When ‘cowabunga’ meant ‘awesome’: How four ‘heroes in a half shell’ rocked my pre-adolescent world and are making a comeback

MANILA, Philippines - The year was 1990, I was 10 years old and starting to develop a taste for newer things I usually didn’t pay much attention to: Food, music and other figures in my life. A few years earlier, my entire world had been school, my home and the playground just outside of our small house in Okinawa, Japan. Living on an American base, things were somehow limited: The concept of the “real world” and the many adventures to be had were new to me, so it was a very exciting and at the same time, a nerve-wracking experience for me.

And just as I started developing a taste to experience this “other side” of life as I knew it, I was looking for heroes… sure, I read my fair share of comic books and discovered how Superman and the other defenders of truth and justice were either born from other planets and/or destined to become great, and as amused as I was, I couldn’t quite relate to the fact that these were extraordinary characters who seemed to be made of “the right stuff” from the get-go. How was I, a young kid, going to be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound? How was I going to be able to harness my supernatural powers and use them for the common good? I didn’t have any, as far as I knew, nor did I have fancy laser guns or big-ass inventions that could solve the world’s problems with the flick of a switch. And I wasn’t afraid of kryptonite, I was a lot more terrified of the fact that we wouldn’t be having pizza for dinner, but vegetables… as good as they were for more, it wasn’t exactly cool. It was not…“radical.”

Then, I found the most unlikely role models a 10-year-old-kid, hungry-to-explore-the-world could ask for. They were perfect… they inspired me, mostly because they were like me.

The only thing was, they were green.

And they didn’t have a cool, fancy headquarters, but they lived in the sewers, below the city. They didn’t have the coolest day jobs nor identities, because they were mutants. Super powers? None either, except that they studied the martial arts, or karate or, summing it up, were ninjas… how cool was that? And they loved pizza, just as much as they loved partying, or skating around town on skateboards. I was in pre-teen heaven.

The fact is, every Saturday morning, as I woke up early and rushed to turn on the television just in time for the opening credits of the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles (TMNT), I would be lost in a world completely my own: I’d sing along to the lyrics of the theme song: “Turtles in a half shell… turtle power!” and try desperately to imitate the karate moves and the lingo my favorite amphibians would display full-on for 30 minutes. Led by the enigmatic and wise Splinter — the turtles’ “sensei” who happened to be a mutated sewer rat — the four Turtles would often get in and out of fixes not uncommon in the real world, and each had the ability to display individual strengths (and even weaknesses) that made perfect sense to me. Leonardo, a true leader in the blue mask, was the driving force of the group, making decisions under the watchful eye and guidance of Master Splinter, while his brother Donatello, was a genius-type of lad who could come up with the most useful gadgets and information needed to tackle the task at hand. But it was always a toss-up for me who I loved the most: The hot-headed, quick-to-throw-the-first punch Raphael, whose deadly pair of sai was always thrown first before thought, or the cool, surfer-type comic known as Michaelangelo, who never failed to make light of any situation, or quip the undying battle cry “cowabunga!” before anyone else could say “orange mask with the nunchucks (or nanchaku, as I later found out).”

Individually, all four of them had at least once, played a part in getting the rest of the gang into a tight fix, but together, they were the most unstoppable force on the planet… and not to mention, in the world of children’s toys and network programming. I mean, to this day, I still can’t believe why pizza isn’t a staple in every household: This was hero grub, food for those who believed in both good… and coolness. Watching the turtles triumph over every possible situation, with the aide of reporter April O’ Neil, against Shredder and the nasty goons of the Foot Clan, inspired a further interest into different cultures and ways of the world: Martial arts and karate, plus the sensibilities of being young and in a big city.

When I returned to the Philippines during the first few years of the ’90s, Turtle-mania was in full swing: The cartoon series was a hit… all four turtles and the other characters had their images and their faces on almost everything — from skateboards to lunchboxes and even on other products like cereals, instant pizza, shirts, shoes… you name it. And of course, there were the action figures, which I collected rabidly. Leo, Donnie, Mikey and Raphael were a worldwide phenomena, and things would only get better as full-blown movies were made, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (both starring Filipino Ernie Reyes Jr., which was another source of pride for me) and even the lackluster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was a must-see. Though there would be many changes and attempts to keep them going, one thing was clear: I, alongside millions of kids worldwide, inevitably had to grow up.

Fortunately, channel giant Nickelodeon, not only resurrects the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but gives them a refreshed and re-booted flair and attitude that promises to be funnier and with a heightened sense of Turtle Power, both for old and new fans. After premiering last Nov. 16 on Nickelodeon, the radical vibe can definitely be sensed in the air as TMNT is set to captivate yet another generation of dedicated fans: The same lovable turtles with a rejuvenated Ninja power, headed by their Sensei Splinter (a.k.a. Hamato Yoshi), one of the world’s greatest ninja masters who guides the turtles in the big city. Alongside the ride is 16-year-old April O’Neil, who also ends up under Splinter’s wing after being attacked by the Kraang, a race of tentacled alien-brain creatures, who are the Turtles’ most dangerous foes. Of course, Splinter’s arch-nemesis Shredder is also back to no-good with his evil ninja army called The Foot Clan, all who will make up for very interesting (mis)adventures all-season long.

And guess who’s rushing to the television all over again?

It’s high time that these heroes in a half shell return to do some good during these challenging times, and I’m excited for every kid this generation, who will look up to a different kind of superhero once again: They’re green, pizza-eating, cowabunga-screaming, mean-fighting machines, dude! Catch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exclusively on Nickelodeon every Friday night at 6.