Bebop And Rocksteady
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Bebop and Rocksteady are a fictional duo of mutant
warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...
and
rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
that have made appearances in various media releases of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise. The two characters are henchmen who follow the orders of the franchise's chief antagonist, Shredder, the leader of the Foot Clan. Their names are both derived from genres of music:
Bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
is a style of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, while
Rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...
is a Jamaican music style, a precursor to
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
.


Character creation

The characters were designed by Peter Laird while negotiating the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' action figure deal with
Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan Tai-ho as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing its own line of preschool to ...
, because they wanted more characters to release. They were added to the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated television series and given names, personalities, and an origin story by writer David Wise, based on instructions by Fred Wolf to "put more mutants in the series".


Transition to comic books and publication history


Archie Comics

Bebop and Rocksteady were featured in the comic book series ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is an American comic book series that was published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics. The series, which was aimed at a younger audience than other ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comic ...
'', with similar origins and dimwittedness. As told in the cartoon, they were street gang members mutated by the Shredder to help him defeat the turtles. As the series progressed, the animal side of Bebop and Rocksteady surfaced as they dreamed and longed for the 'old days' when they were just animals in the wild (Rocksteady, in particular, had dreams where he was a real rhino in the wild). When the Shredder and his bunch were defeated by the TMNT in the 'Final Conflict' (issue #13), Cherubae teleported Rocksteady and Bebop to an Eden World, a huge paradise planet in Dimension X full of wilderness and natural wildlife where there aren't any humans or similar to disrupt their peace. They enjoyed it. In issues #23-#25,
Krang Krang (also spelled Kraang) is a supervillain appearing in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''-related media, most frequently in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, such as the ''Te ...
, who was banished to the toxic waste dump planet ''Morbus'' for exiled criminals, befriended two other criminals, Slash and Bellybomb. The group stole a spaceship and headed to Earth and happened to stop along the way at the same Eden World that Bebop and Rocksteady inhabited. Being bored of Paradise, Rocksteady and Bebop joined them on the trip back to Earth. However, rather than battle the turtles, the pair left Krang and the villains to fight the turtles and wandered the streets of New York City on their own. They robbed a clothing store to get clothes similar to their original attire, and a gun store for some guns. They then went to the zoo and blasted all the cages, setting all the animals free. Just as the turtles managed to defeat Krang (who had taken over Shredder's body), Rocksteady and Bebop arrived with guns and all the zoo animals, intending to take them back to the same Eden World. The turtles surrendered and let Bebop and Rocksteady escape in the spaceship with the animals. Leonardo asked them to take the defeated Krang and Bellybomb with them back to Morbus in Dimension X (Slash had already left the scene and was wandering the city). Bebop and Rocksteady did as asked and bid the Ninja Turtles farewell. The final panel of #25 shows the two mutants removing their clothes and going back to their simple life in the wilds of the Eden World. Bebop and Rocksteady maintained the abilities they demonstrated in the cartoon including their superhuman strength. After the initial mini-series, the duo seemed to become even less intelligent than their cartoon versions. In
Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
's ''
Sonic Universe ''Sonic Universe'' is an American comic book series that was published by Archie Comics in association with Sega, based on the latter's ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. It is a spin-off (media), spin-off of the comic book series of the Sonic the Hedgehog ...
'' #29 (June 2011), Bebop and Rocksteady are seen in the Zone Jail, ready to bully
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
's evil counterpart Scourge who was reading "
How Not to Be Seen "How Not to Be Seen" is a popular sketch from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. The sketch purports to be a British government public information film in which a disembodied narrator, voiced by John Cleese, instructs viewers on "how not to be seen ...
".


