Venus de Milo | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Saban Entertainment Mirage Studios IDW Publishing |
First appearance | Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation "East Meets West (September 1997)" |
First comic appearance | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #127 (March 2022) |
Created by | Kevin Eastman Dan Clark |
Voiced by | Lalainia Lindbjerg |
In-story information | |
Full name | Mei Pieh Chi ( The Next Mutation ) Bonnie (originally) (IDW comics) |
Species | Mutant turtle ( The Next Mutation ) Human-born mutant frog (formerly), Patchwork mutant "turtle" (IDW comics) |
Team affiliations |
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Partnerships |
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Abilities | Apprentice shinobi and shaman Experienced fighter |
Venus de Milo (often shortened to simply Venus, and later known as Bonnie) is a fictional superheroine within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. [1] She first appeared in the television series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation . There, she was portrayed by Nicole Parker and voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg. She was the only female turtle prior to the introduction of Jennika in the IDW continuity in 2015, [2] and Lita the following year. [3] Venus is currently the only turtle named after a work of art, rather than an artist like the rest of the turtles.
Venus was one of five turtles exposed to mutagen in the sewers. When Splinter gathered up all the turtles, he mistakenly left Venus behind. Somehow making her way to Chinatown, she was discovered by a shinobi magician called Chung I. Chung I took the turtle with him to China where he raised her as a daughter and named her Mei Pieh Chi. He also trained the turtle in the art of Shinobi.
Apparently, Chung I would, on occasion, travel to the realm of dreams and encounter Splinter. Each swapped stories of their turtles, choosing to keep them a secret until the time was right. In his possession, Chung I also had a glass mirror, within which were trapped humanoid Dragons. It was Chung I's purpose to make sure the Dragons would never escape the mirror. The Dragons eventually crossed over into the realm of dreams, attacking Chung I and kidnapping Splinter's spirit. On his deathbed, Chung I revealed to Venus her true origin and told her place was in New York.
Venus traveled to New York, where she encountered the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles watching over the spiritless body of their master. After helping the turtles put an end to Shredder and the Foot Clan, she led them on a dream walk to rescue their master's spirit. Unbeknownst to her, the Dragons used this opportunity to enter the physical world.
To celebrate their seeming victory, the five turtles and Splinter went for a picnic in the park but were attacked by the Dragons. In the struggle, a statue of a woman was damaged when its arms broke off. Upon winning the battle, Mei Pieh Chi took the statue with her to the lair. This earned her the nickname of Venus de Milo after the famous statue, mimicking the other Turtles' artist namesakes.
Venus seemed to have lived a sheltered life in China. Over the course of the series, Venus was portrayed as blissfully ignorant of some parts of western life and culture and, at times, equally naïve towards life in general. While proficient in fighting techniques, Venus was not trained in Ninjutsu like her brothers and thus, she would often use mystical orbs in battle (to various degrees of success).
It was established early on in the series that, while the four turtles were raised as brothers, none of them (including Venus) were biologically related. This was done by the writers so as not to eliminate the possibility of a romantic relationship between Venus and one of the four male turtles, with hints leading primarily to Raphael and Leonardo.
After the cancellation of the show, an informal "second season" was formed on the franchise's official website, consisting of letters "written by" each of the turtles (the site has since been removed because of the sale to Viacom). [4] A letter dated October 1997 and called "Venus' Venerations" was added to the website, chronicling Venus' adventures alongside the turtles.
After co-creator Kevin Eastman sold his share of the property to Peter Laird, "Venus' Venerations" was discontinued and Venus' letters were removed from the site. The rest of the Turtles' letters, however, remained and no explanation was given for Venus' sudden disappearance. It is likely, given Laird's views on Venus, that these were removed as per his request.
In the Image Comics series, writer Gary Carlson received only a few rules on what not to do, one of which being: "No female turtles." [5] Venus was, however, parodied in the twelfth issue of the third volume, when an alien named Lurch transformed into a female turtle looking very similar to Venus. [6] Some issues were even advertised with the slogan: "No girl turtle guaranteed." [7]
A new version of Venus was released in the IDW Comics continuity with Issue #127 on March 30, 2022. [8] This incarnation started as a Frankenstein-like creature created by the mad mutant surgeon Doctor Jasper Barlow from the remains of a female Punk Frog named Bonnie. She has a deep connection with Donatello. After escaping Barlow's lab, she leaves both Donatello and her former Punk Frog friend, Clyde, as she knew nothing of her past life and knew she'd meet Donatello again. Eventually she meets a mutant shark; Bludgeon who had sensed her powers and wanted to help.
Over time, Venus begins to rebuild herself with her abilities. And after being transported to a possible future unintentionally by Donatello along with Bludgeon, she sees the future "whole" version of herself moments before Armaggon arrived to consume them all. Venus tried to save her future self, who used her mystical abilities to restore her memories of her past and passed on her own knowledge before being consumed. Venus also became physically whole in the process, fully a turtle and resembling her future self.
Later, when Donatello attempts to stop Armaggon, whom he had unwittingly unleashed in the first place, from eliminating the Turtles from the timestream, Venus accompanies him into the past and the future. After a turbulent journey and encounters with their past and future selves, they realize that Armaggon's creation and rampage is an inevitable aspect of the Turtles' reincarnation from their human selves in feudal Japan to their present mutant forms. In order to close this circle, Venus sacrifices her life to Armaggon in Donatello's place; her spirit later briefly returns to the mortal world in the past to infuse the then-unmutated Turtles and Splinter with the quantum-temporal impressions (called "quantumnucleid acid") their existence has left in the timestream, thus triggering their rebirth. Telling them that she will see them "one day soon", she joins the spirits of Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen. [9]
Original Turtles creator Peter Laird has called the idea of a fifth turtle "creatively bankrupt". [10] During an interview, Kevin Munroe, director of the TMNT animated film, elaborated on Peter Laird's instructions saying that, "There's absolutely no mention of Venus de Milo, the female Turtle. You can't even joke about that with Peter. It's just one of those things that he hates with a passion." [11] [12]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. The franchise encompasses printed media, television series', feature films, video games, and merchandise.
