Jul. 9th, 2015 10:12 pm
Casey's Backstory
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jonesiseverywhereMost adaptations of TMNT have a lot of similarities between them that play out like variations on a theme, and one of those themes is Casey's relationship with his dad. Standard operating procedure is that Casey is close to his mom and distanced from his dad. Sometimes they're estranged, sometimes his dad is dead, whatever, they just don't really get along.
The adaptation that I've pulled Casey from just avoids this all together. His dad has been mentioned, and the very few details we get are that he "used to be a hockey player" and that he taught Casey to skate. His mom isn't mentioned at all, and only hinted at when he discusses his friend April's mom, and acts uncharacteristically sad in a manner that suggests she is probably dead (like all moms in that series)(and I can elaborate if needed). His little sister has no information on her at all, save that she exists. Often, for all intents and purposes, 2012 Casey's family doesn't exist for the convenience of him being a free agent.
Now generally, when I need to pull bits of Casey's backstory in PSLs and such, I take it from the IDW TMNT version. That one is admittedly pretty heavy: IDW Casey's dad became an alcoholic who physically and emotionally abuses him after his wife's death from cancer, becomes leader of a notorious street gang, and allies himself with Shredder, the big bad of the series, even though that means Casey has a bounty on his head. Now, I normally cut this down to just the dad's alcoholism, the mother's death from cancer (when Casey is eight), and change the physical abuse to emotional neglect. I do this because I feel the two versions of the characters have a lot of matches in their psychological profiles: insecurity, recklessness, directionlessness, and a general prioritizing of the turtles over his biological family, but 2012 Casey seems to be far less outwardly sad, which in this context suggests he's been mostly left to take care of himself and he really doesn't seem to realize it's a problem.
My interpretation of this is that Casey does know his dad is neglectful, but is in denial about it and clings to the good memories he has of his father, and with the turtles to fill the family gap, he ends up being farther removed from his dad's behavior as a problem. He also deeply misses his mom, but he's already gone through a grieving process and tends not to get sad unless he's reminded.
The adaptation that I've pulled Casey from just avoids this all together. His dad has been mentioned, and the very few details we get are that he "used to be a hockey player" and that he taught Casey to skate. His mom isn't mentioned at all, and only hinted at when he discusses his friend April's mom, and acts uncharacteristically sad in a manner that suggests she is probably dead (like all moms in that series)(and I can elaborate if needed). His little sister has no information on her at all, save that she exists. Often, for all intents and purposes, 2012 Casey's family doesn't exist for the convenience of him being a free agent.
Now generally, when I need to pull bits of Casey's backstory in PSLs and such, I take it from the IDW TMNT version. That one is admittedly pretty heavy: IDW Casey's dad became an alcoholic who physically and emotionally abuses him after his wife's death from cancer, becomes leader of a notorious street gang, and allies himself with Shredder, the big bad of the series, even though that means Casey has a bounty on his head. Now, I normally cut this down to just the dad's alcoholism, the mother's death from cancer (when Casey is eight), and change the physical abuse to emotional neglect. I do this because I feel the two versions of the characters have a lot of matches in their psychological profiles: insecurity, recklessness, directionlessness, and a general prioritizing of the turtles over his biological family, but 2012 Casey seems to be far less outwardly sad, which in this context suggests he's been mostly left to take care of himself and he really doesn't seem to realize it's a problem.
My interpretation of this is that Casey does know his dad is neglectful, but is in denial about it and clings to the good memories he has of his father, and with the turtles to fill the family gap, he ends up being farther removed from his dad's behavior as a problem. He also deeply misses his mom, but he's already gone through a grieving process and tends not to get sad unless he's reminded.