what TMNT is. They are a 2 minute hardcore punk song. They are a face-plant after an unsuccessful ollie on a half pipe. They are an R-rated property. They are 100 Proof Everclear and everybody wants to treat them like their as smooth as water. Everything TMNT are about is not what's popular today. Trying to make them hip in 2020 is like fitting an 8-sided block into a triangular hole.

Violence, blood, guts and four letter words that we can't even use on the 'Drome. That is what TMNT is. That is why articles like this get written.

[PizzaPower1985]

Originally Posted by The-Shredder

I don't really have an opinion on April's ethnicity when it comes to the comics, but here's a quote straight from the man himself, Peter Laird.

"Well, April has always been of dubious ethnicity in the comics. She fluctuated from being very white to tan to semi-black then back to white. We've always just treated April as a woman. I've always thought of her as a girl with a good tan." Peter Laird, Comics Scene #9, August, 1989.

There's so much good stuff that turtle fans have no clue about in the Comics Scene and Starlog interviews. Thanks for clearing that up, brother.

[The-Shredder]

Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985

There's so much good stuff that turtle fans have no clue about in the Comics Scene and Starlog interviews. Thanks for clearing that up, brother.

No problem. I was surprised when I found out that was brought up over 30 years ago, by Peter Laird none the less. The article also alludes to Baxter Stockman being white in the Fred Wolf cartoon to resemble Albert Einstein.

[PizzaPower1985]

Originally Posted by The-Shredder

No problem. I was surprised when I found out that was brought up over 30 years ago, by Peter Laird none the less. The article also alludes to Baxter Stockman being white in the Fred Wolf cartoon to resemble Albert Einstein.

Was that the same interview where Eastman and Laird talked glowingly about the OT pilot?

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985

I like the idea of tattoos. But we have to be careful in trying to make them hip. Like with a lot of other things that fans get wrong, TMNT would NOT be conventional modern millennial teens. They're outside of society. TRAINED EXECUTIONERS. VIOLENT. They've been trained in a difficult, unfathomably disciplined life by a stodgy, decidedly unhip, old ninja master. I think that to the extent that the outside world bleeds into their personalities it's via hobbies and TV/movies, radio. They use these outlets to cope with their rat bastard father who won't let them go topside. They are more repressed than a Baptist preacher's daughter. And they have no choice either because they are literally freaks of nature. They can't make contact with us... FB pages and posting selfies on Instagram are NOT their style. They would NEVER make YT videos about geeky $hit. Neither would they ever want to. PD turtles are not TMNT. Their only contact with us is through April, Casey and a select few humans who are already weird and damaged themselves.

A lot of the problem Nickelodeon has is that they market these guys as cutesy, lovable, funny animal characters. And THAT is why they are not the company that has any right to own them. It's the reason why 30 year olds and beyond get fed cow dung... Rise, Platinum Dunes, fan-made animation that sucks, artwork that makes them look like children. The other thing some have forgotten is these guys come out of the 80's. Punk rock/metal/hardcore rap, skateboards, video arcade machines, Public Enemy and NWA, awesomely bad kung fu flicks and horror movies, comics... This is the $hit they are raised on. I think that the real TMNT got marketed only once. One time. It was in 1990 and parents of very small children FREAKED! Because that is what TMNT is. They are a 2 minute hardcore punk song. They are a face-plant after an unsuccessful ollie on a half pipe. They are an R-rated property. They are 100 Proof Everclear and everybody wants to treat them like their as smooth as water. Everything TMNT are about is not what's popular today. Trying to make them hip in 2020 is like fitting an 8-sided block into a triangular hole.

Violence, blood, guts and four letter words that we can't even use on the 'Drome. That is what TMNT is. That is why articles like this get written.

That's all well and fine, sure, but ALL the Cool Kids have tattoos. I didn't make the rules! I mean I'm GLAD it's that way but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it regardless. Cat's don't dance, nobody puts Baby in a corner, and All The Cool Kids Have Tattoos. I didn't book it, I just benefit from it and support it.

[PizzaPower1985]

Originally Posted by Leo656

That's all well and fine, sure, but ALL the Cool Kids have tattoos. I didn't make the rules! I mean I'm GLAD it's that way but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it regardless. Cat's don't dance, nobody puts Baby in a corner, and All The Cool Kids Have Tattoos. I didn't book it, I just benefit from it and support it.

Leo... Only you, bro! I go off on some half-drunken rager about how my TMNT are not respected or some $hit and you come back at me with... tattoos!

Priceless. My behavior these last few days on the forums is a sign from the universe that I need to quit drinkin. Sorry if I stepped on any toes!

[The-Shredder]

Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985

Was that the same interview where Eastman and Laird talked glowingly about the OT pilot?

From the same interview on the third page. He thought it was kind of strange.