Had there not been TMNT ever, how different would your life be? - Page 2

*Coola Yagami* · 04-16-2022, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neatoman

I do wonder though, what would have filled the gap of Turtle mania? What else would have been a fad around that time?

Probably more focus of Transformers and Gi Joe since they were still airing around that time but TMNT stole their thunder.

red1981 · 04-16-2022, 05:58 PM

it was something really big that shaped my childhood, the cartoon and toys where my life when i was a kid, now i enjoy the comics a lot

*Prowler* · 04-16-2022, 06:12 PM

Anyway.

TMNT hasn't been my number 1 thing in years. It stopped being so around a decade ago, in fact. The direction the property took in after being acquired by Viacom hasn't been to my liking. So unless it gets sold to another company again that gives us something that lies more within my tastes, TMNT is never going to become my number 1 thing again.

It's not like there wasn't room in my heart for plenty of other things when TMNT was still my number 1 property anyway. I've liked a lot of different stuff throughout my life.

So, if TMNT had never existed in the first place, perhaps I'd never have had a number 1. Or it would change a lot throughout my life.

I guess if I had to attribute the 1st place to a franchise in my heart within the last decad eitnwould be One Piece? But I was an adult already when I got into it. So it's not like it's something I think about 24/7.

*DarkFell* · 04-16-2022, 10:22 PM

I might have been less of myself as a kid.

Most girls are expected to be girly, but I became something of a tomboy instead. I had the Playmates toys and a few TMNT-related things ranging from a few books to t-shirts. And a killer 90's TMNT movie Leonardo poster.. I loved that thing dearly. I was bummed when my parents got rid of it.

My parents seem to dislike what I was into, but I enjoyed the ride anyway, and I still do to some extent. I just don't have as much stuff as I used to.

*Leo656* · 04-17-2022, 12:25 AM

I gotta be honest, TMNT was never my "Number 1" thing in the first place. I mostly only became married to this place because most of the other things I was a fan of didn't have a strong online presence at that moment in time. And of the ones that did have a good forum, they all required a "proper" email address to join up and I couldn't be assed with any place that was too fancy for my Hotmail (now Gmail) account.

So yeah, Just Imagine: If he-man.org had accepted Hotmail or Gmail accounts back in 2003 none of you'd have ever met me and all of our lives would thus be a lot more enriching, probably.

Alas, they were Email Snobs and the Superman website's forum was always sh*t, so this is where I ended up. Crazy, ain't it?

Don't get me wrong, I was a "BIG Fan" of TMNT at various points, for sure. But it was never my favorite thing or even close, and the times when I was the most engaged with it, looking back it definitely had a ton to do with the fact that the things I liked more weren't really getting a push, and so there wasn't any way to engage with them anymore. Like, you couldn't "play Ghostbusters" anymore on the playground with your friends at recess in 1990; you had to do SOMEthing and TMNT was what was getting the push and so that's what we all engaged in. That's when I bought the most toys, comics, etc. etc.

But if He-Man had still been on TV, even in reruns, I would have almost always watched that over TMNT if they were on at the same time of day. Ghostbusters, same thing. I'd always rather have gotten a MOTU or Ghostbusters toy than a TMNT figure. Give me a Superman comic over a TMNT comic, any day. And so on and so forth.

Which is not to say I did NOT like TMNT. It's just that my engagement in the TMNT brand was directly proportionate to the things I liked More no longer having new product to interact with, and if those things were still as huge then they would have taken up much more of my time between 1988 and 1994, and TMNT subsequently would have been Less Important.

For my entire life, but especially as a young child, TMNT was just One Of A Lot Of Things I Liked A Lot. I never sat down and made a list or anything, but if I did then Superman and He-Man/MOTU would be tied for First Place easily, then a gap and then Batman, then maybe Ghostbusters followed by wrestling, although they might trade places sometimes. And then there's Everything Else and TMNT would basically be near the top of the Everything Else list.

So when it "died" in 1996, it hurt but it wasn't the same for me as when MOTU or Ghostbusters "died". For one thing, by that point I was a lot more used to my favorite shows and comics being cancelled, or toy lines going away, and all of that. In 1988, I didn't understand why He-Man wasn't around anymore, and that sucked; by 1997 when TMNT was gone, I'd somewhat gotten used to it. "These Things Happen, stuff goes away."

I honestly just felt like it had run its course by then and I didn't even really think the 4Kids reboot would take off the way it did. That was a very pleasant surprise. I figured both that and the Mirage Vol. 4 comics would be a nice little "thank you" for longtime fans and that they'd each last a year or so before running out of gas. I definitely didn't think they'd still be putting out new stuff in 2022.

I think its more apt to say that some PARTS of TMNT are among my Favorite Things Ever, like the 1990 movie for example. But if I ever did sit down and make a Top 10 List of my favorite entertainment properties I'm not sure it would even make Top 5.