IDW Comics

Bebop and Rocksteady are shown in their human forms in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro Series'' #1 (December 2011). They work alongside an
Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
mutant named Alopex and appear mutated in ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' #25 (August 2013). Their back story is told in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Villains Micro-Series'' #7 (October 2013). Bebop was originally a man named Genealdo and Rocksteady was originally a man named Maxence. In this version, they fully understood the implications of their mutation, having successfully fought and defeated all other candidates for the right after being defeated by the Turtles as humans as Genealdo was mutated into a mutant warthog and Maxence was mutated into a mutant white rhinoceros. It is revealed in the micro-series that having been kicked out of gangs in the past owing to their incompetence, they are fanatically determined to remain in the Foot Clan. They were ordered by Shredder to kill
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
, which they carried out. Rocksteady smashed Donatello's shell with a sledgehammer, leaving the Turtle in a pool of blood. However, Donatello clung to life long enough for his consciousness to be temporarily transferred into the robot Metalhead while his turtle body was being restored. After Shredder's death in issue #50, Bebop and Rocksteady desert the Foot and, after inadvertently coming into contact with Savanti Romero and his stolen Time Scepter, wreak so much havoc across the multiverse that all reality is pushed to the brink of obliteration; the Turtles and their time mistress friend Renet just barely manage to avert that catastrophe.


In other media


Television


''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1987–1996)

Bebop (voiced by
Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Dona ...
in most appearances, Greg Berg in some 1989 episodes) and Rocksteady (voiced by Cam Clarke) were introduced in the series as members of a human
street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
that was employed by Shredder. Rocksteady, the gang's leader, was a short and stocky blond Caucasian man (who sported army camouflage pants that would be replaced with simple beige
cargo pants Cargo pants or cargo trousers, also sometimes called combat pants or combat trousers after their original purpose as combat uniform, military workwear, are loosely cut pants originally designed for rough work environments and outdoor activities, ...
later while also occasionally sporting a strong army helmet on his head in his mutated form). Bebop, the second-in-command, was a taller
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
man with a purple mohawk. With their fellow gang members Scrag, Grunt, Dopey, and Dumbo, they were sent out to stop a Channel 6 reporter named
April O'Neil April O'Neil is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles. April made her first appearance in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios), Mir ...
from doing a report about crime in the city. April ran down into the sewers while being chased by the street gang and met the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
, who then defeated the gang in a fight. After this humiliating setback, The Shredder developed a plan to defeat the Turtles by mutating members of the street gang that Rocksteady and Bebop are a part of so that they would have abilities greater than the Turtles'. Rocksteady and Bebop both volunteered to undergo the procedure first (though neither was particularly aware of what it would entail) with the promise that it would allow them to exact revenge on the Turtles. As the result of being brought into contact with a
common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...
and a
black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East Africa, East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Moza ...
that Shredder had abducted from the zoo, Bebop mutated into a humanoid mutant warthog while Rocksteady mutated into a humanoid mutant black rhinoceros. Although the transformation did make them larger and stronger, they remained bungling, incompetent simpletons, and were completely inept at stopping the Turtles or carrying out Shredder's plans. Throughout most of the series, they tried to attack the Turtles with brute force, without applying knowledge and strategy. In the episode "The Missing Map," when the two were accidentally caught in Krang's "brain extraction" machine, the results concluded there was "no data to extract," implying that the two possessed little or no knowledge. Most of the time, the Turtles consider them to be formidable in combat (despite their stupidity) due to their great strength and endurance, and as such, often have to resort to using their surroundings to outwit them rather than fighting them in a straightforward manner. But their attempts at the turtles seem to regularly fail due to their incompetence and goofing behavior, which all leads to them being abused both physically and verbally by Shredder and Krang, and the former even fired them in one episode. Rare examples of them achieving success would be capturing Michelangelo in "Cowabunga Shredhead" when he forgets his weapons and using a ray on all four turtles which fills them with fear in the episode "Bebop and Rocksteady Conquer the Universe." In one episode of the series, Bebop was shown to have kept a pet turtle which got mutated into the evil turtle
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...
. In "Planet of the Turtleoids" Pt. 1, Bebop and Rocksteady were responsible for causing a
cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...
and a mole to be exposed to a mutagen-showering machine transforming them into Groundchuck and Dirtbag by accidentally setting the respective animals free at the same time when Shredder and Krang wanted to mutate a
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
and a
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
(which were freed by the Turtleoid Kerma) to be their latest henchmen. In season eight, Bebop and Rocksteady seemed to have some form of intelligence and talked and joked around less. Rocksteady and Bebop's last appearance is in the season 8 finale "Turtle Trek". In that episode, the Turtles destroy the
Technodrome Krang (also spelled Kraang) is a supervillain appearing in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''-related media, most frequently in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, such as the ''Te ...
's engines, trapping it and its inhabitants in Dimension X for good. While their bosses Krang and Shredder returned in the 10th and final season, Bebop and Rocksteady did not. Their ultimate fate was not explained, although it is assumed that they are still somewhere in Dimension X.


