Dude...this is sooo awesome...i am a big fan of the turtles and their universe...

@k4tzm4n:

great article and thanks for sharing the new info on some lovable old characters

I particularly adore the Nickelodeon Bebop. He's so much fun and I love his style. Rocksteady is pretty fun, too, but not quite on the same level. He kinda reminds of the tracksuit guys from Hawkeye. Then again, the new cartoon is my first foray into the Turtles, so I don't have any nostalgia for these guys beforehand. I think that's one of the strong suits of the new show; it retains the characters, elements, and fun of the original while adding a more complex plot and some newness to the mythos. It didn't reinvent, just reinvigorate. That's why you get a creative team who loves the property they're rebooting very deeply.

guess im picking up some tmnt comics. as for the show... once agin i have a reason to stay far away as possible

The IDW comic IS a great update to the characters. New yet still honoring the original thugs. The Nick show is not, however. They are not bebop and rocksteady. A similar mutation and the same names do NOT make them the same characters. They should be called Rhinovich and Daft Pork, or something, but its clear the show writers didnt like bebop and rocksteady as they gave them unrecognizable origins and the new bebop is constantly complaining about his new name. Nick could have learned something from IDW.

Did they get healing factors when they were spliced? Or are they just much tougher? I know Rocksteady is bullet-resistant, due to his rhino hide, but Bebop is shown with numerous bullet wounds, and it just seems to piss him off. How much damage can they take?

@teerack: Agreed! That Bebop look freaking ridiculous, he doesn't look tough or intimidating, he looks like he's about to go to a disco...a disco for men only.

@tobiaspunk: Yeah... don't loop me in with gay jokes and such...

Interesting that this article would come out just before the IDW versions prove how much of a threat they really can be....

I don't know why people always compare the 80s series with the 03, the 2012 version and others. Yes, the 1987 series versions of Bebop and Rocksteady didn't have much depth but that's because that's not what the show was going for at all, the show had a much different tone. 80s cartoons was a much different time in terms of characterization and storytelling, the 80s series was more like Indiana Jones, adventure, action scenes and funny one-liners.

Yeah :(

I was inspired to write this because of the Nick episode that was all about the two. It made me realize I love how the comic and the show have brought the duo back in totally different ways.

Just curious after reading the article, but where would IDW's incarnation of Bebop and Rocksteady rate in terms of strength and durability?

They looking good in the new show. " The toitles" as Rocksteady used to say in the original show.

@spitfirepanda: Well, they had a building brought down on top of them and they didn't die. They're pretty damn durable.

I really enjoy the new IDW Bebop and Rocksteady, they are exactly what they are supposed to be in my eyes thugs, dumb brutish idiotic thugs given way too much power for their brains and now able to take their primitive enjoyment of violence to an uncontrollable levels. When they show up expect bloodshed, mayhem and collateral damage because that's all they are good for.

@k4tzm4n: How did they turn out? Good I hope.