How does the Mutagen work, exactly?

[snake]

In this incarnation, the Mutagen Logic is out of control, I mean, I can't find out how it works! I know that it never made any sense in other incarnations, but I'm confused with this one the most.
First off, Hamato Yoshi has a rat run over his COVERED shoe, ( Yes I understand its a flashback and it could've happened differently.)......Annnd then mutates into Splinter. Then, Chris Bradford ( ??? By a dog) and Xever ( Bitten by a fish) are mutated after the DNA is in them. Same with Vic, when he gets bit by a spider and gets turned into Ballstring, but Snake touches some Weeds and then gets turned into a Weed monster. Then Timothy gets mutated by coming in contact with to many mutants? Not getting his skin touched? Something? And he mutates into a pile of organs.
Does anyone have theory's on how Mutagen works? Because I'm confused.

[Shreddhead]

http://www.troll.me/images/mr-owl/the-world-may-never-know.jpg

And I literally cracked up at the Ballstring line :lol:

[Jester]

Splinter answers your question:
http://youtu.be/Aci_rsSashU?t=1h9m37s

[Shark_Blade]

My understanding is as below:

1. The Hamato Yoshi one is easily explained here:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/350439278_6e3e7b24b0.jpg

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/podels/the%20pet%20rat%20website/photos/b1chubby_sat1.JPG


Here are two different rats with markings similar to Splinters ;)


How-ever, I read a while back that this new Splinter, is actually based on a very specific asien, tree Rat species. I remember it having a name, I looked it up, and true enough, there was a lot of small Splinters with the white markings and red-brown fur down their backs in a line.
Unfortunately I forgot what the species is called!

But yeah, this Splinter is not just an ordinary brown sewer rat, he is a very specific species of rat you can buy in a pet-store. I'm just believing that he held one of those rats they sold in the shop where he bought the turtles.
I know the show indicated he got the DNA from the rat he almost stepped on, but come on, he didn't even touch it.

Also, havn't seen the action figure of him, but Splinter in motion in the show.. Looks like a rat. His ears are to big for him to be a hamster.

Very nice theory! Indeed it bugged me that the rat he almost stepped didn't even touch him, but like you said he might touched a rat in the pet store. His built might also suggest an unusual breed as opposed to the typical grey sewer rat.

Interesting.

2. Chris Bradford and Xever touched an animal each before being exposed to the mutagen. They touched the turtles during fighting, but as they are already mutants nothing happened as result of touching them.

3. Spiderbytez and Snakeweed are pretty much straight forward. They touched a bug and plant and mutated into them.

4.Timothy was exposed to the mutagen but didn't get to touch anything, until his exposed hand touched a pile of mutagen on the floor. Then he became mutagen man.


Pretty straightforward tbh, easy to understand. :tcool:

[RaphAndDonnie]

In this incarnation, the Mutagen Logic is out of control, I mean, I can't find out how it works! I know that it never made any sense in other incarnations, but I'm confused with this one the most.
First off, Hamato Yoshi has a rat run over his COVERED shoe, ( Yes I understand its a flashback and it could've happened differently.)......Annnd then mutates into Splinter. Then, Chris Bradford ( ??? By a dog) and Xever ( Bitten by a fish) are mutated after the DNA is in them. Same with Vic, when he gets bit by a spider and gets turned into Ballstring, but Snake touches some Weeds and then gets turned into a Weed monster. Then Timothy gets mutated by coming in contact with to many mutants? Not getting his skin touched? Something? And he mutates into a pile of organs.
Does anyone have theory's on how Mutagen works? Because I'm confused.
Theory: If you touched it recently, or made some kind of contact with an object (organic or not) you mutate into it. Of course this theory has a few problems but...first of all:
1.) It's possible that the rat's tail ran up Yoshi's pant leg? Maybe? That's just what I figure.
2.)Bradford was bitten by Shredder's dog so he mutated into a dogman.
3.) Xever touched a fish and became a fish.
I'm guessing if you make no contact with any sort of substance then you just turn into a gob of ooze and that the ooze doesn't have any effect AS you're mutating (explaining why Timothy just didn't stay a human as he grabbed for the Foot Soldiers perhaps?)

[Mondo_Gecko]

Honestly, it's however the writers want to use it.

