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Few franchises become beloved the way theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtleshas. The superheroes captured the audience’s attention from their first appearance in 1984 and haven’t looked back. While one might think that there’s nothing controversial about a bunch of ninja turtles living in the sewer with their rat master, there’s one issue that has gripped social media afterTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemreleased their first look at April O’Neil. Fans of the original cartoon took to various social platforms to announce their displeasure at another white character turned black. But is the outrage true or faux-manufactured?
The Original April O’Neil OfTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the co-creators ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,introduced the character of April O’Neil in 1984 in issue 2 of their black-and-white comics. Back then, it was impossible to discern the ethnicity of the woman due to the lack of colors on the page. However, her black curly hair and white skin hinted at her being mixed race. When the cover ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesissue 11 was released, that theory was confirmed. Later, Eastman revealed that O’Neil’s character was based on April Fisher (his then-girlfriend and later ex-wife), who was a mixed-race woman.
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The first shouts of whitewashing arose when issues 1 to 11 were reprinted in color and O’Neil was depicted as a white woman sporting red hair. Fast forward to 1986, Eastman and Laird signed deals with Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Productions and Playmates Toys. The latter would make their 2D characters into 3D, and the former would make a cartoon calledTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In 1987, that show debuted, and O’Neil was depicted as a Caucasian red-headed woman. This version didn’t change for 32 years till now when the character is visibly Black in the upcoming animatedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemseries. With such a tumultuous history, which version is right?
Read More:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 12 Earth-Shattering Facts
Which Version Of April O’Neil Is The Correct One?
InTMNT:Autobiography(2002), Eastman explained that rather than being a case of malicious whitewashing, it was mostly a case of miscommunication. The co-creator explained that Laird had created April O’Neil to be white, while he had based her on his ex-girlfriend. Laird too talked about the issue and explained that for him it’s simply a case of who gets asked about the character.
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As per the co-creator:
“It depends on which co-creator of the TMNT you ask. If you ask me, I always saw April O’Neil as white. If you ask Kevin, I suspect he would say – as he has in a number of interviews – that she was of mixed race, much like his former girlfriend April.”
This explains why there are such wide discrepancies in April O’Neil’s appearance in various TMNT media. As such, the character now being portrayed as Black isn’t too great a leap. After all, in her earliest appearance in the comic book, the character was of mixed race. So it’s perfectly in line for the upcoming show to portray her as leaning heavily towards her Black heritage and give a marginalized community the exposure they deserve in popular media.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemwill be released on 23 August 2025.
Ishita Chatterjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :750
Ishita is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 700 articles published. She has been working in the entertainment and pop-culture niche for more than 4 years. With a English Literature degree, Ishita generally covers news and analyses on Foundation, Ted Lasso, Severance, and more.A lifelong DC fan, Ishita spends her time watching and re-watching everything in the DC universe (yes, even including the Arrowverse shows).
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April O’NeilTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
