Do you think the character April is overhype by the franchise?

[Luckyday]

It just with the movie and show. Both of them desperately try to put her in the front and center in their respected adaptation, and maybe to a point to where they trying too hard. So far in my opinion, the character was utilized best in the IDW comics. She is not overhype but she isn't treated like a she just there to be parted of the scenery.

[Powder]

Honestly, a new version could come out with no April at all & I'd be fine. I get that she's the turtles' link to the human world, but with the inevitable introduction of Casey Jones in any given universe, she need not be.

[IndigoErth]

If we're talking about the present versions, yes. I mean, if they want to include her a bit more and give her a bit more meaning for being around, I'm fine with that, but right now...girl friend is stealing a larger amount of spotlight than she should be. You should not be the center of the movie. For 2012...half alien or kunoichi, pick one, not both. Or at least save the ninja thing until the alien problem is resolved. Already have the magic mind powers on top of it.

[The Turtle Terminator]

Well fanartists have overhyped her lots (search "april oneil tmnt" on google and you'll understand what I mean)..... and so did the 2014 film

[CyberCubed]

She's also the very first main character we see in the original cartoon too.

[Warhorse]

Honestly, a new version could come out with no April at all & I'd be fine. I get that she's the turtles' link to the human world, but with the inevitable introduction of Casey Jones in any given universe, she need not be.

I'd trade Casey and April for just Karai to be honest. I just find her more interesting.

If we're talking about the present versions, yes. I mean, if they want to include her a bit more and give her a bit more meaning for being around, I'm fine with that, but right now...girl friend is stealing a larger amount of spotlight than she should be. You should not be the center of the movie. For 2012...half alien or kunoichi, pick one, not both. Or at least save the ninja thing until the alien problem is resolved. Already have the magic mind powers on top of it.

I agree. I don't care what people say, to me it seems like in Nick TMNT, April and Casey both get more story time, screen time and dialogue than Mikey and Raph.

[Shark_Blade]

April is essential, tmnt isn't complete without her imo. :tlove:

She's also the very first main character we see in the original cartoon too.And the first movie too.

[pennydreadful]

I'm a little bit burnt out on April right now - I could definitely do with having her take a backseat for a while. Like Indigo said, she's hogging the limelight at the expense of the Turtles - that don't fly well with me.

[turtle1237]

I'd trade Casey and April for just Karai to be honest. I just find her more interesting.



I agree. I don't care what people say, to me it seems like in Nick TMNT, April and Casey both get more story time, screen time and dialogue than Mikey and Raph.

I trade Nick Casey and Nick April for well OT April and perhaps 2003 Casey. But that's just me lol.

April is suppose to be well human or a drawing for the most part? Not some alien being with mind reading powers that Nick gave us. I like the new Karai though.

[Bossa Nova]

I love April.

As a side character. I feel like she gave just the right amount of support to still be interesting but not the absolute focus in the original film and the 2k3 series, and from what I've read the IDW series too. I like her, I like what she has to offer as a link to the human world and the support she can give the turtles as a mother/big sister/positive female role model.

But that's it. I don't like her one-upping the turtles. I don't like her being on their level, either in skill, screen time. In my view, she's not part of the main group and should NOT be treated as such (I absolute loathe the way she's constantly pictured with the turtles in 2k12 as though she's officially part of the team). I'm sick of seeing April in this 'omg girl power!' role and want her to go back to her awesome, supportive, second-character position.

[Commenter 42]

I trade Nick Casey and Nick April for well OT April and perhaps 2003 Casey. But that's just me lol.

April is suppose to be well human or a drawing for the most part? Not some alien being with mind reading powers that Nick gave us. I like the new Karai though.

Hell to the yes. Exactly.

[Warhorse]

Why is the poll closed?

[Shark_Blade]

Drawing April is like wtf? :-? I like to think she never exist.

[Azul35]

I Remember when I read the issue that said that April was a living drawing, I want to think that this thing never existed, because it's in my opinion, rather silly.
Getting back to the discussion, I liked the way that she appeared in the 2k3 series, she didn't appear at all episodes and most of the times she wasn't at the spotlight.

[Luckyday]

I love April.

As a side character. I feel like she gave just the right amount of support to still be interesting but not the absolute focus in the original film and the 2k3 series, and from what I've read the IDW series too. I like her, I like what she has to offer as a link to the human world and the support she can give the turtles as a mother/big sister/positive female role model.

