#tmnt meta

[angelmichelangelo]

wanted to talk about my favourite scene in my favourite episode because i have a lot of feelings about it so here we go.

so it’s this particular scene in ‘of rats and men’ - anything to do with the rat king and i am there. he’s a really cool villain and i think the added bonus of him using solinher to fight the boys is really interesting but there’s this ONE scene that is always in my head when i rewatch it.

so after we see mikey hide away ice cream kitty we get a little comedic scene with him and his brothers + april and casey until splinter comes in, having just had the rat king invade his mind, he’s clearly unwell and weak, he goes to the freezer for some ice and a cheese sickle to which mikey tells him no and straight up slams the door in his fathers face to keep him from seeing the mutated cat in there.

to which splinter doesn’t take kindly towards.

remember, at this point, it’s not obvious to them that splinter is basically being possesed. he towers over mikey (ik he’s crouching here but the shot is really well done, pulling back to really emphasis how much he towers over these kids) and mikey just looks up in fear. again, splinter’s eyes don’t turn red straight away, he doesn’t show any obvious signs of change so to mikey, he’s suddenly aware of the fact that he’s pissed his dad off big time.

then, splinter strikes him, sending him across the kitchen.

we don’t see it, just a flash of red but it then immediately cuts towards the brothers reactions which again, i find interesting

it’s total shock. usually when one of them is hurt or down, we get angry reactions, something protective. but here they’re not mad. they’re just in utter disbelief that their father has just struck one of their own.

and i know splinters done this many times in the past but that all happens during training. it never occurs just because mikey is being odd. casey (and i know he was still grappling with his fear of rats here) actually recoils at this.

then we get a chase scene. again a little comedic just to lighten the tension but splinter is honing in on mikey. he wants to get to him, ignoring the other five teenagers who are in the room with them.

then we get these shots (the main reason i wanted to talk about this scene)

mikey is pushed against the fridge, exactly where he started. and you obviously can’t tell from screenshots alone but mikey is actually trembling with fear here. he’s hyperventilating and it’s not because he’s out of breath. he’s a trained ninja. he can go far longer than the little lap around the kitchen he’s just done. he’s positively terrified, and it’s not like the kind of fear in “invasion of the squirrelanoids” where he was making quips and making jokes to un-scare himself. this is a new fear because this is his father that is attacking him. he doesn’t even say anything during this moment. he just whimpers. he just trembles in fear until leo calls out to the others to “help him!”

then after splinter is pinned down, the rat king breaks through and we get reaction shots from the rest of the characters as they realise what has happened to their sensei.

i think it’s really sweet that april immediately goes to mikey, putting a protective arm over him. his eyes have shrunk to pinpricks (a neat little trick i really love that they show throughout and show when they’re scared or shocked) mikey doesn’t move or try to get back up, staying down with april it’s a nice moment (also we needed more of this duo! orange coded, blue eyed freckled friends for the win!!)

another little detail i found interesting was that after splinter seemingly goes back to normal everyone rushes to his side. april stands from where she’s crouched down with mikey and leo, raph and donnie are there to help him.

but mikey doesn’t get back up. he stays on the floor, perhaps coming out of his shock. he makes no attempt to reach his dad which.. breaks my heart little actually.

and as much as i love this episode, i really do wish it had some mikey + splinter pay off. we hardly see any moments of them together, especially since each brother gets their share of dad moments where he passes down some sort of wisdom, mikey gets a very brief “love yourself you don’t need to change” lesson in “mikey gets shellacne” and that’s it. we really were robbed of more of these two as father and youngest son. and ik all of them get attacked and scared by possessed splinter at some point but it clearly really affected ooor mikey here after being targeted in this one scene.

anywho. that’s my rant over. if anyone has any additions to this post feel free to add them as i’d be interested to see if anyone else is as crazy about this scene as i am lol

[theresistanceneverquits]

Okay I ramped myself up

I’ve heard people say this was stupid of Leo to do. “Why didn’t he jump off too??? He could have done anything else”

This is not the action of a man who has the time to sit and think out a plan. I know that’s what Leonardo usually gets to do, but in this moment he only has pure instinct to act on.

And that’s another point. I don’t see this as Leo being suicidal or not caring about himself in the least. This is a person who’s been shown in the series to have his #1 priority no matter what be to save his brothers. So when he’s faced with a split-second decision, base instinct kicks in and that’s what he does.

