The Fifth Turtle

Meet the fifth Turtle - April O'Neil: Loyal Turtle ally from above the sewers!

Nickelodeon's new take on TMNT's April O'Neil is a nice reboot: April is now a teen like her turtle contemporaries and is also in training with Splinter to be a fellow ninja!

I haven't seen the new show yet, I don't think it's even out, but this concept for April seems much more accessible to kids than a buxom TV news reporter.

April is sturdy and well designed. She lacks knee and elbow articulation as her thin limbs wouldn't have supported them without sacrificing durability, and I'm fine with that, as I imagine most kids are too. Expect adult collectors to bitch about it though ;)

April's primary weapon is the Bo staff, like Donatello, and I imagine this means there will either be jealousy between the two or a stronger connection than between April and the other turtles. We'll see.

I like the '5' on her shirt and believe it alludes to the fact that April is (or will be) the fifth member of the team. Also, she has a yellow headband and a ponytail that harken the design aesthetic of the Turtles' masks. I sure hope April's ninja training leads to her inclusion in the team proper, as well as a nifty yellow eye mask!

April, like the other toys in this line and classic TMNT action figures of decades past, comes with a sprue of ninja training weapons to wield and share. Not sure what those 'egg' shaped things are - smoke bombs maybe?

"Hey Don, wanna practice with me?"

Check out some more Turtle Powered posts:
Nickelodeon TMNT Raphael.
Classic Giant Android Body Krang.
Raphael...troll doll?
Axel Rose hates this turtle!