And I do confess - and I'm aware this is a "Me Thing", so don't @ me, I'm just thinking out loud - I've never quite understood how or why TMNT even CAN be anyone's favorite thing, because to me it simply never was all THAT great. But I know that's all subjective and goes all the way around. Just saying, it's like someone telling me their favorite band of all time is Rush. There's nothing at all WRONG with that, and I'm sure there are some very sincere and meaningful reasons as to Why That Is. It's just not something that I, personally, seem to have the capacity to fully grasp, is all.

I was just as into it as any other 7-year old in that 1988-1993 window, though, for sure. I remember during "down time" in class when we were allowed to dick around after all our work was done, me and a bunch of the other kids would make masks and Turtle Coms out of construction paper so we could "play TMNT" at recess.

A relative once gifted me a very nice black satin jacket with TMNT on it for Christmas one year, one of my all-time favorite gifts which I sadly outgrew pretty much immediately. But it was still nice to have, especially since I never ever saw anyone else wearing one.

I think the One Thing about TMNT I hold the most dear, is how to this day every single time I've ever talked anyone into watching the 1990 movie they can't help but rave about it afterwards. "I thought it was gonna be like just a dumb kids movie, y'know, cuz... I mean c'mon, f*cking 'Ninja Turtles', y'know? But... they actually made a REAL movie out of that, somehow!" There simply isn't any other TMNT media with that kind of power to subvert expectations to that degree and completely win over people who could not have given less of a sh*t about the property beforehand. Any of the cartoons, any of the other movies... they fit in neatly with what people expect. "Well, it's dumb, but.. it's f*cking Ninja Turtles, so of course it's dumb." BUT, the 1990 movie actually plays well as a "real movie" even with people who outright think the entire premise of "Ninja Turtles" is THE dumbest thing ever. That Movie, somehow, never fails to get some mix of confusion and amazement as to how the hell it even exists the way it does.

And that's why I'll always love that movie about a thousand times more than anything else the brand ever produced, or ever will produce. Every Single Other Thing with TMNT, on some level, is just fine wallowing in mediocrity and silliness. "It's SUPPOSED to be dumb, DUH!" For whatever reason, that One Time, the entire thing was played as straight as it possibly can be and it showed a glimmer of the potential the brand actually has to be something more than just a toy commercial. For a moment, they aspired to something greater, and succeeded.

Then they never, ever, ever, ever tried to reach that high again. "Why bother? All we need to do is yell 'pizza!' and 'cowabunga!' and we sell the same amount of toys, so let's just Do That and f*ck all the other stuff." Too bad.

I might honestly never "really" care about TMNT again - at this point, it would take a LOT to make me care - but I'll always revere the 1990 movie, as well as just the general state of the brand at that exact moment in time.

*Andrew NDB* · 04-17-2022, 04:09 AM

Quoting you from a different thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo656

Times like this, I can't help but think of a story Jake "The Snake" Roberts told in the documentary "Beyond The Mat" (which you should definitely see if you haven't) about how he pretty much had his life ruined by his devotion to the wrestling business...

"My father said to me, 'I'm ashamed of you... you'll never amount to anything.' And that's when I gave up my dreams. And I said to myself 'If it's the last thing I do, I am gonna shove this business up his rear. And guess what? I did it!

...And guess what? It didn't matter."

That's in my head all the time. Especially when people who aren't in the business talk to me like, "Yeah, but dude, you get to wrestle! Everyone says 'What if' and you actually went and DID it!"

Yeah. I did.

And it didn't f*cking matter at all. My life is by far much poorer for having ever fulfilled this ambition, and that's something I have to live with for the rest of my days.

Success can be Failure when you wanted all the wrong things out of life. I'd advise everyone to take that to heart.

Yeah, I feel you. This is going to sound very strange to some, but there's two, maybe three points in my life where TMNT came into my life as a big "oh, maybe!" thing.

1) 1999. I was barely 18. I wrote up a draft of TMNT IV and had all kinds of crazy, stupid ideas of meeting Kevin Eastman in San Diego and personally handing him my -- laminated and spiraled by my father, no less -- script and immediately being propelled into Hollywood talks. My parents humored me. I had my best friend go down with me on a Greyhound b us and we did it, camping on the San Ysidro border when we weren't at the Pickewicke (sp?) hotel at the time (last time I did San D Comicon it's now a boutique hotel, $300 a day). Also sometimes on the beach on the bay area, which looks way different now. My dad was throwing money at me to stay there and make it happen (my buddy and I stayed all right, but mostly just hanging out around town). I did hand it. Well, both Julie and Kevin were amazing and were probably far more gracious than they had any business being to some random kid back then... but fast forward weeks/months when I was home in Seattle, eventually I was starting to wonder, "Eh... am I gonna hear back?" No, never did. Never a note, never anything. And why would I? Unsolicited script, etc.. Still, 18 year old dreams. I was pretty stupid. Dan Berger was super kind at Mirage. Super kind. That guy is amazing. He was with me every step of the way and I'll never forget that.

