Is the Teenage in the title holding the Turtle back in non comic versions?

[Warhorse]

Many of us, while we grew up on the Fred Wolf cartoon, have been wanting to see the TMNT portrayed a bit more seriously, but they have been forever held back due to what the Fred Wolf cartoon set in motion. But, is the FW cartoon to blame, when the title itself has Teenage in it?

It just seems, the cartoons will not go beyond the teenage years of the boys, allowing them to branch out like The X-Men, Batman and other comic book properties. Do you think we will ever see a version in our lifetime that depicts the Turtles well after their teen years? Or will this be for a long time now, it's fate resting in the hands of soccer moms and studio execs not seeing past the Teenage aspect?

[IndigoErth]

I kinda wish they would have left it out of the movie title, since those models feel more like adults, but people would never have had that, as petty as a title detail is. I could see another movie doing it some day... depending on how many sequels this one does maybe they'll actually allow it to go there.

Personally, after 30 years of the franchise I would love the idea of them being able to be portrayed as adults, as if our childhood heroes also grew up like their original fans did.

[CyberCubed]

No. This is an absurd thread. Most superheroes are teenagers.

Spiderman is a teenager, the X-men start off as teenagers. The only exception is probably Batman who is always shown to be at least 25 when he wears the cape and cowl.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

"The Beach Boys" band aren't known as "The Beach Men", are they?

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No. This is an absurd thread. Most superheroes are teenagers.

Spiderman is a teenager, the X-men start off as teenagers. The only exception is probably Batman who is always shown to be at least 25 when he wears the cape and cowl.

They are?

Captain America
Wonder Woman
Superman
Thor
Ironman
The Hulk
Dare Devil
Fantastic Four
The Punisher

And Spider-Man may have started out as a teenager, but he went on to become an adult, and the movies themselves are mature, not kidified like so much of TMNT has been. That's my point, is the Teenage in their title holding them back from moving on from the same origins story being told again, and again and again? And I'd love to see a TMNT in the fashion of a more mature movie like the X-Men films are (I'd really love it if it was like Kick Ass) but like I said, it seems to be held back because the Turtles are seeing more for the young kids instead of teenagers or young adults.

And, are we ever going to see a more serious approach in our life time? Maybe, maybe not.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No. This is an absurd thread.

the X-men start off as teenagers.

So it's only ok for the X-Men?

[JamieH]

Most superheroes as they may be known to the general public are teenagers. I'm not really sure of that because of the movies. Anyways, as most superheroes are now, and have been for the past 30 or so odd years, they're adults.

It may be slow, and there may be retcons, but comic characters from the big 2 do develop here and there.

As for the "Teenage" part to the Turtles title, I think it does have an effect. But I feel it has more to do with the '87 show. And from there on the Turtles have always been a sort of kids' thing in the general public's eye.

But let's say we drop the "Teenage" off the title. What do we call'em then? Because Mutant Ninja Turtles would be accurate, but it doesn't have a good ring to it. Ninja Turtles would be better, I'm sure we've heard plenty of people simply refer to them as such if we haven't ourselves. But that still feels like it's missing something. Which that may just be from hearing and thinking of the TMNT title for so long now.

I'd like to see them age as much as any fan. I just hope Splinter wouldn't turn into Aunt May. Not saying I want to see him die, but he's usually depicted as an elderly and wise figure. So eventually he would need to go.

I'm personally hoping the IDW book continues on for a good solid 10 years. But that means sales have to stay up, quality has to stay good, and IDW will continue to hold the license.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No. This is an absurd thread. Most superheroes are teenagers.

I don't think that's remotely true. I could sit here and list out about 200 superheroes that aren't and didn't begin as teenaged superheroes... and could probably only come up with half that in teenagers.

[pennydreadful]

I wouldn't mind seeing them older... and I hope one day that we do see it. It'd be great to see an older Raph, and see whether he ever does manage to get a bit more of a handle on his temper - or at least see how he channels it.