Donatello, nicknamed Donnie, is a superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. He is the smartest and often gentlest of his brothers, wearing a purple mask over his eyes. He wields a bō staff, his primary signature weapon in all media.
The Shredder is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The character debuted in the Mirage Studios comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, and has since endured as the archenemy of the turtles and their master Splinter.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Lloyd Goldfine and based on the characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The series premiered on February 8, 2003, as part of Fox's FoxBox programming block and ended on February 28, 2009.
April O'Neil is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Directed by Michael Pressman and written by Todd W. Langen, it is the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and the second installment in the original Turtles film trilogy. It stars Paige Turco and David Warner, with the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Adam Carl, and Laurie Faso. Resuming from the events of the first film, the Shredder returns at command of the Foot Clan for revenge on the Turtles. When he learns the secret behind the Turtles' mutation, he becomes more dangerous than ever. The film reveals the origins of Splinter and the Turtles and introduces two new villains, Tokka and Rahzar. Unlike the first film, the Turtles mostly fight bare-fisted, to tone down the violence.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Written and directed by Stuart Gillard, it is the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), and the third installment in the original Turtles film trilogy. It stars Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Vivian Wu, Sab Shimono, and Stuart Wilson with the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Corey Feldman, and Tim Kelleher. The plot revolves around the "Sacred Sands of Time", a mystical scepter which transports the Turtles and April back in time to feudal Japan, where they become embroiled in a conflict between a daimyō and a group of rebellious villagers.
The Foot Clan is a fictional ninja clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media and are the main antagonists. It is led by the devious Shredder and his second in command Karai. The Foot Clan was originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan The Hand in the Daredevil comics published by Marvel Comics. In addition to the obvious similarity in their names, both clans originate from Feudal Japan, practice ninjutsu and black magic, and are now powerful global organized crime rings who are familiar with multiple illegal activities such as drug smuggling, counterfeiting of money, gunrunning, murder, assassination, computer hacking, theft, and terrorism.
Arnold Bernid "Casey" Jones is a fictional character that appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and related media. Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, he first appeared in the one-shot, Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Like the turtles, Casey Jones is a vigilante, and was created as a parody of vigilante characters that were popular in comics at the time. Casey usually has long dark hair, wears an ice hockey mask and cut-off biking gloves, and carries his weapons in a golf bag over his shoulder.
Karai is a fictional supporting character appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and related media. She is usually a high-rank member of the Foot Clan outlaw ninja organization. She was introduced in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's comic book series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1992. Since then, she has appeared in several different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, television series, films, and video games. She is depicted as Shredder's second-in-command or adopted daughter in most versions and shares a rivalry with Leonardo and is at times considered his love interest. In one version of the comics, she is the granddaughter of the immortal Shredder, while in the 2012 series, she is Hamato Miwa, the only child of Hamato "Splinter" Yoshi and the late Tang Shen.
TMNT is a 2007 animated superhero film written and directed by Kevin Munroe in his feature directorial debut and based on the characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The first animated film in the franchise, it features the voices of James Arnold Taylor, Nolan North, Mitchell Whitfield, Mikey Kelly, Mako, Chris Evans, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, with narration by Laurence Fishburne. In the film, after having grown apart following the final defeat of their arch-enemy, the Shredder, the four Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo are set to reunite and overcome their faults to save the world from evil ancient creatures.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is an American television series produced by Saban Entertainment. It is the first and only live-action television series in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It ran on the Fox Kids network from 1997 to 1998.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures is an American comic book series that was published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics. The series, which was aimed at a younger audience than other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics at the time, ran for 72 issues. In addition, there were numerous annuals, specials, and miniseries.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a comic book series that was published by Mirage Studios between 1984 and 2014. Conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it was intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series. The comic created the Turtles franchise of five television series, seven feature films, numerous video games, and a range of toys and merchandise.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an ongoing American comic book series published by IDW Publishing. Debuting in August 2011, the series is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and was the first new comic incarnation of the Turtles to debut after the franchise's sale to Nickelodeon in October 2009. It is the fifth comic book series in the franchise's publication history and serves as a reboot of the franchise's story and characters, including those originating in media from outside the original Mirage comics.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Sternin, and Jennifer Ventimilia for Nickelodeon, based on the characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The series begins with the Turtles emerging from their sewer home for the first time, using their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in present-day New York City. The series ran in the United States from September 28, 2012, to November 12, 2017.
Jennika, also known as Jenn or Jenny, is a superheroine appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics published by IDW Publishing. She was introduced in issue #51 of the first IDW Publishing comic book series in 2015, and was developed by Tom Waltz and franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman. She was designed by series artist and writer Sophie Campbell. Jennika is the second female mutant turtle character in the franchise's history, after Venus and preceding Lita the year after her mutant form first appeared.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is a five-issue comic book miniseries published by IDW Publishing. The series is written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, based on a story by Eastman and Peter Laird, and drawn by Esau and Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Eastman. The story follows characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in an alternative future, wherein the last remaining turtle seeks to avenge the death of his brothers by killing the grandson of one of the Turtles' arch-enemies, the Shredder. Despite being published by IDW, it is unconnected to the IDW series' continuity and is set in its own universe, dubbed the "Roninverse".