Do y’all realize how much of a sacrifice it was for Mona to decide to stay on Earth?
I mean those of us who ship it or are neutral are probably like, “Awww that’s so sweet she wanted to stay with him!” but I don’t think we’ve thought of half of it.
1. She decided to live on a very underdeveloped planet.
The Salamandrian General who gave Sal Commander and Mona their mission said of the Neutralizer, “He’s hunting benevolent Utrom in Dimension X, traveling back and forth to a primitive mud ball the locals call ‘Earth.’”
Think of all the advancements in technology we’ve made in the last century, and yet even Fugitoid said to Donnie, “You have a sharp mind. You’re quite -bloop- gifted! But you grew up on Earth… so naturally you’re 3,000 years behind the standard transdimensional concepts of physics.” Salamandria must be ahead of Earth in every way. Think of how primitive and unsanitary our toilets would seem to Mona! Yet she was basically willing to do what we would consider the equivalent of moving to a third world village with no plumbing just to be with the one she loves (and the one she loves lives in our primitive sewers, too)!
2. She decided to live in hiding.
Mona came from a whole planet of people just like her, and she travels through space where it seems a lot of other alien species are okay with being around Salamandrians.
On Earth though, people would be afraid of her. Her boyfriend can’t even vouch for her because people would fear him, too. She has to live in the shadows like a mutant and always be watching her back. She can’t even take a touristy stroll through Times Square.
3. Who knows if she can actually digest Earth food?
We know Raph was eager to have her try pizza, but do we even know what Salamandrians eat? If they’re anything like the salamanders on Earth, they are carnivores/insectivores. She may become violently ill eating fruits, vegetables, or grains.
4. She’s risking exposure to foreign diseases and lack of advanced medical care.
Now to be fair, perhaps Salamandrians know how to actually bulk up their immune systems more safely and effectively than we do so she doesn’t have to worry as much traveling from planet to planet. Supposing she gets a headache though and all anyone can offer her are our lowly GI-distress-causing NSAIDs? What if she gets a horrid flesh wound and all her mutant allies can do is stitch it up and hope she doesn’t die? I mean I’m sure Donnie can do a lot, and Leo can do the healing hands thing, but Fugitoid saved her after she was impaled!
5. The culture shock, though.
Remember Leo’s cross-cultural social blunder? Extended hand = I wanna start a fight?
Hand gestures are only the beginning of understanding the do’s and don’t’s of other cultures. I think after this mishap though, Raph and Mona are probably much more willing to give each other the benefit of the doubt and work through accidental offenses. (Actually I have the headcanon that when they started communicating through “intergalactic love mail,” which was probably like Skype, they decided to just go through all the rude gestures of their own cultures so the other could know not to do those things.)
Other than gestures though, there are figures of speech that would need explaining, historical references and statements about other countries that Mona wouldn’t understand, and then there’s Earth entertainment. What would Mona think of our music? Our endless TV talent shows? Everything else on TV? Would she think Renaissance art was good, or as primitive as cave paintings (and what would she think of the Mona Lisa)? Would she find puppies and kittens cute, or creepy? Would she like Christmas? What would she think of the dumb things humans fight over?
I bet Mona misses Sal Commander, food from home, and all kinds of things, but she still wanted to be with Raph despite all she was giving up and all the risks. “Aw, that’s so sweet,” is an understatement!
