“We’re looking for a few good mutants!”
Even though an on-site convention has been scrapped for this year, July is around the time that 2021 San Diego Comic-Con would be taking place, but just because there is no physical convention this year, doesn't mean there aren't physical reveals, and it doesn't seem to have slowed NECA any from burning the midnight oil toward cranking out new TMNT reveals left and right.
Back in April, we were just treated to three Friday's worth of new reveals and pre-orders, and NECA notes that despite the jaw-dropping surprises so far, there were still more to come.
A few weeks ago, we were given another tease in the form of an animated image of Channel 6 with a small cat in the foreground, which has led many to excitement and speculation as to what this could be. We at SpeekyGeeky pointed out in the last episode that Irma was teased with the Pizza Mutant reveal, so this could very well be an additional tease toward finally getting a fuller reveal of who Irma will be paired with.
This could also be an early tease toward getting a channel 6 diorama, channel 6 van, or perhaps even other characters surrounding that setting like Burne Thompson or world-building characters like a camera-man or boom operator, but one of the most recurring comments we have seen, which we also believe has a good deal of merit to, was the tease of the cat at the foreground and a hint that this might mean Cat Mutation April is coming and that she might be the logical pairing to perhaps standard looking Irma, or even Moth Mutation Irma.
Any of these possibilities would of course be exciting and welcome news, but this last possibility would be especially exciting in that Cat mutation April is a version many long-time fans have been clamoring about for quite some time. Our biggest hope is that if indeed this is who is being teased that NECA is able to successfully meet the fan demand as well.
For those just tuning in, we also think you'll really enjoy parts 1-3 of this series which should be linked to the bottom of this article. For a quick recap of all SpeekyGeeky's picks, you may also want to head over to our Youtube channel and dive into part 3's "Reptile Rewind" conveniently chaptered in that episode's description, or click on any of the links directly below as well.
In this multi-part series of articles, Mr. Geek-E reveals the Top 38 NECA Classic Cartoon Figures that we hope to see in 2021, starting with 2021’s fourth wave of figures. A quick recap for our first 18 selects (three of which, Ace Duck, Scrag & Irma have been revealed to be coming out shortly):
SpeekyGeeky's Wave 1 Picks
We imagine you’ll have some characters that top your list too, so feel free to join the discussion in the comments below.
Our Hope For 2021 NECA TMNT Wave 4:
Yes, Tokka AND Rahzar did indeed appear in the animated cartoon series, if only for one episode in season 7 called “Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter”, and their looks and personalities couldn’t have been more different than their film representation. Well ok, maybe Tokka was a bit similar to his film version in terms of appearance, but both he and Rahzar could and did engage in somewhat intelligent banter in between stuffing their respective faces due to their insatiable appetites.
In the film, the characters were newly born mutants that had the mutation process sped up, so they still remained intellectually infantile, but in the cartoon, it is referenced that they mutated when Shredder released mutagen at the zoo...but seeing as Shredder wasn’t always the most creative, this could have been one of multiple attempts ...so either Tokka and Rahzar are as old as Bebop and Rocksteady, or newer mutants the same relative age of Groundchuck and Dirtbag.
Another thing to note about the episode itself, it was always one of our favorites because of how mutant heavy it was. In addition to Tokka and Rahzar making their singular appearance, we also were reunited with the Punk frog’s, Mondo Gecko, and a handful of additional one-time-only mutant characters who Dirk was hunting. These additional mutants of a Ram, a Stork, a Giraffe, and a canary weren’t given names, but they were still fun to see. As seems to be a recurring theme with these videos, we’ll leave off with giving a sly nod to NECA that it be kind of fun to bring in some of these additional unnamed mutants who graced the series if only for a brief moment as a way to army build toward fleshing out this plastic mythos as much as possible.
#3. CARTER
Carter may have been introduced late into the game with the animated series (the last 2 seasons to be precise), but his role was a pretty crucial one. Aside from April, Carter was arguably one of the most important humans in the Turtles orbit and, as a student of master Splinter, he is also one of the few humans that was even allowed within the Turtle's regular orbit. In 80's April fashion, Carter had a personality that saw him jumping toward the action rather than shying away from it, and much like April being around the Turtles, it wasn't long before Carter found himself on the receiving end of some Mutagen. Unlike April however and her various temporary mutations, Carter's Mutation becomes somewhat long-term, spanning most of season 9 and some of season 10.
Though we suspect we'll see both versions of carter in the line, we expect his classic human appearance will turn up well before we get what is likely to be an oversized mutant form version of him at a later point.
#4. DOOMQUEST
An alien warlord from "The Dark Realm", Doomquest proved to be quite the formidable foe to the Turtles. Though he only showed up near the final few episodes of the series, his presence was impactful and had he not partially been thwarted by the Turtles nemesis Lord Dregg, Doomquest may well have succeeded in breaking down the boundaries between his world and ours, effectively merging the two and conquering Earth in the process.
Doomquest was physically imposing with his almost Emporer Palpatine-Esque laser-firing finger, he gave both the second mutation Turtles and Lord Dregg a run for their money in his attempt at merging our realities. Had the series continued out further seasons, we have a feeling we may have seen Doomquest again because he and his forces are thrust back to "The Dark Realm" (which honestly felt a little bit like Fantastic Four's "Negative Zone" or Superman's "Phantom Zone") and there was likely more stories to be told that explored that realm a bit further.
In a perfect scenario, Doomquest would come with the Vortex Crystal and come as a two-pack with his loyal minion Draconus (who looked quite a bit like if Krang sired an offspring with Bugs Bunny). Though, because of Doomquest's imposing stature, we could also very easily see him being released as an oversized with his single-serving hover-craft as well.
#5. SHREEKA
Though one wouldn't know it at first glance, Shreeka is actually an alien and betrayed ex-partner to Krang. It's not entirely clear what Shreeka's full array of powers include because they seem to be fairly expansive in the episode "Shreeka's Revenge", but we know it at least consists of telekinesis, creating electrical storms, and shooting fireballs out of thin air...so it's fair to say that she is a pretty decent force to be reckoned with, and all the above would make for excellent accompaniments to come with the eventual figure.
#6. TATTOO
Chaulk this figure up to one of TMNT's weirder characters. One might make the assumption that Tattoo is a sumo wrestler based on his attire and how he generally was portrayed at the beginning of "Planet of the Turtleoids, part 1"... but, at least in the cartoon series, this isn't even remotely true apparently. After a scrap with the Turtles, Tattoo manages to get electrocuted, but instead of dying, he transforms back into his original form...that of a HAMSTER????
Soooo many questions here, but also here is an iconic character from our youth that clearly has a very different story than that of his original toy and Archie comics incarnations, y'know...that of an actual sumo wrestler. If we had to guess, considering this was such a cross-promotional heavy with the Playmates toys heavy episode, there was probably a big push to find a way for Tattoo's toy representation to appear in the episode to create some familiarity to kids once it hit the toy aisles, but there is a big feeling on our end that an ACTUAL mutant hamster in the animated series would have been equally well-received, and at the very least wouldn't have poked weird holes into the dynamics surrounding the steadfast rules of how Mutagen works.
All this said, despite the absurd nature surrounding Tattoo, he is still an awesome-looking character and an easily identifiable one for longtime Turtles fans, and would make an excellent addition to their Fred Wolf roster. A hamster accessory and perhaps another caged animal that Krang & Shredder experimented on within the episode seem naturals to accompany this character, as well as perhaps a removable stomach plate with Tattoo's and one devoid of them so folks can display this fella as they please, fully tatted OR a blank canvas.
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