Warning! This article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Summary
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem reinvents Baxter Stockman, making him a cowardly scientist who fears a corporation and stays in hiding throughout his arc.
- In contrast to the comic books where Stockman is evil and manipulative, the movie version of him is portrayed as a nervous wreck and lacks the same level of prowess and lack of conscience.
- Baxter Stockman’s weaker depiction in Mutant Mayhem is due to him not being the main villain, but rather the creator of the primary villain Superfly, played by Ice Cube.
One TMNT villain is so significantly different in the original comics than his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem counterpart that he would be ashamed of his version in the animated movie. Produced by Seth Rogen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem reignites the timeless appeal of the titular anthropomorphic turtles by unfolding their adventures in a familiar New York setting but giving them a whole new look with an imaginative and doodly art style. The animated movie also features a roster of talented cast members, including Ice Cube, Jackie Chan, John Cena, Ayo Edibri, Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, Post Malone, and Giancarlo Esposito, among others.
To capture the nostalgia of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Mutant Mayhem also features a myriad of soundtracks from the 80s and 90s while walking audiences through the bustling cityscapes of New York. Apart from capturing the essence of the original TMNT cartoon and comics through music, the movie also loyally adapts several story elements and character beats from its source material. However, despite borrowing many elements from the original comics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem brings significant adjustments to one villain’s characterization, making him fairly distinct from his comic book counterpart.
Mutant Mayhem Reinvented Baxter Stockman
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem‘s depiction of Baxter Stockman is not a far cry from how the original cartoon portrays him. However, when compared with his version in the comic books, Stockman almost seems unrecognizable in the animated movie. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Baxter is a cowardly scientist who fears a big corporation and stays in hiding throughout his arc. Even the fact that he redefined the mutagen ooze in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem to beat his loneliness makes him a less formidable villain, contrasting how the comic books portray him.
In the comics, Stockman is a brilliant scientist and businessman who lacks morality and always stays miles ahead of his enemies. He is downright evil, manages to manipulate both Krang and Shredder, and even gets elected as New York’s mayor. Instead of being a nervous wreck like his movie counterpart in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, he also survives the Armageddon Game even when a god gets taken down. Therefore, given how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem‘s iteration of his character completely contrasts his prowess and lack of conscience from the comics, Baxter Stockman would be embarrassed with the way the movie reinvented him.
Why Baxter Stockman Is So Weak In Mutant Mayhem
Voiced by Giancarlo Esposito, Baxter Stockman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is relatively much weaker than his comic book version because he is not the main villain in the movie. Instead, he is the creator of the primary villain, Superfly (played by Ice Cube), who treats him like a father figure. Baxter Stockman’s early death in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem also serves as a narrative device to drive Superfly’s thirst for revenge and subsequent rise as the central villain.
