Damsel in Distress or Laura Croft
 

When it comes to April O'Neil being depicted do you prefere her being a damsel in distress like how she was in old toon or a kick butt highly skilled Laura Croft fighter nearly un par with the turtles and Casey like how she was depicted in the 2007 movie?

I don't care for either extreme.

Why can't April just be normal?

April wasn't all that helpless in the Original Toon, she just got in over her head far too often. Any human being wouldn't be much of a match against an army of androids, two muscle bound mutant punks, and a well armed ninja crimelord packing Dimension X technology.

I think the Archie Comics have done the best job with April so far, making her a capable physical thread but doing it gradually. Given the choice, though, I'd prefer the Old Toon version over the "Laura Croft" portrayal of the new movie.

Yeah, I'm with CyberCubed.
I prefer Middle of the Road April.

I've no problem with them saving her when they first meet her in the comic. They save her, then they all work together, followed by her saving them by taking them in.

Her learning martial arts, sure! Love the idea. Think it only makes sense, seeing as she's on the run from a hoard of ninjas. But her suddenly knowing enough martial arts to defend against a foot army after a single training montage? Yeah, not so much.

I liked how they depicted her in the 2k3 series. She's no damsel in distress, but she isn't Rambo either. She has enough skills to defend herself, taught by Master Splinter later in the series, but she isn't invincible.

Even before being taught some ninjitsu, she was already a smart and capable woman. 4Kids' April is a good medium and I like that.

^ I agree with all that. The 2k3 April was just perfect. Not a helpless liability like she was in the OT, but a reasonably capable woman who gradually developed the ability to defend herself (and others) when necessary. I didn't like how she was like a master ninja in the 2007 movie, though. That was a bit much.

I prefer a mix of the two. More of a woman who needs help from time to time but cantake care of herself if the need arose.

I'm also on the 2k3 bandwagon. If I were forced between the title choices though, I'd go with the damsel in distress... I guess my preferance is based on my liking OT April better then TMNT April. In TMNT she wasn't believable at all... in archie she was though.

She can have some skills, but frankly I don't want her to be beating up on characters who spend their entire life in those skills that she developed withing a few months...

I prefer a DID to Laura Croft any day.

Lara Croft, people. LARA.

I like the idea of the medium, especially 2k3. She was at a good mix of both.

Frankly, I thought that the new movie picked April up after the storyline in the old comics where she was trained. That made her skills much more understandable. Either way, on the whole I prefer just such a progression. She should start out as a smart, capable woman (although, the OT works, where she is always in over her head because she's after a story), but eventually is trained to be more combat capable.

Having a medium sounds like the best option of the ones already mentioned, but in that case we still end up with the same problem we always have with the April character: she begins as a link of the turtles with the human world, but then we meet Casey, who does that too but is also a powerful fighter in his own style. If she learns self defense we still end up with a second Casey Jones.

We would need a fourth option, to have her with her own ability to aid the group, and it doesn't have to be fighting. How about having April being the expert of the paranormal in the group? With so many portal and time traveling going on, she could be of use. And we could make Don a technology expert only.

Something like that was done in 2K3, where she worked best as a communications expert and provider of information, like Oracle in the Batman universe. Wich is something I personaly don't like much as it is a passive role.

Also: LaUra Croft is actually a Playboy model.

http://www.1800-sports.com/images/la...april-2007.jpg

Archie
 

I prefer Archie April, who begun just like the 1987 cartoon April, before Splinter taught her martial arts. But 1987 cartoon April at least had some driving skills...

So true! Those pilot episodes were especially good at portraying her competency with the wheel! I was inspired to make this a while back:

[URL LINK OBSOLETE]
(It's Download only since I haven't been able to host it anywhere because of music restrictions.)

Thank You!

A "Laura Croft" April would have a interesting twist...

thought I'd prefer a middle way between a damsel in distress and Lara Croft

IN THE KITCHEN.


How about neither? Just an average girl with nothing going on until the turtles show up.

Normal, like in the first movie.

Ditto CyberCubed. Can't she just be a normal person like in Mirage, the first three movies, and the 4Kids cartoon?

You know, where she's not exceptionally helpless or an action hero?

If you write the character well enough, you shouldn't have to shoehorn her into the group's action though. She should be interesting enough sans any kind of role in their actual adventures. Mirage, I think, did a great job with this up until Volume 4. And it's easily avoided when she has the reporter gig (although I don't prefer it). Hell, her feeling like she's losing the connection could even be part of her character. I'm just not down with the whole "She needs to help out with missions" thing.

Come to think of it, even the 4Kids version got a little over-the-top in that regard.

What about to make a Poll with the four options???? This seems to me an intersting thread for checking all the opinions!!

not that I like the damsel in distress version, but I like my April spunky like 80's April and capable with practical things, but with out the kidnapping and needing saving crap. I don't care for super fighter April. Even in the new toon where it was more down to earth about her fighting skills I found it a bit unbelievable to have her as good as she was at fighting as she became.