2) 2006. Yeah, I had some very small creative role in the 2007 movie. Not much of one. I'll never know and never had the chance to ask, but I think Munroe saw my website from like 2000 and brought me in via a WB proxy. I brought in another big fan you've probably heard of into the mix too, though mostly out of "well, who else would I?" because they asked that of me ("you know anybody else?"). Never got one iota of gratitude for that from said person, either, and for that very small piece I do have a little bit of a bad blood over. There are so many others probably more deserving that could've and may have effected real change in that movie. But I only note that now because we both got paid. And it was as timely as it was sad, or at least unfortunate (for me). Right when the check came, BAM, my starter and something else blew in my old Camry. Basically the money I got fixed that and it was a wash. Can't complain! Obviously it would have happened even if that check hadn't come. Just saying.

3) 2009. Was working closely with Kevin when I took the lead on "oh jeeze, comic rights are gonna end up somewhere between Viacom/Nick and someone," kind of playing wide receiver on his behalf to reach out to the places that might be getting the comic book rights to TMNT to pitch both a maxi-series that soft-rebooted from "Return to New York" (interestingly, not CAW) at Mirage as well as an Image finisher (when I was convinced this was not going to happen is precisely the moment when Arseniy and I cooked up our own Image finisher). I mean, I was giddy. I remember Kevin calling me in the morning on the drive to work and hearing the current situation of this or that, sitting in my car, and coming in 40 minutes late to work and being like, "What? Had to take care of this thing" to co-workers. Because what else was I going to do? Not take the call? It was exciting stuff at an exciting time! I loved to be a part of it. It started with BOOM!, it went to Dark Horse (and what a complicated situation that was), but by the time rights made it further in IDW it was out of my purview, as Kevin was good friends with that CEO. Me playing middle man to Mike Richardson at Dark Horse with Kevin and publishing folks at IDW and so on. Lots of phone calls. I worked in sales, after all, that's my background. Anyway, long story short, at a certain point I wasn't needed. And that's cool! I blame no one. It's fine. Kevin did the beautiful double spread for the "fan" Image #25 cover that he inked over Fosco, so that'll always be a huge "going above and beyond" that he did for me that I'll also never forget. Awesome. Kevin did it completely for free, though I think Fosco sold the original art of it for a mint a while back.

By no means is this a cry for pity whatsoever, but one of the very last conversations I had with my dad when he was in hospice for cancer was about my very "live" (because this was right in the middle of that stuff) excitement about the "talks" with TMNT I was facilitating . As in, me telling him about that. I remember very vividly. He kind of cut me off mid-sentence, waving me away. "Turtles? Not that again. A waste." Like, he was visibly disgusted and that was the end of the conversation. And I remember I wanted to tell him, "Nonono, you don't understand, it's very different. I'm actually working with the co-creator, we're doing this thing with different studios" and blah blah blah.

But I guess he was right? I'm not upset in the least. There is no "villain" in this whatsoever. If I had to pick at a nit it would be "more communication," but again, I get it. Though if the pure subject of this thread is the question... again, maybe... "somewhat better?" More focused, on more tangible things? But I don't know. I've said this before and I'll say it again, TMNT Vol. 1, #21 is super inspirational in how you do a damn action comic. It should be the blueprint. Every comic I've read since falls short. So if no TMNT, there wouldn't be that benchmark in my mind. But also, Mirage TMNT is super inspirational in how versatile it is. Kevin and Peter created characters -- and DAMNED INTERESTING characters -- you can insert and plug into virtually any genre and it works amazingly. And it can be deadly serious or as funny as you want, and it'll work. I want to do something that does that.

So yay!

*Leo656* · 04-17-2022, 05:19 AM

It is still cool on some level how your Dad indulged and helped you to a point, though. And you got more traction than most did.

With wrestling, my parents couldn't have been more discouraging. To their credit, they probably knew way before I did that I'd never hit 6 feet tall, and therefore never be able to make wrestling a viable career. Plus, back then most people didn't know about "independent wrestling" so if you said you were gonna wrestle you meant go to WrestleMania one day (I hated the WWF and was more a WCW guy, so replace "WrestleMania" with "Starrcade" and you've got the same thing, basically). I didn't know how "the business" of wrestling worked, how you have to be someone's drinking buddy or literally suck/f*ck the promoters to get ahead or else you can be amazing at wrestling but still go nowhere (there's guys toiling in gyms right now in front of 30 people who are WAY better than anyone you'll see on TV; they're just not friends with The Right People). I legit figured, "I'll just outwork everyone and then they'll have to let me. That's how life works, right? Just decide 'This is what I'm gonna do' and commit? That's what I'll do, then."

