Mighty Mutanimals#1 Discussion & Preview

[Allio]

Well there went my 500 chapter Old Hob x Lindsay fan fiction. I was finally starting on chapter 504 where Hob and Lindsay was going out on their first date.

that's how fanfiction works, right?

[Duke Nukem]

Well, if IDW decides to produce a more mature comic in the vein of TMNT Adventures #∞, this certainly opens up a promising plot direction.

[The Big Bad]

As I have not been keeping up with current arcs, this is my first introduction to most of the characters here, barring Lindsey and Hob. This version of the Mutanimals doesn't exactly enthuse me, but it was a light week for comic books, so I decided to give it a shot. And honestly, it did enough to keep me on for the duration.

Pleasant surprises:

• Lindsey and Jillian not being straight, making them the first TMNT characters this can be said of and singlehandedly assuring that I'd buy the rest of the mini. Hooray! And now that it's shown that it can be done once, let's see the writers do more and better.
• Some of the character details are quite interesting. I like Pigeon Pete.
• I like Jillian, and I'm tentatively excited to see the book show the side of her that would give Lindsey pause, given the latter's tolerance for fraught circumstances.
• Kuhn's pencils are is far better suited for this than it was for the actual turtles.

Unpleasant not-exactly-surprises:

• As happens far too often in this incarnation of the turtles, the people associated with Null, Inc., are antagonists who are presumably meant to be competent, but aren't. There is absolutely no good tactical reason for their pitch to Lindsey to be preceded by her kidnapping, except to allow the plot of the issue to take place. And that right there is a considerable strike, as the plot of the episode is nothing to write home about.
  
• I already quite disliked the fact that the team remains all-male (unless you include Lindsey, which the book doesn't) and the fact that the two POC or POC-coded members of the Archie team have been removed, so having the Lillian's test subject be referred to as "The Mutagen Man" for the sake of a nod, even when it makes no sense within the story for hir to be gendered, rankles.
  
• This is an old complaint, but I continue to wish these mini-series didn't rely on familiarity with the main book as much as it does; the book already expects us to know these characters, and uses that expected familiarity to fill in gaps in the storytelling. A first issue should make me excited about the characters and make me want to see more of them, and yet Slash and Mondo Gecko, in particular, are complete non-entities here.

[MikeandRaph87]

Just read it. So Null perfected the mutagen for Shredder. Could this alliance play out in the next arc? As far as Lindsay is concerned I assumed she meant friends if that is not the case its nothing I care to have in TMNT. Slash and Hob had a perfect reaction to their first sight of Mutagen Man. Just as Hob had a solid reaction to seeing the experiment equipment knowing it was not just a lab. Not much characterization yet for Mondo Gecko or Herman The Hermit Crab but I do like having them around. Pete and Lindsay were rescued within a few pages I thought it might have been at the end of issue #3 so a quick resolution as far as that plot point is concerned which is a good surprise. Wonder what we will see of Null and where this all plays out.

[Ninjinister]

Things certainly got dark when double M decided that his method of being "saved" was different from what the Mutanimals had in mind. Didn't expect it from this book.

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

As far as Lindsay is concerned I assumed she meant friends if that is not the case its nothing I care to have in TMNT

what are you saying?

[ProphetofGanja]

By the end of this mini-series I think Pete will be my new favorite character. I have you to thank for that, Paul!

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by The Big Bad

[*] I already quite disliked the fact that the team remains all-male (unless you include Lindsey, which the book doesn't) and the fact that the two POC or POC-coded members of the Archie team have been removed, so having the Lillian's test subject be referred to as "The Mutagen Man" for the sake of a nod, even when it makes no sense within the story for hir to be gendered, rankles.

Why would you want pieces of crap in the book? Also they didn't remove anyone at all, or depending on your perspective, almost everyone... the entire team with the exception of Mondo is completely new.

Also I find that if you feel that non-defining characteristics like gender are more important than the actual defining characteristics, you tend to have a lot less fun with the character's development - just my take. I'm all for more equality in everything but it shouldn't be the dictating factor. Plus it would be pretty silly on the levels of DC and Marvel's attempts at political correctness to suddenly make the test subject the "Mutagen Ma'am".

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

Why would you want pieces of crap in the book? Also they didn't remove anyone at all, or depending on your perspective, almost everyone... the entire team with the exception of Mondo is completely new.

Also I find that if you feel that non-defining characteristics like gender are more important than the actual defining characteristics, you tend to have a lot less fun with the character's development - just my take. I'm all for more equality in everything but it shouldn't be the dictating factor. Plus it would be pretty silly on the levels of DC and Marvel's attempts at political correctness to suddenly make the test subject the "Mutagen Ma'am".

a little birdy told me that before the end of this mini-series, another female mutant will be introduced

I do hope the Mutanimals gain some more female members. that was my main reason for wanting Alopex to join up with them, but I'm happier knowing that she and Angel will be palling around the city, beating up thugs

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Allio

Well there went my 500 chapter Old Hob x Lindsay fan fiction. I was finally starting on chapter 504 where Hob and Lindsay was going out on their first date.

that's how fanfiction works, right?

And that's at least two reasons to ignore fan fiction right there.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

"Mutagen Ma'am".

Love a good laugh first thing in the morning.

[The Big Bad]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

Plus it would be pretty silly on the levels of DC and Marvel's attempts at political correctness to suddenly make the test subject the "Mutagen Ma'am".

How droll. Also, not what I said.

Really, can somebody explain why geneticists and biologists, who of all people should understand the biological components for sex, would look at an entirely new being, one that is apparently one of a kind and possesses no primary or secondary sexual characteristics, and say "male" (or "female")--more so since the team is apparently led by a woman who isn't straight, and therefore is probably more aware than many others about how pigeonholing is problematic?

