When I took this role several years ago, all I knew was that Nickelodeon had plans for a new television show that would hit the air in 2012. We hadn’t even seen a trailer yet, but I was still very excited about the possibilities. Little did I know that I would come to regard this newest version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the best iteration of the franchise we have ever seen. Now that the series is coming to an end, it’s time for a retrospective.
Clocking in at only five seasons in length, this won’t go down as the longest running animated series in the TMNT franchise. That being said, there were several elements which made this version of our heroes in a half shell particularly noteworthy. After going back to the fourth season recently, I noticed some very interesting themes on display which made me appreciate the series even more. With that in mind, let’s talk about a few moments from SSN 4 that prove the quality of this series. Prepare for some potential spoilers.
RESPECT FOR TMNT HISTORY
Although this series is literally chock full of references to past iterations of the TMNT, moments such as their visit to Zayfod’s Cantina show a profound respect for the history of this franchise. For those who may not have been aware, this was actually a moment taken right out of the comic books. Their reason for visiting might have been different, and the events may have changed, but the turtles visited a bar in space while fleeing the Triceratons – and that’s accurate to some of the first comic books that Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird ever created.
This scene in the series was pulled directly from a moment in the Mirage comics. Image Source: Nickelodeon.
Another moment of comic book accuracy came when the turtles had to take on various enemies in gladiatorial combat in order to escape from the Triceratons. These are just two moments from the fourth season, but there are several other notable scenes and episodes from throughout Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which are taken directly from other iterations of the TMNT. Say what you will about the style of animation they chose, but at least the plot pays homage to all of the different versions of the turtles that came before.
Oh, and “Zayfod’s Cantina”? That has got to be a sly reference to Zaphod Beeblebrox, an important character from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
DEEP AND COMPLEX CHARACTERS
After taking the turtles on an adventure through the universe, Fugitoid makes an admission which shakes his newfound friends to their core. This is the very moment when the audience discovers that Professor Honeycutt is actually a flawed character. Learning about his true motivations not only reveals that he is an imperfect hero, it also sets up his brilliant moment of redemption. Eventually, he selfishly makes the kind of sacrifice that only he is capable of making.
Later on in the season, we see Super Shredder and Splinter fighting one another. Oroku Saki’s desire to see Hamato Yoshi’s destruction has lead him to make a brash decision which has, as Splinter rightfully points out, made him a monster “both inside and out.” Moments after making this statement, we see Shredder literally smash Splinter’s foot. This might just seem like a random act of violence, but remember that Shredder is actually the leader of the Foot Clan. There is an unmistakable symbolism behind seeing the leader of the ‘Foot’ literally smashing a foot.
Super Shredder faced off against Splinter during SSN 4 and the results weren’t pretty. Image Source: Nickelodeon.
No matter how you look at it, there was a lot of wonderful subtext just beneath the surface of Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These undertones not only provided much needed depth for notable characters, they also created a much more meaningful universe for the turtles.
NOSTALGIA AND CREATIVITY
Needless to say, nostalgia played a large factor in making Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles successful. The reverence shown to past comics, cartoons, movies and games undoubtedly made this series even better. With that said, it took the creative minds of Ciro Nieli and Brandon Auman (among many others) to make this show a possibility. It was likely thanks to them that all of these subtle little details came together to produce such an excellent and largely cohesive story.
On November 12th, 2017, Nickelodeon will air the series finale of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although it’s sad to see this version of our heroes in a half shell come to an end, it’s nice to know that we’ll be getting an entirely new TMNT series in 2018. We can only hope that this cartoon will live up to the standards that have been set over the past 5 years, but that remains to be seen. All we can do right now is show some love to all of the amazing people who made the 2k12 series possible.
As far as I’m concerned, you’ve all earned your rightful place in the history of this franchise.
13 comments
i couldn’t agree with this more. the 2k12 series is what got me into TMNT. I was blown away by this series and it will continue to be one of my favorite franchises for years to come. lets hope Rise is anywhere near as good.
i´m a big fan of tmnt (i have them tattooed in my back) the 2012 series hit the right spot between new and nostalgic, to me its the best incarnation of the turtles.
I wholeheartedly agree. As an 80’s kid I was a huge fan of the first cartoon, but even with the nostalgia behind it I can see it for the silly show that it is. The ’03 show never attracted me and I felt like I outgrew the franchise. Even though I watched it later, that show is bland and uninspired to me. Then came the 2012 series and after mistakenly dismissing it as a kid’s show due to the art style, once I saw my first episode (the one where we first meet Leatherhead) I was hooked. As I continued watching the show only got better and more interesting to me and found that perfect balance between the silliness I adored in the ’87 cartoon, and the seriousness of the comics. Add in the visual creativity and references to pop culture and classic 80’s-90’s cinema and an already great franchise became so much better. This truly is a love letter to TMNT as well as its fans, both young and old.
