MovieChat Forums > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) Discussion > Characters in this show I found disappoi...

Characters in this show I found disappointing (spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by q_leo_rahman
12 replies | jump to latest

I feel that this is the best TMNT TV show that’s ever been made. But even so, there were some things about it that I didn’t really like or enjoy. It was mostly how some of the characters were reinvented for the new show.

The Shredder
It’s clear from the start that the Kraang are the main villains of this show, their attempts to invade and mutate the Earth being the origin of all of the mutants, including Splinter and the Turtles. Thus the Foot gets sidelined to being a supporting threat; they are no less dangerous, in fact this Shredder is the most vengeful and monstrous one ever, but he also appears to be just wasting resources on a vendetta. At least the other Shredders actually want and try to take over the Earth. And in Season 3’s finale he killed Splinter at the cost of the earth – that was a pretty selfish thing to do, but also a very short-sighted and stupid one.

Karai
Making her Splinter’s daughter was a pretty cool move in the beginning, but once the big reveal was made they didn’t really do much with it, they just made Karai a mutant and dumped her somewhere while the Turtles healed from the New York invasion, and later on she’s back with the Foot, under mind control. A lesson from Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker: when a big personal revelation is revealed, it needs to be dealt with and resolved as soon as possible.

April’s Mother
It’s been four seasons, and we have no idea of the whereabouts of April’s mother, or whether she is the reason for her daughter having special powers. Having April’s mother appear as some kind of shapeshifting genetic experiment made by the Kraang doesn’t really do April any favours; while that was proven to be false it just revives the mystery.

Irma
I thought Irma got a great design in this show, as a bespectacled goth teen bf of April. So when she was revealed to be a Kraang spy, I was really disappointed. It made a good twist, but I am disappointed that we can’t get a real Irma on the show.

The Punk Frogs
In one episode there was a mention of “kung-fu frogs”; I was actually excited and hoping that’s how the Punk Frogs would turn out to be: a lethal, competent counterpart to the Ninja Turtles. Instead they’re just stuck in some swamp somewhere with a generic “destroy evil humans” plot, and Napoleon in particular became some angsty teenager.

Mona Lisa
I was hoping she would be a mutant; instead she was an alien. More significantly, her character wasn’t really anything special either: she was some warrior woman who fights and falls for Raph for no real reason (it was more him falling for her, because she could beat him easily). He couldn't even say her name properly (Y’Gythgba), he just called her Mona Lisa because it was easier to say.

Does anyone else have any characters they found to be disappointing?

07/08/06... 786... the sentinel of Allah has arrived.

[–] super-staff 9 years ago

I agree on Irma, Mona Lisa, and Karai. The others, not as much or at all.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mrmonkipuzzle 9 years ago

Wyrm. I miss the old Wyrm. Not a fan of fifth-dimensional space god Wyrm...

[–] ghosthunter11778 9 years ago

I half agree with you on these characters. Here are my thoughts:

Shredder - I like this version taking into concideration his vicious and monstrous nature. Whether or not he and the Foot have been sidelined doesn't really matter to me because they are still Splinter and the turtles' arch nemeses. I also thought that the revelation of Shredder and Splinter being step brothers in this version was very interesting because this makes him Karai and the turtles' uncle, who knew? What I don't like about this Shredder is that he can't seem to take responsibility for his own stupid actions, a perfect example being Karai's mutation. Who hung her over the mutagen vat and then cut the chain while attacking Leo and dropped her in? Shredder did but he blamed it on Splinter which I find very annoying. Everything that goes wrong for Shredder he blames on Splinter.

Karai - No complaints here, I like how they made her Splinter's daughter this time, just so long as they resolve her part of the story at some point. No loose ends a complete story makes and I would be satisfied then. I also liked her snake form though I did feel bad for her and Splinter all that time.

Mrs. O'Neil - Well, at least the search isn't over yet and there is still hope that she is still alive, and hopefully the real Mrs. O'Neil won't be afraid of Splinter and the turtles (if the ever actually find her). I liked that episode though, and how it spoofed John Carpenter's The Thing, it was easily one of the scariest episodes so far. I thought that using horror movie spoofs was a very clever approach for the Northampton (farm house) arch.

Irma - Yes, that was kind of disappointing although Kraang Sub Prime has since become one of the show's best villains (in my opinion anyway). "You've gotta be Kraangin' me!".

