TMNT & DaredevilDid you know that there are subliminal references between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel’s Daredevil comics? Keep reading to learn more!TMNT & Daredevil
It’s the holiday season once again, and the each year we are reminded of perhaps one of the worst atrocities ever committed against the Ninja Turtles Franchise: We Wish You a Turtle Christmas. More to the point, one of the worst songs in this collection of horrible holiday music is entitled “The Wrap Rap,” and it has become synonymous with the TMNT at Christmas time. The song features a few unimpressive lyrics, and its message is anything but unique. Even if you were looking for some holiday tunes to enjoy while wrapping presents, that still wouldn’t be a good enough reason to turn this garbage on.
Of course, thanks to the wonders of the internet and Youtube, now we can all relive this terrible memory for years to come. We could be watching the Christmas special from the 4Kids TMNT series or making our own TMNT ornaments, but why do something fun like that when there’s We Wish You a Turtle Christmas to behold? Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh here, but I personally believe that I’m being a bit too nice about this terrible cash in. That’s what really bothers me about this TMNT Christmas special – it’s a shameless cash grab that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than the cheapest of tripe.
I guess there’s something to be said for honesty in advertising here, but let’s not pretend that there’s anything decent about this Christmas special. If anything, this looks more like a production from the Shredhead than something that the Ninja Turtles actually would have approved. Perhaps I am acting a bit like Scrooge here, but some creations truly deserve a “bah humbug,” and this is one of them. I highly recommend that you do not click the play button on these videos, but if your curiosity got the better of you (as it did with me), all I can say is that I’m sorry.
Oh, and Merry Christmas. Here’s hoping that you get something much more awesome than this terrible holiday special in your stocking this year. Believe me, we all deserve better than this. What’s worse than a lump of coal? We Wish You a Turtle Christmas, of course! Well, that and the Star Wars Holiday Special. What is it with awesome franchises and their terrible holiday specials?
Most Ninja Turtle fans know that James Avery (better known as Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) played the Shredder. Some might even be well aware that there was once a female Ninja Turtle named Venus DeMilo. However, something tells me that a lot of fans would be shocked to discover that our first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie could have featured four comedians wearing green paint. In a franchise this big, there are bound to be a few harsh and strange truths that were either ignored or forgotten over time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some fairly interesting facts about the heroes in a half shell that you might not have known.
1. How Do You Spell Michelangelo Anyways?
Even creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had an issue with this one, and they were reportedly major art history buffs. For about 15 years, Mikey’s name was misspelled in the comics and other iterations of the franchise as “Michaelangelo.” Being that he is named after the famous artist Michelangelo, this was a bit of a problem, and apparently the issue was well known. Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, they couldn’t officially change the spelling of the name until the year 2000. I guess this means that in the world of TMNT lore, either spelling is technically acceptable. I know that I’ve personally used both versions of his name in the past, and I could happily continue to do so without any issue.
2. Not So Cowabunga
Where did this popular catchphrase come from? Well, Buffalo Bob from the classic children’s show Howdy Doody claimed to have come up with the word on his own. As a matter of fact, he was so convinced that he owned the copyright for this word that he filed a lawsuit over the word. Of course, his spelling of the word was “Kowabunga,” but that didn’t stop him from getting some coin for his contributions, as he eventually settled out of court. The word definitely wasn’t a creation of the Ninja Turtles franchise, but the question was whether or not anyone really held the copyright to the word. At this point, it would appear that this is still up for debate, but perhaps that’s why we haven’t seen them use the word in conjunction with the turtles as of late.
3. How Much Did They Spend?
Remember that awful Coming Out of Their Shells live action tour that the Ninja Turtles did in the 90’s? Nowadays it’s more groan inducing than it is endearing, but back then a lot of fans actually fell in love with the event, buying the album and tapes of their performance. To this day you can find clips of the live action tour all over the internet, including the truly disturbing episode of Oprah where the Ninja Turtles showed up to talk about the event. Pizza Hut sponsored the entire Coming Out of Their Shells tour, and the price tag was pretty hefty – $20 Million Dollars. If ever you needed proof that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were truly a hot commodity in the 90’s, this number should drive that fact home. After all, would anyone spend that much money on such a terrible idea today? Probably not.
4. He Was Almost Mikey, Too
Most fans are well aware that veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen was originally cast as Raphael in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series that began in 1987. You might also be aware that he now plays the role of Donatello in Nickelodeon’s iteration of the TMNT. However, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that he could have also played Michelangelo at one point. That’s right, Rob Paulsen initially auditioned for the role of everyone’s favorite fun loving turtle. One has to wonder what his version of the character sounded like, and you can be darn sure that if I ever get the chance to ask him, that will be my first question. Who knows? Maybe he’ll get the chance to play Leonardo as well, rounding out his history with the entire gang.
5. You Thought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 Was Bad?
If you’ve ever found yourself complaining about any of the TMNT movies, perhaps it’s time for a little perspective. After all, the first idea for a Ninja Turtles movie was pretty terrible, coming straight from the home of the schlock-meister himself, Roger Corman. New World Pictures suggested a Ninja Turtles movie featuring comedians Gallagher, Sam Kinnison, Bobcat Goldthwait and Billy Crystal as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The idea was to put them in turtle shell costumes and paint their arms and legs green. If that sounds like perhaps the worst idea anyone has ever had for a comic book movie, that’s because it was legitimately bad. Thankfully, this idea never really took shape, and the movie we eventually ended up with became one of the most successful independent features of all time. Oh, and it was probably the best TMNT movie to date, so there’s that as well.
