Thread:Yoshimickster/@comment-995426-20151104041829/@comment-995426-20151104223558

Well, considering how much Raph hates it when people see his most tender side, one of my friends suggested that he and Slash actually did continue their relationship, but kept it discreet. And it really made a lot of sense, since in Rise of the Turtles, Part 2 he even hated when Mikey saw him talking tenderly to Spike in the first episode. So Raph longed to see Slash again in The Invasion, Part 2, taking a photograph with him to the farm. And when he saw Slash again in Battle for New York, Part 1, it was a fist bump and greeting in front of everyone else, and maybe something more affectionate in private. The exception being when Raph was worried Slash was badly hurt in Clash of the Mutanimals, and they were instantly tactile and affectionate. That episode in particular still seemed to drop the ball on their development, but considering my friend's interpretation, I decided to rewatch it keeping in mind that their relationship was probably more discreet, and then it made more sense: Raph's quote, "We're just glad you two are okay" was previously rather cringeworthy in its detachment from Slash, but it made sense if Raph was keeping a discreet distance in front of others once he knew Slash was all right. And then Raph said, "How could you, Slash?", which was an interesting choice of words. He could have said "Stop, Slash!" or something else, but "How could you?" is a phrase implying deep personal betrayal. It turned out Slash was being worm-controlled, so all was forgiven. But this theory finally started to fail in Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!, when Slash was again badly hurt, and Raph still appeared very detached from Slash's welfare. It made him seem like a cold fish, and also considering how much of a jerk he was to a vulnerable Zog, it was one of my least favorite Raph episodes.

In retrospect, any of the writers' attempt to maintain an under-the-radar relationship between the two would have been on life support, and by Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!, the Mona Lisa plot had already been announced, planned and at least partially produced. But also considering that the events of the end of the season did not happen in Amazing Adventures, there's still a decent chance their plot will continue there.

As for IDW, mutagen in that continuity doesn't work like in the 1987 continuity, and humans don't become mutant animals&mdash;mutagen just makes them healthier, more vital humans. And that April is in a relationship with Casey. At least that Casey isn't nearly as bad as 2K12's, but he's still less interesting than Mirage's.

It seems to lend credence to the view that, even though April and Casey pair up in most TMNT continuities, perhaps they really shouldn't, at least not in all of them, because sometimes it just comes out forced and without clear chemistry. Even in Mirage, where April and Casey end up married like in 2K3, it took them a long while for them to get together, and even after meeting April first, he actually married someone else for a while after it was clear that he and April weren't going to happen. I rather hoped this could be an elegant solution to the Capritello love triangle in 2K12, with the difference being that April actually ends up with Donnie, and Casey finds happiness with someone else. 2K12 Casey was already introduced at 18 years old (in the same grade as April because he was held back a year)&mdash;he could marry someone tomorrow if he wanted to.

As for collecting comic series, I'm afraid you're never going to collect all of them through IDW's reprintings. They're skipped a lot of them, particularly the Guest Era. And they're probably not likely to get Nick's permission to reprint the Bodycount miniseries (which Kevin Eastman wrote himself but was at least as ultra-violent as the goriest of films). And since it may be too expensive to obtain old comics from rare collectors for more than two or three figures an issue, the realistic alternative to collecting all those comics is...[redacted]. And that's all I'm going to say about that. :)