Warning! This article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

Summary

  • Bebop and Rocksteady in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem have a new origin story, created by Baxter Stockman and raised by Superfly after being mutated by the ooze.
  • Unlike in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, Bebop and Rocksteady don't work for Shredder in Mutant Mayhem, but instead follow Superfly's orders.
  • Bebop and Rocksteady have smaller roles in Mutant Mayhem compared to their bigger antagonistic roles in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, and they later become heroes in the final act.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem includes to iconic duo of Bebop and Rocksteady, with the mutants being portrayed much differently than they were in Michael Bay's TMNT movie. Bebop and Rocksteady have been two of the staples of the TMNT franchise since its earliest days, appearing in various forms of media. One of those forms was in Michael Bay's live-action movie franchise, specifically the second film Bay produced.

2016's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadow's introduced the two characters as servants of the Shredder and Krang, marking their first live-action appearance. After the failure of Bay's franchise though, it was rebooted with the Easter egg-filled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem which included Bebop and Rocksteady once again. In TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, there are several differences between the Bebop and Rocksteay found in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the

Shadows, and here is every one of them explained.

5 Bebop & Rocksteady Have A New Origin Story In Mutant Mayhem

Bebop and Rocksteady stand next to each other and look into the distance in Mutant Mayhem.

Undoubtedly the biggest change made with Bebop and Rocksteady is their origin story. TMNT: Mutant Mayhem makes several lore changes to the franchise, one of them being that Bebop and Rocksteady were created by Baxter Stockman. The two animals were mutated after coming into contact with the ooze which Stockman created. After becoming the mutant versions of Bebop and Rocksteady, they were raised by Superfly who was also created by Stockman. The trio, along with the other mutants created, formed a tight-knit family unit and helped each other survive after Stockman's supposed death.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, however, Bebop and Rocksteady's origins are much closer to that of their original TMNT story. In the film, they are regular human prisoners alongside Shredder who escape when the latter breaks out with the aid of Baxter Stockman. After Shredder teams up with Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady are recruited and transformed into their mutant forms by Stockman using Krang's ooze. This is much more like the origins for Bebop and Rocksteady in TMNT lore in that they were humans transformed into mutants rather than animals that were mutated like in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem.

4 Bebop & Rocksteady Don't Work For Shredder In Mutant Mayhem

Bebop and Rocksteady in Out of the Shadows

In TMNT lore, Bebop and Rocksteady are primarily known as mercenaries of Shredder. Shredder is the turtles' arch nemesis, meaning he often employs other villains to take on the turtles such as the mutated duo. This was also the case in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, with Shredder recruiting and transforming Bebop and Rocksteady thanks to Stockman and Krang. Througout the remainder of the film, Bebop and Rocksteady are shown as Shredder's lackeys which forces them to come into conflict with the turtles at multiple points.

This highlights another different between the duo in Bay's movie and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem. In the latter, Bebop and Rocksteady are part of Superfly's mutant family. As such, they follow Superfly's orders rather than Shredders. Given that the post-credit scene of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem sets up Shredder for a future installment, this could change should Bebop and Rocksteady end their alliance with the turtles in favor of working for the TMNT villain.

3 Mutant Mayhem's Bebop & Rocksteady Have Smaller Roles

TMNT's Bebop and Rocksteady and Donatello.

As TMNT: Mutant Mayhem includes several different mutants, Bebop and Rocksteady have much smaller roles than in their prior appearances. The newest iteration of TMNT has plenty of characters to balance, from the titular turtles and their father Splinter to April O'Neil, Superfly, the TCRI, Baxter Stockman, and finally the rest of Superfly's mutant gang. As such, the latter group are relegated to supporting characters which includes Bebop and Rocksteady.

With Bebop and Rocksteady's other major film appearance in TMNT: Out of the Shadows though, they have a much bigger role. The film positions them as secondary antagonists behind Krang, meaning they are much more integral to the plot. Throughout the movie, they constantly come into conflict with the turtles in various set pieces. Due to their nature as villains in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, they have a much bigger role than the one offered to them in Mutant Mayhem.

2 Bebop & Rocksteady Become Heroes In Mutant Mayhem Instead Of TMNT Villains

tmnt superfly family

Another of the more significant changes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem makes to established TMNT lore is that Bebop and Rocksteday become heroes in the final act. In the film's first two thirds, Bebop and Rocksteady work with Superfly to obtain parts to a machine. Superfly, Bebop, Rocksteady, and the rest of their mutant family intend to use the machine to turn every animal in the world into sentient mutants like them, enslaving humans for the way humanity has ostracized them. This causes the turtles to go against them in the film, as they work to bring down Superfly.

However, in the film's third act, the turtles - with the aid of Splinter - manage to get Superfly's mutant family to turn on him. The other mutants, including Bebop and Rocksteady, reveal that they do not wish to enslave humanity as Superfly does. After Superfly mutates into a giant monster, Bebop, Rocksteady, and the rest of their family join the turtles in an effort to defeat him. The heroes succeed by the ending of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, with the mutants going to live in the sewers with the turtles and Splinter. In most iterations, Bebop and Rocksteady rarely sway from being villains, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

1 How Bebop & Rocksteady's Personalities Are Different In Mutant Mayhem

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies Ranked

Finally, another of the changes made to Bebop and Rocksteady between TMNT: Out of the Shadows and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem is their personalities. The former film is chock-full of crass, immature humor as is par for the course with Michael Bay directed or produced films. A large section of this humor is attributed to Bebop and Rocksteady given their integral roles in the film's plot. This kind of humor does not suit more serious villains like Krang or Shredder, meaning it was given to Bebop and Rocksteady instead.

With Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, this is not the case. The film contains plenty of genuinely funny humor, with a lot of one-liners being given to Bebop and Rocksteady. The duo is voiced by Seth Rogen and John Cena respectively, meaning both actors use their humorous talents to make Bebop and Rocksteady's small amount of screen time very funny. This contrasts greatly to Bay's TMNT movie, and is just another way in which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhempresents the iconic Bebop and Rocksteady differently to their first live-action appearance.