Thread:The S/@comment-995426-20160813194043

In the few years I've been on this wiki, it's been my understanding that "allies" referred to an overall group of mutual allies. As in, the allied faction, a.k.a. "any one of the various good guys." With members of that faction each having a protagonistic element, they are all each other's allies. This is especially meaningful when stories focus less on one of the four turtles themselves and more on a supporting character, such as Slash (The Meeting of the Mutanimals), April (White Horses), Karai (The Amulet), etc. This is especially common in the various comics, where characters can be more of an ensemble and the story's focus and character development can be passed around.

And if the four turtles can't be considered "allies," then it would seem to be that neither could April O'Neil, nor Casey Jones, nor Splinter, nor Shadow Jones, but then we ask ourselves "where do we draw the line?" When the very importance of characters themselves can ebb and flow, and when they seem more "main" sometimes and more "marginal" at others, the very distinction starts seeming arbitrary. If one were to say Splinter or April can't be considered main characters, then it can spark a pointless avoidable debate.

It is simpler just to see "allies" as the overall group of each other's allies, including the central protagonists. Any other definition seems unnecessarily arbitrary and idiosyncratic. 