But that's it. I don't like her one-upping the turtles. I don't like her being on their level, either in skill, screen time. In my view, she's not part of the main group and should NOT be treated as such (I absolute loathe the way she's constantly pictured with the turtles in 2k12 as though she's officially part of the team). I'm sick of seeing April in this 'omg girl power!' role and want her to go back to her awesome, supportive, second-character position.

It's not that I don't want her to be on their level. I just don't want her to have special treatment.

It's hard to explain but when training to be a ninja, it should take years and not weeks/months or in this case three episodes. I can accept that Karai can fight as well and maybe be even better as the turtles because she was trained to fight since she was a wee toddler. Casey Jones fight along side them with raw power but at same time, he relies more on self made gadgets and even he fumbles ever now and again.

People hated April in Kraang Conspiracy, but I really like it that they willing show her inexperience and her assertiveness to be part of the action but with side of impatience because it gave April a little bit of character and showing character flaws. This is the type of focus that I want to see more of instead this whole "alien hybrid" angle which doesn't shed much how she feels or thinks about it but more on the lines just giving the explanation on why she is so special.

In fact, they should really drop the psychic mutant alien part altogether and just focus on her developing as a ninja but sadly it was the only reason why she got the training in the first place. But do you know what could have been better? If April had to took the matter in her hands and ask Master Splinter to teach her how the defend to herself. This would been much better because it would made April to make a action rather then waiting for action to happen to her.

It's hard to say where April would fit in physically on a team. Raph has brute strength and willingness to be violent, Donnie handles the machines and weapons like a war tank or a power jet plane with great results. Leo provide direction and a little strategy (although I'm waiting for the day for Leo to show his chess master side), and Mikey provides....dumb luck? Ok relax, people! I mean..I mean he provides a certain "thinking outside the box" mentality. Yeah that's it! :embarass:

What I trying to say that her past selves were usually non combat but essential like getting information, being the getaway driver, and going where only a human can go so what can she do physically on a team in the middle of a fight without resorting to a psychic ass pull?:ohwell:

[TheSkeletonMan939]

April is a link between the turtles and the surface world. But I feel like the new film and the Nick show treat April as pretty much the only link, rather than just the first. The 4Kids show used both Casey and April in this way, and Angel once or twice, but overall I think April is an overused character. There's nothing wrong with her, but are so many more humans the turtles can interact with, and newer incarnations don't seem to recognize that as much.

[Warhorse]

]I Remember when I read the issue that said that April was a living drawing, I want to think that this thing never existed, because it's in my opinion, rather silly.[/B]
Getting back to the discussion, I liked the way that she appeared in the 2k3 series, she didn't appear at all episodes and most of the times she wasn't at the spotlight.

Yeah, I don't know why they went that route, it's one of the reasons why I am glad some Mirage origins never saw the light of day in other variations.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I don't think April is overhyped, and I have a hard time imagining the turtles without her. It helps the story to have a normal human that finds herself amongst the weirdness of the TMNT's lives.

[Cipher]

She's an incredibly important element of the Turtles' mythos. They need the balance of a normal character.

That said, I don't think most (any?) incarnations have actually found an intriguing way to use her after her introduction. They seem to either remove her plots altogether or have her right alongside the action in some cartoonish way, neither of which, in my opinion, work well. The reporter gig was actually good for her and got her some mileage as a character late in the Fred Wolf cartoon and Adventures comics. Really, though, they just need to be comfortable giving her more interesting "normal" plots, because that's her role in the story; how her life and those of the Turtles intrude on one another. I wish we'd see more arcs for her along the lines of her "City at War" storyline, but that doesn't seem to be a style of writing most creators on the series are comfortable with.

I get that she's the turtles' link to the human world, but with the inevitable introduction of Casey Jones in any given universe, she need not be.
Casey Jones is a psycho, though.

If we were to lose one of the two, I'd much rather it be him.

The Turtles' first link to the human world being an unhinged vigilante only hyperbolizes the weirdness, when it really needs that early counterpoint.

[Garfield]

Has April been overhyped by the franchise? No. Sometimes she's in the fore front, and sometimes she isn't. More often than not. She isn't

[Cryomancer]

I like 2k3 and IDW April thus far. She's around, but not a super huge main focus all of the time. They have her as more of an espionage role most of the time which is a lot more natural than alien/suddenly good ninja. 2007 worked kind of OK since there was a time skip at least.

I guess I prefer her as a normal person, including normal person jobs. Scientist is good, shop owner is good, Export business is good.

[Prowler]

No... how so? She's the first human the Turtles befriend. And she's like an older sister or cousin to them. Although her age keeps getting lower in each cartoon incarnation, so someday she might start to lose importance. In the OT and the first movies she was the human who'd always try to cover them and give them a hand, especially in the OT where she was the only human they could truly rely on.

