Jennika Miniseries starts in February!

[ChosenOne]

Tom, I have a question: imagine there were never any plans to introduce a female Turtle, or that Jennika wasn't the one who had been picked to be mutated; what was the original fate you folks had in mind for her? Would she have lived to see City at War?

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by ChosenOne

Tom, I have a question: imagine there were never any plans to introduce a female Turtle, or that Jennika wasn't the one who had been picked to be mutated; what was the original fate you folks had in mind for her?

Good question. My plan was that she remain Splinter's Chunin, and become even more like a daughter to him over time, regardless if she mutated or not. In the beginning, she was dogmatic in her loyalty to the Foot Clan. Over time (as she explained to Karai just before Karai stabbed her in City At War), she began to realize what she needed was a family, not a criminal ninja clan. And as she changed, Splinter began to realize, too, that he was trading family for crime, no matter how much he tried to deny it... and fix it. As Jenny grew as a person near him, Splinter gained a kind of grim self-realization through her... as old and experienced as he was, he still had growing to do (don't we all?). I liked that role for Jenny a lot -- whether human or not.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

[Chris]

Tom, I'm sorry you had to post that but very grateful that you did. Thanks for an amazing 8 years, can't wait to see how it all turns out next month.

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Good question. My plan was that she remain Splinter's Chunin, and become even more like a daughter to him over time, regardless if she mutated or not. In the beginning, she was dogmatic in her loyalty to the Foot Clan. Over time (as she explained to Karai just before Karai stabbed her in City At War), she began to realize what she needed was a family, not a criminal ninja clan. And as she changed, Splinter began to realize, too, that he was trading family for crime, no matter how much he tried to deny it... and fix it. As Jenny grew as a person near him, Splinter gained a kind of grim self-realization through her... as old and experienced as he was, he still had growing to do (don't we all?). I liked that role for Jenny a lot -- whether human or not.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

I like that, and particularly how well she works as a foil for Karai (or vice-versa) on so many levels, whether human or not as you said. Thank you!

[CyberCubed]

Out of curiosity is Jennika’s crush on Casey going to be addressed now that she’s a mutant? We saw signs Casey was unhappy with it so I guess their possible relationship is done for, but Jenny really seemed to like him so I kinda feel sorry for her.

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Out of curiosity is Jennika’s crush on Casey going to be addressed now that she’s a mutant? We saw signs Casey was unhappy with it so I guess their possible relationship is done for, but Jenny really seemed to like him so I kinda feel sorry for her.

Yes. Like they say on Facebook, their relationship is "complicated."

But definitely something that will be addressed respectfully and earnestly.

Talk soon...

Tom W.

[Allio]

Jenny just has to put on a red mask, all should be fine.

[Vegita-San]

I personaly found Jen more interesting as a human protege to splinter. the daughter he never had. as a female turtle... it just seems, un needed. even if the way she was mutated works rather well.


Venus was her own mis under used potential. a magical turtle, rather than a ninja turtle could have been interesting. just like dragon lord was an interesting villain.

I just don't think Jen needed to be mutated. it would be as goofy as turning April into a turtle, even short time.

although, I will say a possible romance between baxter and april sounds far more interesting heh.

[Cloudrunner]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

After all, contrary to what TommyT is harping about above, she is NOT the only important character in this series -- Sophie (and Bobby) have amazing plans for the entire beloved ensemble cast starting with issue #101... and beyond.

Well, I hope this is true... but the character I'm constantly harping about (Alopex) has been sidelined for a good while in the main story so hopefully they won't forget about her. Maybe every now and again you all can throw me a bone and team her up with Raph for another stealth mission, eh? Those two books were some of my favorites recent issues. And please, please! Don't do "Harold's Angels" with any more female characters. That's such a waste.

[CyberCubed]

I remember thinking Jennika as a human was going to be IDW's Gabrielle from the Mirage comics, and that's why she was flirting with Casey. Much like how in Mirage they got together in City at War and Gabrielle died at childbirth leaving Casey and April to raise the daughter (Shadow), I thought that's where the Casey/Jennika thing was going to go in IDW.

It would have been an interesting way to bring Shadow, Casey and April's adoptive daughter, into the IDW universe. Of course in this series Shadow would be Casey's biological daughter since Casey/Jennika would have gotten together for awhile, and then she would either die at childbirth or in City at War, but the baby would be saved...and Shadow would be in the IDW universe.