''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (2003–2009)

In the 2003 series episode "Fallen Angel", two characters that are dressed like Bebop and Rocksteady and resembling their pre-mutated appearances are seen with the Purple Dragons when Hun was fighting Casey Jones and the Turtles in the ring. In the episode "Samurai Tourist", the character Gen, also an anthropomorphic rhinoceros, put on human clothing that makes him look almost identical to Rocksteady. Also in that episode, Gen is chased by Kojima, an assassin who happens to be a humanoid warthog. In the '' Fast Forward'' episode " Future Shellshock", Michelangelo falls out of a flying truck and onto another vehicle, the driver of which greatly resembles Bebop, only with smaller, more modern sunglasses.


''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (2012–2017)

Bebop and Rocksteady appear in the 2012 incarnation, voiced by J. B. Smoove and
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore ( , , born June 13, 1967) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk, Volstagg, and Beast in various Marvel media and ...
, respectively. Rocksteady was first introduced in the series as Ivan Steranko, a
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
arms dealer, and artifact collector, an old friend and business partner of the Shredder. He first appeared in "Enemy of My Enemy," where he met with Shredder for a weapons deal. Shredder didn't seem to trust him very well and had the cargo searched just in case Steranko was pulling any tricks. During the Turtles' fight with Shredder, Steranko got knocked out by the weapon that was being sold to the Foot Clan. In "A Chinatown Ghost Story," it was mentioned that Steranko would pay the Purple Dragons through the roof for the Mystic Dagger. Bebop was later on introduced as Anton Zeck, an
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
professional thief in a high-tech Tron-based suit. He first appeared in "The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto," where he was sent by Steranko to steal Shredder's helmet, the titular Kuro Kabuto. Following his theft, where he left his calling card on a glued-down Rahzar, Zeck ran into the Turtles, who stole the kabuto from him. The Turtles, Rahzar, Fishface, Tiger Claw, and Baxter Stockman fought Zeck over the helmet, but he managed to evade them. When Zeck met up with Steranko in his helicopter, they both discovered that Leonardo swapped the helmet out with dirty diapers at the last minute, to Steranko's rage. In "Serpent Hunt" and "The Pig and the Rhino", three months after the Kraang conquered New York, a desperate Steranko and Zeck resolve to capture the mutated Karai in exchange for Shredder securing their safe departure from the city. The duo succeeded, but Shredder was livid at the revelation that Steranko was behind the theft of the Kabuto helmet and that Karai escaped when the Turtles interfered. An enraged Shredder proceeded to have the duo mutated in Stockman-Fly's lab, Zeck and Steranko respectively exposed to
common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...
and
white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''), is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most Sociality, social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted f ...
DNA introduced to their two mutagen exposure. After being made Foot Clan members against their will, the two are sent after Karai before deciding to go after the Turtles instead out of misplaced revenge. They managed to capture
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
,
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
,
April O'Neil April O'Neil is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles. April made her first appearance in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios), Mir ...
, and
Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1864 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Cen ...
before cornering Leonardo and Michelangelo at Coney Island, the latter serving as a distraction while coming up with their mutant names from the van they arrived in. Steranko liked "Rocksteady" while Zeck was initially not fond of "Bebop". The two ultimately escape after briefly fighting the heroes over the retro-mutagen batch Donatello had concocted. They were able to recapture Karai and deliver her to their new master. Rocksteady became the Shredder's connection to the Russian mafia, as mentioned in "Casey Jones Vs. the Underworld". In "The Noxious Avenger", Bebop and Rocksteady are tasked by Stockman to retrieve a chemical known as "Reagent-X" (and some groceries, to their anger) to create a mind control serum for Shredder to use on Karai, inadvertently finding some mutagen in the process. During their battle with the Turtles however, the mutagen they found wound up being thrown by Zeck all over humble sewer worker-turned-
garbage man A waste collector, also known as a garbage man, garbage collector, trashman (in the U.S), binman or dustman (in the UK), is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and dispose of municipal solid waste (refuse) and recycl ...