[pingclang]

The thing is, yeah they are teenagers but they haven't lived like normal teenagers. Sure, the FW series lightens things up but in a lot of the Turtles lore, when things are more serious, they've been trained their whole lives in the martial arts and ultimately how to incapacitate an enemy which includes killing them. Growing up in that sort of environment, I see them as teenagers only in the sense of their age. So I guess in answer to your question, it really depends on the writer and where they want to go with it. Its sort of obvious that the new movie doesn't really stick to the teenage part at all, for instance.

[snake]

I hope the nick cartoon shows them growing up more. They might be adults by the time of the finale.

[HotNunchuckFury]

I like the fact they are young and this comes across a lot in their personalities. The kind of banter they have going on and the fact they all have lessons to learn is something which makes them so interesting, along with Splinter's words of wisdom and watching them develop. It's one thing that makes TMNT different from other shows I watch. That said I did enjoy seeing them portrayed as adults in SAINW despite the dire situation they were in. So basically, I'd definitely be interested in seeing it done, just a bit sceptical as to whether it would still have the same TMNT vibe to it.

[Lou 500]

I wouldn't mind if "Teenage" was left out. If The Dark Knight and Man of Steel can be alternate titles then why not just Ninja Turtles?

[mikey22]

hey we did see them grow up remember?


we saw mike fat leo a goof, rpah legs shot and donny w/ glasses lmao


that old silly toon w/ hookum hare

[chrisdude]

The turtles deserve to be explored as different ages, but really, all superheroes have an age at which they've settled. I don't think it's a matter of, "Well, we can't let them grow older because "teenage" is in the title." It's not even normal to watch heroes age. It pretty much only happens in comics, and even then it's minimized as much as possible.

We've seen young Superman, old Batman and different ages for all different heroes, but there's a default that everyone's comfortable with. Whenever you step outside, like the TV show Smallville, everyone recognizes it as an aberration, because we all know what age they're supposed to be.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No. This is an absurd thread. Most superheroes are teenagers.

Spiderman is a teenager, the X-men start off as teenagers. The only exception is probably Batman who is always shown to be at least 25 when he wears the cape and cowl.

Not true. Most Marvel heroes, and most of the DC ones I'm familiar with, actually started as ADULTS. Thor, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel(my namesake), Wonder Man, She Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye (and these are just a few of the Avengers off a poster sitting on the wall above my computer! I didn't even have to look far for those names, and there are literally DOZENS more on that poster, most of them that BEGAN as adults.) DC: Wonder Woman, Aqua Man, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Superman (Smallville aside), Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Plastic Man (corny choice, I know....), et al.....

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I don't think that's remotely true. I could sit here and list out about 200 superheroes that aren't and didn't begin as teenaged superheroes... and could probably only come up with half that in teenagers.

So could I. So.... Do you want to start on that list, or should I do it? I wonder how many of those names would be the same.

[pannoni1]

At this point, the "Teenage" is simply about name recognition and familiarity coupled with the use of the "artifact title" concept when applicable, understanding that while an incarnation can start as teenagers, a series can end as adults, like Mirage eventually did.

[The Turtle Terminator]

There was a Mirage or Archie series to happen known as Future Wars. Although it never happened, it was to show what happened to the bros if they were older

[Luckyday]

I seriously starting to think the toyline is what really holding them back because it just seems to be the sole key factor of what makes them so desirable to other big name companies and that creates this atmosphere "Ok so how can we capitalize this market to get more sales?" when instead it should be the writers, animators, and creatives thinking "What are things that made this show so good to me and the people around me?".

Bottom line: The toyline is what making this show be constantly treated as a food product like Coco cola, instead of being what it actually is which is a story franchise.

[snake]

Originally Posted by Luckyday

I seriously starting to think the toyline is what really them back because it seems to be the key factor of what makes them so desirable to other big companies and that creates this atmosphere "Ok so how can we capitalize this market to get more sales?" when instead it should be the writers,animators, and creatives thinking "What are things that made this show so good to me and the people around me?".

Bottom line: The toyline is what making this show be constantly treated as a food product like Coco cola, instead of being what it actually is which is a story franchise.

This doesn't make sense, becuase the companies can make toyline only characters and they would still sell.