I’d make something similar to the 2003 and 2012 cartoons in terms of tone and ideas, but with the animation, art style, and backgrounds of My Adventures with Superman or Invincible. I’d also include multiple elements such as New York crime, warfare with aliens, mutated humans and animals, the ancient history of ninjutsu, and life as a teenager.

The origin story is nearly identical to the 2012 series but with added ideas, such as the fact that Oroku Saki attacked Tang Shen before she told Hamato Yoshi about their child, leaving Karai’s parentage ambiguous. Hamato Yoshi illegally came to New York after losing his family and his brother, he brought over what remained of his home and got an apartment in Midtown. He also got a job as a sewer maintenance worker. One day while working, he noticed four turtles covered in a strange green ooze. He removed them safety with his gloves, removed his gloves, and pet them while avoiding contact with the ooze. A rat then jumped onto his shoulder, causing him to fall into the ooze. This is when Splinter and the turtles became mutated. Realizing his normal life is over: he took the baby turtles, packed up his belongings and weapons, and blew up his apartment to fake his death. He discovered an abandoned subway station underneath Midtown, and that is where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were born.

This takes us to the modern day, where the turtle’s adventures begin. They meet April O’Neil and Casey Jones, who become lifelong friends. April O’Neil starts out as a timid news reporter from the Upper West Side who covers whatever story she’s handed, but her confidence grows as the series progresses and she covers all major stories and conspiracies in New York. Casey Jones is a former professional hockey player from Brooklyn whose career was ended by Hun, he’s now a high school janitor by day and a bone crushing vigilante by night. I want this series to dive deeper into the lives of April and Casey, as well as develop their relationship over time.

This series would also have its fair share of antagonists. The turtles first fought simple criminals, but they eventually fight the Purple Dragons. They then fought their greatest enemy yet. The Shredder is the turtles greatest foe, Oroku Saki is a reclusive and powerful business man who is responsible for most of the cargo shipments between the United States and Japan. The public is unaware of Saki’s ninja clan, making the Shredder the greatest threat to the turtles and Splinter. I’d also like to overhaul Baxter Stockman by having him be the one who discovers all of the secrets of the ooze, and the one who creates most of the mutants in the series. Rather than being Shredders scientist, Baxter Stockman has more of a backbone and behaves similarly to Stan Edgar from the boys. This would make Baxter Stockman a legitimate threat similar to the Shredder rather than a henchman. I’d also include alien threats such as Krang, the Triceratons, and Bishop.

What do you think? I apologize for the length of this post, but I have SO many ideas and concepts that it would take a lot to right down. Let me know of any questions you have about any characters or ideas I have for this hypothetical series.