Thread:DonnieTheBrainsTMNT4/@comment-32070373-20170521200455/@comment-995426-20170521211135

Since their first publication in 1984, TMNT comics have always been primarily dark and violent and for adults. It's only some versions of TMNT, such as the various TV series which came later, that they try to make relatively less dark and target younger audiences. As far back as 1987 there was no shortage of criticism that such a dark adult comic was inappropriate to adapt into a children's show, but it keeps seeing new life as children's shows because the action figures make a ton of money. The 2012 TV series has long tried to straddle that boundary between being a children's show and still appealing to adult fans, many of whom prefer TMNT to be darker and more mature.

Just look at the character who is widely thought to have inspired Tiger Claw's design in the first place:



So, "Why did this show turn so dark?" is the wrong question to be asking.

The real question is "Why are these TV shows so tame to begin with?" :)