Yeah, I think the worst part was her uncanny level of stealth and gymnastic competence displayed in Worlds Collide, whereas Casey was pretty much an incompetent. Fortunately, after that it seems they depowered April a bit and returned Casey to semi-edgy in some Season 4 episodes.

I agree with this, but she was also not able to defend herself well. Damsel in Distress doesn't have to mean "failure at life" just not able to fight.

2k3 April started out well but i think her athletic skills got a little outragious as time went on, even before she was formally trained by Splinter. That whole "Jungle Girl" bit was annoying to be honest and kinda forced. I prefere April to be realistically skilled and competent, like in her technology skills and stuff. Not suddely turning into a cave girl as soon she's in the wilderness. :ohwell: I'm not against, just build up to it.

She's more Oracle then Batgirl

http://www.megavideo.com/?d=5UTKGDPY

oldmanwinters this was just awsome. Thanks so much for making this clip. It shows exactly what OT April was all about. People who bash her should watch this and then STFU! I loved OT April driving prowess. On a side note you should though in a scene April driving the news van on a roller coaster with Leonardo that one episode.

as long as she did not get out of the car, she's immune to being reporter-napped

My only beef with 2k3 April is how she'd easily beat Casey when it comes with martial arts, when her boyfriend was implied to be a streets smarts fighter for years (even earlier if a flashback turtle tot episode is factored). And I know Casey sucked ever since Season 2... but that's really just sad. My only wish for her character is that she'd be more of a constant presence for the Turtles (she feels ... I can't explain this... absent?), though there is that cute Donatello hinting he has a crush on her angle, I don't feel the usual dynamics she should have with them. Maybe because Casey took the "human friend" role or something.

I mean she didn't even join them in Fast Forward!

80's April I can see why she'd had a disregard of her safety and lack of foresight. As early as the pilot the men she works with treats her with little respect. I mean really? April was mugged and they are aware of that fact and the most they can say is that she's their third best reporter? :/ I DO like 80's April though. I like the fact how she acts like the mom of the group, and drives like crazy in the action scenes with the Turtle Van, and drops everything on whatever important she might be doing like a group meeting with her boss whenever Splinter personally calls her for help. It did gave the vibe she sees them as her family. Finally, I kinda like career oriented April, despite the fact that she is a very pretty 28 years old woman, she didn't seem to mind or angst the lack of a love interest or having a family of her own.

I wish that would have happened to NT Karai. But noooo... they had to give her Chaplin because an Action Girl with an Evil Job as a Ninja needs a boyfriend to take care of her. *rolls eyes* Dude's not even in the comics.

Future Aprils? I want them to be badass normals. Sometimes, if portrayed well, normal human girls can be awesome.

Thanks! I'm surprised you've just now seen this. I really think OT April gets an undeserved bad rap as being helpless and cowardly. She may have often become a damsel-in-distress, but it was just because she always threw caution to the wind and got in over her head trying to get a story. The fact that the turtles always bailed her out probably gave her more confidence. She really was a Lois Lane clone in that regard.

And, yeah, OT April had better driving skills than Danica Patrick, lol. It seemed the perfect opportunity to do a Speed Racer music vid.

I wouldn't see her as a coward, she's just a villain magnet

Yeah, that's a good point too. Once she became close with the turtles, bad guys started to target her directly just to get at the TMNT. Again, she's pretty similar to Lois Lane in that regard.

I would like April not to be so much a damsel.I would like her to be similar to Leia in Star Wars for example.Feisty but no over the top fighting style.

I think a mixture of both. One who can handle herself if need be, but also not some super women that can kick every bit of a** that comes her way.

She's definitely a mix. Once she's in with the turtles, you just figure she's going to be in way over her head. Conversely, as a result, she's going to get a lot tougher. She's got Spolinter, Casey and the Fab Four to teach her.

I like a competant April but not over powered. The TMNT movie April was a big over the top especially for the viewer who was new to Turtles. I liked when characters have a development and progression...

I always preferred the April from the first volume or so of the comics. She wasn't completely useless, but at the same she wasn't a superhero. I think the comics keep her as a sensible "normal citizen" character pretty well (till her whole supernatural background thing started of course). She didn't have any extreme skills, but she did help the turtles by having common sense, street sense and maturity.

She was also their link to the human world, so that was her main job. I agree that it would have been a great character development moment if they play with a plot involving April losing her place in the group once the turtles became more open in society...

^^ pretty good assesment.
I always hated that whole magic crystal bit with April's origin.

As long as April doesn't develop any fighting abilities within a short time in her life, and is not on par with people who have been fighting there entire life. I am just fine with whatev.

I wonder if she needed saving before he met the turtles in the OT, I can't see Vernon do it...