On this day in 2012, Nickelodeon officially released the first two episodes of their newest series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
To celebrate TMNT 2012′s 10 year anniversary I decided to share with you my headcanon future for the turtles and their friends, taking place exactly 10 years later. With the show starting with the turtles being 15, this headcanon future of mine takes place where the turtles are now 25 years old (exactly 10 years later).
I will discuss each turtle (with the inclusion of April, Casey, & Karai) with summaries of their lives, where they are, what they do now, their relationships with specific characters, and how their lives are going, etc. Consider this a happy ending for the turtles instead of that disaster of an ending that mutant apocalypse gave us.
Let’s get started! Here’s my headcanon future/happy ending for the 2012 turtles and friends!
Leonardo Hamato
Like father, like son, Leonardo continues to lead the Hamato Clan as leader and sensei. He remained living in the sewers where he grew up, living with his youngest brother, Michelangelo. In honor of his father Leo rebuilt the Hamato Clan, building his own dojo in New York City and creating a new generation of ninjas. Though the task isn’t easy in this day and age, and his new growing clan still small, Leo works hard to continue the Hamato clan legacy, taking in many humans and mutants alike who are willing to learn and train with him.
Unlike most of his siblings, Leonardo never married, for he was so focused and dedicated to his clan that he never had time to have a serious relationship or settle down. He eventually swore off dating and pursuing romantic relationships entirely, taking a vow of chastity so he can truly focus on his job as sensei and leader of the Hamato Clan. However, despite never being married or having children of his own, Leonardo has many young students that he loves dearly that he has come to see as his own and they love and look up to him as a father figure.
When not focusing on his clan or his students, Leonardo visits his sister Karai, who moved back to Japan, to assist her in her own ninja clan, along with Slash and the Mighty Mutanimals back in New York. The three leaders all run their teams respectively and they all have a bond and strong alliance/agreement to help the other clans/teams if it is ever needed when another dangerous threat comes along, having monthly meetings to update the other teams on progress and such on specific matters. Leo also has status reports and meetings monthly with Karai and Slash on how their respective teams are doing and any updates on certain threats each team keeps an eye out for, or any new potential threats. In his spare time, Leonardo would also visit his best friend Miyamoto Usagi, who (thanks to Donnie) was able to find a way to remain in contact with one another and travel to each other’s worlds when desired. The two friends would chat, share some tea, train, and exchange life lessons to one another. It is one of the only few times Leo truly gets to relax for he is constantly working and focusing on reviving his father’s once dead clan. Sometimes Usagi even travels to Leo’s world to help him train his students and work as his second in command/assistant. Though Leo’s stress of his now busy life catches the attention of his family and friends, and they worry Leo is still putting too much pressure on himself, Leo is determined to continue his work as clan leader and even has his eyes on his niece to be his successor once she is of age.
Donatello Hamato
In his late teens (I’d say shortly after When World Collide), Donatello was offered a golden opportunity he couldn't refuse. Offered by the Utrom Queen herself, he was given a position to work with the Utrom Council, along with working alongside many more intelligent scientists all across the galaxy, exchanging their knowledge and wisdom and working on grand experiments/inventions. This was basically like college for Donnie and soon he became a well known scientist, so much so that he became the Utrom Council’s trusted scientist and adviser for all Earth and Dimension X exchanges and trades, working alongside Bishop in the EPF.
Through his own hard work, Donnie achieved many great scientific accomplishments. Some include: Perfecting retro-mutagen and offering it to any mutants who desire to return to their old lives, finding and rebuilding Fugitoid (who now works with the Utrom Council), and curing Timothy’s mutation. With Timothy now back, Donnie continues training him to be a ninja (later Timothy moved on to being a student of Leo’s dojo so he can get more proper training) and Timothy also works as Donnie’s lab assistant. Donnie’s newest project he is working on is rebuilding Metalhead, creating Metalhead 2.0, with this one looking like a robotic version of himself that he one day plans to download his subconscious into and continue living his life as a robot after his death, the same thing Fugitoid did, but Fugitoid warns him that while he does get to continue his work for an entirety, eternal life as a robot is maddening. (If you can probably tell, this idea was inspired by Mutant Apocalypse Robo!Donnie, aka the only concept from that arc that I actually liked!). His robotic plans for his future justifiable makes his family uncomfortable, the idea of him living forever while they are long gone causing Donnie to rethink his future decisions, especially when he notices it starts to worry his beloved wife, April.
After a long complicated “will they, won’t they?” and teen awkwardness, Donnie and April get together in their early adult life, with Donnie properly confessing his feelings to April before she goes off to college (check out April’s part to know a little more about that). The two happily dated throughout April’s college years and after she graduated, they got married, with Donnie being the second (and only other) brother to get married. The couple now happily live together in April’s apartment in New York, close by to his brothers, Leo and Mikey. The newly married couple are happy together and appreciate what they have and look forward to what the future has in store for them.