Since the first episode, the Mutagen's properties have been widely inconsistent from not only how people are mutated to but what they mutate into afterwards.

The turtles, Splinter and Leatherhead seem to have mutated very similar to how the OT utilized it, human to animal, animal to humanoid mutant

But the others such as Fishface mutating without legs, Dogpound has a giant arm, SpiderBytez turns into a giant spider, Pigeon Pete has eggs on his skin, Rockwell becoming a monkey, SpyRoach becoming a mutant machine hybrid, Timothy becoming jello encased organs.

I have to think that the writers really just wanted to make monster designs and threw all logic and mythology of the Mutagen out the window.

[snake]

...So....MANY.....THEORY'S!

But honestly, I wish we had someone on the board who works on tthe show and could help us out with this.

[Jester]

We did, but Cybercubed made him mad and he split.

[snake]

We did, but Cybercubed made him mad and he split.

Really? Who?

[Shark_Blade]

We did, but Cybercubed made him mad and he split.A tragedy tbh.

[Jester]

Really? Who?
Series Executive Producer Ciro Nieli.

[Candy Kappa]

The mutagen seems to be working differently each time, most likely because the Kraang are tinkering with it so it will work as it does in Dimension X.

Splinter, Leatherhead and the turtles looks a lot better then the rest of the mutants in the show.

Snake, Bradford and Xever have some mutation issues, like rad-brad's spikes, bone hand and oversize arm. Xever's breathing problem and lack of legs.

The mutagen got writer's powers, and will never be properly explained.

[Luckyday]

Sounds like it's polluted to a certain extent.

[Jester]

Aren't the Kraang trying to stabilize it? Maybe that's the mutagenic McGuffin.

[Xav]

But honestly, I wish we had someone on the board who works on tthe show and could help us out with this.Kenny Bloggerly answered this on his Tumblr.
Generally it creates a hybrid between the subject and the DNA of whatever organic species it was most recently in closest contact with. But it’s unpredictable in this dimension, so… let’s just say the rules are flexible. http://kennybloggerly.tumblr.com/

[raph27]

My theory:
Hamato petted a rat inside the store.
Turtles touched him.
Bradford got bit, Xever touched a fish. I read on some Nick site that if you touch a mutant it doesn't do anything.
Pete touched a human inside the Kraang lair.
Snake landed on some plants.
Tim got mutated and then stuck his hand into mutagen.

[snake]

Series Executive Producer Ciro Nieli.

:teek::teek::teek:
Wow.....

[AT-Man]

We did, but Cybercubed made him mad and he split.

I want, no, NEED to see this thread.

[gobo]

How does the Mutagen work, exactly?
Through the power of imagination, duh.

[Mr. Stay Puft]

One thing that I've noticed is that the size of the mutant seems to be relative to the amount of mutagen the subject is exposed to, as well as the size of the subject being mutated.

From what we've seen so far:

- One cannister mutated Splinter and the four turtles, they were mutated into something about the size of a normal human.
- A whole vat exploded on Vic, Bradford, and Xever, turning them into larger humanoid mutants.
- Snakeweed was exposed to a whole van full of mutagen.
- Timothy was only exposed to enough to cover his face and shoulders, so he didn't experience a significant change in body mass.
- The Cockroach Terminator, while being exposed to a larger quantity, was also a much smaller subject than the previous examples, hence why his initial post-mutation form only stands at about 6-7', compared to the much larger Dogpound, Snakeweed, Fishface, and SpiderBytez.

Leatherhead was not included becaused we don't know exactly how much mutagen he was exposed to.

[The Sewer Lord]

My theory:
Hamato petted a rat inside the store.
Turtles touched him.
Bradford got bit, Xever touched a fish. I read on some Nick site that if you touch a mutant it doesn't do anything.
Pete touched a human inside the Kraang lair.
Snake landed on some plants.
Tim got mutated and then stuck his hand into mutagen.
This is the best explanation.

Also, Ballstring touched some balls. :lol:

[Gwydion]

My mom happened to catch Karai's Vendetta and mentioned that she thought the show was kind of violent for young kids. I proceeded to tell her about Pulverizer and how he's pretty much set up as the example of what kids shouldn't be doing, but when I mentioned he ultimately ended up "being mutated into a blob", her only response was "...how did he mutate into a blob?"