Garson Grunge, who mutated into Muckman. After witnessing him defeat the Turtles in a later encounter, Bebop and Rocksteady take advantage of the lost and confused Muckman, by convincing him that it was the Turtles' doing for his mutation. Muckman then temporarily helped the duo steal another chemical while fighting the Turtles but eventually came to his senses after noticing Bebop and Rocksteady's true nature when the Turtles rescued him, thus turning on them and destroying the chemical, which caused Bebop and Rocksteady to retreat. In "Meet Mondo Gecko", the two attended Xever's underground mutant race with the rest of the Foot and other mutants who were foes of the Turtles. In "The Deadly Venom," a mind-controlled Karai was able to defeat Rocksteady in combat as part of a test to see if the mind-control serum worked on her. In "Attack of the Mega Shredder!" the duo is ordered to maintain constant surveillance of the Foot's base, as the Shredder believes the Turtles will soon infiltrate it. Shredder's premonition is proven correct and the two help Tiger Claw and a new trio of Shredder mutants fend off the Turtles. The two capture Leonardo and Michelangelo when they infiltrate the base once again, and prepare to dump them into Stockman's vat of mutagen. However, the two are tricked by Leonardo to create a massive mutant from the Turtles and the three Shredder mutants. Bebop also dumps some sardines into the vat with the Shredder mutants, inadvertently creating a massive Shredder mutant Kaiju that goes on a rampage. After the Turtles defeat the monster, the Shredder is livid at the two and orders Tiger Claw to deal them a savage beating for their failures. The duo helped subdue the Turtles to be placed in Karai's traps during "The Fourfold Trap", also suffering a brutal defeat at the hands of Splinter when he came looking for his sons. In "Annihilation: Earth" Pt. 2, when the Triceratons came to Earth intending to destroy it, the two helped battle the aliens until Shredder doomed them all by killing Splinter. Terrified, the two embraced each other as they were sucked into the
black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...
generated by the Triceratons, making them among the first casualties of the destruction of the Earth. However, thanks to Professor Zayton Honeycutt reversing time back six months to before the events of "Annihilation: Earth", the duo was revived, and thanks to the Turtles of the future, the Black Hole Generator is stopped, before being destroyed, along with the Triceraton Mother Ship, by the Fugitoid in a
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attack. Shredder is beaten by Splinter, and the duo are forced to flee Manhattan with the rest of Shredder's crew. They reappear at the end of "City at War", where taking refuge in a condominium deep in the woods, the duo act as
bodyguards A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy business ...
for Shredder as he is cared for by Stockman-Fly due to the injuries he sustained leaving him hooked up to
medical equipment A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
to keep him alive before Stockman-Fly injects him with the mutagen. They soon are teamed up with Tiger Claw in "Broken Foot" to defend the Auman Chemicals factory from Karai as she begins to systematically take down Shredder's criminal empire one piece at a time. Karai, Shinigami, and Leo damage the factory but are forced to flee due to being outnumbered by Foot-bots, the duo pursue the Party Wagon, and manage to crash it by removing one of its back tires with their own van's weapons, but the Turtles escape. They regroup with Tiger Claw to defend the factory producing the Foot-bots, but though they manage to capture Karai, Shinigami, and the Foot Ninja with them, the Turtles, minus Donatello, who was injured by the earlier attack's explosives, all of them are rescued and the factory is destroyed, forcing the duo and Tiger Claw to escape before the
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
arrived to investigate the destruction. When their master was fully restored to full strength (and upon receiving a massive dose of special mutagen), they were ordered to seek out the Turtles down in the subway sewers. They eventually succeeded in breaking through the steel door, where the Turtles, April, and Karai were hiding. The pair clashed with the Turtles several more times before the death of the Shredder in the fourth season finale, "Owari". Despite the death of their master, Tiger Claw, the new leader of the Foot, pressed them into service once again. After the demo dragon Kavaxas (voiced by
Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
) resurrected the Shredder as a shambling corpse, Bebop and Rocksteady abandoned the Foot Clan for good in "End Times", out of an accurate fear that they were in over their heads. In the three-part episode saga ''Crossover Tales'', Bebop and Rocksteady are employed by 1987 counterparts of Shredder and Krang to conquer Earth of both 1987 and 2012 realities along with eliminating both realities' Turtles. Despite the frequent mistreatment from Shredder and Krang due to their history with their 1987 counterparts, Bebop and Rocksteady earn their respect before turning upon realizing they intend to destroy the planet and consider becoming superheroes instead. When the 1987 Turtles return to their reality, they tell the 1987 versions of Bebop and Rocksteady that they're allowed to choose their own lives, causing the two to start re-considering their life choices. When Nickelodeon Rocksteady shows up his merits before he joined the Foot Clan, it shows he fought as a volunteer in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, the Yugoslavian Civil War and the Congo Wars.


