Are the Turtles super strong?

[Candy Kappa]

According to TMNT & Other Strangeness, Leo weights 150lbs (he's also 4,9" tall) which sounds very light.

A Green Sea Turtle can get up to 5 feet long, and they can weight up to 700lbs. But considering most Ninja Turtle incarnations can pull their heads in, which is a ability sea turtles lack due to too much muscles mass, I'd say a Ninja Turtle might weight somewhere between 250-350lbs

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

According to TMNT & Other Strangeness, Leo weights 150lbs (he's also 4,9" tall) which sounds very light.

A Green Sea Turtle can get up to 5 feet long, and they can weight up to 700lbs. But considering most Ninja Turtle incarnations can pull their heads in, which is a ability sea turtles lack due to too much muscles mass, I'd say a Ninja Turtle might weight somewhere between 250-400lbs

Your estimate sounds about right. I'd wager they clock in at around 275 each, give or take . The Carapace and plastron combined are easily 60lbs of that

[Candy Kappa]

Although. Bruce Lee weighted around 140lbs at his peak. So I guess 200lbs could work too.

[IndigoErth]

At that rate... 2014 are lucky the cable on that elevator didn't break. They don't need weapons or be bulletproof, they can just use their weight and sit on people to death. It's a wonder the van wasn't scraping the pavement.

[Leo656]

Mark me down for "Really strong, but not super-strong." I wrestle with a few dudes who are around my height but about 70lbs heavier (so they'd be light-to-mid 200s), with body dimensions and proportions roughly similar to those of the TMNT in the original movie, and some of those guys can deadlift about 600lbs, squat about 500, leg press about 800 and chest press about 400.

So yeah, that's "super-strong" by conventional standards, but also entirely feasible, even for people under 6' tall. There's no reason at all the Turtles couldn't be that strong, especially Leo and Raph who probably work out more than Donnie and Mike I imagine.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

I'm assume them to be under 5 feet (if april's 5'7", and they're shoulder height to her) - but again, being shorter is and advantage here.

Weight, meh, hard to say 175lbs - not likely, not with shells .

Okay, for your scenario earlier, that only works if they were going DOWN. That incline (which is STAIRS, not a ramp) would work against them, so they would actually have to push more than twice as hard (because the weight is pushing back against them) than they would on a flat surface or a downward incline. April's weight makes it a little harder, but it's not a camper, but probably had a lot of science and robotics equipment in the back, since it was originally Baxter's. That adds a LOT of weight! Also, they were pushing it up to Baxter's apartment, which IIRC, one of them said something about it being up five flights. April's apartment was on the third floor of her building. (I know this because in The Gang's All Here, Mikey climbed up from her fire escape, and was shown getting in from the third story window.)

As for their weight, I've calculated it out that sans shells, they would likely weigh about 150-160 due to muscle mass, and the shells ad probably about 20 to 25 lbs. So 175 to 185, would be a pretty close estimate of their weight. And most versions have them all between 5' and 5'5". April is just about a head taller. (And her boots probably add a couple of inches.)

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Although. Bruce Lee weighted around 140lbs at his peak. So I guess 200lbs could work too.

I'd say the 200 is probably a lot closer, given their short stature. Also, the shell is bone, but it is also thin and relatively light compared to larger and more dense limb bones. A small turtle shell is much lighter than one might think, and most of the weight is in the carapace, anyway.

Originally Posted by Leo656

Mark me down for "Really strong, but not super-strong." I wrestle with a few dudes who are around my height but about 70lbs heavier (so they'd be light-to-mid 200s), with body dimensions and proportions roughly similar to those of the TMNT in the original movie, and some of those guys can deadlift about 600lbs, squat about 500, leg press about 800 and chest press about 400.

So yeah, that's "super-strong" by conventional standards, but also entirely feasible, even for people under 6' tall. There's no reason at all the Turtles couldn't be that strong, especially Leo and Raph who probably work out more than Donnie and Mike I imagine.

