The Turtles are actually a strong, brotherly quartet and should be able to deal with many problems. However, since they all have different characters and their own strengths and weaknesses, there are always arguments. Not infrequently, this leads to going it alone, which in turn leads to problems. Despite all the turtle power, the boys therefore almost never get along without support. This article is therefore about fathers and friends.
Master Splinter
The Turtles are already a crazy idea: Martial Arts gifted, mutated turtles. But even better is that they are raised and trained by an even more martial arts gifted rat! This father figure has taken care of the little turtles in all incarnations known to me and raised them like sons. Besides general education, karate was of course always on the plan. Splinter himself is a master in various arts of self-defense. His background story has always been varied, so that it is impossible to say in principle who he is exactly. Sometimes he is just a mutated, humanized rat, sometimes he is even the reincarnation of a former Japanese warrior.
Splinter has always fascinated me as a child, even if I sometimes found him exhausting. He has authority and admonishes the Turtles to obey rules. In youthful zeal, however, they repeatedly disregard them and therefore often get into conflicts. His concern for the boys sometimes leads him to do things that get him into trouble himself. In general, I have the impression that the design of Master Splinter sets the tone of the current comic run or film adaptation to some extent. If he is sterner or more somber, then it reflects on the whole relationship of the group. If he’s aged and humorous, then you’ll notice this in the mood as well. For the latter, the very nice variant from the first Turtles movie from 1990 is a good example:
Of course, Master Splinter had to be in my collection. As I did with the Turtles, I went back to the Heroclix figure here and repainted it. I chose the colors of Splinter in the TMNT animated series because that’s exactly how I wanted him to look, although I like the above incarnation in the first movie best.
April O’Neil
Another clever and charming sidekick for the Turtle boys is, of course, April O’Neil. The reporter just belongs and brings a whole lot of necessary grounding to the wacky story. I like that she generally doesn’t fight, but is simply a human being who keeps getting into dicey situations and using her wits to get out of them. However, while she is a cool character in many comics, the 90’s cartoon series or the first movies, I didn’t like her at all in the Michael Bay movies. I don’t know if it was because of Megan Fox or the intentional sexualization. Somehow nothing fit – not even as a reporter did she seem to me like she should be.
Of course April had to be in my collection and I chose a Heroclix figure again. Heroclix has the movie (1990) version and the cartoon version. Although I thought her character was pretty good in the 1990 movie (close to the original comics as well), I went with the cartoon version because nostalgia hit me once again. Her yellow jumpsuit is somewhat iconic and I like her overall look. I also wanted the mini to contrast nicely with the green turtles and purple Foot Clan.
The pose is just right and the design is okay, but the face wasn’t really detailed. In fact, she had no mouth and I had to freehand paint parts of her face. I think it worked well, I’m happy with the result.
Casey Jones
After the recent strengthening of the Foot Clan, it is overdue that the Turtles also gather their allies around them. The first newcomer is a classic character from the early days of the series and has been indispensable ever since: Casey Jones. The rebel, who beats up his opponents with snappy sayings, an ice hockey mask and various sports equipment, has always acted as a human sidekick and a bit of an identification figure. In the past, I couldn’t do anything with him, but that changed when I read the original comics. I’ve become more aware that he brings human problems into the stories. Where the Turtles also deal with family conflicts, but are otherwise not grounded in ordinary everyday life, Casey brings classic motifs of young people: Conflict with parents, searching for one’s place in life, financial woes, fear of the future. Where April O’Neil is smart and charming, Casey brings other strengths and weaknesses, so that the Turtles are complemented by two different, human sidekicks, resulting in interesting stories. In short, Casey had to be in my collection, too.
Casey is again a Heroclix model that I repainted. There is not much to say about him either. The quality is okay (it’s just not a finely cast miniature meant for painting), but the painting worked out pretty neatly. I tried to paint him a bit more contrasty to make him look more comic-like. I think I succeeded quite well.