But again, my parents knew, or at least kinda. They didn't know the ins and outs of that business, but they knew enough to figure it was in no way a meritocracy and that anyone my size was never, ever, ever gonna be on TV or make a million dollars a year, it just was not gonna happen. So again, to their credit - and at the time, my eternal frustration at them not being supportive - they told me flat-out that I was wasting my time even thinking about it and that literally anything else would be a less ludicrous career choice. We fought about it a lot, but eventually, enough of the curtain got pulled back and all of the business's inner workings were exposed so that once I could see for myself how it all worked, it was like, "...Oh, sh*t, this really IS just about the dumbest thing anyone could pursue!" And after that I just stopped thinking about it entirely for a long time. It was pretty simple; "I'm not 6'4 and I don't want to literally suck anyone off, so I guess I can't be a wrestler after all because it's one of those two things that gets you on TV."

Oddly enough, though, when I did finally get to wrestle independent many years later, my Dad couldn't have been more proud. He explained that they simply didn't want to see me try and fail at something that everyone but me knew for a fact was impossible because they knew how soul-crushing it would be. BUT, just wrestling for the sake of wanting to do it, and knowing full well it wasn't going to lead to big money or a TV deal... he respected the hell out of that and me for finding a way to do it on my own terms, with realistic expectations. The last few months of his life, he ONLY left the house to come see me wrestle, and that's something I'll never forget.

But I mean... it only ever happened because I "gave up". The initial dream I had WAS a complete waste and my parents weren't wrong for crushing it, they were trying to save me. That was their job. My mom was long dead, but my Dad became supportive once he knew that *I* knew this wasn't gonna be some pipe dream "get signed and make millions" thing. "You're just doing it for fun, and it's what you want to do, so good, I'm glad you found a way." He even paid for my first set of gear, bless him.

Lots of guys I know... they still think they're gonna get signed and make that big money. Some of them REALLY don't take it well when reality hits them in the face. I feel very fortunate that I got into that business with bare-minimum expectations; the guys chasing ghosts are f*cking miserable.

Anyways. Sounds like our Dads had similar ideas insofar as "conditional support". And frankly, sometimes we need that.

*Prowler* · 04-17-2022, 05:48 AM

I'm actually kinda envious of that. Because, at least, you guys had dreams when you were younger. I never had a dream. People always found that strange, but it's true. I never had a dream and always feared the future.

As for why TMNT was my number 1 thing at some point, they were the only "superhero" stuff I was into, and I found their origin, the fact they're not human, the fact they're ninjas and the whole setting just interesting, I guess. It's hard to explain why we like something a lot. Had you asked me when I was 7 why I really like the Turtles and I'd not be able to give you a very convincing answer. Some things just click with you.

Nowadays I mostly just like TMNT out of nostalgia. It was such a big part of my life at some point that I'll never be able to fully let go of the older stuff. I'll always like the first two cartoon series and the 1990 movie. Not to mention video games like Turtles in Time. But anything that came after the Nick purchase is just a blur to me. I don't keep up with that all and don't care to. So yeah, definitely not a TMNT fan overall anymore. And quite frankly, it wasn't hard to let it go at all. Probably because I was already in my 20s when the Viacom stuff was on, and thus I had bigger concerns than whatever the direction a property takes in.

Lord Nightwalker · 04-17-2022, 09:28 AM

Honestly, I think it would've made a difference.
At the time I was reading Batman and the Punisher, just really getting into comics. And TMNT just grabbed my attention and didn't let go. To this day, Batman and TMNT are constants in my life. Brought me a lot of enjoyment.
I have a lot of interest that are the same, and would have stayed as such, but I've worked TMNT into so many aspects of the many things I enjoy it's hard to imagine that influence not being in the mix. But who knows? Thankfully, this is just relegated to the what if been.

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 04-17-2022, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Nothing. The late 80's and early 90's didn't have much and then Power Rangers came out and that's what originally killed TMNT's popularity

While American Power Rangers is based on Japanese Super Sentai, I doubt the Power Rangers would pop up in 1993 if it wasn't for the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles during the late 1980's and early 1990's.

*Icebot* · 04-18-2022, 03:20 PM

I’d probably be playing lots more video games, maybe be a fan of Power Rangers or Pokémon.

*Anarchistguy* · 04-21-2022, 06:30 AM

I wouldn't understand a word of english as the 1987 cartoon is what introduced me to it.

*neatoman* · 04-21-2022, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anarchistguy

I wouldn't understand a word of english as the 1987 cartoon is what introduced me to it.

... I'm guessing you had terrible teachers growing up?

*Anarchistguy* · 04-21-2022, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neatoman

... I'm guessing you had terrible teachers growing up?

My native language is French. English courses here are second class.

~~AquaParade~~ · 04-21-2022, 11:11 AM

Regarding nostalgia, it definitely plays a role in my love of TMNT. It has been there for as long as I can remember. Probably same with Batman and maybe X-Men, but TMNT was the thing for me, growing up.

That said, it's not the kind of nostalgia that gives me rose-colored glasses. I can't just indulge in anything TMNT-related and enjoy it. Even most the stuff I grew up loving is pretty useless to me on an entertainment level.

