[Mr. Marshmallow]

Baxter's true nature just won't fly with kids though, pardon the pun. The Shredder was even toned down for the films considering I've been told he was down right ruthless in the comics. It all depends on which mainstream they intend on basing it off of.

Baxter's fly form has certainly become his iconic image though. Every turtles game that involves him has him in the fly form. I was never a fan of them making Splinter and Yoshi the same in the first place, but considering Shredder was always depicted as the hated rival of Yoshi or Splinter in any version.

It's kind of disappointing to see him become just an alien. The Shredder always impressed me because he WAS a human. A normal human being who is able to instill such fear and control creatures just as equally dangerous and powerful as the ones he tried to kill, now that is quite impressive.

Being true to the comics though isn't always what its cracked up to be. Because if you follow that same system, April isn't even a real human. I heard the comics said she was just some drawing that crystals brought to life. Nothing ever translates 100% from comic to movie perfectly, and to be honest, I don't want it to either.

There are some things that just work better as comics and some things that should stay there. Change also can be good if handled properly, consider Tim Burton's versions of the Penguin and the Joker, both had large differences from their comic book forms but were absolutely amazing on film.

I know the 87 series was kiddie friendly, I don't doubt that, but it brought in so many characters that the 2003 series I doubt would ever consider using. Plus the fact Shredder is an Utrom kills the whole comic book authenticity right there. I guess to me the alien revelation took away the "reality" in Shredder, aside from April, he's always been the biggest human factor.

Now in regards to April I don't think she lost years I think any animated version of her would look young, no matter how much they tinkered around with it. My guess is that her reporting job failed. She was always getting yelled or getting in trouble as a reporter in all of the movies, and judging by her appearance and general attitude in the 3rd movie, I think she might already been thinking of a new job or possibly just getting out of her old one.

Plus, I think she learned anthropology (or took a basic course) just to help her get a heads up on finding Leo. I also think her current job works for her because she's able to have Casey Jones at her side. It's important for them as a couple, and considering Jones has never had a REAL life to live off of.

Now mock them all you want, but I think that if there are ANY TMNT characters that deserve screen time it's Bebop and Rocksteady. I loved Tokka and Rahzar but I feel Rocksteady and Bebop deserve their place on the big screen, they are classic characters and nothing in this world can ever erase my memory of their use in the cartoon show.

The show may have been kiddish and they may have been as smart as sock puppets, but I feel there as big a part of the turtles universe as anyone else.