Venus de Milo Is Finally Returning to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise!
Venus de Milo is finally making a return into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in IDW comics after twenty-four years doing other hot girl turtle things. IDW, which publishes the comics, announced that under writer Sophie Campbell and illustrator Pablo Tunica, the character is returning as part of a four-issue arc that will culminate with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #130.
“I’d been trying to make a Venus comeback happen for a while, and I almost can’t believe it’s finally happening!” Campbell said, according to CBR.
“It’s been amazing to watch Sophie Campbell continue our long-running TMNT series with such careful consideration and commitment to the kind of character-driven storylines that have always been the foundation for what makes all things Turtles so beloved and eternal,” editor Tom Waltz said. “And now she’s crafted a clever plan to introduce a character from the past that many thought would never see the light of day again. She’s doing it in fine fashion, continuing the IDW tradition of making the old feel both familiar and refreshing all at once…just in time for our big Armageddon Game event, no less!”
Venus was first introduced in the television series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, as another one of the turtles that was exposed to the mutagen that created the four we already knew, who was, for some “reason,” missed by Splinter when he collected all the boy turtles! Venus made her way to Chinatown and was trained in the skills of shinobi by a shinobi magician called Chung I. Of course, no one involved thought it was an issue that a Chinese character was teaching a Japanese martial art form … which is exhausting and embarrassing at the same time.
Eventually, she made her way to New York and reunited with her turtle family. The series went out of its way to establish that “technically” none of the turtles were related biologically, so that way, they could all flirt with Venus, our Smurffette, without any shouting about incest. That series was canceled, and Venus was never really loved because she was clearly just a token female character. Apparently, Turtle co-creator Peter Laird called the idea of a fifth turtle “creatively bankrupt” and hated the addition with a passion.
When Image comics got hold Turtles, they were told “no female turtles.” Thankfully, now Venus has another chance to be done right with IDW.
And she’s also no longer the only female turtle since, in 2019, they added Jennika, the first female turtle in the comics continuity. Jennika, known as Jenny, was originally a human who worked for the evil Foot clan, but ended up realigning with the Turtles and trained under Leonardo. After being stabbed, she had to take a blood transfusion from Leo, which turned her into a turtle.
Jenny has thankfully been pretty popular. Turns out when you introduce a female character and take the time to explore her as a person, things can go well. Who knew? Good luck, Venus—it seems like you are in much better hands this time!
(via CBR, image: Fox)
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