[TommyT]

Glad to get an official response. I won't be attacking you, as I don't know you. I appreciate you taking the time to step in and clear the air. I would say that so far, the tone from you was pretty hostile, but that's your right. I'm just a fan, who used to buy your products.

And I'd also like to say, at least for myself, this is a forum celebrating the characters, and stories of the turtles, a franchise that has had many homes. This is not a forum dedicated to IDW, itself, and there needs to be a clear understanding that praise of one is not necessarily of the other, no more than we must celebrate Platinum Dunes or Playmates.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

...Why we decided to make a female turtle, who was primarily responsible for pushing it forward and through to reality (hint: me), why we waited as long as we did, what my political motivations were (hint: none), and where IDW/Nickelodeon is going with the character in the future ... From issue #1, Kevin and talked about making a female turtle. Every convention/signing we've ever been to, little girls asked us why there was no girl turtle. It was important to the children and it was important to us (Kevin always felt that Venus was a missed opportunity). But we were patient, because we didn't want to feel like we were pandering or forcing the issue. We wanted it to happen when/if it felt right... so that it worked for the story being told instead of distracting from it. So we waited. And then Jennika came along in issue #51. She was supposed to be a throwaway character...

You had me, up until there. That's where I stop buying what you're selling.
So this was your decision, (yours and Kevin's), to add a fifth turtle, again, to the team, (Fifth after April, Kirby, Zac, Venus, and also apparently Mark Freedman) but, fifth in this incarnation. Got it.

Did you get Peter's blessing? Just curious.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

...Something about her wouldn't let me throw her away. I liked her... the mystery of her... and her hidden potential. But I didn't know I wanted her to be our female turtle until I read Brahm Revel's amazing Jennika origin story in TMNT Universe much later. That's when it hit me like a thunderbolt -- Jenny's the one! And so we spent more years carefully developing her (including me secretly reaching out to artist Sophie Campbell to collaborate on her turtle design), making sure when the time came for her transformation, she was already very much a part of the Hamato Clan (surrogate sister and daughter, etc.) and that she fit neatly in to the family dynamic, whether human or mutant turtle.

So I'm confused why you asked Sophie, to design her? Yeah, I like Sophie, She has a distinct style, and perspective on the turtles, BUT, and I hate to say it, but...was Kevin busy? You said, this was his idea! Why not tap the first person to ever draw a ninja turtle, to add the all important, ground breaking fifth turtle? Wouldn't that be the sort of an honor you'd bestow on the original creator, especially if they're still involved and still around? Weird you picked Sophie, given the huge list of creators at your disposal. Again, She's perfectly qualified, but maybe not more so than the Originator.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

And then I had to convince Nickelodeon and my fellow creators that the time was right and that it could work (no corporate SJW agenda driving her mutation, TommyT... sorry to disappoint you). Luckily for me, I was able to bring everyone on board, we all came came together to develop the story, and the rest is history.

Sure, I bet Nick was really unhappy you were adding a fifth charcter to the core that could be merchandised alongside the essential 4. Yep, sounds like that was some real arm twisting.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

I doubt you'll believe me, TommyT

You're right, I don't.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

(and frankly, I don't care one iota),

But you wrote a novel explaining yourself?

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

...But you might want to know the REAL reality of things before you make up your own -- which is exactly what you're doing. Not sure what possessed you to publicly spout falsehoods and misguided assumptions like you're doing here (pretending like you have some kind of magical behind-the-scenes access... or that you personally know me or my intentions at all),

Ok Tom? I don't know you at all. I also never said I did. But I can see the strategy. I'm not claiming that you told me this, or that I have first hand knowledge, at all. I never once even alluded to it.

What i did say, was that IDW was in trouble, according to online articles written by reputable websites!!! You can accuse me of reading the news, that's all.

Okay, I get it, I'm suggesting this was set this up as a stunt, to boost sales, because IDW is in trouble, but man, THAT'S WHAT FANS DO!!! We all do it! We speculate and gossip about why things happen the way they do!!! Ask Andrew about weed whacking and his hatred of plants! half the threads here are conversations around what the pros are doing, and why.
IDW is in trouble, is it not? It's public knowledge at this point, and as I've said before, Turtles isn't to blame, but the company as a whole is having some serious financial difficulty. Turtles may be the one thing that is, from the outside, still an evergreen property, excuse the pun. My entire point, since i began arguing with the ChosenOne in another thread, is that we've seen all of this before! TURTLEMANIA sold the turtles out and sent the brand into remission, for years, almost a decade.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Again, I'm sure you'll deny it, and that's fine. You'll probably get defensive and attack me, and that's okay, too -- it's easy to do from behind the safety of an anonymous keyboard (sadly, the world's filled with internet "tough guys" these days).