plus again it’s been great how they have tweaked charcters like agent bishop, he was always a bad guy, but with this iteration of the series it was much like the 2003 verion, that there were 2 kind of utrom, the peaceful kind and other like him, and then the utrom shredder, who pushed for domination in whatever era he lived in
I’m sad to see this one go to, I mean, this felt like the perfect version of the Turtles. Wishes were granted, lessons were learned, and stories became legends. Rahzar, Dregg, Bebop, Super Shredder, and Alopex had a chance to appear AND shine in the best way possible, April was a teen like the heroes and evolved into a ninja heroine, and despite 4Kids’ involvement with the TMNT during 03, Nickelodeon saved the franchise and made me forget about the past and helped me enjoy the future. 30 years old and I still know a good franchise when I see one! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9f6388a56083582af6d575f3ad97f3de41cd5f952ea3453fe5e0180eb3006722.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bbd15a9f5224e1181d5653a34195874847af0d6b818ca60e7ef92a18e733db29.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/540ead30547da38b1689987ded9179ee23c1c54a449b121a1e5d5f91750961c4.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d30ee3c70f16265ad024707cf489b0ae438a53e66ff4a3eca5815dcf4fb88317.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4c250b6178e1e9c58e002ac5ecfa89ea158c148f3bd80b4b1a7546c36ed3ac0c.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/388bde3db4a34ded8bac6afb8b11684910dd3199086b857d241bc33295bc56be.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/14f3d1d81ee0ad520f56b7febdcfc1742e7eed091fdfa05aff1b16d576e0507b.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8206f791f0f6adb553bdd8339c9685f0377a33da6887679aa21c656f200a3d1b.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fd40ef3869417443ab7f8c738d9b191206fc38fdda5a632f9c9f70166ac2de3e.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5e85195d372bae00ef645793a1047fe0a38e704ee13cc9d71eb92e15b2b8e341.jpg
And it wasn’t just TMNT they paid homage too although there were Easter eggs galore from the various incarnations of TMNT. One of the things I’ve enjoyed is picking out various pop-culture references including the 1960s Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, and Cowboy Bebop along with a host of others. Although it’s a kid’s show they put plenty in there to entertain adults as well with the nostalgia factor. (And their creative use of cursing, “Ah sewer apples!” “Holy chalupa!” “Bolshevik!”) While they have borrowed heavily from the comics, they’ve done so in a fresh and creative way while adding their own touches. (Michelangelo’s kusarigama was probably my favorite one.) And I’ll never forget the first season how happy I was that you could actually see them develop as characters and see their fighting style improve over time too as they overcame various challenges.
Now if only someone would make a more mature version of TMNT on screen that wasn’t for kids I could die happy.
I watched the original cartoon growing up. The 2003 cartoon got me to a point that the nostalgia fact seemed just obsolete to me. I loved 2003 incarnation more than I have ever loved the original cartoon. I was excited to see the 2012 attempt come to life, but I never fully enjoyed. It made me laugh harder than the 2003, for sure, but the amouth of time the cartoon spent fighting giant insects and pointless random enemies drove me apart from it. I know Bepop, Rocksteady and others were introduced at some point, but for me it was already too late and too many cockroach monsters and random fish monster guys away for actually caring. I stopped watching it altogether half way through season 2 when a childish april was learning ninjutsu and a kid casey jones was introduced. I stopped and I never looked back. I am more interested now in the next cartoon. That’s not to say I won’t go back to the 2012 one and see it from start to finish SOMEDAY. Who knows. Definetely not now nor anytime soon.
Honestly, this was the 1st TMNT series that got me interested in the 80’s cartoon and the entire franchise overall. I started watching 2K12 TMNT in 6th grade, and as it comes to an end, I’m currently in 11th grade. Strange how life works out, isn’t it?
Good luck, and COWAYAKASHUNGA!!
My heart is broken I want to cry😢😢😢😢💔💔💔💔 Who has the idea Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 ends ? I Do not Want Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 Ends I object and against Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!😠😠😠😠 I do not like it Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Voice Cast I am now crying😭😭😭😭 Please, do something to oppose Ends Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 I’m so sad For Splinter death And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 End.
All good things have to come to an end unfortunately. Also let’s see how the 2018 series does, you might actually like it :).
I sure hope there could be the revival of the 2012 TMNT series.
I loved the turtles as a kid and I watched the cartoon a lot. It didn’t age well and the first live action movies were nice, but not great. The original comic is still a masterpiece though. It starts off as a bit of a wierd thing, but grows fast and has a lot of great content. The brothers mature and evolve and though we should all forget the time Image tried to make it into a mainstream superhero comic it has held up nicely throughout the years. I felt the same as I watched this series. The characters grow, the show deals with some tough issues in a great way and the writing is mostly really good. Some of the darker moments of the show (“Long live the triceraton empire…” *thud*) were hauntingly great and it’s easy to see that the people working on it loved the original comic as well. I’ll be sad to see it go, but it had a good run and while I think there is still much to explore in it, the series would have to take on an even darker tone to be able to continue. I can just hope that the new series isn’t too goofy.
awww… i love watching tmnt 2012. comedy, action filled with science and magic. I wish ther was an anime version of tmnt . But i guess this is really the end it’s been a wonderful long journey i’ll miss you all.
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