(Also sorry Apriltello shippers, but they never have children, the writers themselves confirmed that Donnie and April would never have kids together because it's “impossible and weird”. Their words, not mine!)
Raphael Hamato
With almost all of their greatest enemies defeated and now living in an era of peace, Raphael now lives a domestic life outside the city, a lifestyle everyone, even himself, never thought he would have. Most thought Raph would live a vigilante life, fighting criminals till the end of his days, but instead he settled down and started a family of his own. Being the first of his siblings to get married, Raphael married his true love, Mona Lisa, during his early 20s and as a wedding gift from April, now live together at April’s farmhouse, along with Chompy Picasso (who has grown quite big, the size of a large dog). Shortly after their wedding, the young couple was blessed with a daughter, a perfect mutant-turtle-alien-salamander hybrid. The news shocked everyone, for a new generation of mutants has started, hybrids! Raphael was overjoyed for he always deep down wanted to become a father and start a family of his own, but always thought it would never happen for who would want to be with a mutant freak like him? Mona Lisa proved him wrong.
After the birth of their daughter, Raph and Mona both decided to take a break from fighting criminals to focus on being parents and raising their child, but that doesn't mean they gave up fighting completely. The two still train in their free time, which is little when taking care of a 1 ½ year old. The couple plan to one day to fully train their daughter to become a strong fighter like them, even Leo has plans for his niece to one day be his successor and become the next leader and sensei of the Hamato clan once he retires, but for now, the couple want their daughter to enjoy her childhood, playing with Chompy and her uncles and aunts when they come by to visit. Raph and Mona plan to train their daughter once she reaches the age of six year old, the same age her father started training to become a ninja.
Raph works as the stay at home dad, while Mona Lisa continues her work with both the Mighty Mutanimals and for the Salamandrian military, so often that means she has to take trips off into space for short periods of time to send mission reports and other information. Sometimes, Raph joins her, despite hating space travel, so their daughter can see and spend time with Grandpa Sal. Something Raph finds important since he knows his daughter will never get to meet her other grandfather, Splinter, but he knows his father would be proud of the life and family he has now. Feeling at peace, Raphael is satisfied with the life and family he now has, but unknown to him, his family is soon going to become bigger for Mona Lisa is pregnant with their second child. Spoilers: it's a boy!
Michelangelo Hamato
During most of his teen years, Michelangelo would often sneak out to help Mr. Murakami in his restaurant, whether it's preparing food/ingredients for tomorrow or cleaning up. This went on for many years and the two bonded. Tragically, Mr. Murakami died a few years prior and it was discovered in Murakami’s will that he left his restaurant to Mikey. Mikey now owns Mr. Murakami’s restaurant and with the help of his sous chef, Ice Cream Kitty, it has become the most popular restaurant in New York and the first to serve both humans and mutants. In his free time Mikey also hosts cooking classes.
Michelangelo lives in the lair with his brother, Leonardo. As the only ones who never left home, Leo and Mikey have a closer bond with each other, but still remain in contact with Donnie and visit Raph in the countryside as well as see their niece. As for Mikey’s love life, he and Renet (who is now a fully trained and professional time master) dated for some time, but sadly the relationship didn’t last. Renet knew she couldn’t have a serious committed relationship with Mikey because of the different time periods they are from and her busy job, and Mikey wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, so the two both agreed to break up and stay good friends, but that doesn’t stop them from having a friends with benefits relationship whenever Renet comes to his time period for a visit. Mikey never marries or becomes a parent himself, but he absolutely adores his niece and spoils her to the point of it annoying Raph and often plays/babysits her all the time. He’s the fun uncle.
Michelangelo is also the biggest activist when it comes to fighting for mutants being accepted into civilization. With his restaurant he proves that mutants and humans can coexist peacefully. Mikey also is the head of rebuilding the Undercity (remember that abandoned underground city below the sewers?). With the help of the Mighty Mutanimals (who play a big part in Mikey’s campaigns and organization) the Undercity is will soon become a safe civilization for mutants to live in away from humans who have not yet accepted them (think of it like the Yokai city in rottmnt). With his restaurant, fighting for mutants rights, and head of rebuilding the Undercity, Mikey is considered the busiest and most hard working of his brothers and has gained the highest respect and admiration to all of mutant kind. They often refer to him as “The Holy Chalupa”.
April O’Neil
Before heading off to college (she majored in Journalism btw), Donnie confessed his feelings to April. April admits to him that for a while she had feelings for him too, but was never ready to confront them during those times, scared of commitment, not wanting to ruin their friendship, etc. It wasn’t until the Aeon crystal controlled her and nearly killed Donnie that April realized how much she loves and cares for him, but after that she feared it was too late and he moved on, but her doubts were proven wrong when he confessed his feelings to her. The two began their relationship while April went to college, eventually getting an internship at Channel 6 News. Shortly after graduating, April was offered an official job at Channel 6 and her and Donnie got married (She caught the bouquet at Raph and Mona’s wedding which inspired Donnie to propose a year later).