Given that they are short even by "normal" standards, I'd say that they are just a bit above even that. Keep in mind, That chunk of concrete mentioned earlier was easily as big as Mike was, but he twirled it around like it was one of his frigging nunchucks! Needed both hands, but still.... No WAY a human could have bola'ed that walker thing Krang was in with that sucker. Same goes for that wall they knocked over on the Foot-bots. They have moved other large and extremely heavy objects before, as well, picked UP the van over their heads (as another poster noted) and tossed around huge tractor tires like Frisbees!

[Commenter 42]

Way way back, WAY back - My max squat was 595 - I was around 205 - 6'3" at the time, and hardly what you'd consider "huge". I only benched 305 at my max - leg pressing 850 - but the shorter dudes bulked up much faster, and could lift much more. Linebackers - guys that had the genes to go pro - were easily putting up numbers like Leo's saying, and more.

I don't know that I'd call any of that super human, just athletic imho, but I'm not sure what's considered normal these days.

[Leo656]

I disregard most feats of strength displayed in the original cartoon, on account'a that whole show was nutty. Like, I'll note it, but only half count it. That show ignored physics constantly.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Okay, I get that, but how is tossing enormous tires around like a Frisbee or picking up a fully equipped van NOT superhuman? Even linebackers and wrestlers couldn't do that with the kind of ease that they are shown doing these feats. And then there are the rooftop runs they often go out on, which would require a great deal of stamina and leg strength to run and jump that far. New York is about five miles long and two miles wide- might not seem like much, until you take into account that they are going over obstacles, across gaps that can be as much as ten feet, and up or down uneven terrain from building to building in a city of millions, often at heights of 100 ft or more, where winds are much stronger and more unpredictable.

These guys are doing things that humans would herniate themselves attempting. (Ever seen someone throw one of those huge tires twenty feet and do it repeatedly? Neither have I....) I know there are sports competitions for "strong men", but even those guys have difficulty ROLLING something that big and heavy, or carrying them ten yards or so, but the TMNT are doing discus with this stuff! And apparently carrying large pieces of scrap metal and other junk from junkyards on a daily basis. I just don't buy them NOT having somewhere above human peak strength, much like some superheroes who may not bench ten tons, but are still stronger than any peak human. (Iron-Man was just the first example that came to mind, as his armor does put him in this category- he's not as strong as Thor, Thing, or even Spidey, but stronger than Cap- who is himself slightly above peak.)

[Commenter 42]

I guess when you talk super human, it's more of the leaps tall buildings stuff, or throwing shipping containers, shredding steel doors with your fingers...stuff humans could never hope to do...

FW took liberties, but it's full of inconsistency - so...Meh. If anything, it would be a nod to the working knowledge of martial arts at the time (read as David Wise), leveraging your opponents weight against them, channeling your chakras, the one inch punch, etc etc...

The series comes on the back of all those American Ninja movies, David Carradine's Kung Fu; Bruce Lee and The Karate Kid.
Strength wasn't physical, it came from within.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I disregard most feats of strength displayed in the original cartoon, on account'a that whole show was nutty. Like, I'll note it, but only half count it. That show ignored physics constantly.

It's not the only one, then. In any case, I think it's pretty clear that they have shown some pretty incredible feats of physical strength across all the different versions- such as the 2007 movie, when they were fighting that giant blue monster in the construction site, or the five generals later in the film. They were hitting STONE bodies, with enough force to actually throw them!

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

I guess when you talk super human, it's more of the leaps tall buildings stuff, or throwing shipping containers, shredding steel doors with your fingers...stuff humans could never hope to do...

FW took liberties, but it's full of inconsistency - so...Meh.

Well there are degrees of superhuman strength, of course. You have strength ratings that range from just over human peak (Cap) to Unlimited (Hulk) and everything in between. Spidey, for instance, is rated about 10-15 tons lifting, depending on who's doing the writing. But he's rated below Thing. Batman would be human peak without enhancement. And he's not considered superhuman, but Cap is, because he's enhanced. Ant-Man is superhuman strength simply because he has strength of a full-sized human even at ant-size (which would make him enormously strong at that size), but is even stronger at giant-size because he's got giant strength at that size. (Which shouldn't even be possible, since the particles shouldn't work both ways....)

