Explain, Please: Venus De Milo

[Monte Williams]

I never caught a single episode of Next Mutation; I just wasn't in much of a Turtle-obsessed space at the time, so it kind of passed me by.

I have gathered from various sources, however, that the series introduced a female Turtle named Venus, and that many fans hated her with a passion.

I just had a couple questions about her:



1. What was her origin?

2. Did people hate her simply because of the continuity change she represented, or was she also a crappy character (and if so, how was she crappy)?

3. Did she have any redeeming features or qualities? (Was she at least a badass?)

4. Are there any closet Venus fans here at the TechnoDrome?

Cheers,

-Monte

[ToTheNines]

1. What was her origin?

There were actually five little turtles, one got lost and the sewer carried her to China town where some shinobi dude picked her up and took her to China.

2. Did people hate her simply because of the continuity change she represented, or was she also a crappy character (and if so, how was she crappy)?

She was annoying, girl turtles are against the TMNT bible, plus the show sucked any way.

3. Did she have any redeeming features or qualities? (Was she at least a badass?)

Not really, she could fight alright. She was used as comic relief alot, as an 8 year old I didn't find her that funny. The fact that she was a girl is neat for girl fans, it gave someone for my sister or girl cousin to be when we'd pretend to be turtles.

4. Are there any closet Venus fans here at the TechnoDrome?

There's some open ones, I think.

[Guitar_Raph]

I happen to think Venus was ok in my books. She did provide comic relief like Mikey does. Gotta love her magic skills. Don would do anything to learn her secret magic potions.

For you my friend, here are some Venus pics with funny captions.


"Hey Venus, hop on my motorcycle. I'll drive us to a hotel where we can make beautiful music together!"


"Venus, you give me such good vibes, wanna hear a song I wrote on the vibes?"


Venus a go-go!


Strike a pose!

[Lil G]

go to youtube or google video and searh ntnm and you can watch almost all the episodes!

[Revan]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Not really, she could fight alright. She was used as comic relief alot, as an 8 year old I didn't find her that funny. The fact that she was a girl is neat for girl fans, it gave someone for my sister or girl cousin to be when we'd pretend to be turtles.

The fight sequences in TNM were bad... just bad. She kept up with the guys for the most part but really, how much were they really doing?
She was basically just "there." A few times her "magic" came in handy but it's almost like they put here there for a love interest.

Anyway her real name is Mei Pieh Chi but for some reason they call her Venus de milo after a statue (I think. I never understood why.)

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by Neutrino

Anyway her real name is Mei Pieh Chi but for some reason they call her Venus de milo after a statue (I think. I never understood why.)

It's because when we first meet her she has an encounter with the foot and while they are fighting they kick off the head of a venus statue, she takes the head home and I'm pretty sure it wa either Mike or Raph that name her Venus because of it.

And do I think she is a lame character yeah I do, She could have been good but she like many things on the show where good ideas but done poorly.
I do like most of the villians on the show though if anything that's about all I enjoyed from it.
I think the show would have been better if it was animated.

[thebrownranger]

Besides Venus being lame, the whole entire show was pretty pointless and was such a waste of time. I can't believe I actually really liked this when I was a kid. Only to this point when I joined the forums I realize it was bad. And I'm pretty sure that most of you who where kids at that time, thought it was cool as well. Am I right or wrong?

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by thebrownranger

Besides Venus being lame, the whole entire show was pretty pointless and was such a waste of time. I can't believe I actually really liked this when I was a kid. Only to this point when I joined the forums I realize it was bad. And I'm pretty sure that most of you who where kids at that time, thought it was cool as well. Am I right or wrong?

I was 17 at the time it came out and enjoyed it at the time because besides the image comics tmnt series the next mutation was the only turtles thing around.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Putrescent

It's because when we first meet her she has an encounter with the foot and while they are fighting they kick off the head of a venus statue, she takes the head home and I'm pretty sure it wa either Mike or Raph that name her Venus because of it.

Right, but I think it would have been cooler if she was named after a Renaissance sculpture/painting since all the turltes are named after Renaissance artists.

Originally Posted by thebrownranger

And I'm pretty sure that most of you who where kids at that time, thought it was cool as well. Am I right or wrong?

Oh yeah, I thought it was harcore.

[Monte Williams]

She did magic?

Bloody hell...

[DrSpengler]

I don't dislike the character of Venus per se, just that a live action TV show wasn't the best outlet for her.

