Metalhead: Good, Bad, or Neutral Which Alignment Do You Prefer?

[MikeandRaph87]

Metalhead is an intention of Krang's but is rewired to help the Turtles. He only makes one more appearance in a cameo without a speaking role.

The character appears as an ally in the toy line and even had the offbeat Metalhead Michelangelo in the original line as well.

Later on Nick introduces him as an ally in the 2012 cartoon created by Donatello. While he is good in this iteration IDW starts with him as a good guy, but he becomes corrupted after being possessed by Donatello and switches sides.

In the video game series he appears as the 2nd level boss of Turtles In Time. It always irked me that he was a bad guy there and it was not Chrome Dome who was the level boss.

Overall, I prefer him as an ally and arguably a counterpoint to Chrome Dome. However, like Leatherhead he has been good, evil, and neutral. What is your preference of Metalhead's alignment?

[sdp]

I always played with him as a bad guy, he has bad guy eyes. He should be a bad guy. Let's not forget the turtlebot in 2k3 was evil as well.

[ABrown]

Let's not forget the turtlebot in 2k3 was evil as well.

He wasn't really evil. He was just a robot doing what he was programmed to do.

[MikeandRaph87]

He wasn't really evil. He was just a robot doing what he was programmed to do.

That is true. Turtlebot was not inspired by or intended to be a reference to Metalhead. I asked Dan Berger that way back in the day. Still the same is said for Metalhead, he is not good or evil, but doing as he is programmed to in virtually any version that he appears.

[neatoman]

I don't know. He's a robot, he could get programmed to to be anything at a whim, so it kind of doesn't matter, right? I guess it's preferable to make him evil, you know the whole "I literally know you better than yourself, so therefore I can **** with you in ways you never suspected!" thing that was Venom's initial gimmick. The idea of making him a sidekick to the turtles is kind of weird, it's like having a robotic version of yourself running around. But I will admit that making a "Teenage Robot Ninja Turtle" to add to the crew is a better concept than Venus, Jennika, Kirby or even Slash if we're being honest.

[Coola Yagami]

IDK, in a way it's kinda weird cause he's a robot turtle, but I mean, he's just like a generic robot turtle. Like it would have been weirder or kinda off-putting if Metalhead was literally Robo-Leo or Robo-Mike and the Turtles have no problem running around with a robot sidekick that is literally a robot clone of one of their brothers. In that respect he is kinda like Slash and Tokka and what have you, just another Turtle.

As for his alignment, I do prefer him working alongside the Turtles, but he's a robot. Krang could always capture it and re-program it.

[Powder]

I like it when he starts out bad & is ultimately bested then repurposed into a tool/friend for the turtles.

[Prowler]

Metalhead is a robot. So his alignment depends on what he's programmed to do. Pretty much like The Terminator.

He's more interesting as a villain, but I don't mind the Turtles taking him in and Donatello reprogramming it as long as it's well written.

But, ideally, Metalhead shouldn't appear much.