Rocksteady (1987 TV series)

Rocksteady was originally a Caucasian-American human member of a gang of criminals who operated under the Foot, when one of their thefts was interrupted by an attack by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Rocksteady was originally a short and stocky blond Caucasian man (who sported army camouflage pants that would be replaced with simple beige cargo pants later while also occasionally sporting an army helmet on his head in his mutated form). With the other members of his gang, he was sent out to stop a Channel 6 reporter named April O'Neil from doing a report about crime in the city. April ran down into the sewers while being chased by the street gang and met the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who then defeated the gang in a fight. After this humiliating setback, the Shredder developed a plan to defeat the Turtles by mutating members of the street gang, so that they would have abilities parallel to the Turtles'. He and his friend Bebop were voluntarily mutated into evolved animals (though neither was particularly aware of what it would entail) with the promise that it would allow them to exact revenge on the Turtles. Rocksteady become a rhinoceros. However, though the transformation did make them larger and stronger, they remained incompetent and were often inept at stopping the Turtles or carrying out Shredder's plans.

For example, in Enter the Shredder they charged at the Turtles, who jumped, and crashed into each other. Donatello commented that their mutations didn't "up their IQ's any." For most of the series they were employed for important purposes, much to the annoaynce of the Shredder when they eventually fail. However, the Turtles certainly consider them to be formidable (despite their stupidity) in combat due to their great strength and endurance, and as such, often use their intelligence to outwit them rather than fighting them in a straightforward manner. Bebop and Rocksteady's last appearance is in the season 8 finale Turtle Trek. In that episode, the Turtles destroy the Technodrome's engines, trapping it and its inhabitants in Dimension X for good. Bebop and Rocksteady are never seen again after that episode, but Krang and Shredder return during the 10th and last season. Bebop and Rocksteady are presumed to still be somewhere in Dimension X. They made a reappearance in the made-for-TV movie 'Turtles Forever'. In the flashback describing how the Turtles crossed dimensions, they said to their Turtle counterparts that they were facing off against Shredder and the Technodrome, meaning that he got the machine out of Dimension X (as well as Bebop and Rocksteady). Their incompetence is still shown, although it ended up saving the Utrom Shredder when Rocksteady accidentally tripped over and unplugged a laser that was about to destroy him, although Bebop ended up obliterating the Utrom Shredder anyway when he replugged the same laser device all the while thinking he would be pleased that they "fixed" his machine. All this happened just as the Utrom Shredder was unleashing a plan that would wipe out Ninja Turtles of all planes of existence (even if it meant destroying himself since he was still linked to them), so ironically... Bebop saved all of the Turtles in existence.

Related

 * Character Gallery: Rocksteady (1987 TV series)
 * Appearances of Rocksteady (1987 TV series)
 * Fan-Art Gallery: Rocksteady (1987 TV series)