The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Need To Grow Up
We all know that being a teenager is vital to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ identity—it’s right there in the name. What this article presupposes is that maybe it isn’t. I know it sounds sacrilegious, but hear me out: what if the TMNT grew up and became simply the Ninja Turtles?
Ninja Turtles Says Everything
Let’s be honest. That’s what you and I call them most of the time anyway. Who can be bothered to say “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” every time they bring up the Heroes in a Half Shell? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Ok, you got me. The name change wouldn’t strictly be for the sake of brevity. I’m talking more about stories featuring grown-up Turtles.
The Last Ronin
After all, look at how popular The Last Ronin has been. The first real “adult” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story features a mid-30s turtle. The mini-series proved to be so popular it spawned two sequels, an upcoming video game, and a planned live-action film.
It’s safe to say there is a market for adult Ninja Turtles. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle content for children. I’m simply pointing out that two generations of TMNT fans have aged into adulthood. There’s no reason not to produce age-appropriate Ninja Turtle content targeted at them.
Different Versions For Different Age Groups
Every good comic book franchise does it. Batman has appeared in PG movies and R-rated movies. Whenever there’s a film like The Batman for more mature audiences, DC makes sure that there’s still a cartoon-like Batwheels for kids to enjoy. We adult fans deserve something similar regarding the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
And I don’t just mean the TMNT equivalent of The Dark Knight Returns. The Last Ronin is great as a hypothetical dystopian future for the characters. Still, considering it begins with three Turtles already dead, I’d hardly call it the ideal examination of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as adults. We need an ongoing comic or Television series featuring grown-up Turtles.
The Original Comics
It’s not like the whole teenage thing is really that important to the characters. It actually started out as a joke. The Teenage Mutant portion of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was making fun of the mutant teens in Marvel’s New Mutants.
Go back and read some of the original Mirage comics, and you’ll quickly discover that the Turtles don’t act like Teenagers in the slightest.
Team Names Change Over Time
There’s even precedent for the name change. Several incarnations of DC’s Teen Titans superteam simply go by the name Titans. I’ll give you three guesses as to why, and the first two don’t count. When you really think about it, Viacom is making mature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content featuring adult Turtles, which makes a lot of sense.
Cut Loose With Their Weapons
After all, Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael carry deadly weapons. They should get to use them to their full capacity. A writer can only come up with so many reasons for someone wielding dual katanas to use them in a non-lethal way. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deserve to spill a little blood now and then.
And swearing? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be on board for Mikey leaping into battle shouting “Cowa-F***ing-Bunga!” I’m picturing it right now with a big stupid grin on my face.
More Turtles On The Way
As of right now, Viacom seems to be concentrating all its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle energy on the Mutant Mayhem franchise and The Last Ronin spinoffs. My fingers are crossed that if the latter is successful, the company might consider more adult Ninja Turtle content. I still want my R-rated Casey Jones solo movie.
