Rank the TMNT universes from favorite to least favorite
 

I will begin.

2k3 series (includes 2k3, FF and BTTS)
Mirage universe (everything in Mirage continuity)
Original cartoon
Archie series
Movie universe (Movies 1-4)
Image series
TMNT anime OVA
Next Mutation


Next Mutation is last, unless you count those "Turtles on Tour" things.

Funny, I never really thought about this before. Alright, I'll give it my best shot...but ranking something like this is kinda tough for me...

1. Mirage - Original series. Ninja turtles as they are intended to be. What more can I say? The original run was great. I loved the grim art style, sense of family and adventure, and most of all the basic charm it just had.

2. Movie Universe - These were what I was watching most as a kid...the OT of course too, but these little vhs tapes were what always kept me coming back when I was younger, and still to this day, as dvd's:). To be honest, I'm mainly speaking of movie's one and two. I think the first one did a great job of adapting the mirage universe in a style acceptible to hollywood. This movie is just classic tmnt. I also have a soft spot for Secret of the Ooze. Someone on the forum actually mentioned something a while back about how the first movie was a great Mirage adaption, and SOTO was really just a great OT adaption, and that really struck a chord with me, once again upping my appreciation for SOTO. We kinda got both universes on screen within a few years of eachother. Pretty cool. The last two movies, I can enjoy, but aren't too memorable for me.


3....Tie.....It's super hard ranking all these, and I dont think I could past those top 2 lists. The original toon was my bread and butter as a child, and I definitely hold a soft spot for it....Especially the First season, which was totaly quality cartoon making if you ask me. 2k3 series...Really great compared to most cartoons coming out these days, and a totally great add to the tmnt mythos. I look forward to watching seasons 1-4 as they are released on dvd, and catching the episodes I missed, and basically just rediscovering what is so great about that show...It's been a while since I've seen some of those season 3 and 4 episodes.:D....As for everything else...it's all great. Love Image, Love archie, love etc...they are all fun in their own way. I never mind seeing the tmnt interpreted in as many ways as possible. They are so flexible.

I tried making this thread once. People didn't seem too into it, even though I think it's really cool to think about. Oh well, here's mine:

1. Mirage (Vol 1, 2, 4 and Tales) - This is the best Turtles for me. I think I have a different reason for liking it than most people. Alot of people want to see "hardcore ninja" battles and uncensored violence and whatnot. I love it because despite all the surrealness of a world with aliens, ninjas, mutants and monsters, it's incredibly down-to-Earth. It's not a series about the Turtles fighting bad guys. It's a series about the Turtles trying to live their lives normally despite unacceptance and a slew of bizarre incidences.

I understand why people might prefer the 2003 cartoon if Mirage goes over their heads and they want some quick and dirty action. And the loose continuity and changing art styles of the comics can be off putting. But that just adds to the cool surreal feeling for me.

2. Image (Vol 1, 2, 3) - I really dig the art and get a kick out of the very '90s, "extremification" of the comic. There are some great ideas and character moments too. At the end of the day I slightly prefer the toned down direction of Volume 4, but it's a close call.

3. Archie - This only slightly beats out the 2003 cartoon. They're really similar in structre. Both are fun, action packed rides heavy on continuity, which can be entertaining for kids or adults. Archie wins because of its mutant characters. I'm a sucker for those guys.

4. 2003 Cartoon - See above. The show also introduced some great villains like Hun, Ch'rell, Bishop, Sh'Okanabo, and more who I wouldn't mind seeing again.

5. 1987 Cartoon - It's alot of fun, and there are days when I like it better than the 2003 cartoon. It's just that Archie took alot of the reasons why I love this series and improved upon them.

6. Movies - Three words. Wildly inconsistant tone.

7. Next Mutation - Had some concepts that could've worked, but the execution was god-awful.

8. Everything else - Because no one should love the Christmas special or "Coming Out of Their Shells."

1) 2k3 cartoon. And that includes FF and BTTS.

2) Archie comics

3) 1987 cartoon

4) Mirage comics

5) Movies

6) Everything else

Hmmmm.....

1. Archie/2k3: They, as Cipher said are similar, fun yet action packed and heavy with continuity. Archie might have a slight edge here because of nostalgia.

2. Old Toon and Movies: Again Nostalgia, except maybe TMNT, which is to me the weakest of the 4.

3. Mirage/Image/Dreamwave (Comics...aside from Archie): To be honnest, I don't have much experience with them, and thus they are near the bottom of the list. Not really about "dislike" so much as "ignorance".

