Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-28655620-20161117184919/@comment-28655620-20170805181421

Gilgameshkun wrote: Well, the problem is, whereas "Leonardo", "Donatello", etc. were names of artists, "Venus de Milo" was the name of specific naked statue of a goddess of love, beauty and sex, and naming a character that will evoke that mental image as a first impression. It aims too directly at the fantasies of horny fanboys, discouraging them from regarding her first and foremost as someone who could actually be a complex, dignified character. Might as well name her "Fujiko" or "Molotov @#$%tease" for all the good it does. The fact that the 90s Venus de Milo was fought over by two male main characters made it even worse.

Furthermore, the use of Venus de Milo goes into the type of TMNT I really dislike&mdash;the kind that assumes it is primarily a story by hetero guys, for hetero guys, about hetero guys, with girls functioning more as props or objects than as actual characters. And though it's not a requirement, some of my favorite TMNT stories also happen to have good portrayals of women (whether as allies or antagonists), including The Alien Agenda, Blind Sight, City at War (Mirage), Darkness Weaves, Karai's Vendetta, , Swan Song and True Stories. Dark Shadows and White Horses also have good portrayals of women, though I thought their stories were so-so.

What does "Artemisia" evoke? The goddess Artemis. A huntress. A capable warrior with a bow and arrow. She's neither an object nor sexless, but a balanced portrayal of a teenage girl who can also handle herself in a crisis. And no one's treating her like an object or constantly trying to hit on her. Same goes for that story's version of Alopex.

Okay I understand that she was poorly handled during the 90s and such but that doesn't mean they should be excluded drom the franchise because of it. Also just because they are named after a god or goddess, it doesn't mean they have live up to that name. They probably thought it was cool like most of the 90s was like the "Mummies Alive" cartoon for example, giving them vehicles, weapons, etc. They probably just named her that because they thought it was cool, I assume.