So what did we take away from this series?

[Tarris Vaal]

For my own two cents

* I agree with the general consensus on Leo - I find that he is more likeable, he is more flawed, but retains much of what was good about other iterations while expanding on them with hobbies etc.

And while I think I can see a lot of that in the IDW Leo as well, I think Nick's edges it - at least for me. And besides this thread is what the Nick version brought in

* A stronger focus on the turtles as Teenagers rather than young adults - which is something I've found 2k3 had a bad habit of doing.

* Easily one of the best Shredders - flawed, interesting, driven and ruthless.

* The Karai/Splinter family connection. I think this really has made a mark and will reappear consistently down the line.

* Don/April I also think - Like it or Loath it - will be a consistent thing that comes up from now on. It added a huge alternative angle to Don, who is otherwise all too easily relegated to 'does machines' (looking at you 2k7, OT, 2k3, 90s movies). Personally I overall thought this was a good idea, albeit with occasions that others have brought up regularly that were badly written or conceived by the writers. When it worked it worked well, when it didn't it was cringeworthy. Hopefully future efforts will see this as a lesson to be learned from and treat the idea more carefully.
I will acknowledge IDW did at least go a different route by avoiding this altogether, but still giving Don extra - so I think we'll see this crop up, but it may not necessarily be a major part of any future arc for him. Its still a good way of touching on the subject of 'love as part of growing up' whether it leads anywhere or not it remains a good lesson.

* New Villains and alternate versions - Xever/Fishface I really liked. Tigerclaw was awesome when he was the go to '**** about to go down' enforcer. The new take on Rahzar was great when it was threatening. Karai as a late teens teenager worked well. A less combaty Rat King focusing more on intelligence and cunning over brute force was very very welcome. Although I'm not a great fan of the Nick Bebop/Rocksteady, I did like Ivan/Anton as their own characters and the acknowledgement that there are more villain groups beyond the Dragons, Mafia and Foot.

* Casey/April as teenagers. Again a controversial subject but I think one that worked overall. It changed the dynamic in an interesting manner and allowed Splinter to take a father role to both of them. Again you could argue IDW kept them older, but that said it wasn't by much. I think this was a good experiment that showed reasonable results.

* Animation fluidity and style. The show looks great and has improved consistently over time. Proof that the CGI does work for the turtles in a TV medium.

* A greater focus on Stealth and Ninja skills, and a willingness not to shy away from darker subject matter. Yeah 2k3 had its moments too - fair enough - but even 2k3 didn't end a series with Splinter dead and the planet obliterated. It never showed a giant mutant stamping on a hero's arm with a gruesome snap. Nor did it show skeletal bodies of known characters or have a friendly character go insane and break a major protagonists bones on screen (April vs Raph). Nick has shown it can go that extra step and more importantly that doing so is to be Encouraged!



I'm sure there was more, but I think that covered everything important.

Overall this has been a good solid series with some risk taking and experimental ideas that - though they may not have worked well all the time, did at least try them and in many cases succeeded.