Is April O'Neil as iconic as the Turtles themselves?

[CyberCubed]

Everyone knows the Turtles, Splinter and Shredder are iconic characters, and most people would instantly recognize them.

But would you say that April O'Neil is as iconic as the Turtles themselves? If you went up to a random person on the street, and asked them, "Do you know the Ninja Turtles?" and they'll probably say they're aware of them in some form.

However if you went to comic fans, DC/Marvel cans, anime fans, or so forth, and asked, "Do you know who April O'Neil is?" do you think she would be instantly recognizable?

[Coola Yagami]

Of course she is. That ass is iconic!!!!!

Seriously, maybe not on her own, but if you were ask some random dude if they know the turtles, and they say yes, and you ask them if they remember April, 99.9% should also say yes. I mean, she was the token female. The only babe in the live-action movies, the damsel in distress in the old show, the kick-ass in the new show, she is THE token female of the show.

And of course, many a perv that has a 'hottest 80's toons babes' list, ALWAYS has April in there somewhere. She ranks up there with She Ra and Cheetara.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

And she was in the original Mirage series, initially providing a home for them in her old apartment building.

[oldmanwinters]

I'm guessing the yellow jumpsuit OT version and the Judith Hoag version from the first movie have a very high iconic status. Not as high as the Turtles or Shredder, but not too far below.

[drasgow]

i think the name is. but if you were to show a picture of her from the comic, i don't think too many people would recognize her. sort of like the "hey, why is blank's bandana red? it should be blank!"

[Andrew NDB]

But would you say that April O'Neil is as iconic as the Turtles themselves?

No.

But then I'm not even sure I'd classify the TMNT themselves as "iconic." They're kind of the anti-iconic... but that isn't a bad thing at all.

Superman is iconic. Batman is iconic. Wonder Woman is iconic. Captain America is iconic.

[sdp]

April is more iconic than Splinter.
In fact after the turtles I'd say the two most iconic characters are April and Shredder. Yeah I think she's in the same league as Shredder or just slightly below shredder.


Oh and the Turtles are definitely iconic, and they are definitely more iconic than Captain America.

[Roseangelo]

I'm not a big fan of the word "iconic" in general, but no, April O'Neil does not have the same amount of recognition as the TMNT themselves.

[willtupper]

I think Roseangelo is iconic :D.

Also, no, I don't really think that April O'Neil is anywhere NEAR as iconic as the Turtles themselves. Especially as a news reporter, where she's obviously been inspired and shaped by another far more iconic character, Superman's gal pal, Lois Lane. She works, obviously, as a "witness" character, to the battle between good and evil going on around her. And that makes her a great "tool" to have, when you're trying to do some serious storytelling.

I don't think it's any coincidence that most (if not all) of the truly "iconic" comic book characters have a newspaper / reporter-type character in their "leading cast." Whether it be J. Jonah Jameson in Spiderman, Vicki Vale in Batman, or April O'Neil in the Turtles.

The three most popular interpertations of the turtles have been the cartoon, the movie series, and (probably) the Archie series. That's where she's been the witness, the middle ground, the storyteller along for the ride.

Lazy comparison, but I think to say April is as iconic as the Turtles / Shredder would be to say Princess Leia is as iconic as Luke Skywalker / Darth Vader. It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's realistic.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I don't think she's as iconic as the Turtles themselves.

However, the cartoon version with the yellow jumpsuit is still a very recognizable character. Which is why they had an April O'Neil at the booth at that recent comic con.

[Cure]

Oh and the Turtles are definitely iconic, and they are definitely more iconic than Captain America.

That's a dumb thing to say. And no, April is not as iconic.

[Sage Ninja]

I think OT April is more reconisable than all the other April's as far as looks and personality and her profession. You show a random person a picture of April from the 2k3 series or new 2k7 movie amd they wouldn't be as reconisable.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I think OT April is more reconisable than all the other April's as far as looks and personality and her profession. You show a random person a picture of April from the 2k3 series or new 2k7 movie amd they wouldn't be as reconisable.

Well the 2007 movie is possible because it's another yellow jumpsuit. The yellow jumpsuit though is certainly more recognizable. It would definitely stand out more than the 2003 April's belly shirt. 2003 April did not have as unique a look.