4. EVERYTHING ELSE!: NT:TNM...blech. The Christmas Special....gah! Coming Out Of Their Shells...Homophobic...j/k.

In order:

Mirage

TMNT1 I consider TMNT1 seperate continuity from 2 and 3, cos it's just so different in tone, looks, talent, etc. They're all so damn inconsistent they're like their own universes.

TMNT4
2K3 (not including ff & bttf)
Old toon
TNM
Everything else...

Archie
Old Toon (I think much of its potential went undeveloped, as the Archie take illustrates well)
2k3-Back to the Sewers
Mirage
New Line films
TMNT CGI film
Image
Anime OVA

Did not qualify:
Next Mutation

Technically, isn't "Turtles' Coming Out of their Shells Tour" in OUR universe?;)

1. Mirage.
2. Archie.
3. 4Kids Cartoon.
4. Movie-verse.
5. Fred Wolf Cartoon.
6. NT:TNM

Dude, that's not a universe.

I hate you.

:lol:

It's a piece of Turtles fiction unconnected to any other, so I'd say it is.

This is the nerdiest conversation I have ever had on here.

I thought I had posted in something like this already. But anyway, here we go!...

#1 - Mirage TMNT - volume 1
# 2 - Original TMNT tv series - season 1
# 3 - 2k3 TMNT tv series
# 4 - TMNT II - The Secret of the Ooze
# 5 - TMNT I
# 6 - Original TMNT tv series - season 2 and onward
# 7 - TMNT (2007)
# 8 - TMNT - Archie comics (haven't read alot of it, but what I've read is good)
# 9 - Mirage TMNT - volume 2 and onward (excluding vol. 3 aka Image, which was just a piece of ****)
# 10 - TMNT - the Japanese anime




Now, as for the worst pile of crap that stained TMNT forever...

- TMNT III (movie)
- TMNT - Image comics
- Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
- Fast Forward
- Back to the Sewers
- Coming out of their Shells

How could anyone like the garbage of the second list? Honestly...


And Guitar Raph, sorry to say this, but you are.. well.. to put it delicately... weird. And not in the good way.

1: Archie
2: Dreamwave
3: 2K3
4: Mirage
5: Original Toon
6: TMNT 3
7: TMNT (2007)
8: TMNT 1 & 2
9: OVA
10: Musical stuff
11: Next Mutation
12: Image

Why do people hate Image so much? Yeah, the over-the-top '90s edginess can be a little ridiculous, but I swear most people just look at it and say "Oh baw, the Turtles get mutilated. This sucks."

The characters themselves are almost undeniably better written than in Volume 4, for example.

Well, when the Image TMNT were new on the shelves back then (and I was in highschool at the time), I looked through the first book and initially took all the exessive violence as "Oh, this is pretty badass. Finally, TMNT is back and edgey".
Then as one issue after another came out, and I was seeing how rediculous and just plain stupid everything was becoming, I was like, "F*** this ****".
The series quickly became disappointing and repulsive.

And I'd like to add that I too found volume 4 of Mirage TMNT unsatisfactory and weak.
TMNT somehow lost its way.

i was reading another thread about the turtles needing more enemies, and this is what i thought about. it's about some dudes' lives who happen to be extraordinary. it's not really a superhero book. i dig it. for the same reason.

What the hell are you talking about?
Did you even post in the right thread?

He was responding to the bolded part of my post. It's all good.

1)Mirage comics: It's where TMNT originated. It introduced most of what makes the TMNT so likable.

2)Movies: The first movie is a great combination of the comic's stories with some of the characteristics of the cartoon show. The second movie was more cartoonish, but still okay.

3)Archie comics: It's more kid friendly than the other comics, but at the same time it took the Turtles seriously enough to result in stories that are sometimes just as good as the Mirage comics.

4)Original cartoon

5)2003 cartoon: I've liked what I've seen, but the nostalgia for everything else is a factor in why this is ranked lower.

6)Next Mutation: Can't seem to get very interested in this show.

Dude, you like TMNT for all the wrong reasons.
TMNT isn't supposed to be some campy highschool musical.

The way you like TMNT is pretty much like someone claiming to like Star Wars because they love the Ewoks cartoon from the 80s, but dislikes the Star Wars movies.

Read some of the TMNT Mirage comics of volume 1 (particularly issues 1 through 11), then ask yourself if you enjoyed it.
If you didn't, then seriously, TMNT is not the right franchize for you. And I'm sure it isn't.