Film

* Bebop and Rocksteady were planned to be included in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze''. ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' creators
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
and Peter Laird objected, partially due to having to go through legal clearances for the characters, resulting in the characters being replaced by two original characters named Tokka and Rahzar. * Bebop and Rocksteady are mentioned in the song "Shell Shock" by
Gym Class Heroes Gym Class Heroes was an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including h ...
, featuring during the end credits of '' TMNT''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear in ''
Turtles Forever ''Turtles Forever'' is a 2009 American animated superhero film that is a crossover between two different incarnations of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise. The plot follows the Turtles of the 2003 animated television series as they ...
'', voiced by Braford Cameron and Johnny Castro, respectively. Their human forms are also seen when the Turtles first travel back to the 1987 dimension. In a flashback describing how the Turtles crossed dimensions, they said to their Turtle counterparts that they were facing off against Shredder and the Technodrome, meaning that he got the machine out of Dimension X (as well as Rocksteady and Bebop). Their incompetence is still shown, although it ended up saving the 2003 Shredder when Rocksteady accidentally tripped over and unplugged a laser that was about to destroy him, although Bebop ended up obliterating the 2003 Shredder anyway when he re-plugged the same laser device all the while thinking he would be pleased that they "fixed" his machine. All this happened just as the Utrom Shredder was unleashing a plan that would wipe out Ninja Turtles of all planes of existence (even if it meant destroying himself since he was still linked to them). So ironically, Bebop saved all of Turtle existence. * Bebop and Rocksteady were planned to be included in the 2014 ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' film, but did not make it into the final draft. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows'', portrayed by Gary Anthony Williams and
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...
. While Bebop's true name is Anton Zeck, the rap sheet in prison guard Casey Jones' hand lists Rocksteady as (though it mentions Ivan Steranko as one of his aliases). Originally, they were two criminals being transported at the same time as the Shredder, after they provide assistance in Shredder's rescue and escape themselves, he selects them as test subjects for a new variation of the mutagen, which taps into dormant animal
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
in their system from a point before life on Earth began to evolve in different routes, causing them to mutate into their more familiar states. While portrayed as more competent than their cartoonish incarnations, Rocksteady and Bebop are powerful fighters but intellectually limited. They constantly goof around, are easily distracted. At one point Rocksteady becomes completely carried away in the heat of battle and attempts to shoot at the turtles with a Mark 19 grenade launcher mounted on an M1 Abrams tank while they are in a transport plane, resulting in him destroying the cockpit and sending the plane into a crash-dive into a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
. There are no scenes in the movie in which Bebop and Rocksteady are seen apart. Casey Jones later fights Bebop and Rocksteady in TCRI's parking garage and tricks them into going into an intermodal container where Casey sets off one of their miniature explosives. Around the end of the movie, it was mentioned in April's news broadcast that Bebop and Rocksteady have been arrested and are in police custody. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'', voiced by the film's producer and co-writer
Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...
and
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
, respectively. This version of the duo are members of Superfly's gang and were mutated from a common warthog and a black rhinoceros instead of humans. While Rocksteady has some arm tattoos like some of his previous incarnations, Bebop is shown to have some tattoos and more piercings on his body. Unlike previous incarnations, the two of them end up reforming near the end when they realize that they do not want to follow Superfly's plan to kill humans and team up with the Turtles to defeat him. In the end, they and the rest of Superfly's gang move in with Splinter and the Turtles.


