So...what exactly did Carter mutate into?
 

So, the mutagen that Shredder used to "create" the Turtles and Splinter caused "who ever touched it to take on the form of whatever animal they had most recently been in contact with." Now I know the mutagen was unstable, resulting in the Turtles' secondary "super" mutations. But what exactly was Carter when he "mutated"?
(Also: Donnie certainly had a lot of Shredder's left over mutagen. Couldn't they have used it to create an anti-mutagen for Splinter? And why didn't he have a secondary mutation?)

I think this is the best explanation:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56...mcequation.jpg

In one of the early season 9 episodes (maybe "The New Mutation"), one of the turtles mentions that Splinter could conceivably undergo further mutations as well. I think that could have been cool to see, but unfortunately it never happened.

He never has a reason to "Hulk out", if I remember right. He's never involved in a major conflict at that point in the series...I think.

They already tried the anti-mutagen for him in "Splinter No More". In the end, it didn't work out, and Splinter decided it's better if he remain a rat, and he wouldn't have been able to help the turtles stop Shredder.

The episode where Donatello said Splinter's mutation could be changing was Dregg of the Earth, and that was at the end of the episode.

A pro wrestler, duh.

Like the Ultimate Warrior!

I watched "The Unknown Ninja" today and there is a strange variable in Carter's mutation. After he spills mutagen on himself, he does not come into direct contact with another living creature until much later in the episode.

The first hint we get is that his hand starts to glow while he's driving his motorcycle. Later, he is touched by the turtles and then begins to punch and kick various robots. The first time his mutagen fully materializes is when he is caught by one of Dregg's mechanical claws. His skin seems to absorb the metal ala, Kevin from Ben 10: Alien Force (thus explaining why his mutant form has a metal arm).

So, my theory is that a person exposed to mutagen who does not quickly come into contact with another living organism will experience a different kind of mutation which usually amplifies one's strength and stature while giving one a fairly gruesome appearance. Other examples of this phenomenon might include Seymour "Mutagen Man" Gutz and Krakus (from Enter: Krakus although he used a "mutation ray" rather than actual mutagen).

I was watching this episode as I posted the thread, and noticed him kinda go David Banner Sr. on the robot that had him in it's clutches, thus giving him his metal armor. Your logic makes sence. I really think the aspects of the mutagen were never really tied down. Heck, what happens when a mutant is made where the animal they come in contact with is themselves a mutant. Examples would include Slash, Groundchuck and Dirtbag, and Mutant Turtle Filth Hun. :D

As the story goes, they mutate into whatever creature they most recently were in contact with.
Thought it was pretty obvious that they mutate into whatever creature the mutant mutated from. 1+1=2 :P

Technically...aren't we all in contact with other living organisms at all times, bacteria and the like?

My point would be that while it is conventional wisdom that a being mutates "into whatever creature they most recently were in contact with," this logic was merely one theory that was assumed by Shredder, Krang, and Splinter during the early experiments with mutagen. In the cases of Splinter, the TMNT, Rocksteady/Bebop, and the rest of Shredder's punks, a creature was almost nearby and thus came into immediate contact with the subject exposed to mutagen.

Therefore, the theory of "they mutate into whatever creature they most recently were in contact with" was established.

The introduction of Carter's mutation, however, is out of the norm and thus demands a new explanation. Since the creature(s) Carter first comes into contact with are the Ninja Turtles, we must conclude that either (A) contact with another mutant makes the mutation process go haywire, or (B) a subject under the influence of mutagen who does not come into "immediate" contact with another creature experiences a unique mutation.

Remember...


EDIT:
Thought of one other thing!

The fact that Carter's mutation appears to derive partly from a non-living substance, (in this case, the metal and, perhaps, his motorcycle) further supports my theory that his encounter with mutagen has affected him in a substantially different way than the mutations seen in the first season. Again, my solution this question is that the cause of this variation would likely stem from either (A) human to mutant contact, or (B) lack of immediate contact with a creature.

Hey, maybe that's why Bebop and Rocksteady are missing after season 8. Their mutations destableized and Shredder and Krang had them put down.

EDIT: I wonder if the unstable mutations would effect humans-to-humanoid animals mutations differently than animals-to-humanoid animal mutants.

Just like Muckman, Mutagenman and the rock soldiers...

Since my OT marathon was several months back, I don't remember. What mutagen was Carter exposed to? The batch that originally mutated Splinter and The Turtles, which has since begun destabilizing or Donatello's experimental formula intended to restabilize their mutations? I'm leaning towards the second option as I'm pretty sure the original batch was shown to no longer be liquid.

Yep, it was a rather large vial of the mutagen that caused the Turtles and Splinter's mutations.

Doesn't Donny just refer to it as "my mutagen sample" at the beginning of "The Unknown Ninja?"

As I stated earlier, I'd put Mutagen Man and Krakus in a similar category with Carter, since they mutated into a bizarre looking, yet stronger version of a human without coming into immediate contact with a creature. Mutagen Man and Muckman/Joe Eyeball may fall into a more specified subset of that category, since they essentially overdosed on mutagen, whereas Carter just got a little bit on his hands (similar to Hamato Yoshi in that regard).

I don't recall if the Rock Soldiers were ever described as mutants.

Yes, but he later explains that he is "studying some of the mutagen that originally caused us to mutate." Leonardo then picks up the very beaker Donnie was carrying around at the begining of the episode, saying it still looks active. Donnie then tells them that it's unstable and they might still be mutating.

EDIT: As for the Rock Soldiers, in Michaelangelo's Birthday, Krang turns 3 soldiers back to ordinary rock...so one could assume they were mutants...maybe.

Hmm... interesting that Donny had so much of that original mutagen! I figured he used it all up in "Splinter No More." Seeing how that mutagen has already been established as unstable, it would stand to reason that this fact becomes an added variable in Carter's case.

One thing that is consistent with aged mutagen is that its effects are either temporary (again, in "Splinter No More") or cause the exposed subject to fluctuate between mutant and normal forms (in the case of "Wererats from Channel 6" and in Carter's situation).

Dang, forgot all about this! Well, that's news to me, I guess. So I guess that's confirmation that mutagen can effect inanimate substances, thus making Carter's interaction with metal less unique than I originally assumed.

True, but again I really think the mutagen was kinda just a plot device and was never really nailed down. The color changes from purple, to green, to tutti-frutti, back to green. It's effects seem different depending on the circumstance as well. I mean look at the cows from Mutagen Monsters. Would you say they mutated with other cows because that was ther animal they were most recently in contact with? Why did they merge? And seperate? Could it be that the tankers weren't properly mixed or that the mixing wasn't done in a proper labratory setting?

Ah, yes, the cows...
the only example we have of when one animal exposed to mutagen gets exposed to another animal of the same species? ...
hmm...

I guess the only universally established fact about mutagen is that:


Therefore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wbONcLKEEg
"Cowabunga, dudes, don't take mutagen!":D

Reading this from work sucks...spolier tags have to be cheated open (quote to see it, since for some reason they can't be opened...Flash I guess.) Also, youtube is out. :(