The '90s live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is to this day considered the franchise's best film, as well as one of its best adaptations in general. Though it featured the colored bandanas and cornball jokes of the cartoon, it also had a gritty New York City edge that bore much more resemblance to the original comic books.

This darker take on the mutants' mythos caused quite a stir among parents, who were shocked at the titular character's use of both adult language and their actual weaponry. This made the sequel, The Secret of the Ooze, hue much closer to the cartoon, including having the Turtles use their weapons sparingly. However, a Reddit fan theory suggests that there's actually a narrative reason for this development, with a case being made that the Turtles refrain from turning to their weapons for reasons other than just being kid-friendly.

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The Turtles Are Now More Proficient Martial Artists

This theory, laid out by Reddit user Deven247, posits that the Turtles have a few different in-universe reasons for using their weapons less in the follow-up movie. For one, the threat faced in the first movie was the Foot Clan at the height of its power, encompassing a city-wide crime syndicate that was led by a foe that even Master Splinter knew was extremely dangerous. The crooks that the Turtles face at the beginning of this movie, however, are mere would-be mooks that don't pose much of a threat. Knowing this, the Turtles take things a bit easier on them, feeling no need to engage in deadly force.

The second reason for this development was that, in recognizing that the immediate threat had been substantially lessened, the Turtles wanted to keep their weapons in top condition for when they absolutely would be needed. The weapons are still kept at their side when going into battle, but the Turtles, as mentioned, don't even pull them out very quickly. This can also show a maturity in fighting style, as the Turtles are no longer as dependent on relying upon their weapons in battle.

This also leads to the third potential reason, which is that the Turtles have fully embraced a ninja's clinging to the shadows of their own environment. By using toys and other objects found in the store that the crooks try to rob, they are able to weaponize literally anything in their favor while also keeping a record of their presence to a minimum.

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Weapons Are Important For the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Super Shredder in TMNT II

This fan theory does go a long way in giving viewers more of a concrete reason as to why the Turtles' combat became so cartoony. The first and third points especially could perfectly explain their actions, and can't necessarily be contradicted by what's put on-screen. It's all weakened, however, by merely being a fan theory. With nothing in the film itself to confirm that the Turtles have chosen to tread this new path, the idea is essentially a fan trying to cover up what comes off as a plot hole at best, and infantilizing the franchise at worst.

The idea that the Turtles would save their weapons for a real threat is also contradicted in the film. Given how much more powerful Tokka and Rahzar are compared to the more diminutive quartet, they would be perfectly within reason to unleash the full fury of their arsenal on them. The same goes for Super Shredder, who is actually never faced head-on by the Turtles. Instead, they merely jump in the surrounding water, and it's Super Shredder's own physical wrath and hubris that undoes him. If they truly were trying to save their proverbial bullets for a worthy target, then their lack of even taking a shot is incredibly suspect. In the end, while the theory does make some logical sense, it's still just a workaround for the fact that the live-action TMNT movie franchise would continue down its cheesy path.

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