Favorite Figures In TMNT History
 

Who are your favorite people tied to TMNT? Not human characters from various iterations, but the actual, real folks behind it all. Artists, writers, voice actors, etc. Maybe one (or two, if like me, you made some split decisions) from each key version or something. We all owe Eastman & Laird a debt of gratitude for being the property's fathers, which makes them a shoe-in, but to keep things a bit more free, exclude them from your list.

Mirage/FW/Movies/TNM/4kids/TMNT/IDW/Nick/PD

Mirage: -Jim Lawson

A man with more issues under his belt than anyone else. He's done it all, from scripts to inks, created iconic characters (such as Rat King), has a one of a kind art style, & is arguably the single nicest guy in comics, period. Frank Fosco might have my favorite look for the comic series overall, but Jim takes the win for his contributions & gold-star attitude.

Fred Wolf: Pat Fraley

It's hard to pick from this series given how charming the entire cast is, but I think everyone would agree Krang is the most memorable voice. No other character in the show is as full of life, with such calculated rhythm & delivery. Ticks ranging from growls, to burps, & fluctuating pitches, it's a spectacular part. Pat's other roles were fantastic too, like the manic Baxter Stockman, stiff & stern Burne Thompson, or deranged Casey Jones, to name a few.

Live Action Films: Steve Barron/Elias Koteas

I'm torn in several directions when it comes to praising one particular figure who took part in the original movie trilogy. Tochi & Rist gave standout performances, Henson's studio provided God-tier design work, John Du Prez scores keep you on the edge of your seat. All together, it was a huge pool of talent. Ultimately, I can't decide between director Steve Barron (who regrettably did only the first flick) & actor Elias Koteas. Steve's vision for TMNT was the champion of both its success and lasting power. In the peak of kiddified turtle 'toons & product alike, he had faith in the original concept. He used the Mirage comics for not simply general reference, but character beats, plots, & even storyboarding. With his punk rock edge & straight outta the comics visual aesthetic, he was able to deliver something dark & brooding that respected its adult roots while welcoming child viewers with charm & humor. Elias, to put it simply, did the best Casey Jones we'll ever have. He was just perfect. I need not say any more, am I right?

Next Mutation: Len Gibson

Len played Splinter's blind Chess partner, Andre. I suppose my favor leans more toward the character than the actor, but he was easily the best part of the show, in my opinion. I think he played the part wonderfully, & his looping of the lines was picture-perfect. In a series chock full of people hamming it up, he walked the line between a serious & comedic performance just right. I find him very endearing. I wanna give Michael Dooney a shout out for his character design work too, though!

4kids: Michael Sinterniklaas/Scott Williams

Leonardo & Baxter Stockman's voice actors. No question, it goes to these two. Their parts are just sooo good. Maybe it's my bias for the characters speaking, but I am of the opinion that they were the stand-out talent in that cast.

TMNT: Klaus Badelt

I'm not the biggest fan of this flick, it's decent, but not great. The score, however, wow. It's really, really good. Powerful, looming, emotional, epic, it hits all the right points. There are elements suggestive of past sound design, suggesting he even did his homework. Who could dislike those pieces of music? Only those of questionable taste.

IDW: Ben Bates/Erik Burnham

Ben's issues are my favorite art wise, what can I say? I think his art style is just so rad, an excellent fit for TMNT. You can see he took a lot of influence from Playmates' card art, & that caters to my sensibilities hardcore. Erik, on the other hand, I feel has the best grasp on what the TMNT "feel" is. I really dig his writing.

Nick: Ciro Nieli

One of those creative minds that comes along & just gets everything right. He's a Mirage fan first & foremost, so he approached things with a more level headed mindset. His character & general visual design work is the cats pajamas, & I am an absolute sucker for all the alternative/cult/Japanese stuff he's injected into the show. The Nick series, especially in its earlier seasons, aligned with almost all of my wants for a new version.

