Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #2! Bebop and Rocksteady are two of the most recognized characters in the world. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles history. Well, when they're mutants, at least. Truth be told, their human forms have always been a bit of a mystery within the realm established by IDW Publishing. TMNT canon. Fans knew that Bebop and Rocksteady were once human, but they never got the chance to see them that way in this continuity – at least, until now.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #2 “Casey Jones: Agent of the Foot Clan” by Erik Burnham and Mateus Santolouco, Casey Jones is training with his fellow Foot Clan soldiers when Bebop and Rocksteady show up unannounced. While the sight of these two giant mutants would normally spell trouble – especially for a TMNT ally like Casey Jones – that's not the case. Bebop and Rocksteady just want Casey's help in using the Foot Clan's teleportation device, as they want to go to Las Vegas for some harmless fun.
When Casey comments on the fact that they are mutants and will likely terrorize other people in Las Vegas, Bebop and Rocksteady show him why that won't be a problem. Karai, the leader of the Foot Clan, has given the two mutants pieces of high-tech gear that they can wear on their wrists, which will create a hologram of their human selves to hide their mutant forms – giving fans a glimpse of what they originally looked like. . at IDW TMNT continuity.
Bebop and Rocksteady's human forms are much more significant than TMNT fans realize
If Bebop and Rocksteady can use holograms to 'become' human, so can all the other mutants
While Bebop and Rocksteady's vision as humans is noteworthy in its own right, the implications of how they were able to “become” human again are incredibly significant. Bebop and Rocksteady used hologram-generating devices that they can wear on their wrists, which completely hides the fact that they are mutants behind their human forms. This means that this method can work for all mutants in TMNTmaybe even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves.
But even if this method only works for mutants who were once human, it's still incredibly significant. In the IDW continuity, the human residents of an entire New York City neighborhood have mutated, forcing them to take on new lives in the section of the city designated Mutant Town. The lives of these people were completely uprooted, as they no longer fit into human society and had to rebuild their lives in a mutant community. But now, with these devices, these people have the opportunity to return to their normal lives – a potential story arc TMNT should absolutely explore.
This isn't the first time Bebop and Rocksteady's human forms have been revealed
Bebop and Rocksteady's human forms have not been shown in IDW so far, but have been shown in others TMNT Series
Although the implication of how Bebop and Rocksteady “became” human once again is the perfect setup for a future TMNT story arctheir own human forms are still the main conclusion of this question. But while this is the first time fans have seen their human forms in IDW Publishing's continuity, Bebop and Rocksteady have been shown as humans before in other series. The two most notable are the 90s TMNT animated series and live-action film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadowsboth featuring Bebop and Rocksteady prominently before they mutated.
However, just because fans have seen Bebop and Rocksteady as humans before in other TMNT series does not mean that this moment is any less impactful. IDW Publishing was the definitive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continuity since the launch of the comic series in 2011, and this also applies to these versions of Bebop and Rocksteady – making this moment one that was long overdue.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #2 from IDW Publishing is available now.