Dark April Thread

[victory_angel]

So this week's preview indicates without a doubt that Dark April is starting to rise.

Spoiler:

The preview itself has April telling Donnie that she has been feeling a number of headaches lately and weird nightmares about space and other galaxies. Donnie checks her out but doesn't find anything wrong, so he suggests that perhaps she's just been adjusting to life on Earth. Mikey however, states that he feels it's the crystal shard that is the problem.

Donnie mulls over it for a few seconds but doesn't believe crystal can cause headaches, but he offers to examine it anyway. April suddenly slaps his hand away and starts acting Gullum-like about it. But calms down and says it's just a crystal and a lets Donnie study it.

[Jephael]

I've saw it coming a mile away, especially after the way they ended the episode where she got the crystal in the first place.

[Vicky82]

I had a feeling that Mikey has been getting his bad vibes over April's crystal.

[snake]

Dark April can certainly be interesting if handled properly. She'd honestly be the last possible character I'd have "go dark".


Ew. "Go dark"

[WebLurker]

Originally Posted by Jephael

I've saw it coming a mile away, especially after the way they ended the episode where she got the crystal in the first place.

Yeah, I'm actually a little surprised that the show decided to delay the payoff for so long (given the next clue was in "City at War," after the space arc was finished).

Originally Posted by Vicky82

I had a feeling that Mikey has been getting his bad vibes over April's crystal.

Which bad vibes? (It would be fitting that Mikey is the first one to guess that something's up, given his hunch in "Buried Secrets."

[Mugen_Jin18]

Originally Posted by snake

Dark April can certainly be interesting if handled properly. She'd honestly be the last possible character I'd have "go dark".


Ew. "Go dark"

Why ew? I love "going dark"!

[neatoman]

Headaches, nightmares and space stuff? So like Tetsuo Shima then?

[Ninjinister]

Why does this seem familiar?

[Vicky82]

Originally Posted by WebLurker

Yeah, I'm actually a little surprised that the show decided to delay the payoff for so long (given the next clue was in "City at War," after the space arc was finished).



Which bad vibes? (It would be fitting that Mikey is the first one to guess that something's up, given his hunch in "Buried Secrets."

Mikey senses bad things, the mom thing from buried secrets and he sensed something was up with Slash and Dr Rockwell when they got the brain worm.

There was a moment In the episode The Evil of Dregg when Donnie got stung by an alien bug and April and Fugitoid took him back to the ship. It looked like Mikey was worried about Donnie and wanted to go with them but it may be because Mikey might be sensing something bad from April.

[victory_angel]

I had asked about the possibility of April going Dark before Riddle of the Ancient Aeons even aired and he was surprised I had that idea.

I had actually based the assumption of the possibility as Shredder up until the end of AE knew that April was a girl who was with the Turtles and being trained as a kunoichi for some reason.

The Shredder tends to pick his followers based on strength and powers. So kinda like having a deck of Magic/Yugioh cards and filling it all with powerful monsters and creatures and tossing away all the weaker creatures and magic cards because they aren't useful to you.

So I originally believed that he would learn April is a psychic and abduct her and brain wash her to serve him. After all Splinter and the Turtles took Karai from him, it would be a kunoichi for a kunoichi.

Originally Posted by Vicky82

Mikey senses bad things, the mom thing from buried secrets and he sensed something was up with Slash and Dr Rockwell when they got the brain worm.

There was a moment In the episode The Evil of Dregg when Donnie got stung by an alien bug and April and Fugitoid took him back to the ship. It looked like Mikey was worried about Donnie and wanted to go with them but it may be because Mikey might be sensing something bad from April.

I agree there was a moment where he did look like he sensed something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what. And now he is really expressing that crystal April has may not be as helpful as they want to believe.

[Vicky82]

When she does go dark, I don't think the simple thing like just take it off her or smashing it is going to bring her back to normal.

Maybe they have to knock her unconscious and then they have to go into her mind to bring her back to normal.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by Vicky82

When she does go dark, I don't think the simple thing like just take it off her or smashing it is going to bring her back to normal.

Maybe they have to knock her unconscious and then they have to go into her mind to bring her back to normal.

I think Donnie telling her he loves her might help break her out even if doing so means losing her forever. I don't think they would do something BS like having Don inexplicably being able to perform the healing hands. After all there is a reason that Leo is the spiritual guy and Donnie isn't.