I still love the Mirage comics and I still love the original movie. I guess what you have there is a quite potent mix of sincere enjoyment with nostalgia. I guess that makes them pretty special.

But at the same time, I grew up loving the second movie, the Fred Wolf cartoon, even The Next Mutation, but now I can't sit through five minutes of any of those. It just doesn't click. I may like the idea of revisiting those from time-to-time, but it'll never go as planned - I'll just end up bored.

Enough about nostalgia. How would my life be different without TMNT? All I can say with confidence is there would be a little less joy in my life. Of course, I'd be fine, and I'd fill the gap with other things, but TMNT isn't simply a "gap filler" for me, it's something I love...for what it is.

*Luzmagica* · 04-22-2022, 01:49 AM

Not sure to say....
Im actually a second Dan in Hap Ki Do art in Tae Guk Kim gym ... and im also federated and fundator member of Fencing club in my city (modern sport ) Academia de Esgrima de Badajoz and also part of a group skilled in medieval occidental art sword "Fratres de Caceres" ....so i guess it was more important in my life than i expected....

https://www.facebook.com/Fratres.de.Caceres
https://m.facebook.com/pg/esgrimabad...=page_internal

Also when im suffering bad times ....i can add TMNT is a good place to take some confort....

*Prowler* · 04-22-2022, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Regarding nostalgia, it definitely plays a role in my love of TMNT. It has been there for as long as I can remember. Probably same with Batman and maybe X-Men, but TMNT was the thing for me, growing up.

That said, it's not the kind of nostalgia that gives me rose-colored glasses. I can't just indulge in anything TMNT-related and enjoy it. Even most the stuff I grew up loving is pretty useless to me on an entertainment level.

I still love the Mirage comics and I still love the original movie. I guess what you have there is a quite potent mix of sincere enjoyment with nostalgia. I guess that makes them pretty special.

But at the same time, I grew up loving the second movie, the Fred Wolf cartoon, even The Next Mutation, but now I can't sit through five minutes of any of those. It just doesn't click. I may like the idea of revisiting those from time-to-time, but it'll never go as planned - I'll just end up bored.

Enough about nostalgia. How would my life be different without TMNT? All I can say with confidence is there would be a little less joy in my life. Of course, I'd be fine, and I'd fill the gap with other things, but TMNT isn't simply a "gap filler" for me, it's something I love...for what it is.

The FW series was so special to me when I was a kid, but once I became a teenager I quickly would grow to see its flaws.

I'd say the best TMNT stuff you can see on TV is the 1st movie and also the first 4 seasons of the 2003 cartoon series. It's not that 2k3 doesn't have its flaws, but had all Turtles cartoons been like it and I'd still be a fan of the property.

TMNT had impacted my life in a sense that I'll forever be known to others as a TMNT fan. But at this point I no longer recognise the property I once fall in love with.

*Zachatello00* · 04-22-2022, 03:35 PM

Boy, a world without TMNT? How would I be different? I can't even start to think about how I'd be different...

Before the TMNT dropped into my lap, I was pretty into the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the video games, of course, complete with Legend of Zelda (still am). I suppose that would be my main franchise (Zelda) and fandom. I think I would have turned out similarly - good natured, willing to be of help, but I would have been far less radical, I think!

*IMJ* · 04-23-2022, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo656

For my entire life, but especially as a young child, TMNT was just One Of A Lot Of Things I Liked A Lot.

This is exactly how it was for me as well.

I only actively watched the cartoon from the beginning through the first Summer that it became a "Saturday Morning Cartoon Show" instead of a daily after school show - whatever season it was that they first changed the intro animation.

I was into the first movie BIG TIME at the time. I mean it's a really good movie and there was a sort of excitement that something I liked actually got a solid movie. Something that was a big deal after experiencing film adaptations as a kid that were more akin to Lundgren's MOTU flick. I loved the second movie too, but I had stopped buying the toys by that point. Movie 2 drew me in for the Playmates Tokka and Rahzar, but those two were my last hurrah I think until the Nicktoons show brought me back 21 years later.

Nowadays though, my personal TMNT fandom is 100% fueled by the "what we always actually wanted" recent toy releases. It's all just wish fulfillment for me at this point and nothing more.

*Prowler* · 05-01-2022, 08:00 PM

Regardless of all the disappointing stuff and route the property has taken since the Turtles Forever, I don't regret one bit being heavily into TMNT when I was a kid. Lots of fond memories from great times I have to this day.

It is a shame how I no longer am a fan of TMNT unlike properties such as Mario and Zelda which I'm still a big fan of.

I've seen other series I liked either dying off(Sim City) or just simply being shelved (F-Zero). Such is life, I suppose.

