A few days ago, I came across a comment in the rottmnt fandom that really caught my attention.
Basically, it was a confession about something that bothered them a lot: angst fanfics that focus on Donnie, especially those that give him the Kraang trauma that, in theory, should have affected Raph more. The discussion wasn’t only about this, but I want to focus on this point and offer a new perspective on why, in my opinion, it happens. Because yes, for me there’s a very clear explanation, and it comes from a flaw in the rottmnt movie (yes, you heard that right, even if it hurts).
But first: I completely understand the comment and, in fact, I agree with it. In the movie, it’s clear that the one who suffered the most from the Kraang trauma was Raph: he literally became some kind of one! I don’t think he came out of it unscathed, and I’m sure he suffered much more than what’s shown. Donnie also experiences the Kraang trauma when connecting to the ship, but unlike Raph, he does it willingly and doesn’t lose awareness of himself. Donnie’s experience seems more like a sensory trauma than one caused by the Kraang.
With that clarified, I still think it’s interesting to dig into why the fandom seems to give more importance to “Donnie’s Kraang" trauma than Raph’s. Yes, it’s a mistake that Raph’s trauma is barely mentioned, but it opens the door to analyzing how certain details in the movie affect fans’ perceptions and, consequently, the creation of fanfics.
So, let’s talk about that small flaw (yes, I’d call it a flaw) in the rottmnt movie. But first, it’s important to understand something about storytelling: stories are made of promises. What do I mean by that? If a story focuses on a candle, it means something is going to happen with that candle, it has special meaning, or it represents something. It’s not just decorative. And, consciously or unconsciously, the audience will form expectations: they expect that candle to be significant later on or that something important will happen related to it. When we create stories, our duty isn’t just to fulfill those expectations, but to surpass them, so the audience feels satisfied. Why do I bring this up? Because in the rottmnt movie, a promise is made that isn’t fully delivered, and that caused some dissatisfaction among fans (especially Donnie fans).
Here’s what I mean: in the movie, when Donnie protects Mikey to save him, his battle shell breaks, and Mikey says: “Oh no, Donnie, your soft shell! You’re exposed!” This gives fans reason to think that Donnie, being a soft-shelled turtle, is more vulnerable without his battle shell than his brothers are. That Mikey says it like that not only confirms it but promises that something could happen to Donnie later because of that weakness. Also, later, when Donnie tries to connect to the Kraang ship and tells Mikey to remove his battle shell, Mikey says: “No, you’re too vulnerable with just your soft shell.” In other words, this vulnerability is made very explicit and is mentioned twice, but in the end, nothing happens about it. The promise isn’t fulfilled. All we get is what we’ve already talked about: a trauma related to his hypersensitivities when connecting to the Kraang ship. Yes, something happens to him, but it doesn’t meet fans’ expectations, it’s not enough.
Is this a flaw or not? It depends on how you look at it. The movie is 100% focused on Leo, it’s short, with no filler, and aimed at kids (and it already has enough angst!). But personally, I do see it as a flaw, especially in Mikey’s dialogues: if nothing more was going to happen, he shouldn’t have said it that way, nor emphasized that vulnerability so much. And I think that’s why fans, especially Donnie fans (who are many), felt unsatisfied and started creating fanfics, fan art, and fan comics about Donnie Kraang trauma, to fill the gap that the movie left open.
With Raph, this doesn’t happen: there’s no promise left unfulfilled, which is why there are fewer gaps for fans to explore (but please, do explore them! As I said, the movie didn’t show all the consequences of what happened to Raph!).
I hope you found this interesting, entertaining, or at least a little enlightening. As I said, this is just one possible explanation I offer on this topic, nothing more.
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