The point here is that you can have superhuman strength without going full-on Hulk with it, which is what it seems they have done. I guess I've just read enough comics to see how they fall within the ratings.

[Leo656]

When I see them in my head, it's the movie version, which is the closest to "reality". There was nothing in the original films to indicate anything more than "really strong by real-world standards". I'm more drawn to that as a base standard over anything in any of the cartoons. Cartoons by definition have everything all exaggerated and inconsistent.

Like I said, I'll take such suggestions under advisement, but they really only half-count.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I'll give you that one. I honestly like the movies for that very reason, though I DO sort of still feel they should be slightly stronger than humans of the same size. (Mainly because all other mutants in the various media are as well, even Tokka and Rahzar.)

[Yabuturtle]

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

No

10characters.

Yes

That's what they remind me of due to their huge size and they were definitely super strong. In the cartoon, it seems inconsistent and had loony tune moments where they survived things no human could survive. You never see them lift cars like Bebop or Rocksteady.

It seems strange as they never gave them a strength scale. I always figured they were no stronger than people like Batman or the Punisher when it comes to physical strength.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by Yabuturtle

Yes

That's what they remind me of due to their huge size and they were definitely super strong. In the cartoon, it seems inconsistent and had loony tune moments where they survived things no human could survive. You never see them lift cars like Bebop or Rocksteady.

It seems strange as they never gave them a strength scale. I always figured they were no stronger than people like Batman or the Punisher when it comes to physical strength.

That's fine - and yes to the above, but , but no, the movie didn't get anything right.

The movie is wrong all over itself. Head to toe; front to back, 7 under it's eyelids.

!!!WRONG!!!!

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Over the head? Not without doing serious damage to one's muscles. And they made it look easy, as you said. And in Nick, they used Mikey's shell as a battering ram on that dome they were in in the Kraang base where the portal was when they couldn't breathe the air. Leo and Raph (arguably the two strongest) bashed through a barrier that should have been strong enough to hold them. Surprised the Kraang, who probably thought it was unbreakable!

Well, also in the Nick version, they managed to push the Shellraiser and get back underground without a power source with Donnie inside it. It's a subway car...that thing has to be super heavy.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

First of all the original cartoon never took realistic physics into account and there was slapstick humor in everything.

Like in the Big Zipp episode where he bends two buildings like they're rubber to stop one from falling, when you can't bend a skyscraper like that without it being destroyed.

I't just temporary and the building probably evacuated (even if it's definately extreme). For example, skyscrapers in Japan are built to stand giant Earthquakes (New York City has not many Earthquakes, but in the cartoon it could have been those skyscrapers built after "Return of the Technodrome"). Big Zipp could maybe use psychokinesis powers to hold it for a while (as long as we saw it). In other episodes, we often saw buildings falling apart all the time (starting with "A Thing About Rats"). In Sky Turtles, it was probably just "good luck" they fell to the right place when gravity in New York City turned ordinary again.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Yabuturtle

Yes

That's what they remind me of due to their huge size and they were definitely super strong. In the cartoon, it seems inconsistent and had loony tune moments where they survived things no human could survive. You never see them lift cars like Bebop or Rocksteady.

Actually, they did. That incident when they picked up the van to scare off some bad guys, as mentioned earlier.

Originally Posted by ssjup81

Well, also in the Nick version, they managed to push the Shellraiser and get back underground without a power source with Donnie inside it. It's a subway car...that thing has to be super heavy.

Yeah, I already mentioned that one, too. That one actually sticks out as a prime example of superhuman strength. Along with Mikey and the giant concrete bola, or those huge machines they were bashing into scrap metal in the Technodrome. Or Leo slicing Traag to pieces in Nick. Being a huge mountain of living stone would require more force behind the blade than a human should be capable of. Yet Leo did it without much difficulty.