04-17-2022, 05:19 AM	#27
Leo656 The Franchise Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,696	It is still cool on some level how your Dad indulged and helped you to a point, though. And you got more traction than most did. With wrestling, my parents couldn't have been more discouraging. To their credit, they probably knew way before I did that I'd never hit 6 feet tall, and therefore never be able to make wrestling a viable career. Plus, back then most people didn't know about "independent wrestling" so if you said you were gonna wrestle you meant go to WrestleMania one day (I hated the WWF and was more a WCW guy, so replace "WrestleMania" with "Starrcade" and you've got the same thing, basically). I didn't know how "the business" of wrestling worked, how you have to be someone's drinking buddy or literally suck/fck the promoters to get ahead or else you can be amazing at wrestling but still go nowhere (there's guys toiling in gyms right now in front of 30 people who are WAY better than anyone you'll see on TV; they're just not friends with The Right People). I legit figured, "I'll just outwork everyone and then they'll have to let me. That's how life works, right? Just decide 'This is what I'm gonna do' and commit? That's what I'll do, then." But again, my parents knew, or at least kinda. They didn't know the ins and outs of that business, but they knew enough to figure it was in no way a meritocracy and that anyone my size was never, ever, ever gonna be on TV or make a million dollars a year, it just was not gonna happen. So again, to their credit - and at the time, my eternal frustration at them not being supportive - they told me flat-out that I was wasting my time even thinking about it and that literally anything else would be a less ludicrous career choice. We fought about it a lot, but eventually, enough of the curtain got pulled back and all of the business's inner workings were exposed so that once I could see for myself how it all worked, it was like, "...Oh, sht, this really IS just about the dumbest thing anyone could pursue!" And after that I just stopped thinking about it entirely for a long time. It was pretty simple; "I'm not 6'4 and I don't want to literally suck anyone off, so I guess I can't be a wrestler after all because it's one of those two things that gets you on TV." Oddly enough, though, when I did finally get to wrestle independent many years later, my Dad couldn't have been more proud. He explained that they simply didn't want to see me try and fail at something that everyone but me knew for a fact was impossible because they knew how soul-crushing it would be. BUT, just wrestling for the sake of wanting to do it, and knowing full well it wasn't going to lead to big money or a TV deal... he respected the hell out of that and me for finding a way to do it on my own terms, with realistic expectations. The last few months of his life, he ONLY left the house to come see me wrestle, and that's something I'll never forget. But I mean... it only ever happened because I "gave up". The initial dream I had WAS a complete waste and my parents weren't wrong for crushing it, they were trying to save me. That was their job. My mom was long dead, but my Dad became supportive once he knew that I knew this wasn't gonna be some pipe dream "get signed and make millions" thing. "You're just doing it for fun, and it's what you want to do, so good, I'm glad you found a way." He even paid for my first set of gear, bless him. Lots of guys I know... they still think they're gonna get signed and make that big money. Some of them REALLY don't take it well when reality hits them in the face. I feel very fortunate that I got into that business with bare-minimum expectations; the guys chasing ghosts are fcking miserable. Anyways. Sounds like our Dads had similar ideas insofar as "conditional support". And frankly, sometimes we need that. __________________ "I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder... I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..." "But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know."* nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/

04-21-2022, 06:30 AM	#32
Anarchistguy Mad Scientist Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canada (This country is too peaceful, Something's up...) Posts: 2,087	I wouldn't understand a word of english as the 1987 cartoon is what introduced me to it. __________________ M.D.K. Maim! Destroy! Kill!!! "When my time comes, I wanna be buried face down, so those who don't like me can kiss my ass!"

04-22-2022, 01:49 AM	#36
Luzmagica A Magic Light Dudette! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Spain. Posts: 3,875	Not sure to say.... Im actually a second Dan in Hap Ki Do art in Tae Guk Kim gym ... and im also federated and fundator member of Fencing club in my city (modern sport ) Academia de Esgrima de Badajoz and also part of a group skilled in medieval occidental art sword "Fratres de Caceres" ....so i guess it was more important in my life than i expected.... https://www.facebook.com/Fratres.de.Caceres https://m.facebook.com/pg/esgrimabad...=page_internal Also when im suffering bad times ....i can add TMNT is a good place to take some confort.... __________________ Last edited by Luzmagica; 04-22-2022 at 02:17 AM.

04-22-2022, 03:35 PM	#38
Zachatello00 Ninja Comedian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Incognito at the Moment Posts: 2,041	Boy, a world without TMNT? How would I be different? I can't even start to think about how I'd be different... Before the TMNT dropped into my lap, I was pretty into the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the video games, of course, complete with Legend of Zelda (still am). I suppose that would be my main franchise (Zelda) and fandom. I think I would have turned out similarly - good natured, willing to be of help, but I would have been far less radical, I think! __________________ "It's a Kodak moment!"