6. What Happened to Mikey’s Nunchaku?
What would Michelangelo do without his Nunchaku? Well, one doesn’t necessarily need weapons to practice ninjutsu, but these are still Mikey’s weapon of choice. Unfortunately, they were also a major point of contention among parents who feared that their children would mimic the action they saw in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is why we didn’t see many weapons on display in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. In addition to this, Mikey’s Nunchaku were removed from European cuts of the animated series from the fourth season forward. In the US cut, you’ll notice that he uses his weapons from time to time, but for the most part we don’t see him use these customary weapons beyond this point until later in the history of the franchise. Thankfully, parents don’t seem to be so uptight anymore, but that won’t stop a few groups from being wet blankets, as Leonardo’s swords have recently come under fire as well. To appropriate a quote from Ralphie Parker (A Christmas Story), is there no end to the irrational prejudice against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their chosen weapons?
7. That Time Robin Williams Helped April O’Neil
Although he was a much beloved comedian and actor, Robin Williams never really had his name attached to much of anything related to the Ninja Turtles – or did he? Apparently, Williams was a big fan of the franchise, and while he was working with Judith Hoag on the film Cadillac Man, he actually ended up helping her to get into character for the role of April O’Neil. At the time, Hoag wasn’t very familiar with the character and she wasn’t too sure about the role. However, after talking to Williams about the role and learning that he was a huge fan of the comics, she changed her tune and eventually got the role. Many fans consider her to be the best interpretation of April on film, and it’s crazy to think that we might have Robin Williams to thank for that – at least partially.
Well, That Was Unexpected
Did you see anything on this list that shocked or surprised you? How many of these facts did you know beforehand? Let us know in the comments below, and tell us which of these concepts you found the most interesting or disturbing. Oh, and feel free to sound off if you actually enjoyed the Coming Out of Their Shells tour. I know there are plenty of fans who actually enjoyed that event, but I couldn’t help giving my honest opinions about it. Hopefully this doesn’t upset too many fans. After all, it could have been worse – we could have seen a Roger Corman TMNT movie. Let us all collectively shudder at the thought. For more crazy TMNT factoids, check out this video with 107 TMNT Facts!
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been paired up with some interesting partners in their time. Whether it be Usagi Yojimbo, the Ghostbusters or even Batman, it’s clear that the turtles work quite well in many different universes. Perhaps this is because the story of the TMNT takes them across multiple dimensions, allowing them to easily fit into almost any fictional world. Whatever the case may be, it’s not hard to see why there are so many crossovers being done as of late. As the turtles begin their journey to Gotham, one fan decided to create a trailer for another combination that they would like to see: A Daredevil/TMNT crossover!
Long time fans probably won’t be surprised by this combo, as it brings the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together with one of the main inspirations for their creation. Yes, if you didn’t already know, the TMNT comic book was actually inspired in large part by the success of Daredevil! Heck, Splinter is pretty much a nod to the character of Stick in the Daredevil universe. Putting the hero of Hell’s Kitchen together with the Ninja Turtles that he helped to create would be a match made in heaven. Of course, this is just a fan film, so it’s not actually happening – but you never know!
The fan edited trailer entitled “Daredevil/Ninja Turtles: From Hand to Foot” takes clips from throughout the Ninja Turtles universe and combines them with clips from the Netflix Original Series Daredevil. Surprisingly, the clips fit pretty well together and produce a fairly coherent trailer. Personally, I’d love to see a project like this, no matter what the format may be. There have been quite a few comic book crossovers in the TMNT franchise as of late, so who knows? Maybe Daredevil will be their next companion!
What do you think of this awesome fanmade TMNT video? Let us know in the comments below.
It is a subject which has perplexed fans for decades, and with the recent success of the TMNT franchise, the topic has become much more popular over time. What if the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles weren’t teenagers anymore? What if they grew up and got a little bit older? It may sound like a tale best left to fan fiction, but there have actually been attempts to explore this concept in the past, although none of them have come to fruition.
So far, we’ve only seen adult Ninja Turtles in the realm of fantasy and fan made projects, but you never know what the future holds with this franchise. Okay, so we probably aren’t going to get Middle Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles any time soon, but at least some of the older fans are really putting serious effort into making this crazy vision a reality. That’s right, someone actually went to the lengths of creating a short film featuring our heroes in a half shell as adults!
One look at Ninja Turtles: Veterans of the Night and you’ll probably notice that these aren’t the turtles you grew up with. For one thing, they aren’t based on the 1987 animated series and they don’t look much like any official iteration of the characters. As a matter of fact, they only really look similar to one interpretation of the TMNT – the original sketches that inspired the entire franchise. I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these turtles are also a lot more violent than their cartoon counterparts.
Not only do they look more like actual turtles, but they also don’t mind getting a little bloody when they fight. This concept might disturb some fans, but others (like myself) will find it genuinely interesting. I’m not sure this would work as an entire television series/movie concept, but it’s cool to see the possibilities right before your eyes. Heck, I dare say that these CGI turtles might actually look a bit better than those we’ve seen in the new movie from Paramount and Platinum Dunes.
What do you think? Now that you’ve seen them in action, would you like to see Adult Mutant Ninja Turtles in their own series of cartoons/movies/comics? Let us know in the comments below!