The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been entertaining us for 40 years...but did you know that they were intended to be attached to the Marvel universe? In this video we talk about the surprising Marvel origins to the Ninja Turtles, connections to dareedevil, and how these two universe scan cross over with each other very soon.
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Written by Jack Piccone @jackienobrakes
Hosted by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
Edited by Lee Mazzio, Sofien Dami, and Andrew Finkenstaedt
#NinjaTurtles #Marvel #tmnt
This summer we’re getting a big Hollywood movie about a team of superheroes that first got their start in comic books. Usually that means something from DC or Marvel, but this time, it’s neither. I’m talking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, whose new animated movie “Mutant Mayhem” is being produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the guys behind Preacher, The Boys, and The Green Hornet, and Your Mom. [CLIP: Seth Rogen laugh]
Even if you’re not an expert on the Ninja Turtles, you probably had some idea that they originated as a comic book. Maybe you even knew it was an independent comic book. But did you know that Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo, also owe a lot of their origin story to MARVEL comics? In fact, their entire backstory ties in directly with a major Marvel character, one that ALSO has a high-profile project coming out soon.
I’m going to break down the early inspiration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, how their origin story relates to the Marvel universe, and how these heroes in a half-shell could even show up in the MCU…. maybe even sooner than you think. But first, let's go all the way back to the beginning. [CLIP: Turtles in Time]
The Ninja Turtles first debuted in 1984 as a self-published, black-and-white comic book by a young artist named Kevin Eastman and his friend Peter Laird. It was an instant hit for Eastman and Laird, and their independent comic book publisher, Mirage Studios.
Just three years later, the first animated series for the Turtles was created by Playmates to help sell action figures they’d bought the rights to. Three years after that, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles already had two video games AND a live-action film - the highest-grossing independent movie of all time at that point. They also had the hearts-and-minds of an entire generation of kids, despite the comics having a darker, more mature tone. [CLIP: “Darkness, No Parents”]
Eventually the Ninja Turtles franchise would spawn countless comics and crossovers, four more television series, five more films (including two produced by Michael Bay), a comic strip, a few dozen video games, some rap songs, Halloween costumes, and toys after toys after toys.
In fact, the more light-hearted tone we associate with the Ninja Turtles came from toy company Playmates, who wanted to make sure parents would be okay with buying the action figures. They were also the ones who color-coded each Turtles’ uniform.
Eastman and Laird initially had intended for all four turtles to wear red bandanas, and you couldn’t even tell THAT because the original comics were in black-and-white. That wasn’t even an aesthetic choice, it was just cheaper for Eastman and Laird to produce.
Eastman and Laird, who both hail from New England, cite a few inspirations for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Obviously, they were into Japanese martial arts culture. They originally intended to give the turtles Japanese names, but when they couldn’t think of any good ones, they kind of randomly went with Renaissance artists from an art book Laird had lying around.
Doug: I still think Michaelangelo gives off more of a Botticelli vibe.
Ryan: In fact, one of the main comic book inspirations that Eastman and Laird cite is Frank Miller’s Ronin. [CLIP: Ronin]
No, not Faux-Hawk, Faux-Hawkeye Ronin. Frank Miller’s Ronin was for DC, actually. They were also inspired by Cerebus [sic], a Canadian comic that featured anthropomorphic animals, and the New Mutants, Marvel’s X-men spin-off about angsty teenage mutants that were NOT ninjas or turtles. Though, there is a giant bear at one point. [CLIP: Demon Bear]
Doug [singing 1987 theme]: Teenage, Mutant, Demon Be-ar, Teenage, Mutant Demon Be-ar.
Ryan: Well technically the demon bear isn’t one of the New Mutants, but… but that is catchy.
2 авг 2024
