Cowabunga, dudes!

[El Chuxter]

JT--
Archie published a mini-series and then a regular series entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures during the Turtles' heyday. It was toned down for kids (with Krang and the multi-colored headbands), but still quite enjoyable--and not entirely in the brainless way the TV cartoon was enjoyable.

[JediCole]

Right you are, Jedi Tricks, Archie Comics did in fact publish a TMNT comic, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures". Archie Comics' version was published simultaneously with Mirage's standard (original) Turtles comic, but Archie took on the TMNT cartoon Turtles ("Adventures" had become the standard term for any comic based on an animated series, i.e.; "Batman Adventures" based on his animated series). This allowed the Turtles to reach two different audiences without Mirage having to sacrifice the integrity of the original by publishing companion versions. Also the wholesome Archie Comics imprint avoided confusion on the part of parents buying the book for thier children. Esentially there were two Turtles "universes" out there, the original, dark and dirty, black & white independant comic version and the bright, colorful cartoon version that came back to its origins through the venue of Archie Comics.
Hope that helps.

[GNT]

Originally posted by El Chuxter
GNT, did you know that the Shredder appeared in only two stories of the original series? He died in his first appearance, and a clone returned a couple of years later. But he became the dominant baddie in the cartoon (except for a completely wrong version of the TCRI aliens that they dubbed Krang), and he's the closest thing to an archfoe the Turtles ever had in the comics.

I know he appeared in the first two movies. In the first one he fell off the building and into that machine (?) and are you saying that for the 2nd movie he was a clone or did somehow he survived after falling into that machine?

Why didn't they have Bebop and Rocksteady in any of the films?

Its been so long since I've seen them and thank god that it'll be a new start

[JediTricks]

Originally posted by JediCole
who isn't pumped about seeing Cloony's Batman play against Superman in the same movie!

Me. I thought George Clooney was the worst of all Batman actors in the past 50 years (thus discounting the 1940s serial actor).


I didn't know about the Archie ones running at the same time as the Mirage ones, in some of the Archie Digests from the late '90s, they have ads for new TMNT comics, so I thought they came afterwards.

[JediCole]

JediTricks,
I have bad news for you. George Cloony is under contract for not one but two more Batman films. World's Finest being the first.

For my money, in costume, George Cloony looks more like Batman than Batman himself! Plus, you may be judging Cloony by virtue of the dreadful film that marked his entry into the franchise. A poor and convoluted story, an almost cartoon fantasy approach, and terrible directing all around led to the demise of "Batman & Robin" and almost the entire Batman franchise. Tim Burton is the kind of director one can let loose on all aspects of the production,
Shoemaker proved that he is most certainly not.

GNT,
El Chuxter is suggesting nothing about the Shredder in the movies, but is merely pointing out that, like so many comic characters that wind up capturing the imagination of filmmakers who adapt them, appeared in only two issues of the comic. His point? Shredder, in the comics, was not exactly what you would call one of the major focal points of the series. Yet he was tapped as the primary villain for the cartoon and the films. Who knows under what circumstances Shredder reappers in the second film, having not seen it myself, I hesitate to speculate.

As for Bebop and Rock Steady not appearing in the films, I would suspect it is a matter of licensing. This is where things get a little tricky in the tangled web of legal matters. Mirage Studios, Eastman and Laird own the TMNT license lock, stock and barrel. However, when they sold the cartoon production rights to Surge (I believe that was the company) Marketing, the production company owned the right to use any existing characters at that point for the cartoon (i.e.; the four turtles, Splinter, Shredder, Casey Jones, etc.) and could supplement them with characters of thier own creation (i.e.; Krang, Bebob, Rock Steady, Baxter Stockman, etc.). When Playmates licensed the property for the master toy license, they bought the rights to Surge Marketing's catalog of characters and often cross licensed with other independant comics studios for thier characters to supplement the line (i.e.; Usagi Yojimbo, Panda Khan, etc.). Now, when it came time to make a feature film, it appears that the studio took the cheaper route of licensing the catalog of Mirage Studios owned characters, thereby having access to the aforementioned characters and April O'Neil. It appears that the visual reference colored masks were the only convention "borrowed" from the cartoon, but since they did not purchase the rights to the cartoon characters, the beast-man henchmen were shut out of the production.

[JediTricks]

Granted, Schumacher is a terrible human being for making "Batman & Robin" such a horrendous film, but Clooney was totally wooden in the Bat-costume and totally... well, CLOONEY when he was being Bruce Wayne. I didn't feel ANY of that charisma that Michael Keaton brought to the role in 1989, no charming, humorous playboy facade hiding a core of deep-rooted pain, anger, and seething for vengence, all I saw with Clooney was his standard performance without any undertone whatsoever. As for his look, it's my opinion that Val Kilmer had a much better Bruce Wayne look, and every actor who's worn the cowl since '89 has looked just lost in latex. And not that this is a newsflash, but Clooney ain't getting any younger, and he was the oldest-looking actor to play the part since season 3 of the TV show. Plus, do you really think audiences will flock back to the actor who played the lead in the WORST BATMAN MOVIE EVER? I don't even think Warner Brothers is that stupid, though the very production of "Batman & Robin" should tell me otherwise.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Uh, I still don't know the name of the robot. Is it Gizmo? That sounds about right. I think it was from an outer space issue. He had a one-shot issue, too, right?

[El Chuxter]

Originally posted by Bel-Cam Jos
Uh, I still don't know the name of the robot. Is it Gizmo? That sounds about right. I think it was from an outer space issue. He had a one-shot issue, too, right?

I think you're talking about Fugitoid. I remember him being kinda cool, but don't remember much about him.

JediCole, Baxter Stockman and his Mousers appeared in issue #2 or #3 of the original series (I'm pretty sure it was #2, since it was April's first appearance as well). However, he was absolutely nothing like the fly mutant from the cartoon.

And for the record, Clooney looked the most like Batman of the actors since 1989, but Keaton did a better job (partly because his movies had better scripts and direction). Also, I have no idea how he looks, but (if he looks as Batmanish as he sounds), Kevin Conroy, the voice from the Animated Series, should be the next Batman.

[Fulit]

Hmm, if they do make a new one, I wonder what crappy, flash-in-the-pan, B.S. rap "artist" they'll have do the soundtrack and appear in the film.

[JediTricks]

No accounting for bat-taste, eh Chux? I'll just chalk that one up to "personal tastes" for ya.

Kevin Conroy actually does have a good look for Batman, IIRC, but more like the late-80s comics style of Batman, not the '90s cartoon one(s). He's already getting pretty old in hollywood terms (46) to play the Bat, and Warner seems to want a big name as the character in any film.