Of the ones I have the most familiarity with:


1) 2003 Cartoon: Feels like the right mix of the OT and Mirage comics to me, and at times seems to have the most developed characters and universe of any tmnt universes. Brought me back into TMNT after nearly a decade.

2) Archie Comics: Took the old cartoon and added a much needed layer of complexity, probably what kept me into TMNT long enough for me to care today.

3) Mirage Comics: In terms of what I consider to be the ideal level of maturity and setting for TMNT stories, I would take the Mirage TMNT universe, but to be honest, the older stories themselves never really enthralled me, especially stories not written by Laird and Eastman. The newer tales issues are definately a marked improvement, and I would probably be more willing to give volume 4 a chance if not for the glacial pace of the books' printing.

4) The 80's Cartoon: What introduced me to the franchise, first several seasons were pretty good, interest dipped along with the quality of the show, at least as I saw it.

5) The movies: I like the first and fourth movies about same, don't really remember or care much about the second and third movies, but I really like the future potential of the movie series

Since I never got to read the comics as of yet (besides a few select issues), I'll go with what I know.

Old Toon - It stands out the most because it got me into them in the first place. And I know I'm not the only one here who believes that most of the color/voice errors were intentional.:P

Movies - What truly secured my place as a Turtle Fan for life. Hell, I'm one of the 'chosen few' who actually liked the third movie. Guilty as charged, but I don't care. There are still some people who actually liked the Macarena.

And of course, the New Cartoon. With the recent 'series finale' or whatever you wanna call it, it had a good run. But, I'll never have a better thrill than the Return to New York saga. Good stuff right there. 8)

Yo, there's Donatello
Even for a Turtle... he's mellow!

What? Of course I know the words to Cowabunga. And it doesn't end there. :lol:

But when it comes to the rest, that's when I, too, draw the line.

We're objective and open to change to an extent? How can you be so judgmental? I gave everything a full chance personally. I own and have read every turtles comic, it doesn't take very long I hardly read comics, and seen all the episodes of the series out thus far. Honestly to fully judge something you need to have fully embraced it. The only thing I never gave a full chance was Next Mutation because as a kid I wasn't interested and I don't care to import DVDs or watch it on Youtube.

1. Archie
2. Mirage
3. Image
4. Old Toon
5. 2K3/FF
6. Movies
7. Everything else

I totally agree Spitfire.

That's just it. I give the TMNT the benefit of the doubt and at least try things with them in it, even if they do disappoint.

Is it so wrong to keep an open mind? Wow...kinda ironic, ain't it?

The thing is I have seen all the TMNT mistakes. I've seen the third movie, I've seen enough of the disasterous spinoff series, seen Next Mutation, etc...
So it's not like I'm making assumptions. I know what I'm talking about.

It bugs me when I see someone saying "I love The Next Mutation". It reminds me of some years back when I was in a Dragonball message board, there were a few schmucks saying "DBGT rules! It's the best!". ugh...


I think what it is about those obscured people who like The Next Mutation, Fast forward, and Back to the Sewers is the fact that it's TMNT on tv. It doesn't matter if it's good, bad, or so-so. It's TMNT on tv. Free, viewable TMNT. And that's apparently good enough for some people.
They simply want TMNT over not having any TMNT on tv. So they take any kind of TMNT. regardless of quality.

There's really nothing wrong with GT if you can handle a bit of fluff after the "omg hardcoreness" of DBZ (which is just an American marketing ploy anyway). Most fans just flip their sh*t because it's episodic and disregards some previously established logic.

Logic. In Dragon Ball....seriously?

At any rate, putting DBGT on the same level of objective badness as The Next Mutation is some seriously rough treatment.

Also, Ninja Turtles.

Hey I hate the third movie, hell I don't even own a DVD copy of it myself, but I wouldn't call out another fan because they do. It all boils down to opinion. A lot of people like different stuff. Like the "Coming out of their shells" thing for example. I don't get why anyone likes it but they do. When all is said and done if you really think about it someone has to like it. Just like the worst movie you've ever seen is probably someone's favorite movie for some reason or another. I once had someone tell me "The Happening" was the best movie they saw last year.

It was a joke mate. Hence the laughing face. All fans are fans for different reasons. There are heaps of people here who couldn't give a **** about the comics. They're still fans.

Also, my interest in the 2k3 show started to wane as it neared the Lost Season. I enjoyed Fast Forward as a whole probably more than the last few seasons of 2k3. That's me though.

You should tell them to see more than one movie a year.

