IDW Publishing's popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just introduced a new dynamic to its mythos: a female turtle. Named Jennika, this yellow-clad turtle is a definite change of pace from the franchise's boys club. What she isn't, however, is the franchise's first female turtle.

That role was filled by the infamous Venus de Milo, who appeared in the live-action TV series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. While the superficial similarity to Venus might make fans ambivalent toward the new turtle, here's a few reasons why Jennika won't repeat the same mistakes.

Jennika is an original character in IDW's Turtleverse, but she already existed in the comics before becoming a turtle. First introduced in Issue #51 as a member of the Foot Clan, she would eventually become loyal to Master Splinter and an ally of the turtles. Eventually, Karai of the Foot Clan would strike back against her, mortally wounding her in the process. Without another way to save her, the turtles all give her a blood transfusion. This has the effect of both saving her life and mutating her into a turtle.

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Meanwhile, Venus de Milo's origin was much more controversial. She was introduced as being an unknown fifth turtle that was mutated along with Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo, but washed away in the sewers. Additionally, the show most notably asserted that the male turtles are not, in fact, brothers, making way for the also unrelated Venus to become a target of their affection. This dissolving of the Turtles' relationship to accommodate a random new Turtle did Venus no favors with fans.

There's also the fact that her "mystic training" was pivotal in rescuing Splinter's spirit in the series. This training, which none of the other turtles had, made Venus come off as a Mary Sue that the showrunners were desperate for fans to accept.

Jennika has a yellow bandana in promotional images. This easily stands out against the other turtles' red, purple, blue and orange color schemes. Venus, however, had a light blue bandana, which was a mistake on two fronts. It was too similar to the color that Leonardo already wore, which effectively asserted that the newcomer was just as good as the turtles' leader. This goes back to her character being a Mary Sue and having her importance telegraphed rather than earned.

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Venus's real name actually isn't Venus de Milo, but Mei Pieh Chi. This is due to her being raised by a Chinese mystic named Chung I. She only gains her more familiar moniker after taking home a statue of a woman that she finds in the park. The statues arms were damaged in a battle with dragons, so she earns the nickname Venus de Milo after the similarly damaged ancient Greek sculpture. This is obviously in the spirit of the male turtles bearing the names of Renaissance artists, but is also different enough to stick out. The Chinese motif of her character was also at odds with the loosely Japanese tone of the rest of the franchise.

Concept art by Sophie Campbell
Concept art by Sophie Campbell

Jennika also lacks a Renaissance-related name, though that may change in the future. She is, however, already an established ally of the turtles, as opposed to randomly showing up and becoming a central part of the narrative. This means that fans might be more accepting of any overt differences between her and the male turtles.

Franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman was instrumental in initially plotting and designing IDW's TMNT, which has been consistently well received since first being published in 2009. Particular praise has gone to its action scenes, as well as how it updated the Turtles mythos. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, however, was anything but praised.

The show only lasted one season, which consisted of 26 episodes, and is known (and criticized) mostly for the creation of Venus de Milo, the dated special effects and its cheesy writing and acting. Whatever new direction the series takes by giving Jennika a shell and bandana, it's almost certain that the franchise's next mutation will be better than, well, The Next Mutation.

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