Why bother? It's funny. I've been a fan of the Ninja Turtles for fourteen years (as of 2003). Mei Pieh Chi, aka Venus de Milo, was created only six of those years ago (she was introduced in 1997). It was also around that time that I was finally exposed to the original Mirage comics, as well as the Archie and Image comics. Perhaps it was for that reason that I didn't find her 'threatening' to the Turtle mythos, since many of the classic characters I was discovering were as new to me as she was. Donatello was always my favorite. I understood the way he thought, and appreciated his intelligence. However, when Venus came along, I equally identified with her. I admired her wisdom and her spirit. Being female myself, I do tend to identify better with female characters, anyway. So, both Donatello and Venus have a special significance to me. Fortunately, Donatello is accepted by the Mirage Powers that Be. Venus, on the other hand, is another story. I was very disappointed when practically all traces of Venus were eradicated from the official TMNT site. Peter Laird's statement was saddening, when he said, to paraphrase, that they would bring her back over his dead body. I think I understand the problem, despite the fact that there are surely many more characters much worse than she is, spanning all of the various universes. Maybe because she so radically changed the context of the characters he co-created, and I know how wretched you can feel when someone drastically alters a character's set patterns (worse when it's a character you created) for no reason other than to 'try something new' (cyborg Donatello, anyone?!! Okay, no, I won't start on that...J). Perhaps he, and others, dislike her because they associate her with the Saban production, which I think was quite poor (it had its good points, but this is in general). I don't think it's fair to the character to tie her to the show. Yes, it was probably Saban who suggested her initially, but from what I've heard (although, granted, I'm never really sure that what I hear is actual fact), Kevin Eastman came up with many of the ideas for her. I find it rather unusual of Peter Laird to dismiss it all with such vehemence. I find it even sillier to erase all mention of her from the site, as if she was something to be censored. Okay, so don't make new stories with her; that doesn't mean you have to destroy all of the old stories too! (I will really raise an eyebrow, should they start burning the action figures. ;)) Fortunately, for three years, she was given a letters page on the main site, before the aforementioned Venus mediacide (no, don't look up that word, I invented it). Several fans (me included) kept archives of the letters, though, and I have them here. I always thought the letters from the Turtles was a great idea, and a good way to tie the various universes together. The writing of Venus's letters was very well done, and of course, was much more in depth than the shallow Next Mutation show could ever be. It's a shame they were erased. She interacted with Shadow, and April, as well as the Rat King, among others. Anyway, because I like her character so much, I thought I'd try to integrate her into the other various universes, most of which she deserves much more than the Next Mutation series. I'm focusing on the new animated series first, since that's rapidly becoming my favorite incarnation of the mythos. She may not always have a very big part in the lives of the other Turtles, but I still think she deserves a place. If you don't like her, maybe this will change your mind, though I'm not holding my breath. If you don't like my ideas either, please don't flame me. I understand your viewpoint, even if I don't agree with it. Either way, enjoy what you see, or go elsewhere. ;p |