Video games

* Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in the NES game ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in the arcade game ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
''. In the game, the Turtles defeat Rocksteady in the first level and Bebop in the second level, and then have a rematch with Rocksteady and Bebop together immediately before rescuing April. Occasionally, Rocksteady and Bebop bump into each other in their attempts to charge the Turtles, but it only resets their stamina to full (but not their overall health). When the game was released on the NES, the rematch with Rocksteady and Bebop was replaced with a second battle with Baxter Stockman in his mutated insect form. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project''. In this version, Bebop is armed with a head-mounted ball and chain. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Missions''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear in the
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...
version of '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time''. They are dressed as pirates and paired together as a double boss, appearing in the pirate ship level where the Turtles
time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
to 1530, replacing the arcade bosses Tokka and Rahzar. (Tokka and Rahzar became minibosses in the newly added Technodrome level instead). * Rocksteady appears as a boss in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist''. Bebop, however, is nowhere to be seen in this game. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear in the background of the Mount Olympus arena in the Super NES version of '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters''. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'', voiced by
André Sogliuzzo André Sogliuzzo (born August 10, 1966) is an American voice actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Darksiders II'', '' Final Fantasy XIII'', '' Jackie Chan Adventures'', '' Need for Speed: Most ...
and Cam Clarke, respectively. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan'', voiced by Tim Dadabo and Fred Tatasciore, respectively. * Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge'', reprised by
Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Dona ...
and Cam Clarke, respectively. In this game, Bebop interrupts a broadcast to inform the Turtles that the Foot Clan is taking over the Statue of Liberty. He is defeated in the first level, as is Rocksteady in the second level, then they rematch the Turtles together at the end of the third and seventh level. * Bebop is mentioned in '' Injustice 2'' by Leonardo as a random clash quote. * In '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed'', Bebop, Rocksteady and Ray Fillet run a restaurant called "Ray's Pizza" where they task the Turtles to deliver pizza to customers. In the first chapter of the game, Bebop and Rocksteady were influenced by Cammy Leon's pheromones after drinking the water she infected, resulting them to steal powerful speakers and created a concert as a act of protest towards humans due to the curfew. * Rocksteady will appear in '' Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2'' as a playable character via
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
. reprised by Cam Clarke. * Bebop and Rocksteady are set to appear in Fortnite as part of a new wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles skins based on some of the brand’s biggest villains.


