Baxter Stockman as a Fly or a Cyborg?

[CyberCubed]

In the original cartoon Baxter tried to get revenge on Shredder/Krang in every appearance for turning him into a fly. Since his mind deteriorated Shredder also tricked him into helping him almost every time too.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

In the original cartoon Baxter tried to get revenge on Shredder/Krang in every appearance for turning him into a fly. Since his mind deteriorated Shredder also tricked him into helping him almost every time too.

OK... but I mean, no payoff for specifically making him a fly and not... say, a moose or a hippo or something equally random?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

OK... but I mean, no payoff for specifically making him a fly and not... say, a moose or a hippo or something equally random?

I remember Peter posting old sketches of fly Baxter for Playmates back in 1987. I think the idea was PL's actually. I wish I could find that old blog post.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I remember Peter posting old sketches of fly Baxter for Playmates back in 1987. I think the idea was PL's actually. I wish I could find that old blog post.

Here it is:
http://peterlairdstmntblog.blogspot....ter%20Stockman

Peter told me that the two things he liked about the original cartoon was the Technodrome and Baxter turning into a fly as a homage to The Fly which was remade in 1986. He never came out and said if either were his ideas but I am sure he influenced both.

[Icebot]

I would have liked to see him demutate back into a human at least once in the old toon. I felt sorry for him for being a fly for too long.

I felt really sorry for him in the new toon after what happened in Insane In The Membrane, he seemed so close to getting a real human body, and it wasn't even done in 2105.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I remember Peter posting old sketches of fly Baxter for Playmates back in 1987. I think the idea was PL's actually. I wish I could find that old blog post.

That doesn't answer my question.

[sdp]

Why not a mix of both? Have him have a similar arc where he keeps losing his body and becomes a cyborg and when he tries to become a human again like in the 2k3 show instead of his body rotting away he starts becoming like a fly.

I like both versions but I do think the fly is a little bit neater.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Was there even any payoff to making Baxter a fly in the Fred Wolf cartoon? Seemed like just something random they decided to do to him. Like they just saw Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" and went "That's so cool, let's do something like that" only without the "cool" part.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

OK... but I mean, no payoff for specifically making him a fly and not... say, a moose or a hippo or something equally random?

Well they very likely made him a fly for that exact reason but I do think there was a payoff, instead of being one of many generic mad scientists or robot villains the OT had instead we had another mutant which early in the OT there really weren't that many, he could fly and his "fly" personality was interesting, he kept getting dumber/losing his mind through out the series and man each episode of Baxter you just feel terrible for him and his appearances were always memorable in some way. If he had been a moose or hippo who knows but it's easier to accept that the more time as a fly he became more stupid like a fly.

Originally Posted by Icebot

I would have liked to see him demutate back into a human at least once in the old toon. I felt sorry for him for being a fly for too long.

I felt really sorry for him in the new toon after what happened in Insane In The Membrane, he seemed so close to getting a real human body, and it wasn't even done in 2105.

Well it would have been a nice final episode, you do feel sorry for him the entire show, especially when re-watching Season 1 and you realize he didn't really do anything wrong besides being tricked and landed up in Jail. And all the times he was a villain in the OT as a fly it was because he couldn't tell the difference anymore as a fly for what was happening, he was confused. It's only S2 where he is more of a villain as a human but even then he seems to be following orders from Shredder like he is threatened or brainwashed.

At least Baxter in 2k3 was a villain all along, it wasn't until later that you start feeling sorry for him but even then he made plenty of evil actions he couldn't justify unlike OT Baxter. And Baxter did get a feel good ending in Fast Forward even if he had been a bad guy all along.

[Metropoliskid41]

I voted Human, because that is the way I would like to see him stay in the IDW comics. I think he can be a great reoccuring villain as a smart competent and slightly obsessed, but not insane villain. I think it would be cool if he creates Slash as a way to try and catch the turtles to make up for losing the mutagen in the vandalization by The Foot. He may be one of the few villains to be fully human (hopefully Shredder is as well). But I like both the cyborg and Fly incarnations we've seen in the past. I always felt a little bad for Baxter being stuck as a fly in the OT partly because he wasn't a full blown crazy evil villain like he was in the comics. But if IDW does decide to take him past being human, I would rather see him become a Cyborg instead of a Fly. I hope we have a number of mutants in the IDW book but I don't want Baxter to be one of them. He would be fairly unique as a Cyborg. Also a feel like there are a lot of people who are afraid that the IDW comic is going to be the Original Cartoon: The Sequel (I am not one of them, but see where they are coming from) with Bebop & Rocksteady and the colored bands (which I am okay with). I feel like Baxter as a human or cyborg will help calm their fears or at least give them one less thing to be up in arms about.

[pihb]

how about as a Flyborg?

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by pihb

how about as a Flyborg?

I will leave that to you to write a fanfiction piece about and share with us. His body is dying so he becomes a cyborg and the technology isn't working so to stay alive he mutates himself into a fly.

I could see the cyborg Baxter Stockman as a way to blend it all together and with him not a mutant maybe we could see another like you say Slash.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by mikeandraph87

I will leave that to you to write a fanfiction piece about and share with us. His body is dying so he becomes a cyborg and the technology isn't working so to stay alive he mutates himself into a fly.

Not to endorse this idea, but wouldn't it kind of make more sense if the opposite? i.e., he mutates into a fly, then gets pissed off that that the fly side of him is messing with his mind, making him less than the genius that he was, and that his fly appendages aren't as suitable as his human ones were (you know, for working on circuit boards, typing on a keyboard, etc.)... so he starts outfitting himself with cybernetic implants and such to compensate for this and even improve himself further.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by pihb

how about as a Flyborg?

aww, I was about to write that

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

OK... but I mean, no payoff for specifically making him a fly and not... say, a moose or a hippo or something equally random?

A fly isn't as random as a moose or a hippo.

You've already mentioned the obvious reference to The Fly.

Plus a lot of people get creeped out by insects, and flies are pests, making a mutant fly a good choice for an antagonist.

I'd prefer mutant fly over cyborg, because someone becoming a cyborg feels more overdone. Someone becoming a fly monster obviously isn't original either, but I like the nod to The Fly. It's something for the adults who had to deal with Ninja Turtles being on TV all the time.

For the current comics, I'd say keep him human. There are going to be plenty of mutants running around anyway. Bebop and Rocksteady are more well known, so let the new Baxter Stockman get established as a mad scientist and not another mutant.