[NinjaVanish]

To answer the topic, no. April O'Neil is not as iconic as the Turtles. I do think she is recognizable though when mentioned with or about the turtles. The Shredder would have a higher icon status than an April O'Neil. April O'Neil in the yellow jumpsuit is hot though. LOL

[thebrownranger]

Yeah April is not as iconic as the turtles, but I'm pretty people who watched the show would remember her.

[ZariusTwo]

There's only one thing that really prevents her from being as iconic...no real definitive version. The Turtles are all the general same in every incarnation to variable degrees, but April has no FIXED posistion, she's seen as a "career reporter", "Baxter's assistant", "Antique dealer", the TMNT's "girl", "surrogate sister", "group crush" or "Casey's girl"....and even Laird relegated her to "Crayon Drawing"

I think she can be as iconic, the modern series comes the closest to establishing a very relatable April without the baggage of the comics or the career-obsesseive in the original series, but the modern series itself is not iconic enough to make her stand out.

April can be iconic, it just depends on something that nails everything together.

[Sage Ninja]

I think you have the way of it ZariusTwo. April seems to change in almost every medium she is in, even in looks and personality. But I will say that at least in the cartoon mediums she stayed reletively consistant. In the old toon, she was reporter and she stayed a reporter, even if she became rather fed up with the turtles in the last three seasons and distanced her self.

In the new toon she is computer expert who eventually learns and gains modest skills in ninjitsu. A great progression for her character.

But in the comics, at least in mirage, April has under gone alot (in my opinion) alot of changes in status and appearnace all in the same medium; which is fair considering how long running the comic is. But she went from the "normal human one" to a drawing. Thats a pretty big change if you ask me from her established characteristics.

Also, I don't want to sound nit picky, but I sort of felt that April becoming a Laura Croft-esch fighting girl seemed a bit forced to me. The new toon and the new movie did it in a reasonable way for the most part, but it sort of felt like the creators where trying to hard to make her an acceptable female role modle.

[Ryona]

I'd say that only the classic April of the original 80s series is iconic. The other Aprils don't messure up.

Like really, this image alone is iconic!

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4572/apriloneilfashiondollca.gif



Oh and the Turtles are definitely iconic, and they are definitely more iconic than Captain America.

Quoted for truth.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Also, I don't want to sound nit picky, but I sort of felt that April becoming a Laura Croft-esch fighting girl seemed a bit forced to me. The new toon and the new movie did it in a reasonable way for the most part, but it sort of felt like the creators where trying to hard to make her an acceptable female role modle.

I don't think April learning to fight is as bad as when they came up with Venus DeMilo.

She hangs out with four ninjas all the time. She's bound to pick up something eventually.

[Spike Spiegel]

I think 80s toon April is iconic to the average joe...it's tough to gauge her fame in circles outside of TMNT/comic book fandom. The more I got into TMNT, the more iconic she became to me...in the same sort of way that ZariusTwo described, not just as the "hot chick," but also as a formidable ally/friend to the TMNT (especially her 2k3 incarnation) and someone who I'd probably want as a friend in real life.

I think of her in terms of 80's April looks with 2k3 April's personality...

[pannoni1]

http://top-topics.thefullwiki.org/Fictional_reporters

According to this study here (even though some of these characters, such as Spiderman are better known rather than being "the reporter" (though April still beats J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale here). Given that there are 135 total entires, while 25th isn't bad, but considering this list includes April's primary job makes me feel that April could perform a bit better. But it does show how competitive entertainment is in general and hopefully if the new series is successful we'll find her name near the top!

NOTE: The data according to this link is based on a two week study from July 22 to August 4, 2010, so this data has all been pre-cached. http://top-topics.thefullwiki.org/

[oldmanwinters]

http://top-topics.thefullwiki.org/Fictional_reporters

According to this study here (even though some of these characters, such as Spiderman are better known rather than being "the reporter" (though April still beats J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale here). Given that there are 135 total entires, while 25th isn't bad, but considering this list includes April's primary job makes me feel that April could perform a bit better. But it does show how competitive entertainment is in general and hopefully if the new series is successful we'll find her name near the top!

NOTE: The data according to this link is based on a two week study from July 22 to August 4, 2010, so this data has all been pre-cached. http://top-topics.thefullwiki.org/

That list seems sort of bogus to me.

Peter Parker (or Eddie Brock) shouldn't be on the list! He's a photographer! There's a big difference.

And Wilma Flintstone is a reporter? Who knew?

I guess it just tells you which wikis get looked at the most. The whole "fictional reporter" tag must be pretty arbitrary.