The Turtles eventually meet Casey Jones and befriend another human or two, but April will always be the most important one to them, imo. I don't see the need to change that in future incarnations.

[Bloodsucker]

April has always been to much the only woman in the show. They need more women on the show, but not mutant turtle women. It would be great if they met other people, men and women, and maybe it made April jealous in some way?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I think she proves to be a great character when she's just a normal human woman. My favorite version is Mirage circa Shades of Gray and City at War. Her life has been hijacked by mutant freaks and she finds that she can't have a normal life with normal relationships because of it... in a way, she's become as much an outcast as her mutant family.

If we could get some more of THAT, I would love it. But after that she faded into background window dressing or plot device (read: Baxter Stockman's revenge) in the Mirage/Image comics.

[Metalwolf]

I think she proves to be a great character when she's just a normal human woman. I would say this, pretty much. I like Nick April, but the fact that she's half human from the idea of having Kraang DNA along with 'she's barely even scratched the surface of her powers' makes her hard to relate to and in danger of becoming an April Sue.

If she had some significant detraction to her abilities along with the advantages, then it wouldn't be that bad. Raven from Teen Titans had big powers, but she couldn't let herself lose any control of her emotions and she was destined to help destroy the world at one point (and enable Trigon to invade) thus making her interesting. But Nick April doesn't have this, she seems to have no disadvantages. She's even being trained to be a ninja!

I think if she had been left without the Kraang DNA (or at least the potential heavy powers) and just been trained to be a ninja to help protect her family, she would feel more human at least, and not looking like she's poised to overshadow the Turtles one day as some sort of demigod. Otherwise without her being 'cured' of her powers (and possibly Kraang DNA) she looks to be headed down a long and boring road.

[Wildcat]

I would vote no. Don't really like Nick April because the whole "I'm part alien" thing isn't very creative but in general no.

Never read the comics and have not seen the 2014 movie yet but generally speaking she's a good character. Much better than what they could have done...have some troubled/rebellious teenager who befriends the turtles because no one understands him kinda thing. The would be like the ultimate cliche.

[Luckyday]

I would say this, pretty much. I like Nick April, but the fact that she's half human from the idea of having Kraang DNA along with 'she's barely even scratched the surface of her powers' makes her hard to relate to and in danger of becoming an April Sue.

If she had some significant detraction to her abilities along with the advantages, then it wouldn't be that bad. Raven from Teen Titans had big powers, but she couldn't let herself lose any control of her emotions and she was destined to help destroy the world at one point (and enable Trigon to invade) thus making her interesting. But Nick April doesn't have this, she seems to have no disadvantages. She's even being trained to be a ninja!

I think if she had been left without the Kraang DNA (or at least the potential heavy powers) and just been trained to be a ninja to help protect her family, she would feel more human at least, and not looking like she's poised to overshadow the Turtles one day as some sort of demigod. Otherwise without her being 'cured' of her powers (and possibly Kraang DNA) she looks to be headed down a long and boring road.

http://s2.postimage.org/mujtr2kl1/Tg93_PTs.gif I'll say it again.
I am telling you guys. Radio jamming would be a perfect weakness. Her weakness would not be due to inexperience, lack of endurance, or lack of control like many shounen heroes like Naruto, Luffy, and Goku. Weaknesses like those can be change over time due to story and character develop. A problem that I see too many times in anime because when hero becomes too powerful then the solution is to make enemies that can destroy planets or nuke entire cities. This weakness on the other hand would be something that she can never truly overcome but have to think around it like Hal Jordan with the color yellow which would require strategy not deus ex machina ass pulls and more importantly, it would give a means for defense for non telepathic enemies so it really levels the playing field.

If Shredder and other enemies knew about April's power but is told at the same time that it can be block with radio jamming then he can place a dozen transmitting satellites as a level of precaution.

[Metalwolf]

http://s2.postimage.org/mujtr2kl1/Tg93_PTs.gif I'll say it again.That is a good idea, but that is if they do it or something similar. At the moment, until they implement something like that, she has no known canon weaknesses.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

From everything's a weakness (Fred Wolf damsel-in-distress) to nothing's a weakness (2k12 Mary Sue)? :teek:

I miss the 2k3 series...

[Donnieangelo]

From everything's a weakness (Fred Wolf damsel-in-distress) to nothing's a weakness (2k12 Mary Sue)? :teek:

I miss the 2k3 series...
Totally. :nod: