–>> NEWTRALZER introduced late in the first season of the Nick TMNT has been gaining much fan attention as of the past few months. **Animation information from NICK only graze the surface of a little more complex situation in bringing this character to the screen.
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As you may or may not know THE ORIGINAL NEWTRALIZER was a rejected 1990 TMNT toy concept PLAYMATES threw back at Mirage’s Main-ZANY MAN ; RYAN BROWN. Here’s Ryan’s original character premise for the RUDE-NEWT ::
“Amphibious ally of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Newtralizer is judge, jury, and executioner for any criminal that crosses his path.
Unable to undergo regeneration due to a messed-up mutation process, Donatello has fitted him with robotic limbs.
With these new, artificial appendages and an arsenal of wacky weapons, this salamandroid sheriff fights a never-ending battle against the criminal Krang Korporation of Dimension X and helps to serve and protect the turtle’s sewer home!.. .. Playmates would show up at the studio they usually brought along a list of popular characters and concepts that they wanted to exploit as TMNT figures.
“Judge Dredd type character” was on the list. Newtralizer was my response.
It could be argued that Nick’s Newt is an entirely separate character. This rejected design concept would later be remixed, re-imagined, and reintroduced with elements based off Ciro Nieli’s iluustrations from when he was younger, drawing very similar character ideas when he was a kid. Nick’s TMNT animation crew had at it. NEWTRALIZER appears for the first time as a Kraang eating threat & slightly enigmatic enforcer as you see in Donatello’s big JAIL BREAK as he and the Teens rescue April’s Dad from the KRAANG’S big underground prison.
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As you also prolly know, FINALLY ..very soon, Newty is getting his own toy. So This isn’t a about just some character that popped up out of nowhere or because it was a rehash of a throw-away character or what have you.
No, Newtralizer is a very SPECIAL character and the the combination & amalgamation of creative forces & ideas lead by the imaginations of two very important people within’ the TMNT-pantheon. Not just a rejected idea or some school boy’s school day scribblings. He’s a special idea and character that’s been in the making for well over 20 years by two very mutually creative minds who as it turns out, those individual artists are very fond & respectful of eachother’s work.
Cool, huh !!
~ t