When it comes to Spiritual stuff
Mikey doesn't have the focus
Raph doesn't have the patience (Insecta Trifecta he practically equates Meditation with day dreaming)

Donnie has the patience and focus required but not the mind set. After all depending on the incarnation he either has a dubious view if not an out right bias against the concept of the unknown. I.E. if it can't be scientificly explained it does not exist.

This current version of Donnie however is less rigid in that regard and is open to the knowledge of unknown could offer as he has some offered knowledgable references to myth and religon a couple of times. And also he has helped April with her latent psychic abliities as a means of helping her see where her limits are and how to control them. But also as a way to study them and document his findings and observations.

If Leo or Splinter feel that is something that would be benifical, and offer to teach that technique then that could be a different story. But even then I think that might rub people the wrong way as it would make Don seem OP.

[drgon78]

I can't wait to see Dark April, but I hope it last more then one episode.

[NinjaPug]

Dark Raph.

Dark Leo.

Dark April.

Dark. Dark. Dark.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

Why does this seem familiar?

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121204164026

Maybe we'll get an action figure this time? I hope, I hope, I hope!

[WebLurker]

Originally Posted by Vicky82

Mikey senses bad things, the mom thing from buried secrets and he sensed something was up with Slash and Dr Rockwell when they got the brain worm.

There was a moment In the episode The Evil of Dregg when Donnie got stung by an alien bug and April and Fugitoid took him back to the ship. It looked like Mikey was worried about Donnie and wanted to go with them but it may be because Mikey might be sensing something bad from April.

Okay, I couldn't tell if you were referring to a specific episode, or just some of Mikey's hunches in general.

[Tarris Vaal]

Originally quoted from ninjapug

Dark Raph.

Dark Leo.

Dark April.

Dark. Dark. Dark.

To be fair, Dark Raph was 1 episode to showcase the mindcontrol, and Dark Leo was less 'Dark' so much as 'Briefly Rebellious'.


This is probably the first time we can honestly say that there seems to be a shift towards a character actually becoming a villain having been one of the good guys.


Having said that... There is also the point that the playmates preview toy range a while back had a 'Dark Donatello' shown around the same time the Super shredder figure was revealed. (I guess all the characters have to have a 'grimdark moment' Ninjapug )

It does beg the question of whether that figure implies that Don could 'turn' at some point in future. If April goes insane with power, could she potentially use that power to try and coerce some of her closest allies to go with her? Maybe coercing Don into becoming a 'minion'?

Perhaps he takes the crystal from her and it overwhelms him? April takes it back in order to save him and its one step too much for her to control it anymore?

Ahhh possibilities

[JTH]

Originally Posted by Tarris Vaal

Perhaps he takes the crystal from her and it overwhelms him? April takes it back in order to save him and its one step too much for her to control it anymore?

Ahhh possibilities

That seems to be the most sense, does seem like they foreshadowed it in that scene with the two of them in "Evil of Dregg".

Spoiler:

"Thought I'd lost you for a minute there..."

[victory_angel]

Donnie going dark is a possibility. After all one of the most poignant things that Donnie has said about his relationship with his brothers is "No matter how much I train, I can't keep up with my brothers."

We have seen that when his brothers need him to do something and he can't deliver then he gets frustrated which has it's own set of negative emotion.

And with negative issues with his older brothers (unresolved tention with Leo that has existed since the end of season 2, picked on for years by Raph, rivalry with Casey, easily irritated by Mikey.) My friend, Dansleforet in her review of Mutant Gangland had even said that Donnie was almost Oroku Saki like.

To quote her review: Donatello is usually a level headed, fair turtle, so I wasn't expecting that sassy side of his. I would like to see that more often but against a villain next time rather than against his own brother. Now I want to mention, Don calling someone a baby...definately not the end of the world. However, just imagine a Donatello with unchecked agression and rage, he's basicly Oroku Saki then but with a vast intelect."


Someone also mentioned that Mutant gangland had a good genes vibe and that maybe something that also happens to get the Dark April situation started.

If Shredder is a mutant now, he is either going to want Retromutagen made so that he can return to human once Splinter, his sons, and their companions are dead and he has regained control of the city.

Or he is going to want to prevent the existance of a weapon that could forcibly return him to human again.

or both

In either situation Shredder is going to want to have Donatello captured or eliminated so they could get the key to create Retromutagen or they could prevent him from creating a weaponized version.

April could possibly choose to reveal that she is the Key to the retromutagen. She knows Donnie would be harmed either way, but she feels there is no other choice. And of course the Shredder being the doush bag he is, serously wounds or double mutates Don which causes April so much distress the crystal consumes her.

[drgon78]

A lot of interesting ideas about where they are taking the Dark April storyline.