Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25684889-20150822230425/@comment-4872828-20151122042652

I have mixed emotions.

On one hand, it's great that a legacy character was at least included. I also really liked that it was her distrust of our heroes that helped push the conflict instead of being a willing ally from the beginning. Last, for good or for ill, this is the type of girl that would captivate 2012Raph (even though I'd personally prefer he'd fall for someone who he *didn't* think he'd like).

On the other hand, there were so many aspects different from the original incarnation that there was no connection to her 80's counterpart whatsoever. In fact, they aren't even the same species; new Mona Lisa is an alien which completely changes the character's background. This makes Raph's "naming" of her come really out of the blue. I think I would like the character better if they didn't try to make her the nominal successor of the 80's version. We go from a rebellious survivor of a kidnapping who was literally changed by what she had gone through to a proud warrior alien who just needed convincing that these strangers weren't bad people. The latter is a lot more generic.

It doesn't help that all of the ladies so far in TMNT2012 have become action-y (albeit, at least in unique ways) and while that may seem to be a good thing in an action series, it's also bad in that it means it makes them interchangable. There are supporting male characters who don't fight (and those who don't fight well, like Pigeon Pete and Mondo Gecko). What's wrong with having supporting female characters who do the same?

Still, I don't hate her, and if she returns, I hope to like her in own right...but not as "Mona Lisa."