The Punk Frogs - A version of them that would be closer to the original series would have been better but I still liked how they turned out with the whole Planet of the Apes thing going on. And you have to admit, Napoleon was good for a laugh. He was based on Napoleon Dynamite (and was even voiced by him!).

Mona Lisa - Her real name is hard to pronounce so I don't blame Raph for nick naming her. Mona fell for him because he flattered her by explaining that her nick name is that of one of the most beautiful paintings on or planet. I was kind of disappointed that she wasn't a mutant though. I was thinking that she could have been another friend of April's from school named Lisa Monaleski (or something to that effect) who got cross mutated with a lizard and/or salamander in season two during the so called "Mutation Situation" and Raph fell for her because of her meekness which would ultimately become her greatest strength. I've also seen some pretty good fan designs for her online that I like in which she is waring a pink fleece hoody and denim short-shorts and is still sporting her long dark hair (hey, she is a girl after all) and blue eyes.

These are my personal thoughts of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. 😃

[–] destinafaroda 9 years ago

Shredder: I like that Shredder is vicious and cruel. I like that also he can be manipulative and even thinks of himself as the good guy. I like that his flaw is that blames others for problems he has created. I also like that at least at times, these flaws are balanced by his twisted obsession with Kurai (which could have been genuine love, if it had been written well). Shredder could be a very high quality villain.

I hate that over the season, Shredder has descended from a human menace whose weakness is his need for revenge to pure cartoon villainy. Purposely turning Steranko and Zeck into mutants was bad enough (and really didn't make much sense), but what he did at the end of the season was just evil and stupid.

Karai: I have even more qualms about Karai. They setup in the first season was good. They made her Splinter's daughter raised by Shredder...then she immediately turns on the latter once she realizes it was true.

Karai's mutation would have been so much better if she hadn't immediately turned on Shredder upon finding out the truth. Imagine if the same scenario surrounding her mutation had happened, except instead of stupidly being captured because she wanted to take revenge on Shredder, she had been held as bait because she was in on the plan, or because she was just starting to become disloyal and having doubts. Then, her mutation would have been more directly tied to her not wanting to accept the truth and working with the enemy long-past her knowing better. Instead, she ran off and got captured like Faux Action Chick/Damsel in Distress just after getting rescued.

Still, even the scenario in which she got mutated wasn't all bad, as it did show that Shredder was still kinda-human and not cartoon villain. Karai became a mutant, and like a lot of mutants on this show, her mind was affected by the mutation as well, and there was no easy cure. This scenario would be a good thing, as the setup allowed for either a possible slow-cure/delayed reaction, or maybe on-screen Karai would begin to remember on her own. Except off-screen, she was easily cured by the bad guys and immediately brainwashed into being a one-dimensional and vastly over-powered bad girl (didn't they learn from nerfing Fishface not to give a villain an ability to poison the heroes?). And unlike the brainwashing Raph and the others were in, she wasn't cured by having an anger overload or and emotional overload that would force her to recognize her trauma or express some sort of vulnerability...no she's cured -- maybe -- by a magic healing technique. Either way, the status of Karai is unclear and even if she returns, what will happen? Is she going to be a snake-mutant? Is she going to be a normal human? Are her powers going to depend on her emotional state? If she is on the side of the Turtles again, what is to stop her this time from just using her newfound abilities to just kill Shredder? And what of her "relationship" with Leo? So far it seems we have been cheated of developments with the character and have just seen the aftermath.

Mrs. O'Neill & Irma: I agree with you precisely.

Punk Frogs: I didn't care all that much about the Punk Frogs in the 80's cartoon and I thought they were superficial this time around. Maybe I would have been more appreciative of the humor had I seen Napoleon Dynamite.

Mona Lisa: I can accept and even enjoy the new character for what she is, but like you I am disappointed she is not closer to the old version. It's kind of sad that for all the faults of the 80's cartoon, that origin of Mona Lisa (captive frees herself, gets mutated in the process, tries to stop bad guy post-mutation) was more progressive and forward-thinking in that show than this one (proud alien warrior). I also agree that I would prefer Raph to fall for a girl who wouldn't be like him and in fact would be the opposite of what he would think he would like. Plus keeping her as a human-turned-mutant would give their relationship and interesting symmetry and would kind of put that whole "retro-mutagen" deal a little higher on the priority list (since that whole plotline was completely dropped).