04-16-2022, 05:58 PM	#22
red1981 Random Punk Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: south dakota usa Posts: 47	it was something really big that shaped my childhood, the cartoon and toys where my life when i was a kid, now i enjoy the comics a lot

04-16-2022, 06:12 PM	#23
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	Anyway. TMNT hasn't been my number 1 thing in years. It stopped being so around a decade ago, in fact. The direction the property took in after being acquired by Viacom hasn't been to my liking. So unless it gets sold to another company again that gives us something that lies more within my tastes, TMNT is never going to become my number 1 thing again. It's not like there wasn't room in my heart for plenty of other things when TMNT was still my number 1 property anyway. I've liked a lot of different stuff throughout my life. So, if TMNT had never existed in the first place, perhaps I'd never have had a number 1. Or it would change a lot throughout my life. I guess if I had to attribute the 1st place to a franchise in my heart within the last decad eitnwould be One Piece? But I was an adult already when I got into it. So it's not like it's something I think about 24/7.

04-17-2022, 12:25 AM	#25
Leo656 The Franchise Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,696	I gotta be honest, TMNT was never my "Number 1" thing in the first place. I mostly only became married to this place because most of the other things I was a fan of didn't have a strong online presence at that moment in time. And of the ones that did have a good forum, they all required a "proper" email address to join up and I couldn't be assed with any place that was too fancy for my Hotmail (now Gmail) account. So yeah, Just Imagine: If he-man.org had accepted Hotmail or Gmail accounts back in 2003 none of you'd have ever met me and all of our lives would thus be a lot more enriching, probably. Alas, they were Email Snobs and the Superman website's forum was always sht, so this is where I ended up. Crazy, ain't it? Don't get me wrong, I was a "BIG Fan" of TMNT at various points, for sure. But it was never my favorite thing or even close, and the times when I was the most engaged with it, looking back it definitely had a ton to do with the fact that the things I liked more weren't really getting a push, and so there wasn't any way to engage with them anymore. Like, you couldn't "play Ghostbusters" anymore on the playground with your friends at recess in 1990; you had to do SOMEthing and TMNT was what was getting the push and so that's what we all engaged in. That's when I bought the most toys, comics, etc. etc. But if He-Man had still been on TV, even in reruns, I would have almost always watched that over TMNT if they were on at the same time of day. Ghostbusters, same thing. I'd always rather have gotten a MOTU or Ghostbusters toy than a TMNT figure. Give me a Superman comic over a TMNT comic, any day. And so on and so forth. Which is not to say I did NOT like TMNT. It's just that my engagement in the TMNT brand was directly proportionate to the things I liked More no longer having new product to interact with, and if those things were still as huge then they would have taken up much more of my time between 1988 and 1994, and TMNT subsequently would have been Less Important. For my entire life, but especially as a young child, TMNT was just One Of A Lot Of Things I Liked A Lot. I never sat down and made a list or anything, but if I did then Superman and He-Man/MOTU would be tied for First Place easily, then a gap and then Batman, then maybe Ghostbusters followed by wrestling, although they might trade places sometimes. And then there's Everything Else and TMNT would basically be near the top of the Everything Else list. So when it "died" in 1996, it hurt but it wasn't the same for me as when MOTU or Ghostbusters "died". For one thing, by that point I was a lot more used to my favorite shows and comics being cancelled, or toy lines going away, and all of that. In 1988, I didn't understand why He-Man wasn't around anymore, and that sucked; by 1997 when TMNT was gone, I'd somewhat gotten used to it. "These Things Happen, stuff goes away." I honestly just felt like it had run its course by then and I didn't even really think the 4Kids reboot would take off the way it did. That was a very pleasant surprise. I figured both that and the Mirage Vol. 4 comics would be a nice little "thank you" for longtime fans and that they'd each last a year or so before running out of gas. I definitely didn't think they'd still be putting out new stuff in 2022. I think its more apt to say that some PARTS of TMNT are among my Favorite Things Ever, like the 1990 movie for example. But if I ever did sit down and make a Top 10 List of my favorite entertainment properties I'm not sure it would even make Top 5. And I do confess - and I'm aware this is a "Me Thing", so don't @ me, I'm just thinking out loud - I've never quite understood how or why TMNT even CAN be anyone's favorite thing, because to me it simply never was all THAT great. But I know that's all subjective and goes all the way around. Just saying, it's like someone telling me their favorite band of all time is Rush. There's nothing at all WRONG with that, and I'm sure there are some very sincere and meaningful reasons as to Why That Is. It's just not something that I, personally, seem to have the capacity to fully grasp, is all. I was just as into it as any other 7-year old in that 1988-1993 window, though, for sure. I remember during "down time" in class when we were allowed to dick around after all our work was done, me and a bunch of the other kids would make masks and Turtle Coms out of construction paper so we could "play TMNT" at recess. A relative once gifted me a very nice black satin jacket with TMNT on it for Christmas one year, one of my all-time favorite gifts which I sadly outgrew pretty much immediately. But it was still nice to have, especially since I never ever saw anyone else wearing one. I think the One Thing about TMNT I hold the most dear, is how to this day every single time I've ever talked anyone into watching the 1990 movie they can't help but rave about it afterwards. "I thought it was gonna be like just a dumb kids movie, y'know, cuz... I mean c'mon, fcking 'Ninja Turtles', y'know? But... they actually made a REAL movie out of that, somehow!" There simply isn't any other TMNT media with that kind of power to subvert expectations to that degree and completely win over people who could not have given less of a sht about the property beforehand. Any of the cartoons, any of the other movies... they fit in neatly with what people expect. "Well, it's dumb, but.. it's fcking Ninja Turtles, so of course it's dumb." BUT, the 1990 movie actually plays well as a "real movie" even with people who outright think the entire premise of "Ninja Turtles" is THE dumbest thing ever. That Movie, somehow, never fails to get some mix of confusion and amazement as to how the hell it even exists the way it does. And that's why I'll always love that movie about a thousand times more than anything else the brand ever produced, or ever will produce. Every Single Other Thing with TMNT, on some level, is just fine wallowing in mediocrity and silliness. "It's SUPPOSED to be dumb, DUH!" For whatever reason, that One Time, the entire thing was played as straight as it possibly can be and it showed a glimmer of the potential the brand actually has to be something more than just a toy commercial. For a moment, they aspired to something greater, and succeeded. Then they never, ever, ever, ever tried to reach that high again. "Why bother? All we need to do is yell 'pizza!' and 'cowabunga!' and we sell the same amount of toys, so let's just Do That and fck all the other stuff." Too bad. I might honestly never "really" care about TMNT again - at this point, it would take a LOT to make me care - but I'll always revere the 1990 movie, as well as just the general state of the brand at that exact moment in time. __________________ "I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder... I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..." "But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know."* nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/