Action figures

Bebop and Rocksteady were among the first 10 action figures released by
Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan Tai-ho as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing its own line of preschool to ...
in 1988. Rocksteady was packaged with a "Retromutagen Rifle" which was most likely modeled after a
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
M60 general purpose machine gun. Other accessories included a "Turtle Carver Knife" (a bowie knife), a "Manhole Cover Shield", and a removable belt with turtle shell trophies. Bebop was packaged with a "Turtle Shell Drill" (which resembled a power drill but with its own telescopic sight attached), a double-edged knife that resembled the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, and a trashcan lid for a shield. Both retailed originally at $3.98 each. Bebop and Rocksteady saw continuous release as they were on store shelves for close to a decade from 1988 to 1995. Three years later both Bebop and Rocksteady were reissued as KB Toys exclusives commemorating 10 years of the first toy line. The reissues have the date stamps changed from 1988 to 1998. Both figures were reissued again in 2009 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Other figure incarnations of Bebop and Rocksteady were produced for the Wacky Action, Night Ninjas, Mutant Military 2, Mutation, Smash 'em/Bash 'em, Tournament Fighters, Sewer Heroes, and Warriors of the Forgotten Sewer sub lines and in 13 in. "Giant" scale. In late 2013, figures of Bebop and Rocksteady were released for the Classic Collection toy line.


Weapons

In the 1987 series, Rocksteady and Bebop were armed with various types, makes, and models of
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
s and
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
weaponry from both Earth and Dimension X. In the early episodes of the 1987 cartoon series, Bebop and Rocksteady were armed with
automatic rifles An automatic rifle is a type of Self-loading rifle, autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic firearm, automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally selective fire, select-fire weapons capable of firing in Semi-automatic firearm, semi ...
and machine guns, which they used against the Turtles. Later in the series, they were armed with laser
rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
s and
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
s from Dimension X. In "The Cat Woman from Channel Six", Rocksteady carried a wooden
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
and Bebop carried a
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...
. Besides the extensive array of firepower from both Earth and Dimension X at their disposal, Bebop and Rocksteady were also armed with combat knives; Bebop with a double-edged knife (which resembles the ''Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife'') and Rocksteady with a
machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...
. In some episodes, they are seen fighting over a club. The use of firearms and laser weaponry by Bebop and Rocksteady help to differentiate them from both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
, the Shredder, and the Foot Soldiers/Ninjas who use traditional ninja weaponry. This is because Bebop and Rocksteady were never ninjas, but street punks that were skilled in the use of firearms and knives before they were mutated. In the game series they use a variety of different weapons. In ''TMNT: The Arcade Game'', Rocksteady used a machine gun while Bebop used a ray gun. In ''The Manhattan Project'', Rocksteady uses a harpoon gun, while Bebop uses a ball and chain mounted on his head. They were absent from the arcade version of ''Turtles in Time'', but in the Super NES version, Rocksteady and Bebop were dressed as a pirate captain and first mate respectively. Rocksteady used a
rapier A rapier () is a type of sword originally used in Spain (known as ' -) and Italy (known as '' spada da lato a striscia''). The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It wa ...
while Bebop used a
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
. In the 2012 series, Anton Zeck/Bebop is equipped with many gadgets, such as gauntlet-mounted lasers, z-ray glasses, a sliding backpack, a tub of glue, a cloaking device run by Double A batteries, a laser Mohawk, and belt-mounted laser-blasters. Ivan Steranko/Rocksteady is equipped with two
brass knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...
, a
war hammer A war hammer (French: ''martel-de-fer'', "iron hammer") is a weapon that was used by both infantry, foot soldiers and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judas Maccabeus, Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century ...
, a
sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...
, a laser
minigun The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an elect ...
, a
flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World W ...
, a dart-rifle, and
grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
.


References


External links


Bebop's profile on the official TMNT website


{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated duos Villains in animated television series Black characters in films Comics characters introduced in 1988 Fictional African-American people Television characters introduced in 1987 Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional duos Fictional gang members Fictional gangsters Fictional henchmen Fictional kidnappers Fictional mutants Fictional rhinoceroses Fictional warthogs Fictional Yugoslav War veterans Male characters in animation Male characters in comics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters Video game bosses Film supervillains Male supervillains Animated characters introduced in 1987 African-American characters in television African-American characters in films African-American characters in comics Black rhinoceros fr:Personnages des Tortues Ninja#Bebop et Rocksteady