QUESTIONS: Bebop & Rocksteadys real names & Krangs original body = robot?

[theassassin]

Hi everyone, just joined the site. Playmates TMNT Classic Collection action figures reawakened my interest in TMNT (man they are awesome!) and I also just watched season 1 and 2 of the original cartoon, which I enjoyed seeing again.

Anyway, a couple of questions/thoughts have come into my mind and I wondered if you TMNT experts could lend your expertise:

1) We all know Shredder and Splinters real names. But have Rocksteady and Bebop's real names have ever been given/hinted at in any TMNT franchise? I couldn't find anything on the web

2) (This is a long one) I was reading up on the history of OT Krang and and obviously the story is that he was stripped of his body when he was banished from Dimension X. As far as I'm aware, we never definitely see this original body in the OT. From reading around the web, I've noticed several discussions as to what his original body looked like. However what struck me is that all the discussions I saw seemed to be assuming that his original body was a biological thing. My question is, isn't it possible that his original body which was stripped from him was just another robot body?

To elaborate: in the "Invasion of the Krangazoids" episode he clones himself and his clones at first look like his "brain" form. If his body was biological, surely his DNA would cause his clones to grow a body. Further into the episode, his clones change into a reptilian/dinosaur type appearance with a body. Whats interesting about this is neither Krang nor his clones make any reference to this being his natural form or natural body, only commenting that it must be a side effect of the cloning process.

Additionally, in "The Four Musketurtles" episode, we see members of his species having the same "brain" form as Krang and using bubble walkers. Either they've all been stripped of their natural bodies, or the "brain" form IS their complete natural form, and the "bodies" they use are always robotic/non-natural.

Finally, it is my understanding that Krang was based on the Utroms from the original comics, similar "brain" looking beings in robot bodies. So again, this leads me to the conclusion that logically, there is more evidence for OT Krang's form being his species' full natural form, and that the body he (and all his species) had/has in Dimension X are always robot bodies.

At the end of the day I'm not a TMNT expert, so perhaps I'm just embarrassing myself here. So am I missing something? What evidence is there to support OT Krang's original body being a natural/biological thing?


I know the OT had inconsistencies and mistakes, but making the best judgement I can, it seems to me there's more evidence pointing to OT Krang's original body being just another robotic body.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Maybe he was just bortn without body, then started to use bouble walker/wheels, and finaly a robotic body similar to the one he would use then.

Neither Krangs original body nor Bebop and Rocksteadys names were ever revealed.

[Candy Kappa]

As far asI know, Bebop and Rocksteady is their names.

Krang is tricky, I think Invasion of the Krangazoids is proof enough that Krang had a proper body, also there is concept art of a bodied Krang action figure that did not get approved by playmates, it had an action feature to remove the head. In Archie comics, Krang also tried to use Shredder's body to be "complete".

Traag also reacted on Krang not having a body when he made first contact after being banished away from Dimension X.

[theassassin]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Krang is tricky, I think Invasion of the Krangazoids is proof enough that Krang had a proper body, also there is concept art of a bodied Krang action figure that did not get approved by playmates, it had an action feature to remove the head. In Archie comics, Krang also tried to use Shredder's body to be "complete".

Well I know "Invasion of the Krangazoids" doesn't definetely confirm either way, but based on the reasons I stated above, my thinking was there seems more evidence that the episode is suggesting the clone reptilian bodies aren't his natural body, and simply a side effect of the cloning process. Could you be a bit more specific about which parts of the episode suggest it being his natural body?

And I'm not sure I understand what Krang trying to use Shredder's body in the comics has to do with Krang's original body. Could you explain further?

The action figure is certainly a solid piece of "natural body" evidence though, I didn't know about that.

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Traag also reacted on Krang not having a body when he made first contact after being banished away from Dimension X.

But again, couldn't Traag's reaction just as equally be a reaction to Krang not having a robot body? I don't recall Traag's dialogue in that scene including anything to imply Krang's original body was natural

To reiterate, I'm not arguing the fact that Krang had a body in Dimension X which was taken away. I'm saying why does everyone assume this original body was a natural/biological body? Couldn't it have simply been another robotic body?

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by theassassin

Well I know "Invasion of the Krangazoids" doesn't definetely confirm either way, but based on the reasons I stated above, my thinking was there seems more evidence that the episode is suggesting the clone reptilian bodies aren't his natural body, and simply a side effect of the cloning process. Could you be a bit more specific about which parts of the episode suggest it being his natural body?