04-17-2022, 05:48 AM	#28
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	I'm actually kinda envious of that. Because, at least, you guys had dreams when you were younger. I never had a dream. People always found that strange, but it's true. I never had a dream and always feared the future. As for why TMNT was my number 1 thing at some point, they were the only "superhero" stuff I was into, and I found their origin, the fact they're not human, the fact they're ninjas and the whole setting just interesting, I guess. It's hard to explain why we like something a lot. Had you asked me when I was 7 why I really like the Turtles and I'd not be able to give you a very convincing answer. Some things just click with you. Nowadays I mostly just like TMNT out of nostalgia. It was such a big part of my life at some point that I'll never be able to fully let go of the older stuff. I'll always like the first two cartoon series and the 1990 movie. Not to mention video games like Turtles in Time. But anything that came after the Nick purchase is just a blur to me. I don't keep up with that all and don't care to. So yeah, definitely not a TMNT fan overall anymore. And quite frankly, it wasn't hard to let it go at all. Probably because I was already in my 20s when the Viacom stuff was on, and thus I had bigger concerns than whatever the direction a property takes in.

04-17-2022, 09:28 AM	#29
Lord Nightwalker Stone Warrior Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 677	Honestly, I think it would've made a difference. At the time I was reading Batman and the Punisher, just really getting into comics. And TMNT just grabbed my attention and didn't let go. To this day, Batman and TMNT are constants in my life. Brought me a lot of enjoyment. I have a lot of interest that are the same, and would have stayed as such, but I've worked TMNT into so many aspects of the many things I enjoy it's hard to imagine that influence not being in the mix. But who knows? Thankfully, this is just relegated to the what if been.

04-18-2022, 03:20 PM	#31
Icebot Foot Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: East Coast, US Posts: 3,191	I’d probably be playing lots more video games, maybe be a fan of Power Rangers or Pokémon.

04-21-2022, 11:11 AM	#35
~~AquaParade~~ Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 8,450	Regarding nostalgia, it definitely plays a role in my love of TMNT. It has been there for as long as I can remember. Probably same with Batman and maybe X-Men, but TMNT was the thing for me, growing up. That said, it's not the kind of nostalgia that gives me rose-colored glasses. I can't just indulge in anything TMNT-related and enjoy it. Even most the stuff I grew up loving is pretty useless to me on an entertainment level. I still love the Mirage comics and I still love the original movie. I guess what you have there is a quite potent mix of sincere enjoyment with nostalgia. I guess that makes them pretty special. But at the same time, I grew up loving the second movie, the Fred Wolf cartoon, even The Next Mutation, but now I can't sit through five minutes of any of those. It just doesn't click. I may like the idea of revisiting those from time-to-time, but it'll never go as planned - I'll just end up bored. Enough about nostalgia. How would my life be different without TMNT? All I can say with confidence is there would be a little less joy in my life. Of course, I'd be fine, and I'd fill the gap with other things, but TMNT isn't simply a "gap filler" for me, it's something I love...for what it is.

05-01-2022, 08:00 PM	#40
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	Regardless of all the disappointing stuff and route the property has taken since the Turtles Forever, I don't regret one bit being heavily into TMNT when I was a kid. Lots of fond memories from great times I have to this day. It is a shame how I no longer am a fan of TMNT unlike properties such as Mario and Zelda which I'm still a big fan of. I've seen other series I liked either dying off(Sim City) or just simply being shelved (F-Zero). Such is life, I suppose.