Which. Another thing. His solution to save his brothers’ lives was to sHOVE THEM OFF A BUILDING. That’s not exactly a better prospect than what he left himself with. He’s crying in this scene, and I fully believe it’s because he’s certain that they’re not going to survive this. But he’s their brother. He’s going to give them whatever ghost of a chance he can.

I’m sick of hearing that Leo made a stupid decision here, because the fact is…this wasn’t a decision. It was plain instinct, and one which he knew wasn’t going to work. But he “does whatever it takes to get his ninjas through,” and he’s going to go out doing just that.

[greatlyblessed]

Sorry not if you were ever asked this. For 03 what is your opinion on each of the boys?

Hey! I don't think I've been asked this on tumblr so, time to go on a Rant™️

('03 is my favorite turtle show. It's just so goooood but okay specifically about the turtles--)

oh right i got really long I should add in a readmore--

Gonna start with Mikey. Ah Mikey. I think I called him a gremlin troll of a turtle in some tags earlier and I stand by that. This turtle wakes up every day going 'how can I make someone else (mostly Raph) chose violence'. He is good at reading people and he makes that everyone else's problem. Weaponized Incompetence King. I love him so much. He was my favorite on my first watch through but I don't think I have a favorite any more.

But also he's a good boy!! He wants to help people out. I was rewatching the series but I didn't really get past season 1 so I'm just thinking about the first Turtle Titan episode. He got an idea on how they could be COOL but nobody else was down for it, so fine he'll do it on his own--

10/10 turtle. Menace to society. Probably the smartest Mikey in the turtle multiverse.

Raph. Oh sweetie. Boy has so many feelings and struggles with dealing with them. 😭Relatable. He learns and grows over the course of the series and I'm happy for him. Big softie on the inside, prickly cactus on the outside. Feel like a lot of his anger is just other feelings turning into anger because y'know. Emotions Hard.

He has his struggles and his problems but he loves his brothers. I love his dynamics with everyone. Fighting with Mikey, the way he manages to actually be Soft with Donnie. The way he manages to even out into someone that helps Leo keep his balance over just. Challenging him in a way that sets Leo off. (Remembering the fight over the sword Shredder gave Leo early on now--)

10/10 turtle too. Goober. Not as funny as he thinks he is (and that only makes him more endearing.)

Leo. Oh no honey. Sweetheart. Baby boy. This boy goes THROUGH IT. I've seen a meta about his Trauma and how he's a lot more laughing and joking around pre-Window and then we don't see him lightening up again till Fast Forwards/BTTS. And yeah I can see it. This boy thinks DEEP. Maybe a bit too much so. Internalization King. Give him a nice cup of tea, a warm blanket and a hug please.

He's just so weighted down with the task of keeping his brothers alive. Mikey's the one who wanted to be a superhero but Leo's probably the one who actually has the most 'heroic' temperament. Very keen sense of 'bad things are happening and we can do something about it'. But also 'bad things may happen to us if we meddle too much'. (Which, they do. And then they all almost die because of calls Leo made so of course he handles that extremely well.)

10/10 turtle. Daddy's boy got his Autistic Swag. Ninjitsu is his special interest.

Don. Ah, Donny. (Which is apparently how it's spelled in 03.) Kind soul. Sweetheart. Precious. Absolute menace. Do not let his mild manners fool you. This boy is insane. LEAST common sense out of the four of them. Thinks that playing a flight simulator makes him qualified to fly an actual helicopter. (If Raph had hair Don would absolutely be making it go grey.) Mikey is a menace on purpose. Don? Don thinks he's the sensible, rational one. Which just makes him even more terrifying.

He's such a kind, sweet soul. Loves building his vehicles lol. He's got the combo of being fairly even-tempered and also more mild mannered so he's good at not making any Bickers worse among his family. I love how they all dropped everything and went to check on him in that one episode where he was stressed out and yelled at everyone. 😭

10/10 turtle. Let's not forget this boy had his own PTSD arc in the Back to the Sewers season. Of all places.

[ilikekidsshows]

I feel like Augie’s character is being set up specifically to showcase April’s own character development. It’s in how she talks about herself and her uncle. Her opening narration calls herself a “mild-mannered antique shop proprietor” and she refers to her uncle as someone with a “head for figures”. Something tells me that the O’Neil family is almost proud of the idea of being normal and unassuming. There’s security in a lack of drama. But the way we meet April already foreshadowed that she’s not entirely satisfied with being mild-mannered. She was excited that her role as Stockman’s assistant was going to become public, that she was someone of note, involved in big technological advancements.