And I'm not sure I understand what Krang trying to use Shredder's body in the comics has to do with Krang's original body. Could you explain further?

The action figure is certainly a solid piece of "natural body" evidence though, I didn't know about that.



But again, couldn't Traag's reaction just as equally be a reaction to Krang not having a robot body? I don't recall Traag's dialogue in that scene including anything to imply Krang's original body was natural

To reiterate, I'm not arguing the fact that Krang had a body in Dimension X which was taken away. I'm saying why does everyone assume this original body was a natural/biological body? Couldn't it have simply been another robotic body?

I think it lies more in how desperate and how urgent Krang wants a new body, not a suit or something to vehicle control, but a new body as he says himself.

[CyberCubed]

I think Bebop and Rocksteady were their human names.

I'm not so certain about that really. Bebop and Rocksteady sounds a lot like gangster-nicknames, like Jersey Red for instance. But i get that it is not unlikely otherwise either.

[gobo]

Krang's body was shown in "INVASION OF THE KRANGAZOIDS". His clones all started regrowing full bodies. My theory on the untold history of the character is that Krang's entire race/species had those insect/lizard bodies, they terrorized the other species, someone rounded them all up, shelled them like crustaceans, then somehow killed off their ability to regenerate.

I know. I'm brilliant.

[Lulu]

I have always thought that Bebop and Rocksteady were their nicknames before they even mutated since neither name has anything to do with the animals they became and reference hip, punky music.

[Icebot]

Bebop and Rocksteady sound like nicknames to me. As humans, I would think they should have a first and last name.

[theassassin]

Originally Posted by Icebot

Bebop and Rocksteady sound like nicknames to me. As humans, I would think they should have a first and last name.

Yeh this was exactly my thinking. But judging by the responses so far I guess their human names have not been revealed or hinted at in any TMNT franchise, at least not yet. Hopefully someone will step forward with something though.

Originally Posted by gobo

Krang's body was shown in "INVASION OF THE KRANGAZOIDS". His clones all started regrowing full bodies. My theory on the untold history of the character is that Krang's entire race/species had those insect/lizard bodies, they terrorized the other species, someone rounded them all up, shelled them like crustaceans, then somehow killed off their ability to regenerate.

I know. I'm brilliant.

Not really we all figured out something like that, sorry.

[jestermon]

Pretty sure they did it to just re-use Krang's animation model.

Rocksteady and Bebop were their gang names I guess.

[Jephael]

I always thought Bebop and Rocksteady's real names were Barry and Cameron.

[ToTheNines]

There's no way those were their real names. I'm interested to see how IDW handles their goofy-ass nicknames in their more serious book.

And, what gobo said about Krang.

Originally Posted by Jephael

I always thought Bebop and Rocksteady's real names were Barry and Cameron.

Winner!

[Andrew NDB]

It's weird to think that "Bebop" and "Rocksteady" were anything other than nicknames... presumably their gang names, insomuch as the Fred Wolf show goes.

As for what their real names are? Maybe that's one of those things best left unrevealed. The danger of humanizing them too much, same as it is in making them "badass" and "gritty," is that it would strip away a lot of the core character. Their appeal, whether FW fans will admit it or not (and I applaud the ones that do), is that they're big, they're stupid, they're incompetent, they make fools of themselves, but subsequent to all of this are kind of endearing throughout it all in a show like the FW show.

[CyberCubed]

^ True. That's why I'm hoping IDW doesn't bother giving them different names either prior to mutation.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

It's weird to think that "Bebop" and "Rocksteady" were anything other than nicknames... presumably their gang names, insomuch as the Fred Wolf show goes.

As for what their real names are? Maybe that's one of those things best left unrevealed. The danger of humanizing them too much, same as it is in making them "badass" and "gritty," is that it would strip away a lot of the core character. Their appeal, whether FW fans will admit it or not (and I applaud the ones that do), is that they're big, they're stupid, they're incompetent, they make fools of themselves, but subsequent to all of this are kind of endearing throughout it all in a show like the FW show.

Yo Andrew, I was wondering what you think of IDW's take on more serious and bad-ass Neutrinos since you're against the idea of more competent versions of Bebop and Rocksteady.

[pannoni1]

Since Dogpound and Fishface have actual real names, it makes sense that Bebop and Rocksteady are just gang names who abandoned their real names when they turned evil. And an android body fits the definition of a robot, with Krang the controller from the stomach. The Krangs from the Krangezoids episode were simply created from a scientific lab, which means those Krangs are only possible with a fusion of Dimension X and Earth technology.