What comic company would you like TMNT to get bought by?
 

I'm honestly hoping for DC if not BOOM! as both have done crossovers with them, so I feel like they'd get more respect at one of them. Preferably I'd like DC as I'd love a lot of crossovers to happen. However, I'd be fine with BOOM! since they've done a lot of good stuff with Power Rangers.

Are you talking about the license or the IP as a whole?

If it's the latter then I really don't like the idea of either Marvel or DC owning it. Not only would most of TMNT's existing lore be pushed aside in favor of doing things like replacing the Utroms with the High Evolutionary or Project Cadmus as the origin of the Turtles, there is a very high risk that the book simply won't sell enough to justify a real ongoing, instead just relegating the characters to get a five issue mini every fifth year just to maintain the trademark. Any other company would be more likely to make an honest attempt to keep the franchise it's own thing and try to release more than the occasional mini, though we still need to keep in mind that just about any company is just a husk who would only treat the TMNT as well as any actual human who is put in charge of it.

As for just the license, Marvel or DC wouldn't be that bad but only because they would be less likely to subject the franchise to the same questionable practices that they have applied to other characters they've obtained over the years, not to mention how a flopped book is less likely to result in the "bare minimum trademark maintenance" crap and just in the license being handed off to another publisher.

I wouldn't mind seeing it go back to Image, honestly. Even though that series was pretty wild, it kept the lore intact and seemed to fit well in that universe.

I'm pretty sure back around 2010/2011 when Nick was shopping around TMNT to a comic publisher that Dark Horse wanted it (mainly to reprint Mirage trades), but IDW bid more money for it so they got it.

Nowadays I don't think Dark Horse would bother though. That was over 13 years ago after all.

Not really any... The minute they do they are probably never leaving. I kind of prefer the idea of them changing hands when someone is done with them.

Wouldn't doubt it would probably end up being DC though, given the connection they've already established. But I'd hope they'd keep the door open to external crossovers and whatnot still.

Preferably not Marvel, since they'd just end up owned by Disney and that one would probably lock them under their ownership for good, never allow anyone to touch them again even if Disney/Marvel decided to shelve them.

Since I already brought up the nightmare scenarios in regards to Marvel and DC buying the characters, I might as well elaborate on what could happen to the TMNT lore in these cases.

Marvel:

• The Foot Clan is literally a splinter faction of the Hand that is absorbed back into the hand proper.
• Shredder adopted the claws after Wolverine humiliated him.
• The Turtles are literally created in the same accident that blinded Matt Murdock.
• In order to preserve Marvel's definition of "mutant", the Turtles were affected differently from Matt because they had an X-Gene.
• Splinter and most of the other TMNT mutants are the creations of the High Evolutionary and/or Mr Sinister.
• The Utroms are on Earth because they're escaping the Kree.
• Renet is the rebellious underling of Kang.
• The Triceratons are from the Savage Land.

DC:

• The Turtles are the creations of the Cadmus Project.
• Splinter travelled back in time from Kamandi's timeline.
• Renet is part of the Legion of Superheroes.
• The Fugitoid is escaping from Darkseid because he has figured out the Anti-Life Equation.
• The Triceratons are living on the remains of Krypton.
• The Foot Clan is a sub-group of the League of Assassins.
• The ooze is modified Lazarus gunk.
• Savanti Romero is Raven's half-brother.
• The turtles are split up to other teams with Leo going to the JLA, Mike to the Titans, Raph to the Outsiders and Don to the Doom Patrol.

These are just hypothetical and they could easily forge any other arbitrary connections. Though they have indeed done this kind of crap before, have a list of things I know about:

• The Blue Beetle Scarab was created to combat the Green Lanterns.
• Angela is the long lost sister of Thor.
• Raven is the aunt of Etrigan.
• The Celestials are responsible for the Mutants.
• Cyborg is the result of Apokolips tech.
• The Symbiotes are the same creatures are the Shadow Man and Mister E.
• OMAC was created from Brainiac.
• Ultimate Mysterio was a drone created by Mainstream Mysterio.

It's quite a bit more than that but you get the point.

Rippaverse should buy TMNT because Eric actually respects the lore and knows what the customer wants

If he does, he should bring in Andrew as a consultant.

I totally agree.

In all seriousness, The Rippaverse is mostly focused on its own original properties. Like he said at one time when he used to have posters of Black Panther and Doctor Strange and whatnot behind him, that he'd one day like to see posters of his own characters behind him.

I doubt he'd want to bring the Turtles on board because then his comic company would be mostly known as 'the company that does the Turtles', which to be honest, that's exactly what IDW is known for. That and Sonic.

I don't trust either of the big two with the Turtles, because I'd rather have the Turtles be their own thing and only exist within their comic book world, not counting crossovers of course. I don't want them to actually co-exist and integrate themselves within the MCU or the DCU. I don't trust either company just making Turtles comics on their own without making them part of their universes.

Dark Horse, gun to my head, by far. But honestly I'd rather it WASN'T bought by a company. Just some independent guy or group of people that just really like and know TMNT.

Pipe dream... fans pull together and collectively buy them. (If enough money was actually there.) Then get votes on who we say hell no or hell yes to giving rights to. Fan works made by members always legally allowed.

Fandoms as organizations that own their beloved properties... I dunno if that's intriguing or scary.

Depends how serious they take the property. Sometimes you have to face that if you're to adapt a pre-existing property properly, you have to know what you should and shouldn't do for the sake of the property. In other words, keep thing as non-fanfic as possible. No Turtles dating April or random pre-established characters suddenly turning gay for the sake of it.

If we're going to nominate independents like Eric July, I'm going to nominate… Myself!

Either way, get Andrew as a consultant.

Yes, totally a pipe dream. It won't happen and I think if Nick/Viacom ever decided to stop doing TMNT stuff, they'd most likely just sit on the IP rather than sell it off.

If any of the big companies buy them, that'll be the end of the Turtles.
They will go the way of NASCAR, the NFL, MLB, Gilette, Bud Light, Target.....