Even my mom - who knows next to nothing about TMNT, let alone how the mutagen has worked over the years - had to ask just how the heck that happened, lol. I tried to explain the DNA (or lack thereof, in Timothy's case) theory, but she seemed pretty unconvinced. She finally just gave me a look and said "The things you learn from your 29 year old..." lol

[Foot Soldier Clang]

I have a theory for the mutagen in this show. Of course this show follows the "you mutate into whatever you touched last" rule like in the OT, but the mutagen itself is unstable (as mentioned by Kraang). I believe mutagen has a 3 step or one step process, which involve time, and possibly how much mutagen you are exposed to as factors.

The 3 step process could go something like:


Recent exposure (time span estimate 10 - 30 minutes before exposure to mutagen) to foreign DNA of a different species
Exposure to an unspecified amout of mutagen
Mutation


The one step is more about immersion, so:


Human & foreign DNA are both exposed to mutagen at once


I specify amount because of the unbalance in mutations on the show. The main cast of the turtles and Splinter have a more humanoid appearance, as well as Dogpound. Fishface, Spiderbytez, Snakeweed don't resemble their human selves at all. Snakeweed himself seems to have lost a good deal of his humanity and intelligence.

Time might be a key factor to the Pulverizer's mutation. It brings up questions like "when was the last time he was exposed to another creature" and if he wore his Foot ninja outfit so often his DNA wasn't exposed to any in X-amount of time. We know that the Pulverizer's enthusiastic attitude for wanting to be a somebody, and his want to be a mutant really blurred his view of the bigger picture around him. His heart was in the right place, but his choices were very wrong and led him to a screaming mutation.

So, Pulverizer, who had no recent exposure to foreign DNA within the time span I've theorized above before his mutation (due to his Foot ninja outfit and other speculative factors), and his double-dose of mutagen (on his noggin and his hands) left the mutagen no choice but to mutate with what it had. What I mean is there was no third component (foreign DNA) to the mutagen, so the mutagen simply worked with itself. So instead of progressing some sort of mutation, and enhancing whatever abilities Pulverizer would have had with DNA of "X", it regressed him so he could survive the mutation progress without the foreign DNA. This of course left him in the sorry state he's in now.

And, as a side thought, even though it's never been mentioned (as far as I know) in any TMNT continuity, I can't help but get the feeling that mutagen in this show at least has an intelligent quotient (I.Q.). It seems to know how to mutate folks, but because of it's instability it has trouble doing whatever it is actually supposed to be doing.

[Luigiperps]

My mom happened to catch Karai's Vendetta and mentioned that she thought the show was kind of violent for young kids. I proceeded to tell her about Pulverizer and how he's pretty much set up as the example of what kids shouldn't be doing, but when I mentioned he ultimately ended up "being mutated into a blob", her only response was "...how did he mutate into a blob?"

Even my mom - who knows next to nothing about TMNT, let alone how the mutagen has worked over the years - had to ask just how the heck that happened, lol. I tried to explain the DNA (or lack thereof, in Timothy's case) theory, but she seemed pretty unconvinced. She finally just gave me a look and said "The things you learn from your 29 year old..." lol

It's funny (but off topic) My mom has seen a few episodes but never pays attention, but figured out Karai is Miwa five seconds after she found out Karai was Shredder's daughter:lol:

[CowabungaMikey]

The movie and comic logic is better. Turtles touch the ooze, they turned into big human-like turtles. Rat touch the ooze, he turns intro big human-like rat.

OT and 2012 idea:

Turtles touch the ooze, they turned into big human-like turtles. Man touch mutagen after touch a rat, and turns into a rat.

[LH]

Leatherhead was not included becaused we don't know exactly how much mutagen he was exposed to.

It should be noted that he was mutated in Dimension X, where the mutagen can be controlled. It was also implied that he was mutated gradually through means of experimentation.

[miru]

The wasp mutated with a growth ray, heceforth it only changing in size.

[Luckyday]

Maybe the mutagen that change the turtles and Splinter was the only one that wasn't polluted hence why the others (except Leatherhead) are either deformed or mentally unstable or C) all of the above.

[Coola Yagami]

I wonder if when Tim was mutating, let's say you throw a lizard at him or some sort of bug, if he would have still mutated into some kind of animal-man, or if it woulda been too late?