In response to how Hollywood race-bent April O’Neal... Take a good look at Dr. Baxter Stockman, who is an ORIGINAL CANONICALLY black character in the TMNT lore...
Baxter is a deep, fleshed out, relatable and iconic character not just in TMNT lore, but in general. If you want TMNT to have a black character, your wish was granted before you even thought of it. He’s right there! Heck, you could even reimagined him to have a redemption arc! I mean, why not?
And this, friends, is why race or “any” bending bugs me. It’s because great characters of the group you mean to represent get forgotten in favour of riding on the tail of success of established white Christian straight (usually) male ones.
I say, nuts to that. Baxter is not only a worthy enough black character. He’s a worthy character PERIOD. And so are the others.
Say NO to bending and YES to showcasing the existing.
Say NO to race bending April. Say YES to including “Badass” Stockman.
Say NO to any-bending. Say YES to giving the existing minority characters the spotlight at long last. They waited long enough.
PS: I am well aware of the debate over April having been originally conceptualized to be black. As someone who was there when she first came out, let me put the rumour to rest please... That fact is only semi-right. April O’Neal was named after one of the creator’s then beloved who was partially black, but her race was originally up in the air and leaned more towards being Japanese. She was like what Mr. Smithers in the Simpsons was when it first started; a character that was still in the process of being built. In other words, the original concept of April was... everything and nothing. However, once the creators figured her out, the definitive version of her is white with red hair. And as for that hairdo she originally had when she was still in the works...
It was the 80s. Back in the day, ALL women did their hair like that. Even my mom, who is white, did her hair like that. It was the style. I hope this clears things up.
PS part 2: Because it was brought up, I am well aware that Rise did the race swap first and had the audacity to include Baxter yet dumb him down. However, Rise in my opinion was not a good show and wrote everyone badly and offensively. Also, it was short lived for being so foolish. Me putting my foot down now is because this is a huge “strike three and now, you’re out”. Mutant Mayhem has the potential to be good, but it has specific glaring problems. Rise was an idea that just didn’t pan out. It was not worth taking offense over because it disrespected every character equally. April’s race swap there was just one of many. In way, that was Rise’s objective. To be silly, but it took it too far to the point where the show wasn’t even offensive. Just childish. I get that I don’t speak for everyone, but that was how I interpreted Rise. It was a parody that came and went.