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Captain Craig · Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 3:25 pm Post subject:

Is there a reason the whole franchise is being re-imagined from the bottom up? Is it a licensing issue? A 'rights' issue? Just wondering if it's for a reason(s) beyond "because we can".
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Venom · Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:08 pm Post subject:

Probably to bring a fresh spin on a 27 year old property that has never truly been rebooted.

Remember, too, that Kevin Eastman has a part in this, so even though he can't stop them from doing something if he objeccted, but even he likes the new take on the origin.
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Torpedo · Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject:

DeeMG · Private Joined: 26 Aug 2011 Posts: 3

I'm going to say, this first issue didn't do much for me, story-wise.

A franchise reboot would be perfectly fine, but this story has literally ripped the guts out of the very name "TMNT" -- for one thing, they aren't teenagers at all. Those were baby turtles in the lab, and it was only 18 months earlier, so at best, they would be pre-school aged.

And for the most critical thing, there's no reason given now for them to be ninja at all. Without the link through Splinter to a Japanese heritage, why in the world would ninjitsu ever be a major part of their lives? Most of the world only has even a nodding familiarity with the idea of "ninja" through (you guessed it!) the popularity and ubiquity of the TMNT in the first place. If a secret government program was developing some kind of super-soldier, ninja training would only be one small part of what they would learn, and it would be buried in all of the usual "official" military roles and practices, not the main focus.

I suppose relaunching the franchise as "Pre-School Mutant Super-Soldier Turtles" didn't have the same ring to it, huh?

I hope that I'm wrong, and there are plans to make this all mesh together more neatly. One of the key strengths of this franchise, across all its iterations, has been the overriding sense of "family" that came through. These were boys who had years of memories together, who had stories about the exploits of their (spiritual, though not literal) ancestors, who had a connection to a past. By taking that away, by making Splinter just a simple lab rat without any sort of Japanese connection, you've removed one of the more compelling supports for the whole 'universe' of this iteration. In addition, you've taken away one of the main motivations that they have to keep on going as a family -- why would they have any particularly strong sense of connection to each other if they simply haven't been around very long, and don't have anyone around them who can anchor them with the sense of family? What about honor and duty and training, and all of the other undercurrents that ran through all of the previous iterations? If issue 1 is an accurate indicator of where this is going, there's no reason for those high-minded and critical concepts to be a part of their lives!

All in all, I'm not as pleased as I'd hoped to be. If there's not a strong sense of family to the stories, and if there's not an underlying logic to their decisions, I won't continue to read the comic book. And that's a hard thing for me to say -- I've been a fan of the Mirage books since the beginning, and stuck by the guys through every iteration, no matter how odd (cows in space? Splinter in a tuxedo? a highway full of possessed cars?) because they always managed to pull off this idea that there was a family and a history. It would be hard to leave them now. But a reboot of the franchise shouldn't mean losing sight of the things that made the characters strong and believable in the first place.

Torpedo · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:26 am Post subject:

Well, some turtles only live twenty years, so making them teenagers by our standards would make them geriatric ninjas.
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fawaz · Private Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Posts: 6

I think Eastman and Co are melding elements from the origlnal comics and the 1987 tv series. Bear in mind that Nickelodeon own the franchise now, and they're probably trying to relaunch the series in a manner that appeals to both old and younger audiences.

The full growth after 18 months doesn't really appeal to me either, but as far as I can tell this was probably lifted from the 87 cartoon series. In first episode when the Turtles come into contact with the mutagen they transform into full form almost immediately. In the 2003 series they seem to age slowly, reaching full form after 15 years or so. I guess we'll have to wait and see, I'm sure we'll have our answers in the coming issues.

But here's a thought. How do you reckon TMNT would turn out if the rights were handed over to Marvel?

RG1701 · I'm kind of a big deal Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 187

I pointed out alot of these confusing elements in the first post, so I can see your concerns.

However, I say we don't jump to conclusions. We still don't know quite what's happening.

Currently, I expect the Turtles used to be human teens, which I would enjoy. It would open so much story potential.

However, I could be wrong. All our speculations could be wrong. Let's wait until we see the rest of the origins before we start posting ideas as facts.

fawaz · Private Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Posts: 6

When is the next issue out?

Venom · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:56 pm Post subject:

Around the 21st of next month. That's four weeks from the 24th.
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bassbot · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:35 pm Post subject:

reading through this thread has given me quite a buzz about the comic, next time i'm in my store i'll be sure to grab it and check it out. a new turtles origin mystery is the main thing that is interesting me at the moment.
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Dank · I'm kind of a big deal Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 179

Torpedo · Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:53 pm Post subject:

Venom · Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:41 pm Post subject:

For the person who chose "No", would you care to share what it was you disliked about the issue?
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DeeMG · Private Joined: 26 Aug 2011 Posts: 3

Thorneyeagle · Slayer Joined: 07 Apr 2011 Posts: 76

I umderstand a lot of your concerns with age and martial arts/japanese background through homato yoshi. However, I believe somekne had mentioned the idea that splinter was already a pet of yoshi prior to the lab.

Unlikely considering no mention of shredder is expected. It is possible that yoshi was mysteriousky killed, splinter broke loose and bumoed into old hob. Granted we would all knowit was shredder so mystery would be thin.

Another idea, one I do not prefer is april is a friend of yoshi. When the turtles and splinter escape they could be housed there. Problem is that removes splinter as fatherly figure.

I chuckle with a possibly renet time fix. Again probably not the course of action.

One last idea then I will stop rattling off things. There is a chance, splinter takes night excursions out to the alleys where yoshi resides. Learning from him during the time the turtles are infants. Then after mutation he is but a reference or again mysteriously killed off later.

Okay enough from me, possibly even repeat thoughts. This is a very fixable tning though.