[Ba-dun, ching!]

Well let's see...
1-2k3 series- After discovering this great thing called the "Internet" in 2001 I heard about a CGI tmnt series and was so psyched about it only to have the idea scrapped. Then I heard about the 2k3 toon two years later and the excitement just made me all giggly and anxiousLike a schoolgirl . When it premiered I had missed the first episode, but I saw the second one and I was just blown away. I loved this show, everything about it was just so new yet familiar, plus all the nods to the OT were great as well.
2-Mirage Comics-The above toon actually got me into the Comics and I really like how each turtle is portrayed, especially the early Laird and Eastman stuff. Plus there's so much diversity in the characters and stories from a Ninja clan out for revenge, a timestress looking for a thrill and Vampires.
3-Old toon-What got me hooked on tmnt in the first place, I liked it as far as I remember. It was lighthearted and funny with both quirky and slapstick humor as well as some pretty cool stories and memorable charcters.
4-Movies- I liked the First two movies immensly and I think Ninja Rap is probably Vanilla Ice's best work, plus the fights were exciting and Jim Henson's creature shop did an amazing job with their costumes. The later two movies...eh.
5-Fast Forward & BTTS- Not necessarily bad shows, they had some interesting new villains and some cool concepts it's just a bit bland when compared to 2k3 or the OT in my eyes.
6-Archie/Image-never really got into them, I've heard some great stuff about Archie but it's down here due to lack of exposure. Read an Image comic where Raph took over the Foot and was completely confused by it. He looked good in the Shredder outfit though.
7-Next Mutation-I Liked it when it first came out because I enjoyed the watching the turtles again and saw it as a continuation of the movies(at first). As the series progressed I realized it wasn't getting any better. Bummer...
8-TMNT Anime- it's pretty bad.
9-Coots- makes me cringe whenever I either see the costumes or hear the voices.


That was funny Cipher. I tip my hat to you.

Okay, for my list, I'm splitting up the movies. Sure, they share the same continuity, but each one is so different from all the others that I don't think my list can be accurate without splitting them up. I will also separate Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer from the 2k3 series, as to me it feels like that part of the series is more like a spin-off that a true continuation. Also, I haven't read the Image issues yet, so they aren't included.

And thus, I present my list:

1 (TIE). Mirage
1 (TIE). 2003 Cartoon
3. Tournament Fighters (It was unique, so I'm counting it as a separate universe... and I really wish there were more based on this unique world. I mean, it's a world where you have Karai, Krang, and Wingnut all inhabiting the same plane of existence!)
4. Movie 1
5. Movie 2
6. Movie 4
7. Archie
8. 1987 Cartoon
9. Fast Forward/Back to the Sewer
10 (TIE). Movie 3
10 (TIE). The Next Mutation
11. Coming Out of Their Shells (Though, as much as I hated this, I will admit that Pizza Power was an awesome song)

Original Toon > Video games(the ones based on the original toon, the new ones are crap) > 1st Movie > 2nd Movie

I don't care about the rest.

This is hard cause when I was a kid I would have said OT, archies, movies, VGs. Then I discovered Mirage and image and thought they were so awesome. Next we get a new cartoon series and I love the way it looks for most of its duration and then a new CGI film.
I hate choosing favorites but here's my best shot

Archie
OT
Mirage
Movies 1 & 2
2K3/FF
Early video games
Image
Movie 4
Later video games
movie 3, BTTS, Coming out of their shells, Next mutation (all in the same category for me, still part of the Universe but I could take them or leave them)

1. old toon
2. mirage
3. 1980's-90's toys/ 1990's konami video games
4. 2k3 , seasons 1-3
5. archie comics, issues 1-25
6. btts

there are some good things about the movies, next mutation, fast forward, lost season, mid-late archie stuff, but i'm generally indifferent about 'em.

Goes like so...
Mirage.
Archie.
2K3.
Image.
Cgi 2007 movie and it's "tie ins".
Video Game realities.
Everything else.

this is hard, but for the moment:
- 2K3/FF
- TMNT 1
- TMNT 4
- comics
- btts
- TMNT 2 and 3
- Old cartoon
- Next Mutation

I would need to read more comic to place them fairly, this is my big mission over the next few months, but from what I have they would be towards the top of the list. I actually like FF, when I first saw it I was a little taken aback but the latter half reminded me a little of season 2 (turtles in space), particularly "Zixxth Sense". I found it hilarious how Zixx could effectively con the turtles with a few carefully planted comments.