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Fans are loving that April O’Neil is depicted as a Black character and voiced by Ayo Edebiri in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Fans are loving the fact that April O’Neil is Black again in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem trailer. Based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the upcoming animated reboot produced by Seth Rogen is expected to focus more on the teenage aspect of the Turtles. The movie recently released its first teaser trailer, the end of which revealed April O’Neil who is voiced by The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri and after a complex and controversial history involving the comics, is once again depicted as a Black character.
Soon after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem trailer was released, fans took to Twitter to praise the animated movie for depicting April O’Neil as a Black character. Many shared general sentiments of support, while also arguing about whether April O’Neil was originally Black in the comics. Check out a few of the reactions below:
April O’Neil’s Controversial TMNT Comics History Explained
In 1984, April O’Neil was first introduced in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 1, No. 2 as an assistant to the evil scientist, Baxter Stockman, though she later becomes a close ally for the Turtles and a love interest for Casey Jones. Though the comic’s original black-and-white illustrations made April’s ethnicity ambiguous, the cover of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #11 appeared to depict her as a woman of color. Eastman has revealed that April’s appearance was based on his girlfriend at the time, who was of mixed race.
In 1986, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-11 were reprinted in color and April appeared as a Caucasian woman with red hair and when the hit animated TV series debuted a year later, she was depicted the same way. This led to accusations of whitewashing, though other fans argue the apparent ethnicity change was not nefarious, and the result of a simple miscommunication between the creators. With the character’s complex and controversial history aside, it’s nice to see the latest iteration of April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem being met with support from fans.
Source: Various (see links above)
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