Superheroes? or not Superheroes?
 

I started a debate about this on the NTML, and I was wonderin', how many of you consider the Ninja Turtles to be "superheroes?"

give me your thoughts 'bout this

"We are not protectors of society. We never were." Donatello, Return to New York

And I answered this on the list. :) I'll give a much shorter answer here...

Depends on the continuity and/or your own point of view. I mean I think the cartoon continuity definitely painted them as super-heroes. Their war with Shredder was almost equally a personal thing as well as a "protect the city" thing. Not to mention all the other bad guys they fought just cuz it's the right thing to do.

I guess someone who only followed Mirage and took it entirely word for word as gospel could argue decisively that the Turtles were not "super-heroes". But for the most part, I think it relates to an individual's point of view. All you have to do is read all the fanfic out there to see that a million different people see the TMNT a million different ways.

If were talking superheros like spider-man and batman- NO, They may be heros but I don't see them as "super", I can't really explain it,

They are not really heroes in Mirgae or the new cartoon. But they are that In the old one.

if being a superhero means you have some sort of superpowers, i guess it would be no. although the turtles are certainly unusual, their power comes from their minds and physical abilities. of course, batman didn't have superpowers... okay, now i'm just confused. i'll shut up now.

Superhero is something who patrols and lives to protect the innocent. :lol: Well something like that. And the original TMNT do not fall in to that cathegory.

Dem turtle boys may be pert near entertainnin' but dey far from bein superheroes...

Yeah, if they do see some punks attacking innocent people while they are out they will probably help, But they don't patrol the streets looking for crime.

I consider a super-hero someone who fights for justice and against evil. IMO, this was never really a characteristic of the turtles. The main reasons they were always fighting evil-doers was because the bad guys started it. They never went out looking for trouble, the trouble always came to them.

Well, if you go by the new comic, they technically ARE super heroes, seeing as how Mike got admited into the super hero hospital. Sure, they are unorthodox superheroes, but they still are a brand of super hero.

Well from what I've heard, the new volume is quite diffrent from the older ones. Im still going at City at War, then Volume 2 before I can read volume 4....

Well I haven't read the original Mirage books, but the 4th volume books from 5+ (the ones I own) kinda suck. They aren't super anything, just civilians. You'll know when you read it.

The TMNT aren't supposed to be super anything. They are just mutants that tend to get involved in things.

Do they wear embarassing spandex and underwear over said spandex? Do they have names that end in 'man'? Do they have secret alter egos? No.
TMNT are born from indie comics(a stark alternative to mainstream super hero comics) and as such they have remained that way.

So are TMNT super heroes? Not in the least bit. Do they kick serious ass?
Oh yeahhh!

Sure that TMNT are superheros!
Have you some doubt about?

I didn't have doubt about it, I just wanted to see what everyone else here thought.

I personally think that ya don't need to have spandex, or name that ends in "man" to be a superhero, so IMO the TMNT are supheroes, meaning, they have special powers (mutation), and they fight crime (although not seeking it out).

Excuse me but my previous post wouldn't be a rebuke for you.

I was and i'm sure that TMNT are superheros. I'm sure that all TMNT fans think that TMNT are superheros!

They have special powers and they fight the crime so they are superheros!

Heros in an half shell!

right on, supermik!

*high five*

superhero can mean so many things. for the turtles it's all a mtter of circumstance, yes, they're heros but not for a career. that's what i think makes the tmnt special their careers aren't as heros but they do have some hero traits.


i really don't know

Yeah, if they see criminals attacking innocent people, they will probably interfere. But they didn't battle the foot because they are "evildoers".

Yeah... I don't think the TMNT were intended to be superhereos when they first came about in the Mirage comics. They certianly didn't have that "with great power comes great responsiblity" take. The only superhereo connection they had was that it was a spoof from Daredevil and Ronin. Splinter only taught them to be ninja for two reasons: to avenge the death of Splinter's master, and to show them how to stay hidden from the human world.

But when the first cartoon came out, it seemed they wanted to give them more of the superhereo feel. Which makes me wonder, how one does one define "Superhero". If the fanboy thinks it has to be a human, with powers not typical to humans (i.e. leap the Empire state building in a single bound, or shoot webbing from their wrists), and run around in spandex outfits having innocent civilians from harm, then of course that fanboy will not think
a Ninja Turtle is a superhero.

But then you look at the established superheroes, like Batman, Daredevil, or the some of the Xmen... and aside from running round in ass-tight outfits, they don't really have "super" powers that aren't like what the TMNT may have.

