With the first official trailer of Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally released, fans are still clamoring over a possible alteration to the origin. Two years ago, the concern was over statements that Bay had made about the turtles being Aliens, while today the concern is over a statement made by the Shredder himself. But why are some Shellheads so displeased with the concept of changing the origin of the TMNT? After all, their origin has changed a lot over the years, so why fight another alteration? Well, it's all about a simple mistake that was never meant to be: The Ninja Turtles themselves.
You see, our heroes in a half shell have almost always included in their creation story the aspect of a complete fluke. To be more specific, they aren't put into contact with anything that would change them by any other means than pure chance. Why? Because this adds a deeper aspect to their character than just being a mutant. Not only are they mutants, but their creation was a mistake; they have no real family and they have no means of understanding why this happened to them. Surrounded by confusion and shrouded in mystery (at least to a certain extent), their very existence becomes a struggle for them to comprehend. You see the fear and bewilderment in Raphael all the time, because he's constantly struggling with his purpose in life.
If you know why you were born and how you were born, there is no reason to search for those answers – there is no reason why they would torment you and leave you constantly questioning why. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always displayed character traits which denote a murky and unknown origin that cannot be explained through any normal means. They are like orphans who do not know the circumstances of their birth or why they exist, and their only experience in life is through their foster parent, Splinter. This aspect of their characters is integral and it adds an enormous amount of depth to a story that would otherwise be simply goofy and fun. Sure, it was always intended to be like that, but perhaps unintentionally it has also always included in it this condition of the unknown.
When Shredder comes out and says that he and April O'Neil's father were trying to create heroes, the trailer denoting a connection between his monologue and the turtles themselves, there is an insinuation that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been created intentionally by two main characters. If their creation is intentional and they know that there was a reason, what motivation (other than plain, boring and uninteresting revenge) do they have to search for answers and discover how they were brought into being? To put it simply, I think this is why fans are disturbed and upset by the idea of a possible origin change. Even slight alterations have the power to negatively affect a story and remove from it certain integral aspects that could make it more deep and meaningful for those who choose to dig a little deeper.
Sure, the new IDW comic paints a different picture, but even then there is no clear understanding about why they were brought into being. Even in the most recent alteration to the origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there is an element of mistaken creation. Is it really Shredder's involvement that the fans have a problem with? Is it the involvement of April's father? Or is it the possibility that an elemental quality of the characteristics of the TMNT might have been not only altered, but removed entirely?
Before we all start trying to attack our fellow Shellheads, I think we should step back and realize what is at stake here. It's also important for everyone to realize that one misplaced line in a trailer is not necessarily an undeniable indicator that something has been changed. For all we know, their creation could still be a mistake. After all, Kevin Eastman has given his blessing to the film numerous times, and I don't think he would do that if they had removed such an important aspect of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or sound off in the forums!
13 comments
I want to know why Megan Fox withdrew herself from the new movie.
That was an “April” fool’s joke. 😛
I think what people tend to forget is that trailers rarely, if ever, reflect the actual state of the film. More often than not, they contain scenes and dialogue that never even makes it into the movie. “Fans” need to stop complaining before they have all the information, because who’s to say that the “mutagen” (if that’s what it still is) wasn’t meant to be inject in humans, creating super soldiers a la Captain America, and the mutation of animals was still an accident? Everyone just needs to stop jumping to conclusions based on 90 seconds of literally nothing.
I think people are taking what was said in the Teaser out of Context, And when a 2nd trailer comes out, It’ll focus more on the plot and clarify the confusion that’s been going around.
I sure hope so! 🙂
In the original cartoon,Shredder deliberately used mutagen on Hamato Yoshi.
This would be so much easier if this movie was made AFTER the upcoming Daredevil show on Netflix.
If you read the interview with Andre Nemec he’s pretty defiant towards doing what came before and says horseshit like “every version has it own origin,we had to find one that fit our world”
He seems to be a writer from before the internet,who hasn’t adapted to the times.
Marvel studios all but forces it’s writers to be aware of fandom because if the movie fails for a general audience,fans are the best backup plan to get your money back.
I get the feeling Nemec is even annoyed at the fact he has to answer to anybody about whats in his script.
He also says weird things like to him ages 3-16 are the same,because he doesnt have kids so he doesnt know anything about them,then the next question he says kids were afraid of The Dark Knight. he’s full of shit in person so i doubt he did good on this movie.
He did co-create Life on Mars(U.S.) though,so there’s still hope.
And of course,Shredder is manipulating April in this scene. I get a TMNT 2003 season 1 vibe from this Shredder,trying to present himself as a good guy initially.
Actually, in the original cartoon, Shredder takes responsibility for creating the turtles, but he never actually deliberately set out to create them or Hamato Yoshi. His claim is a power play, a display of ego and an attempt to gain their favor and have them fight for him. In reality, he was involved with the mutagen but he did not purposefully pour it down into the sewers in order to mutate Yoshi and the turtles — that was a mistake. Just because he had something to do with the mutagen does not mean that he intentionally created the turtles. It was a mistake, as it has always been.
There is definitely a sense of manipulation in that scene, and I think that most fans who are concerned about an origin change are hoping that this is just another example of the Shredder trying to manipulate someone, as he was doing when he claimed that he had created the turtles early on in the original cartoon series.
He didn’t know it would turn him into a rat/human mutant but he did pour it onto Hamato Yoshi with the intent of fucking him over in some way.
(He obviously couldn’t predict the turtle part)
And while its clear if you watch the show he didnt know it would mutate him,he knew it was called mutagen.
Also you miss out on the hilarious beat of Shredder’s understated surprise when he has to come to terms with two world shattering truths at once:Not only do mutant ninja turtles exist,they want to kill him because he killed some guy 15 years ago. You get the idea he REALLY didn’t see that one coming-and it’s like can you blame him?
Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shaloub just got cast as the voices of Leonardo and Splinter respectively. But that’s not important. What is important is being in denial that a mainstream will change the turtle’s origin
I personally thank they need to leave the turtles story the way the original film was with them getting in the oze and let the turtles stay the way we all rember them from the first 3 movies and the original cartoone and stop chaning ever thing
I would have used lindsay lohan for April o Nile
i’m confused about a few things because of “shredder’s” dialog in the trailer. trying to create heroes? why is shredder, the bad guy, trying to create heroes, with april’s dad, which this shredder is english so the original feud between splinter and shredder is most likely omitted. what the hell is this?! …and that’s what i got out of the trailer. a bunch of WTF mess-ups
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