Of all the various incarnations, which is the most Teenage? Mutant? Ninja? Turtles?

[pannoni1]

This should be a fun yet insightful thread. The name of the franchise is teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and throughout each story, we notice that some seem to look at each word more than others, some strongly slanted toward one, while others more equal and balanced. Even some series can alter their look over time, becoming less about the Ninja and more about the Teenage, Mutant, and/or Turtles.

That said, I'd give Nick as being the most Teenage. You can clearly tell by the slender designs and somewhat more adolescent behavior.

For the most Mutant, I'd call it a tie between the OT, Archie, and Nick. The OT of course was gagged for adding so many, Archie had its own line called the Mutanimals along with a bunch more, and Nick is trending the same way with lots of mutants.

For most Ninja, I'd lean toward the 2003 series. It had numerous incarnations of the Foot/Shredder and though Fast Forward weakens its premise a bit, fighting is very important. The 1990 movie comes very close.

And simply for the Turtles, I'd go with The Next Mutation. Despite the "Mutation" in the title, Venus created controversy with regards to how Turtles are related to each other.

PS: You could even say that each Turtle represents a different word: Michelangelo for the Teenage, Donatello for the Mutant, Leonardo for the Ninja, and Raphael for the Turtles (often being the heaviest and having a red bandana as for Mirage and the red-eared sliders).