I'm not much of a fan of superheroes, but I can see how one can make a
good arguement as to how the TMNT can be. Since they had started off
as a parody of Daredevil (who also had gotten his 'powers' from a can of radioactive substance) then how does that differ from the TMNT? The turtles also have gotten their 'powers' from a can of rather similar looking radioactive substance. Of course, it was called a mutagen, which caused a
mutation. All of which seems to be a different concept from a
superhero getting powers. Hrmm... sounds like the same kind of
concept to me. Cause if Peter Parker wasn't going through a kind of
mutation when he became 'Spiderman', I dunno how else to describe
that. :P

Now that I have thoroughly confused everyone, I go now...

I say, we leave it at monkeys.... And the new comics don't really suck, they're trying to give everyone time to get themselves familure with the return. Also, if you read 1 - 8, they really aren't that bad. They tend to hold together pretty well, and the turtles look great, however the humans don't... Mick Jagger lips and all...

Well, seeing how "NOPE" has got 11 votes so far, I would guess that you're wrong... ;)

If I remeber correctly the dictionary deffinition of a Super-Hero is a hero with special powers or abilities. The TMNT are giant walking talking Turtles but they have now super powers so I'd classify them with Batman, Zorro, and the Green Hornet: Action Heros.

i hate to bring up old threads, and i'm sorry, but i think a quote from the original mirage's "return to ny" should clear this up

Donatello: We're not the guardians of society raphael...we never were

Karpo already quoted that :lol: but it's ok anyways.
Well i do not think of the turtles as superheroes, they do not have super powers, neither where they looking for justice, they were looking for revenge.
Now if we are talking about the cartoon, i would call em heroes, but just heroes...i dont think they fall into the superhero category.

There's also a similiar quote in "City At War". In fact there the TMNT have a brilliant discussion on their role in society during this saga. At one point Leo (I believe) refers to the Turtle's trouble with the Foot as "Splinter's war" (or something very similar).

The new animated series has gone at great lengths to stress the "Ninja" aspects of the TMNT. In addition Leo, Don, and Raph often kid Mikey for his references to being superheros.

Semi-Spoiler
Episode 12 involves Mikey going off on his own and trying to be a superhero! Which in and of itself states that the TMNT aren't traditional heros to begin with.

So with that being said, I say NO the TMNT are not and were not meant to be superheros in the traditional sense.

well, so much for my valueable insight

Well in the new show there are few things that does make them look like heroes. Like trying to save Garbageman. Of course, the whole episode felt kind of out of place to me.

i liked garbageman, plus they weren't nbeing to heroic, they were just tryin to find thet're buddies.

They jumped after Garbage man to the water. That iIS heroic, saving even the bad guys. Besides, it was never explained how the TMNT knew some homeless people, and we might never see them again. Thats why it feels kind of out of place compared to other episodes.

Hmmm
 

The turtes definitley arent 'super' heros in that they possess no abilities that a human could not attain.

The turtles in the Mirage format and so on aren't really heros, either, because they dont go out of their war to do heroics. The turtles dont go patrolling.

Hrmm.. I didn't consider that act a superhero thing. I just thought the TMNT went after the Garbage man to sooth their conscience so they didn't feel like they just killed a guy, unfairly trapped in a wheelchair contraption. You know, to follow more of their bushido teachings of honor, et al.

And... I think the TMNT will have doings with the homeless again... from what I heard. :wink:

heh
 

Bushido?? Pssh...

They should have done more research into the show, I think.

Firstly, ninja dont realy do bushido. Thier basic philosophy and approach contradicts bushido in many fronts.

Secondly, bushido doesnt really have a problem with letting someone die.

Thirdly, ah screw it....

Hey, I didn't write the show. I was just recalling what I heard in the last episode, in all that jazz Saki was telling Leo. Which.. at that point, they seem to be using more of the samurai philo more than anything. :roll:

yup
 

which is why they should have done more research. ninja follow budo, not bushido.

Well they should have explained the homeless people... It was big deal to Splinter when Aprils saw the turtles, so why are the homeless people any diffrent? And yes, first rules to heroes are that you won't let even bad people die. They do act like heroes in the new cartoon, to some extent atleast.

Re: yup
 

True, although Leo can be kind of samurai-esque at times.
The TMNT are definately more Budouka then Bushi.
(But what about bugei?)

You should see my post in new ep. disscusion. It's all about that aspect of it.