Similarly, this episode implies Augie’s job was as an accountant, pushing numbers, a stable profession with no drama but also no excitement. But he was also actively pursuing a desire for adventure, to see the world and discover the strange things in it. In a world like the one in this show, Earth alone has so many fascinating things to discover that “adventurer” could be an actual career goal.

There are many types of excitement when it comes to lifestyles. As such, I don't think April might want to be an adventurer specifically, more that she has accepted that her life has invited adventure into it and she's no longer hesitant when faced with it. She used to be very reluctant to participate in the adventuring, like with the TCRI building infiltration, but in this episode she doesn't hestitate to step up.

[rainbowfoxes]

Canon Human TMNT Designs

We’ve got new human designs for our favorite boys courtesy of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers/TMNT II comic (yay!), but I’ve seen some confusion over where they’re from and what they're about, so I decided to put together a little guide of the canon human designs we currently have. If I miss any, please feel free to add them on in a reblog!

IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011)

First appearing in issue #5 of the IDW comics (December 2011), we get to see the IDW human forms at multiple stages of life through flashbacks and adventures into various character's mindscapes. They are Japanese in this version, being the reincarnations of the (likely Sengoku era, but that's a different post) Hamato family.

The boys as toddlers/infants, being carried by their father (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5) :

The boys as young teens, sharing fruit their father brought back for them (also from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5):

Leo as an older teen, carrying an older man (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #5):

Leo as an older teen, still holding the older man, facing off against Kitsune (also from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #25):

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Pizza Friday (July 2016)

Debuting at 2016’s San Diego Comic Con, this short features the boys “as they see themselves” with the help of a cloaking device Donnie created. Here, the boys appear to be White. Notably, Raph initially turns into a girl before the machine is "fixed" and he appears as a boy.

In order from left to right — Raph, Leo, April, Mikey, Donnie:

Raph in his initial guise as a woman:

Boom! Studios Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (2022/2023)

So contrary to popular belief, these are not IDW turtles, but Boom! Studios turtles. Boom! publishes Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and thus was given the publishing rights for the crossover. These turtles are their own unique iteration that coexist in the same world as the Power Rangers. Here, the boys are given hologram technology by their Power Ranger friends that allows them to appear human when used. They are Black in this iteration.

Donnie and Mikey (from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1):

Upper left is Donnie, Leo and Raph, Mikey is in the lower right (a leaked page from what is probably? Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5, given that it's very "end of the story wrap-up" #4 comes out next week though, so if I'm wrong and it IS from #4 I'll come back and correct it):

Going to be completely honest, I made this post because I'm a pedantic nerd and I was getting Annoyed by everyone calling the MMPR/TMNT turtles the IDW turtles. They are not. They are two separate, distinct iterations with their own world-building, lore and yes, human turtle designs. Being wrong about comics is NOT a victimless crime. (the victim is me.)

Regardless, I hope people find this helpful! I didn't include the links to anything because last I checked Tumblr hates external links, but I did give the full names of everything so they should be easy enough to find.

[beastenraged]

The Black O’Neil: What making a popular white character POC could have changed about TMNT

I’m not going to lie, before I get into this post, I’m curious if anyone else has put up similar. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find anything myself, only the usual Rise April verses 2012 April nonsense, so if any readers know anything, I’d love to see!

Anyway, down to business. 

I am interested in Rise April not only because she kicks ass, or acts as a sibling to the turtles, but also because she is BLACK.

A POC April where that hasn’t really happened before. 

Why does that matter, you might ask? Well, April O’Neil being black opens up a variety of opportunities to tell stories that haven’t been told before. 

She would uniquely understand why the turtles are so keen on not revealing themselves to the world, on the discrimination they would face for looking different. 

I wonder how many times this fierce girl, raring to protect the people she loves, has been seen as a mere “angry black woman”?

April also reads as very neurodivergent to me, and I have no doubt that she most likely would lack a diagnosis for said neurodivergence due to how many POC struggle in reality to get diagnosed for disabilities such as autism or ADHD.

There are far more stories that lurk within the depths, many I feel need a more experienced hand or personal experience to tell, on the life of Rise’s April O’Neil and the challenges she no doubt faces. 

Of course, due to the writers being made up of white men, I doubt that any of these stories or differences would have ever been explored in series itself.

