Characters you are surprised are still being used
 

So TMNT has a lot of characters, like wow, it could make X-Men blush. So it should come as no surprise that most of them have been discarded over time, as they are often minor, uninteresting or just too similar to other characters for there to be a need for them.

But sometimes there's a characters that shows up a lot more than you thought they would, and all you can think is "This person showed up?". Sometimes these unexpected characters show up long after you thought they would be forgotten about.

For me (if you saw a previous thread from me) was Angel in the IDW series, I'm not complaining, I like the character but she seemed like a character who would be forgotten about.

Hun, as he wasn't that inertesting in 2k3. IDW gave him a lot more personality.

He still had plenty of personality in 2K3, too. He developed over time, and I liked that about him. If ANYONE should never have shown up again, it was Garbage-man. That character was just- pointless. And gross.

The character that I wish would've only shown up one in Nick was Timothy. I get that he was supposed to become Mutagen-Man (another one I'm surprised is still around) but I just never cared much for him.

The one in the OT that "bugged" me was Bug-Man. What was the point of that character, anyway? Even Kurma was more interesting.

Hun was the breakout character of the 4kids series. Aside from Bishop, he was the most popular and memorable new villain created for the series.

He essentially acts as a replacement for Tatsu, since they probably can't use that character anymore due to the likeness of the real actor.

I gotta admit, Pete the pigeon threw me for a loop when we first saw him in the Nickelodeon cartoon, then later he got a recurring role in the IDW comics as one of Old Hob's lackies.

I'm surprised that April O'Neil still features so prominently in almost every incarnation of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, I think her presence is almost always good for the dynamic even if the writers can't always think of useful things for her to do. But it seems her role in the shows and comics have only increased over the years compared to other franchises where human companions tend to be fairly interchangeable across history (Transformers for example).

Mondo Gecko. The characters reeks of 80's ness, but hey, he's still here.

I'm glad to see Slash return after a long absence.

Well she's been a very significant part of the mythos since the old Mirage days. Heck, in practically every incarnation she's the first human being who meets the Turtles and learns their backstory.

I call bulls**t on that.

But that's a one time role that you could throw anybody into. I'm surprised nobody has ever said "the heck with it," the first person the Turtles meet will be "Rodney." In the IDW comics, Casey was actually the first human to meet the Turtles after their mutation, though April still plays much the same role as her Mirage counterpart... just with a lot more of her own life at this point.

April is way too ingrained into TMNT history the same way Lois Lane, Mary Jane, etc. are to their superheroes.

Plus she's the perfect girl character to give "the female's" someone to relate to. Because we all know "the female's" need a girl there.

I like to think so, but she's not quite an equal comparison to the other leading ladies since the idea of Turtle x April romance is a relatively new idea whereas Lois and Mary Jane are pretty much synonymous as love interests for the title characters. She's a critical character when done right, but few writers seem to know what to do with her after her initial appearances.

One thing that is unique about April is that she's remained historically popular as an action figure since her debut. There have been very VERY few Lois Lane or MJ figures produced over the years. Heck, April in the original toyline probably received more variants and re-releases than any given X-Men heroine.

This conversation reminded me that I want to see Mona Lisa in the new TMNT for some strange reason lol

Tatsu and Hun could probably coexist in a universe.

The original cartoon characters in merchandises. I want to see more merch from other incarnations, I'm sure this does not count, so here's my list.

Rahzar (Still looking foward to Tokka)
Angel (I only saw her in the 2k3 series, found her character okay)
Vernon Fenwick (was not expecting him in the new movie)

I was surprised to see the toyless Punk Frogs in the Nick show.

I always knew the frogs were coming. I suspected they would come during Northampton after the season two finale.

Really? I asked Peter Laird on his blog about that, he said there was no talk about adding Tatsu and the similarities were probably coincidental.

Well in fairness there is some variation in human buddies, like with Carter or Cody. But I get what you're saying, stuff like this tends to create new main characters with each new incarnation, Headmasters is the only TF series to continue with the humans from an earlier series and there's like 20 TF cartoons.

When it comes to April I tend to think like this, ever read Spider-Man? Ever noticed how the Lee/Ditko/Romita characters always stick no matter how little reason they have to stick around? Noticed how most characters created after that era tend to disappear with the leave of their creators?

That's why April sticks around, she's like the Betty Brant of TMNT.