I do understand she wouldn't be having long hair, though, since this is a CGI series (hair is harder to animate realistically in 3D) and I get the impression the designers are trying to curb some of the more standard "female" traits for mutants, aliens, and such. In fact, having her appearance radically change would have made for an interesting piece of drama in of itself.

[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 9 years ago

Casey's character and depiction in this show was a let down for me.

"Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron."-C.S. Lewis on LOTR

[–] Pistachio-Disguisey 9 years ago

Leatherhead- not Cajun and not a mutant!

Punk frogs- too different from the 87 cartoon.

Bebop and Rocksteady- they're ok, but dumb punks are the best version.

Casey- he's ok, but an older vigilante with a Clint Eastwood voice is better.

[–] Times_Up 9 years ago

Granted, the Eastwood version has nothing to do with the comics at all (well a little bit, as if Casey stayed in character during one of his homage-type narrations and refused to drop it. We saw him do a Schwarzenegger impression during the DARPA story line in vol. 2 annoying the guys that he would drop "the act.)

I am a sucker for the Eastwood meets Jason Vorhees version, it's hilarious!

All good things must come to an end - Chaucer

[–] Jangobadass 9 years ago

Shredder
This has to be 2nd (or 3rd) worst version I've ever seen, so obsessed with his single minded quest for revenge and blaming others for his actions while barely trying to get any power or control. Ignoring aliens & mutants to focus on finding Splinter and the Turtle? Sitting on his ass for 3 months while the Kraang take over New York City? Letting the planet be destroyed to get Splinter (which he already did)?
He may be the toughest Shredder ever, but he has to be the stupidest...

Casey
Because this is a kid's show, he's not allowed to go all out, which greatly restrains & restricts what he can so. If that wasn't bad enough, he's kind of an idiot.

The Punk Frogs
They're not even punks...
Without Shredder behind their creation and training, they're just random mutants who aren't like their counterparts at all. the worst offender is Napoleon, based not on Mr. Bonaparte, but on Mr. Dynamite. And that's not good at all 

[–] CSMV 9 years ago

The Punk Frogs were just too terrible. Their characters weren't that great to begin with though, so it was one area where they could really have improved upon the original... instead the whole episode was just a drawn-out 20-minute Napoleon Dynamite...reference. It can't even be called a joke. Someone should be ashamed.

[–] destinafaroda 9 years ago

While these are fair criticisms, I'm disappointed in a few of the other characters:

Baxter Stockman: I actually liked this version of Baxter Stockman at first. Despite the fact that he was "loser" and clearly not in the Turtles' league. So when it was announced he would be in fact become a fly-monster, I was excited he was going to mutate, since he would be an actual threat.

Instead, he's just a mad-fly scientist who is loyal to Shredder and likes to mutate people and create monsters.

Maybe I was hoping that Baxter would be more like his 80's counterpart and hate both the Turtles AND Shredder. Maybe I was even hoping that Baxter, instead of being the ineffective villain, might actually turn good in a change of pace and realize that he was bad at being a villain because he wasn't meant to be one. Nope. He just becomes Shredder's yes-man and convenient tinkerer.

Fishface: Raph's foil had a lot of potential, especially when his backstory was revealed. Again, I was hoping that there was going to be a shift in that this former thief was going to start realizing his interests don't line up with Shredder's. I was hoping Fishface would get a more morally gray (but still a villain) while Dogpound got morally absolute pitch dark (and he has gotten somewhat more sadistic). However, he has been relegated to the sidelines, especially after Rocksteady and Bebop entered the picture. Is there anything special about this guy?

Tiger Claw: Okay, this character was pitched as the most fiercest, fearsome mutant, one who could even fight Splinter to a stand-still. Instead he's just been a babysitter for Shredder's growing collection of mutants. To be fair, at least he is starting to see that his boss lacks honor, but I expected him to be more dangerous than what he is.

Sir Malachi: Here we have a mutant who can create extremely powerful illusions based on his favorite game....and he is never heard from again after his debut episode, but instead we have the useless monstrosity that is Pigeon Pete added to the Mighty Mutanimals.

[–] bigwinwill 9 years ago

When it comes to Irma & the Punk Frogs I agree. I hated Napoleon Dynomite anyway.

Ace Lions