Also, due to just how fandom is about race, these same stories are not explored in fanfiction as well. 

However, Rise making a very popular mainstay of the series a POC, as well as going into further depth on already POC characters of the series (such as Yoshi Hamato’s backstory), gives me hope for the future. 

May diversity thrive!

[temunitu]

sigh

i feel like there are two extreme opinions on the mikey raph 2012 situation. like raph loves mikey without a doubt and he definitely isnt an abuser, that's a pretty extreme title to give him, but it feels like his defenders also completely ignore all the moments raph was a total dick. yes he can show physical affection, be protective, and will occasionally comfort him, but also mikey gets hit so much he visibly flinches, he internalizes every hurtful thing they say to him he is visibly hurt by theses words (second episode in the pilot is a good early example of that) and is why we got episodes where he puts mutagen on himself to be cooler and why he runs away at one point. and of course he is canonically disabled which never seems to be mentioned in either side.

both of these can exist, raph CAN be really nice too mikey but he can also be really mean. and also im tired of people saying that's how siblings are and if anyone disagrees is an only child like no i have siblings and i deal with them everyday and we don't fight to the point where we will flinch at each other. i dunno i guess my point is this argument is hella annoying, both sides will ignore either the positives or the negatives when both examples exist in the same show.

raph loves mikey, he has anger issues and mikey admittedly also sometimes intentionally pushes his buttons, but raph hurts mikey a lot for no good reason. both of these coexist. but not that it matters because the show refuses to acknowledge it since it isn't exactly written well

fair point, fair point. it’s unfortunate because the entire premise of their dynamic could’ve been really interesting to explore. it might be the circles i’m in or the shows i watch, but nothing i’ve seen has ever tried to tackle anything like “siblings grew up to learn unhealthy coping mechanisms that unintentionally bother those around them, and have a talk with said sibling to reach an understanding.”

i get why some might be upset, at either side (like if someone identifies with mikey, they might hate raph; or if they identify with raph, they’d feel vilified).

at the end of the day, i don’t think the writers really realized all the negative connotations going into it. they were just getting a paycheck.

[mrsblackruby]

I should be studying for university. instead i’m binge watching rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I swear to fuck if they kill fucking draxum. I don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do because I’ll never be able to repair my mental state. They already did me wrong with Sheldon I won’t fucking make it. I don’t need to watch another fav die. I don’t need it. Please let Barry live. Okay Thank you fate of the universe be on my side for once. I repeat I cannot watch that shit on my fucking screen not today or anytime soon or at all thank you

But it really looks like they’re setting up his death and I can’t do it. I swear if he actually dies no he didn’t. he simply can’t die.

[scarletinkthelibrarian]

Okay, okay, everyone, listen to me: I'm still neck deep into TMNT sewers, but since I still live witth my parents and sister I can't force them to watch any of it and so we were instead watching Deadpool 2. And we arrive at the scene where sneaks in the house of his blind friend to get back his cocaine and then...

The thought struck me: our four boys in a shell are ninjas. Ninjas that probably trained to sneak around other ninjas, so... What if, at some point, they made a game out of it?

(Is it something that already got explored? As much as I love this franchise I admit not being the best at keeping up with it: for example, I don't read the comics and remember next to nothing about the '87 series.)

What I mean is, they sneak around each other and maybe Master Splinter too to do something trivial, like: Mikey trying to steal Raph's pizza slice as he works on his bike (forever believing Red is a good mechanic) or Leo refilling Sensei's cup of tea without being noticed while he watches his tv show...

[olibensstuff]

they can’t stand eachother they told me

[angelmichelangelo]

regarding my last post here i just wanted to add the actual video of the scene just to really emphasis how frightened he was during that attack. greg cipes nailed this role anyway but i’ve never heard any of the other turtles sound this terrified before

[theresistanceneverquits]

I am sorry for sending another ask you got me curious now. It’s my New Year’s resolution to try to listen to the other person side. So is Raph the only turtle in 03 you feel that way about?

Don’t worry about the asks, you’re being polite and I love talking tmnt meta.

As for the question, kinda yeah I think. (As far as your comment about Mikey provoking Raph into hitting him, I disagree. 2012 that’s definitely their dynamic, but in 03 Mikey could literally say anything and Raph will hit him.)

I adore Leo in 03 in every way, Mikey is well-rounded, and Don could use some more delving into his emotions but he’s very kind.