Take a breath. That sounds like a threat, and I'm sure you didn't mean it that way. Threats aren't okay, no matter who you are.

read between the lines. I am a fan, and you have me VERY worried. I am also not alone, in my fear that this is all taking the turtles in a very dangerous direction.

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

And that's all I'm going to say about this matter -- take it or leave it.

Sure. after the sales spike, we'll see what's what. Check those numbers for Charlies Angels, let me know what a good idea it is to lean hard into the SJW world, from a financial perspective. It's a long road out after 100. Maybe you'll pretend to kill Raphael, or Leo next?

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

As for Jenny's PTSD, that's a very fair point --

And that's all i've been saying. Try to hear it for what it is, and that it's because we LOVE this brand, and we want the best for it. That's it, and that's all.

[ChosenOne]

TommyT, man, please just stop being rude and offensive for gratuitous reasons. You've seriously crossed a line here. No one cares what your beef and/or your agenda is. Tom Waltz himself took the time to drop by with a long, detailed post addressing the issues you claim to have, and you act in a disrespectful way, like he owes you anything or like you want to challenge the man to a knife fight. You don't own the franchise. You don't own these people's minds or their work or whatever they want to put on the pages for their readers. It's got past the point of being tiresome. I don't leave this part of the forum much so I don't know if it will amount to anything, but I just reported your post for being rude and offensive. This needs to stop and it sadly doesn't seem like you'll see reason.

[vicsavage]

Remember when you lot were moaning about Captain Marvel being SJW nonsense and then it made a billion dollars

[TommyT]

Originally Posted by ChosenOne

TommyT, man, please just stop being rude and offensive for gratuitous reasons. You've seriously crossed a line here. No one cares what your beef and/or your agenda is. Tom Waltz himself took the time to drop by with a long, detailed post addressing the issues you seem to have, and you act in a disrespectful manner, like he owes you anything. You don't own the franchise. You don't own these people's minds or their work or whatever they want to put on the pages for their readers. It's got past the point of being tiresome. I don't leave this part of the forum much so I don't know if it will amount to anything, but I just reported your post for being rude and offensive. This needs to stop and it sadly doesn't seem like you'll see reason.

You need to look up the definition of rude. I took the time to respond. He's calling me out, and I don't care who he is. I've been civil, but a few points in his response were also OVER the line.

What exactly does tough guys behind keyboards imply? Kiss ass all you want, I refuse to watch them shred the last bit of TMNT for a dollar. Kevin's been doing it since the sale, did it before with Venus, and it's happening again.

I have spoken.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by vicsavage

Remember when you lot were moaning about Captain Marvel being SJW nonsense and then it made a billion dollars

Whether it was or it wasn't that... what we can all agree is that it was the penultimate movie to "Avengers: Endgame."

People were always going to show.

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by TommyT

I have spoken.

Careful, don't lean too far into that pool of water or you might fall in.

[vicsavage]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Whether it was or it wasn't that... what we can all agree is that it was the penultimate movie to "Avengers: Endgame."

People were always going to show.

That's true, but I don't think you can point to Charlie's Angels box office failure as indicative of much of anything.

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by vicsavage

Remember when you lot were moaning about Captain Marvel being SJW nonsense and then it made a billion dollars

Controversy aside, I personally found it to be a boring movie by Phase 3 standards. Would've been fine in Phase 1. Here's hoping Black Widow doesn't turn out the same way, ScarJo deserves to leave the MCU with a bang.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by vicsavage

That's true, but I don't think you can point to Charlie's Angels box office failure as indicative of much of anything.

I think it can be, and is, indicative of several things, including but not limited to:

1. Everything has an expiration date.
2. Things that were created to be tongue-in-cheek jiggle-fests centered entirely on giving men the opportunity to ogle busty lasses in tight clothing cannot be retrofitted into something serious and "feminist". It just doesn't work. The feminist audience has no affection for the brand, while the men who might care won't pay to see flat-chested waifs finger-wag them about being progressive.

They made a movie for absolutely nobody, and thus, absolutely nobody went to see it. I think a person can tell quite a lot from that, frankly.

As to whether or not those things can apply to conversations about Other Things... eh, depends.

[TommyT]

Originally Posted by ChosenOne

Careful, don't lean too far into that pool of water or you might fall in.