Will Jennika stay in TMNT forever???

[TigerClaw]

I think Jennika is here to stay.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

You won't ever see a female turtle in cartoons/movies.

Never doubt the marketing appeal of inclusion.

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Never doubt the marketing appeal of inclusion.

Don't be surprise if they somehow added Jennika in ROTTMNT.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Don't be surprise if they somehow added Jennika in ROTTMNT.

Is that even still going?

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Is that even still going?

Well My Tivo has recorded a lot of episodes. and the last one recorded was from July 28th. But maybe they have more episodes coming. Who knows.

[newfan]

She'd possibly be used again as she seems to have been well recieved so far with how she was written in (I also like the design). That being said, having another turtle as a recurring character and changing the 4 to officially and permanently being a 5 are different things, I don't personally feel a need for the latter but another turtle can work as a character, especially where there are other mutants anyway.

[Damo]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

let's face it, "Ninjara" is kind of a dumb name

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michaelangelo... as the names of ninjas. Man Ray. Mondo Gecko. Ace Duck. Pizza Face. Manmoth. Wyrm. Seymour Gutz, the Mutagen Man.

If anything, I'd argue that the silly and weird names outnumber the serious ones.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The fact that Old Hob, the breakout new IDW character who has existed since 2011, 9 years ago now, has never appeared in any of the cartoons or movies since, should make that obvious.

Hob fits a very different niche. He's another grimdude "villain," which is something the series has an abundance of, and his "enemy of my enemy" schtick wouldn't have worked in Rise or the movies. I think he could have worked in the 2012 cartoon, but honestly I'd say that was the only other thing that could have used him and didn't thus far. Give it time.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

You won't ever see a female turtle in cartoons/movies.

Never is a very long time.

She's got a lot in common with Danny from the 1990 movie, Angel from the 2003 series, and Karai from 2012. This is a franchise that loves to play with "there's a youngster on the bad guys' side, that gets redeemed." I'd be amazed if nobody else ever wanted to take a crack at her just based on the way the series keeps going with that concept.

To be clear, I think we're locked into the core concept of the four boys and Splinter being the heart and soul of the franchise, but I can easily see her being one of those hanger-on characters that get introduced after a bit and shows up on a semi-regular basis.

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Don't be surprise if they somehow added Jennika in ROTTMNT.

That show can barely remember April exists, I don't see it handling the expanded cast with anything resembling competence.

[CyberCubed]

They discuss Jennika on other forums:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/wai...le-now.145393/

[neatoman]

I was thinking about what exactly sets Jennika apart from the main turtles aside from the superficial details, and all I can really think of is that she priotises orders and loyalty over ethics and morals. Assuming that she's the one who killed Miller it would mean that, while the other turtles felt conflicted about Splinter killing a murderer who should have died hundreds of years ago, she was perfectly fine with killing some innocent guy just because she was ordered to. In fact most of what she does is because she's ordered to.

[MikeandRaph87]

Perhaps that can be a development played with following her mutation. She learns to develop her own mindset and does not necessarily have to agree with those giving orders even if she follows them.

As for her being a permanent fixture, I see it going over better than Venus, but I don't see Jennika being a regular fixture beyond IDW.

[Damo]

I think people forget that Karai was just a late-stage oddity in the Mirage continuity - which was obviously the original continuity, but not as well known - until she showed up in the second season of the 2003 cartoon. A dozen years after she first appeared in the comics.

And now she's considered a mainstay. She was in the 2007 movie, and the IDW comics, and the 2012 cartoon. And she's one of the characters with better odds of appearing in Rise (which is to say "still surprisingly low").

The list of "regular fixtures" in the franchise is fixed and written in stone... until suddenly it turns out it's rather easy to add to it.

[CyberCubed]

Most "modern" TMNT characters, and by that I mean everyone from the 2000's onward, tend not to become series staples. The only two really big breakout characters were Hun and Bishop from the 4kids series, and they've pretty much become staples of the ongoing TMNT mythos now. To a lesser extent Ch'rell, but I don't know if we'll see him in future series.

If you think of every other character created from 2000 onward, they tend to stay in their particular series and never return. Most of the Nick created characters for the 2012 show like Tiger Claw, Fishface, Chris Bradford's Rahzar, etc...have never appeared in anything else. Most of the Rise of the TMNT mutants most likely won't either.

