Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26516813-20190711012913/@comment-995426-20190729054504

What I'm saying is not only that her portrayal was sexist, but also that she never should have been named Venus de Milo in the first place, because with it already not striking anyone as a realistic personal name in any language, it combines the namesakes of four male artists of skill and one female art subject of looks. If a character with that name existed in isolation, it wouldn't be an issue. But when the symbolism of her name is compared with the symbolism of the other four's names, the implications were always going to be unfortunate: That men are doers, and women are there to look pretty for men. And considering both Venus de Milo's naming and portrayal came from the same show, I don't really think this was an accident&mdash;she was conceived from the top down in a sexist manner, which hinders any rehabilitation of a rebooted version of the character as long as she has that name.

You also mention realism. And while there are certain relatively unrealistic plot devices and living circumstances in any TMNT continuity that are hand-waved or just plain ignored as acceptable breaks from reality, along with some outright fantasy and soft sci-fi elements that strain realism further, I actually do prefer TMNT to be more realistic than not. It resonates with me more when it connects better on the everyday down-to-earth human level, and when the characters themselves aren't always depicted as larger than life, or living up grand lives of improbably achievement or wish fulfillment fantasy. Characters can still be well-trained at fighting, and they can still be someone's hero, but they aren't necessarily going out of their way to save anyone's day&mdash;they're mainly trying to survive to see next year and are doing whatever they can to make that happen. More wuxia, ronin and slice-of-life genres, and much, much less superhero genre. That's why my favorite TMNT continuities tend to be Mirage's and Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden, with IDW maybe being third or fourth. The continuities I truly can't stand are, like, the 1987 TV series, and what the 2012 TV series became in the latter half of its run.

Speaking of more down-to-earth TMNT, that's another reason I liked What is Ninja? It looked into the past and mind of realistic, flawed, vulnerable character who had found an accidental family and found she really wanted to remain part of that family. I think that wish to belong is what drives her character more than just scripted loyalty, as it comfortably explains many of both her good and bad choices. And as we saw in Invasion of the Triceratons and most recently in City at War, Jenny's loyalty hasn't been absolute&mdash;both stories have involved her bending the rules or even being insubordinate when it came to something she cared about and believed in, whether it was freeing Splinter's sons from holding or trying to negotiate peace with Karai without authorization. Jenny isn't an automaton or a flat character&mdash;both before and after she joined the Foot Clan, she's been a character who makes (and lives with) big choices.