Platinum Dunes/Paramount: Johnny Knoxville

I liked his Leonardo. It's no secret I dislike these films, but the turtle actors were decent. He was my favorite of them, probably stemming from my bias for both he & his character, & that I felt Leo was the most accurately portrayed turtle.

Michael Bay- He made the TurtleZ so awesome sauce with teh big mucsles and bulletproof shells. He really knows how to make cool characters.

Ok seriously I dont know. I never thought of it that deeply. I guess James Avery cause I also loved Fresh Prince. I agree about OT voice actors like krang. They were very memorable.

All the voice actors, especially Townsend Coleman who is just such a cool guy!!!

Cool thread. Time to gush.

Mirage: Dan Berger.

One of those guys who actually contributed a lot more than you realize. The comic strip, the website, his various Tales. Dude is an amazing story teller. He's also super nice. When I discovered the website back in the day, I'd occasionally send in emails with truly retarded questions, and he'd always politely answer the best he could to an annoying 11 year old. As I grew up and started sending him more intelligent inquiries, he always gave honest and super insightful answers.

Honorable mention: Tristan Jones.

One of the major crimes of TMNT history is Jones never getting to finish his Gang War arc. A lot of us here are big into underground/indie crap, so we could name a million creators from various mediums who are unbelievably underrated, but T Rex is definitely near the top of that list for me. Hope he gets his big break someday. He deserves it.

Fred Wolf: Whole voice cast/Susan Blue.

Like Powder said, Fraley was righteous. Coleman also had crazy range. Clarke is a hilarious guy who got saddled with a boring character and made him fun as possible. Everyone loves Rob Paulsen! Rest in peace James Avery.

Honorable Mention: Michael Reeves.

Dude wrote most of the best episodes. Nuff said.

Live action: What Powder said, again. Couldn't say it any better.

Honorable mentions: Bobby Herbeck and Todd Langen for their script. Bryan Henson for pushing his father to agree to do it, despite his apprehension towards a violent film. And Josh Pais and Kevin Clash for perfectly embodying their characters on both ends of production.

4kids: Lloyd Goldfine.

Love this guy. I don't think the show would have been half as good without him, and while Pete did catch some plot holes and dumb stuff, I would love to see what Lloyd would have done unencumbered by PL and Playmates. Also really nice guy to talk to. He went above and beyond trying to help Nick/Viacom release the right cut and include proper box art for their Turtles Forever release. To no avail :tmad:

Honorable mention: Marty Isenberg.

See Michael Reeves entry.

2007: Not a big fan of it, but it was easy to see that Munroe was passionate about TMNT and I'm glad he got a shot at it. Murph wrote a good prequel comic to it. Rest in peace Mako.

IDW: Bobby Curnow.

Easy pick. Dude's a great editor. Keeping the timeline on order, keeping deadlines, carefully prioritizing stuff for solicits... you rarely see editors giving this much of a crap. He's been answering my questions about chronological minutia for like 5 years now, and when IDW let their forums go to pot, he opened his Ask an Editor thread here. Pretty brave, if you ask me lol.

Honorable mentions: Santolouco, Burnham, Allor, Campbell, Bates/Weaver.

It's awesome that the ongoing has kept the same writing team throughout its run thus far, but admittedly, it feels somewhat homogenous. These 6, and pretty much everyone else who works on the companion books, are what really makes the IDW universe pop. All super talented, and all really "get" TMNT.

Nick: What Powder said, again.

Honorable mentions: Sternin/Ventimilia for their sharp sense of humor and drama. Wish they'd stayed on for the whole series, or at least a few more seasons than they did. Jason Biggs for being the best Leonardo ever. Kenny Byerly for being one of the best writers, then putting out stories for New Animated Adventures after leaving the show.

Platinum Dunes: Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec.

Wrote a tight, emotionally powerful, hilarious script for both movies. Oscar snub for sure!

Honorable mention: Chance Kelly.

Totally awesome in the badass role of Mr. Rivetti. Really hope the character shows up in IDW or Nick.

Well gosh, thanks!

Hope to play in the sandbox again soon. (:

Y’all are some hoes for not responding to this thread