In terms of IDW, Old Hob has existed since 2011...it's now 9 years later and he's never shown up in anything else. I also don't think The Patheon will (or at least their version of the characters), or Alopex, etc. Of course IDW cherry picks characters from all universes and brings them back like Angel, Darius Dun, etc...but that's just this series.

The entire TMNT franchise is always on nostalgia mode with 80's and 90's characters. Most 2000's characters, and since we're now almost in 2020 this is now 20 years worth of characters, tend to be forgotten overtime. As I said above, Hun and Bishop seem to be the only two post Turtlemania that managed to become franchise staples. Let me know when Old Hob shows up in the next TMNT cartoon or comic....

[Raptor86]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Most "modern" TMNT characters, and by that I mean everyone from the 2000's onward, tend not to become series staples. The only two really big breakout characters were Hun and Bishop from the 4kids series, and they've pretty much become staples of the ongoing TMNT mythos now. To a lesser extent Ch'rell, but I don't know if we'll see him in future series.

If you think of every other character created from 2000 onward, they tend to stay in their particular series and never return. Most of the Nick created characters for the 2012 show like Tiger Claw, Fishface, Chris Bradford's Rahzar, etc...have never appeared in anything else. Most of the Rise of the TMNT mutants most likely won't either.

In terms of IDW, Old Hob has existed since 2011...it's now 9 years later and he's never shown up in anything else. I also don't think The Patheon will (or at least their version of the characters), or Alopex, etc. Of course IDW cherry picks characters from all universes and brings them back like Angel, Darius Dun, etc...but that's just this series.

The entire TMNT franchise is always on nostalgia mode with 80's and 90's characters. Most 2000's characters, and since we're now almost in 2020 this is now 20 years worth of characters, tend to be forgotten overtime. As I said above, Hun and Bishop seem to be the only two post Turtlemania that managed to become franchise staples. Let me know when Old Hob shows up in the next TMNT cartoon or comic....

A version of Alopex was in the 2012 cartoon

[sdp]

Karai and black baxter were able to become staples despite not being in the OT. Between IDW and 2012 there are many "new" mutants that really could've been previous already created characters, no reason why Old Hub couldn't have been scratch, Jennika as Venus etc.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Damo

I think people forget that Karai was just a late-stage oddity in the Mirage continuity

I wouldn't say "oddity." Though it is interesting and mostly sad that it's the only incarnation of Karai that isn't related and/or attached at the hip to Oroku Saki.

[Cloudrunner]

Originally Posted by Raptor86

A version of Alopex was in the 2012 cartoon

lol, no. A version of Ninjara that they inexplicably named Alopex was in the 2012 cartoon. And now the name is forever tainted by a dumb one-off character that takes priority over the real one in searches.

[newfan]

The difference here is that the other characters mentioned are not a '5th turtle' Depends how much a creator or network/company wants one I guess?

[AquaParade]

As far as enjoyment goes, I think Andrew nailed it by implying that this version works well for IDW. But as for other versions of the franchise, who knows?

I'm fairly open-minded, but I still don't know how I'd feel about the character becoming a mainstay in the franchise. To the point where she's the exciting post-credits scene, in the next TMNT film, to tease a sequel, is interesting to think about, but I really like the four brothers dynamic, at least as far as a foundation.

Slowly expanding into the idea, like IDW has done, is an easier pill for me to swallow, and I can see the potential in it. And i'll just throw out there that whether she is male or female has nothing to do with it, for me. In fact, if there is to be a fifth turtle, throwing a female into the mix makes perfect sense.

And at the end of the day, does it really matter much either way if she's a turtle? That's the question I'm asking myself. She isn't one of the brothers, she's sort of just another member of the misfit tmnt family, as far as I can tell. I could be missing something, as I haven't read every issue in the series.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I like Venus as a character better than Jennika, and would hope that any potential fifth female turtles start life as a turtle and not a human, same as the guys.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

I like Venus as a character better than Jennika, and would hope that any potential fifth female turtles start life as a turtle and not a human, same as the guys.

The same. If things are to ever invoke sexual intrigue it's a bit too weird to imagine a former human having sex with something that, like, used to be a red eared slider in a lake somewhere.