Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Character: April O'Neil

Hey everyone!

Today I'm looking at April O'Neil, the unofficial human member of the ninja turtles' team.

April O'Neil
In all three shows, April is the first human that the turtles interact with. She becomes the turtles' connection to the outside world. Her character development and personality have changed significantly from each show.

TMNT 1987

Source: turtlepedia.wikia.com

In this show, April is the classic damsel in distress. She is a reporter for the news and she's always looking for the next big story. She met the turtles after being chased by some gang members into the sewers. After the turtles saved her and she overcame her shock of their appearances, April became their ally. 

April's the hot, spunky girl who's always getting herself into trouble through her nosing around, and the turtles have to save her. She is the turtle's first human friend and, she often helps cover up some of the things that happen with the turtles to keep the public from finding out about them. While she didn't trust them at first, she proves to rely on the turtles a lot throughout the series.

April is shown with short, reddish-brown hair, and wears a yellow jumpsuit. She is displayed as a very beautiful woman, which the turtles point out often.

To be honest, I find this April a little annoying, since she only seems to care about her next big story and she's relatively useless when it comes to fighting. It seems like she's only there to be the sexy damsel in distress that the turtles get to save in practically every episode. But despite that, she has good intentions and she does prove to be a great friend to the turtles.



TMNT 2003

Source: turtlepedia.wikia.com

In this show, April's character relates more closely with her comic book incarnation. April is a scientist working for Baxter Stockman, but she finds out about his evil plans. When he tries to kill her with the mousers, she runs into the sewers and the turtles save her. Afterward, she opens up her father's old antique shop.

In this show, April is also the turtles' connection to the outside world and a human ally that they often need to pull off missions.

April is incredibly smart (she was a scientist) and she and Don have a special bond over their techno geek babble. She often helps the turtles by providing tech support and hacking computer systems. She and Don often work together on projects and have proven to be quite the formidable team.

In this show, I think we see more of April's abilities and strength. I also think she's got a little more personality. She's very kind and caring towards her new friends and she's always willing to help. She's also quite feisty and not afraid to fight back. She's usually pretty patient with the turtles and their antics, although they do drive her nuts sometimes.

Later on in the show, April begins training in ninjutsu with Master Splinter. She proves to be quite proficient at it and learns quickly to the point that she can hold her own against the Foot Ninja clan. April is also skilled with a gun, which she showed during the Triceraton invasion in season three.

April is portrayed with long red hair, pale skin with freckles, and green eyes. She generally wears cargo pants and a purple shirt. She is a beautiful woman, but she is also practical and more down to earth. In this show, she is in her late twenties, possibly early thirties.

TMNT 2012

Source: chickensmoothie.com

This show probably has April's most dramatic transformation; April is a teenager, around the same age as the turtles. Her story is that she and her father were captured by the Kraang, which the turtles witnessed. The turtles managed to rescue April, but the Kraang got away with her father. April is living with her aunt while the turtles try to find her father and stop the Kraang's plans.

This April is very stubborn and headstrong. She wants to be a part of the turtles' missions and often joins up with them. Most of the time, she proves to be helpful, although she has needed saving once and a while.

This April is also quite feisty and doesn't take no for an answer. She's also more likely to get angry with the turtles due to her temper. She is once again the turtles' link to the outside world and often helps them in their missions. In this show, April is also quite smart, being the daughter of a scientist, and she and Donnie often talk about nerdy things.

April has started training in ninjutsu with Master Splinter, and while she's still a beginner, she proves to hold her own. For example, April managed to defeat Karai in battle, but only through luck, and Karai injured her fairly badly. April is learning quickly though, and is quite strong physically and mentally.

In this show, April is shown to have some sort of psychic ability, but it is not certain what it is or how she has it. The Kraang wanted her for her abilities and tried to extract them from her. She has used these psychic powers a few times in battle, but she's not very proficient at it yet.

This April is portrayed with medium-length red hair, blue eyes, and freckles. She wears jeans and a yellow shirt, which is probably an homage to the 1987 April who wore a yellow jumpsuit. She is a bit tomboyish and her hair is generally pulled up into a ponytail.

Overall, April changed quite a bit in personality and in roles throughout the different series. She went from being a hot TV reporter to an amateur ninjutsu fighter. I like the changes and I like how she often plays a role in the turtle's missions, particularly in the 2012 series.

What hasn't changed about her though is the fact that she is the first human the turtles meet and that she connects them to the outside world. She becomes the turtle's first human friend, and the first human to not be afraid of the ninja turtles. I think that's what's amazing about April. In my opinion, she's more than just a pretty girl in a show about mutant turtles; she's a girl who looked beyond the bizarre appearance of the turtle brothers and befriended them.

In each series, April gives them hope for acceptance when they have been rejected so many times by others. That's what makes her valuable to the show.

That's my thoughts on April. Until later, folks!