Turtles Forever: The End of an Era

Just a friendly reminder: Turtles Forever, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles anniversary animated movie featuring different versions of the fab four teaming together will air tomorrow, November 21st, at 10am on CW-4Kids. Here is a little preview:

This well and truly marks the end of an era, as Peter Laird has sold off the TMNT property to Nickelodeon. While Mirage Studios retains a limited right to continue to make the Turtles comics within the original continuity, it seems that Laird has no current plans of exercising that right, thus leaving a conclusion to the original Mirage Turtles series in a perpetual limbo.

In addition, the conclusion to the 70+ issue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic (which was published by Archie Comics back in its day and does not count in the above Mirage clause) titled The Forever War has officially been canceled. It was supposed to come out at the end of the series’ run back in the 90’s, but the book was axed before it came to fruition, despite previews and work being done for it. There was further talk of it coming out, and then more talk for the 25th anniversary of the franchise. And it never came, leaving us with a further lack of closure.

So, the 80’s Murakami Wolf Swenson/Fred Wolf Films cartoon ended in 1996. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ended in 1995. The Next Mutation ended the same season it began. And in 2009, the 2003 4Kids animated series while the Mirage comic’s writing is on the wall, coming to its end in May 2010.

In essence, with the possible exception of the movies (a new live-action film is slated to arrive in 2012), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as we know them are over. Finished.

Mind, this is not a pessimistic outlook or anything. Nickelodeon may very well do a bang-up job with the franchise and the new computer-generated series they have in the works. But it seems that the days of the Turtles we’ve known for the past 25 years are over, and Turtles Forever may not only act as the apex of those 25 years for many a fan, but also something of an epitaph as we are left to decide whether or not we continue to follow the franchise forward and face whatever may come, or decide to put it to rest in our hearts with all that has come before.

Whatever happens, for better or for worse, I don’t believe things will ever be the same again. Here’s hoping that all we once knew will go out on a high note.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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