And honestly, the fact that this goes uncommented upon isn't an altogether unimportant matter, given what the titles appears to be attempting. Hob's goal is partly to establish "mutant" as a concrete identity, and "mutants" as not just a collection of lab experiments and accidents, but an actual people. This requires determining what being a mutant is or isn't, and how they differ from humans, which in turn requires examining human cultural norms and institutions, including gender. For someone like Hob to not consider these--for his perspective to uncritically align with those of humans--feels out of step with the sort of character he's supposed to be. It could be that the story is precisely that, that Hob is carrying out an agenda he still hasn't completely thought about, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, the series and Hob seem perfectly content to treat mutants as funny-looking humans, in which case what's the point, aside from cashing in on nostalgia?

And just to head off the inevitable "it's just an action comic book" argument, let me just say that actually attempting to say something isn't at all incompatible with awesome action. The current Mega Man comic--occasionally drawn by Technodrome fave Ben Bates--isn't just fantastic because of the way it handles robot battlin' action, but also because of the way it actually attempts to explore what being a robot, and uses it to deal with matters like identity and agency in very clever ways. So why shouldn't this book be capable of the same?

[Allio]

considering how using the term "man" has been used to describe us since the beginning of our naming convention, you know MANkind, huMANity...Trust me when I say, we aren't going to be changing our naming convention anytime soon.

I'm sorry that "Uggah uggah" didn't stick

[Duke Nukem]

Originally Posted by The Big Bad

Really, can somebody explain why geneticists and biologists, who of all people should understand the biological components for sex, would look at an entirely new being, one that is apparently one of a kind and possesses no primary or secondary sexual characteristics, and say "male" (or "female")--more so since the team is apparently led by a woman who isn't straight, and therefore is probably more aware than many others about how pigeonholing is problematic?

DNA. To a biologist, XY chromosomes make a man even without a penis (assuming he doesn't have one anymore, and it wasn't just hidden inside his metal suit because IDW doesn't need to always draw dicks Jonah-Hill-in-Superbad-style to indicate gender). If he had one and lost it, that alone would explain why he wanted to be shot in the head.

[PaulAllor]

Originally Posted by The Big Bad

How droll. Also, not what I said...

This is a very fair point. I don't 100 percent agree with everything you said, but it's a fair point. And I did actually think, early on in scripting, about the fact that Mutagen Man would actually be genderless. I suppose that makes it either better or worse, depending on one's perspective.

[PaulAllor]

(I know there may be some further discussion on this and other topics, but I have a very busy writing schedule to get back to, so I likely won't be around for it -- but I'm glad people are digging the series so far, it's been fun getting to post on here for a bit)

[Mormegil]

Originally Posted by PaulAllor

(I know there may be some further discussion on this and other topics, but I have a very busy writing schedule to get back to, so I likely won't be around for it -- but I'm glad people are digging the series so far, it's been fun getting to post on here for a bit)

Like i said with Ross, transparency is a good thing and it's appreciated. The downside being that you can have bad experience with harsh fans.

[DrSpengler]

EDIT:

Ah, forget it.

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by The Big Bad

How droll. Also, not what I said.

Really, can somebody explain why geneticists and biologists, who of all people should understand the biological components for sex, would look at an entirely new being, one that is apparently one of a kind and possesses no primary or secondary sexual characteristics, and say "male" (or "female")--more so since the team is apparently led by a woman who isn't straight, and therefore is probably more aware than many others about how pigeonholing is problematic?

And honestly, the fact that this goes uncommented upon isn't an altogether unimportant matter, given what the titles appears to be attempting. Hob's goal is partly to establish "mutant" as a concrete identity, and "mutants" as not just a collection of lab experiments and accidents, but an actual people. This requires determining what being a mutant is or isn't, and how they differ from humans, which in turn requires examining human cultural norms and institutions, including gender. For someone like Hob to not consider these--for his perspective to uncritically align with those of humans--feels out of step with the sort of character he's supposed to be. It could be that the story is precisely that, that Hob is carrying out an agenda he still hasn't completely thought about, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, the series and Hob seem perfectly content to treat mutants as funny-looking humans, in which case what's the point, aside from cashing in on nostalgia?

And just to head off the inevitable "it's just an action comic book" argument, let me just say that actually attempting to say something isn't at all incompatible with awesome action. The current Mega Man comic--occasionally drawn by Technodrome fave Ben Bates--isn't just fantastic because of the way it handles robot battlin' action, but also because of the way it actually attempts to explore what being a robot, and uses it to deal with matters like identity and agency in very clever ways. So why shouldn't this book be capable of the same?

Man. Mankind. HuMANity. The default term used to refer to our species, Homo sapiens, seems to be the male gender. Historically and scientifically, it's always been like this. At most, we could've had "Mutagen Human", or "Mutagen Person". "Mutagen Guy" would raise the same problems, I expect... I just now realized that sounded like Alicia Silverstone's character in the infamous Batman & Robin movie, so having made my point, I'll move on now just so I don't throw up a little in my mouth.

As for Hob's vision of mutants as a people in their own right, they won't last that long if they don't start mutating animals of the same species as previously existing mutants and have them reproduce, you know? And to do that, they'll need males and females. Like it or not, mutantdom is inherently dependent on the same gender roles as our own species. For all intents and purposes, they are funny-looking humans. That's how the Mutagen works, it's intended to transform the recipient into the halfway point between two species: if you're an animal it makes you more human, if you're a human it makes you more of an animal. If you're several different animals, well, it'll make you a freak of "nature".

But no less of a (Mutagen) Man. The human bit always seems to dominate.

[neatoman]

So do you think there will a ton of fan art of Lindsey now?