Idk why, Raph just feels more like a one-trick pony to me. Like you can expect how he’ll react in most situations. For clarification, that’s just more because that’s my type of character rather than it being a negative against the character.

For contrast, 12 Raph has several moments that clearly show that his utmost priority is the protection of his family. Raph gets into arguments on morality with Leo because Leo’s willing to see good in everyone, while Raph can’t take that chance for his family’s sake. He also goes through character development over the course of the show. At first it’s typical Raph vs Leo, but after s2 Raph no longer questions Leo’s orders, even when they’re dodgy, because of how close he was to losing his brother.

[greatlyblessed]

I could try to get some writing in during lunch OR.

I could talk a bit about how I rewatched City At War P2 (03 show) and got Leo Thoughts.

Because Leo is def reminding me of his S4 self that episode. Snapping at Mikey over his usual Mikeyisms (that did nearly get him hurt but still.) Boy straight up had a flashback at one point. Screaming at the foot mystics like "I will not live in fear!!" (Yeah buddy and how did that work out for you actually?)

Anyway. Just thought it was interesting to see this being a consistent way Leo responds to trauma.

[biceratops7]

ACK-

Y’all I just caught the sweetest continuity moment in Rise. One of the last times they fought… wild animal Shredder(?), Donnie threw literally everything he had at him and the Shredder still overpowered him in a matter of seconds, destroying his battle shell.

This terrifies the shit out of him because… of fucking course it does, and for the rest of the fight Donnie isn’t really like himself. He’s holding his own ok and doing what needs to be done, but he’s visibly shaky and apprehensive to kind of an alarming degree for him. There’s also pretty good reason to believe he was legitimately injured based on how deep the marks appear to be.

And then weeks later the second they see Shredder again (actually recognizing him that is), Raph’s immediate thought is to protect Donnie.

Edit: I FORGOT THE LAST PICTURE SO THIS WAS UP FOR HOURS AND MADE NO SENSE 😭

[isitdonproof]

TMNT 2003 | The Ancient One

[Splinter to Leonardo] For months now, you have been brooding, surly, and stubborn.

[everythingunderthesky]

Which Witch? 

This moment in "Donnie vs. Witch Town" has repeatedly caught my notice, and I’ve now recovered enough to break it down! 

First off, here’s the list verbatim:

Visitors  Suzy Bannion Heather Donahue Nancy Downs Minnie Castevet Katia Vajda Miss Anjelica Ernst Samantha Stephens April O’Neil

Unfamiliar names plus cursive plus a lack of high-quality stills meant decoding this took a little longer than expected.

I have attempted to minimize spoilers for the mentioned horror movies when possible, but in pursuing two contradictory goals, I have accomplished both imperfectly. C'est la vie!

Please note: I am by no means a film buff, so feel free to add any relevant context! 

Oh, the Horror . . . [films]!

"Suzy Bannion" would be a reference to the 1977 film Suspiria in which Suzy, a ballet student, finds herself investigating a supernatural coven of witches.

"Heather Donahue" is a homage to the 1999 "found footage" movie The Blair Witch Project*, wherein three student filmmakers investigate a legend of a witch in the woods.

"Nancy Downs", from the 1996 R-rated film The Craft, is one of a trio of students rumored to be dabbling in witchcraft.

"Minnie Castevet", on the other hand, hails from the dark 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby (based on the book by Ira Levin), wherein Minnie’s character is suspected of being a member of a coven. 

"Katia Vajda", originates from the 1960 film Black Sunday, (loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s short story "Viy"). Katia was accused of being a vampiric witch and executed by her brother—but that isn’t the end of her story.

"Miss Anjelica Ernst" simultaneously references Roald Dahl’s 1973 novel The Witches and its 1990 film adaptation of the same name. One member of the notorious child-hating coven is the Grand High Witch, Eva Ernst, who was portrayed by Anjelica Huston on the big screen.

"Samantha Stephens" lives the life of a "good witch" in the 1964 television series Bewitched.

Special Bonus!

"Abigail the Good", founder of Witch Town, may be an allusion to the character "Abigail Pershing" from the 2015 television show Good Witch. 

I’ll go ahead and credit my dad as my research assistant; he described these references as "deep cuts".

And really, what higher praise is there? 

*For more about Heather Donahue, the producer and writer of the sitcom The High Country, check out this article by GQ's Scott Meslow, The Blair Witch Project's Heather Donahue Is Alive and Well!