April’s psychic powers (that she has now mastered thanks to training with the Utrom Council) and ninja skills become useful for her job at Channel 6, getting the best stories and scoops that no other reporter can get. She also loves spending time with her niece, often being Raph and Mona’s babysitter, or co-babysitting with Mikey. And as for the mystery of her mother, April did her own search and finally learned the truth. Her mother was dead, killed by the Kraang during their experiments shortly after she was captured when April was little. The news broke April and also her father, but at the same time put the O’Neil family at peace, finally knowing the truth and no longer having to live a life of fear and wonder. April now lives with a peace of mind, mastering her powers, but still always ready to learn new skills to help others in her life.
Casey Jones
With April and Donnie getting together, Casey was happy for them, for in a way he knew she’d choose Donnie in the end. But in the beginning it was awkward for them, so Casey began keeping his distance from the couple for a while. Casey eventually left New York for a few years, going to college out of state with a hockey scholarship, only visiting his turtle friends and family in the city during breaks and holidays. While at school, Casey met a young woman who works at the local diner near his college (for comic fans, yes it’s Gabrielle), the two fell in love and began dating while they both attended the same university. Casey graduated from college with a business degree and shortly after discovered his college sweetheart was pregnant. The two quickly eloped and moved back to New York to raise their son, and for Casey to start his own business, a car mechanic shop (Casey found his passion in mechanics and car repair thanks to Donnie during the ep Race with the Demon in S3).
Finally back in New York with his wife and new born son, and his car repair business thriving, Casey reunites with Turtles and most importantly rekindles his friendship with April and Donnie. Casey’s life of mutants and aliens was a life his wife wasn’t expecting her husband to have (he kept it a secret from her for most of when they were dating) and at first she feared the Turtles, but slowly she became friends with them. During the day Casey works at his shop, while at night he continues his vigilante gig, something his wife disapproves of, worried that his desire to stop criminals will one day get him killed (a fear that will sadly eventually lead to his marriage’s downfall). Casey assures her that will never happen and he will be careful, but he wife still continues to worry. Casey and Raph are still best friends and hang out in their free time. Most of their hangouts involve playdates with their kids. Casey always jokes that maybe one day his son (who is now 2) will marry Raph’s daughter. Raph hates that idea. Despite some road bumps and challenges Casey still faces in his life, if you ask him, he’s living the dream!
Karai Hamato
After the official death of Shredder, Karai took the opportunity to reclaim the Foot Clan as hers and began rebuilding it to have a more honorable name. She moved back to Japan, keeping in touch with her brothers and visiting them often as she can, with her second in command/fiancée Shinigami (they got together shortly after Kavaxas’ defeat, with Shinigami confessing her feelings to Karai and she happily reciprocated). As mentioned in Leo’s section, Karai joins up in monthly meetings with Leo and Slash to discuss updates and other important subjects within their teams as a part of their alliance. The three all have a strong friendship and alliance for each other their teams.
In honor of her real father, Hamato Yoshi, Karai legally changed her last name back to Hamato, but decided to keep the name Karai. This was her symbolism to honor her family name and father, while also not erasing the memories of her past with Shredder and what led her to become who she is today. With hearing of Leo’s plan of having their niece be his heir of the Hamato Clan, this inspired Karai to have a child of her own, with her now pregnant with the future leader of the Foot Clan, her and Shini's son who they plan to name after his late grandpa. In the mean time as they wait for her and Shini's son to be born, Karai continues her hard work leading her still growing clan. With Shredder gone, Karai is happily free and the Foot Clan will be a proud and honorable name once again!
Bonus Lighting Round!
Slash continues leading the Mighty Mutanimals while also helping Mikey with his big projects of rebuilding the Undercity as a safe place for mutants to live in and live regular lives. As of now, he runs a small community for newly created mutants with no homes to live in peacefully until the Undercity is complete. He is also in a relationship with Alopex.
Leatherhead helps Mikey in his restaurant and attends his cooking classes, while Mondo Gecko is Mikey’s number one customer.
Alopex has a 4 year old son from a previous relationship with a mutant who later abandoned her and their child. Her and Tiger Claw are on better terms with each other now, but there is still some tension between the siblings that needs more time to heal. She is now living in New York and is dating Slash.
Sal Commander retired and is living a life of relaxing peace, and he also enjoys when his former lieutenant and “grandchildren” come to visit.
Fishface moved back to home in Brazil and continues living life as a common street thief. He formed his own street gang of thugs and is referred to as “The King of Thieves”.
Bebop and Rocksteady are living somewhere in New Jersey working as antiheroes. They’re happily married and adopted 3 mutant children, their names are Koya, Hob, and Sheena.
As for the villains, they are either arrested by the Utrom, dead, or declared a truce with the turtles and friends.
