FW/Mirage Parallels

*Tetsu Deinonychus* · 08-26-2017, 10:16 AM

There's always so much talk about how vastly different FW TMNT is from the original Mirage comics.

And, it's true. The 80s show mostly used the comic as loose inspiration rather than attempt a true adaptation. To be fair, the comic had only got to about issue 11 by that point so there wasn't that much Mirage around to adapt yet. They kinda had to come up with their own take on it.

But, that doesn't mean that the two versions had nothing in common aside from the main characters and core concept (which is a lot to have in common no matter how different the rest of it is). So, for challenge and fun let's rack our brains and see what parallels we can find, particularly ones that the other versions don't share.

--Random aliens. Both FW and Mirage had a tendency fall back on the formula "Troublesome alien randomly shows up. Chaos ensues". The other versions don't seem to do this as much, but it's one of the major trademarks, and complaints, of these two versions.

--Splinter and April's Ages. I started a whole thread on this awhile back, but it bears repeating. Mirage and FW both feature a distinctly adult April, and a distinctly elderly Splinter. Since 4Kids, it's become a trend for each version to make them younger than the last, most likely to make Splinter more of a "Dad" and April more of a "peer". But, in Mirage and FW, Splinter was old and April was more of a "cool aunt" than a "sister figure" or "potential girlfriend".

--Pop-Culture Satire. It got away from it awfully fast, but lets not forget that Early Mirage was partially a parody of comics trends of the time (teenagers, mutants, ninja), complete with an origin that spoofs Daredevil.

Likewise, FW spoofed the other cartoons of the time. On GI-Joe and Transformers Cobra and the Decepticons would make some pretty stupid evil plans and take them dead seriously. On FW TMNT Krang and Shredder would come up with plans just as stupid and then turn to the audience and make a joke about it.

Not to mention, all the sci-fi and horror movie references in both versions, though I guess the Nick show does a lot of that too.

--"80's Roughness". Okay this one's kind of intangible, and your milage may vary, but I think the main thing they have in common is that they're both obviously products of the same time-period. And, that imparts a certain aesthetic to them both.

The 4Kids show may have been much closer in characterization and plot, but it's obviously a product of the 2000s with it's clean streamlined art style and digital ink and paint (and how much more modern, Nick's CGI?). Compare that to FW with it's cheap outsourced 80s TV animation and I think you have a stronger parallel to the "rough" look of the early Mirage books when Eastman and Laird were trying to find their groove.

There's also a level of "gross" in the backgrounds with both Mirage and FW. There was grime and detail in those sewers while other versions show the sewers as strangely "clean" (fitting streamlined modern art styles).

Anyway, that what I came up with. Any others?

08-26-2017, 10:16 AM	#1
Tetsu Deinonychus The Iron Dinosaur Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Studio Snowlion HQ Posts: 3,021	FW/Mirage Parallels There's always so much talk about how vastly different FW TMNT is from the original Mirage comics. And, it's true. The 80s show mostly used the comic as loose inspiration rather than attempt a true adaptation. To be fair, the comic had only got to about issue 11 by that point so there wasn't that much Mirage around to adapt yet. They kinda had to come up with their own take on it. But, that doesn't mean that the two versions had nothing in common aside from the main characters and core concept (which is a lot to have in common no matter how different the rest of it is). So, for challenge and fun let's rack our brains and see what parallels we can find, particularly ones that the other versions don't share. --Random aliens. Both FW and Mirage had a tendency fall back on the formula "Troublesome alien randomly shows up. Chaos ensues". The other versions don't seem to do this as much, but it's one of the major trademarks, and complaints, of these two versions. --Splinter and April's Ages. I started a whole thread on this awhile back, but it bears repeating. Mirage and FW both feature a distinctly adult April, and a distinctly elderly Splinter. Since 4Kids, it's become a trend for each version to make them younger than the last, most likely to make Splinter more of a "Dad" and April more of a "peer". But, in Mirage and FW, Splinter was *old* and April was more of a "cool aunt" than a "sister figure" or "potential girlfriend". --Pop-Culture Satire. It got away from it awfully fast, but lets not forget that Early Mirage was partially a parody of comics trends of the time (teenagers, mutants, ninja), complete with an origin that spoofs Daredevil. Likewise, FW spoofed the other cartoons of the time. On GI-Joe and Transformers Cobra and the Decepticons would make some pretty stupid evil plans and take them dead seriously. On FW TMNT Krang and Shredder would come up with plans just as stupid and then turn to the audience and make a joke about it. Not to mention, all the sci-fi and horror movie references in both versions, though I guess the Nick show does a lot of that too. --"80's Roughness". Okay this one's kind of intangible, and your milage may vary, but I think the main thing they have in common is that they're both obviously products of the same time-period. And, that imparts a certain aesthetic to them both. The 4Kids show may have been much closer in characterization and plot, but it's obviously a product of the 2000s with it's clean streamlined art style and digital ink and paint (and how much more modern, Nick's CGI?). Compare that to FW with it's cheap outsourced 80s TV animation and I think you have a stronger parallel to the "rough" look of the early Mirage books when Eastman and Laird were trying to find their groove. There's also a level of "gross" in the backgrounds with both Mirage and FW. There was grime and detail in those sewers while other versions show the sewers as strangely "clean" (fitting streamlined modern art styles). Anyway, that what I came up with. Any others? __________________ (Image hosting by Postimage.org) And here's a list of all my old wacky threads!