Venus' shtick was that she used magic, and the various effects Saban used on her were very...well...awful to look at. Compound that with clunky artial arts fight scenes and a costume that just isn't easy on the eyes and its small wonder people hated her.

Venus has always come off as a character more suited to animation or comics and could work well if given the chance in either medium.

But with Laird swearing left and right that she will never appear again so long as he lives, that opportunity isn't going to happen.

[Roseangelo]

I loved TNM when it first aired (I was 1. I don't dislike Venus, but I prefer my Turtles without her.

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

But with Laird swearing left and right that she will never appear again so long as he lives, that opportunity isn't going to happen.

Agreed, although Tokka recently pointed out to me that her profile has reappeared on ninjaturtles.com. Curious.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Monte Williams

1. What was her origin?

There were 5 turtles in the bowl. Venus drifted away into Chinatown to be picked up by Chung I (who was... rooting through a sewer? not really explained), then taken with him to China and raised as a shinobi.

2. Did people hate her simply because of the continuity change she represented, or was she also a crappy character (and if so, how was she crappy)?

A lot of people never got past the knee-jerk reaction of that, no. The real problems with her was that they never really made any discernible effort to take her beyond a caricature of "Bad Engrish," constantly mixing up words like "sewer" with "toilet." I mean, they never really gave her a unique identity beyond The Female Turtle or The One with Magic.

There were seeds planted early on that they were eventually intending to have her be a love interest for the Turtles. It was the second episode, I think, that made it clear that none of the Turtles were really related by blood. Some awkward moments with Leonardo and Venus here and there, but nothing really came of it.

3. Did she have any redeeming features or qualities? (Was she at least a badass?)

She single-handedly took down Oroku Saki.

4. Are there any closet Venus fans here at the TechnoDrome?

Who knows.

Kevin Eastman point-blank said that the fourth TMNT movie was once being geared to include Venus. Later reports also seemed to confirm this. I think this was around the same time Kevin's own wife, Julie Strain, was going to play "an evil enchantress from another dimension" in it. It sounded horrible, frankly, much worse than what we got in the Imagi movie (and I hated that).

And "Venus" or "Venus DeMilo" was only a nickname given to her by the Turtles when she kicked the head off a statue or something. Mei Pieh Chi was her real name.

[Ninjinister]

I personally have nothing against Venus herself, maybe because I've always been one to root for the underdog. Given proper care, Venus could have developed into a worthwhile and possibly permanent member of the team.

[Mindy]

Yeah - that's interesting that her profile is listed back on ninjaturtles.com.

I've always thought Venus would've been a good side character - not exactly living with the Turtles, though.

[sdp]

Aska Badoura is a fan, here is her signature:

The Venus Project


Personally I never saw TNM as a kid but as a kid I thought a female turtle was a cool idea. Even now I think its a cool idea and would love to see her, I don't care if it changes the "origin" geeze its not THAT big of a deal. Maybe TNM wasn't that great of a show (never watched it) but a female turtle could work.

[Raven]

I always thought she was a character that was poorly handled for the show, just like everything else was. I think if she was put in something else and given room to breath and grow she could have been a very cool character.

But yes in the show she was lame...

[jestergoblin]

I think the biggest issue with Venus was that she represented the potential for the turtles to pro-create. Much of the draw for the turtles was that they were forced to accept their solitude and eventual extinction, while it sounds horribly pessimistic of me, it helped strengthen the bond of the turtles as brothers. While being all in it together, the sudden addition of Venus meant there was more available to them.

The character, simply by being a female turtle, fundamentally altered the status-quo of the four turtles in a negative way. Had she been explicitly shown to be sterile or actual kin of the turtles, it would have been different I think.

[Ra]

Originally Posted by Monte Williams

She did magic?

Bloody hell...

That's exactly what I first thought when I found out. Even though I watched the show religiously ever since I was four.

The idea of a fifth female turtle was cool...but it just isn't meant to be. She was sort of slapped into a bad show like a Mary-Sue/fan fiction kind of a situation. The magic idea was...okay. Only because magic had such a strong part in the show. Otherwise, again, she would have been a complete Mary-Sue.

I sort of fancy the idea of rebooting the character and actually bothering to give her another chance, but oh well. Always the fan comics, I guess.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by jestergoblin

Had she been explicitly shown to be sterile

"You see these ovaries, Turtles? These are barren!"

How exactly would you have the writers portray that?