Bebop and Rocksteady facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bebop and Rocksteady |
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Bebop (left) and Rocksteady (right) in Turtles Forever (2009).
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | IDW Publishing |
| First appearance | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Turtle Tracks" |
| First comic appearance | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #1 (August 1988) |
| Created by | David Wise Peter Laird |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Bebop: Anton Zeck Rocksteady: Ivan Steranko |
| Species | Warthog Rhinoceros (both) |
| Team affiliations | Foot Clan |
| Partnerships | Shredder |
| Abilities | Bebop:
Rocksteady:
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Bebop and Rocksteady are two well-known supervillains from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories. Bebop is a mutant warthog, and Rocksteady is a mutant rhinoceros. They usually work for the evil Shredder, who leads the Foot Clan. Their names come from types of music: "bebop" is a kind of jazz, and "rocksteady" is a Jamaican music style that came before reggae.
Creating Bebop and Rocksteady
These characters were first thought up by Peter Laird. He designed them when Playmates Toys wanted more characters for the Turtles action figure line. They were then added to the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
Writer David Wise gave them their names, personalities, and backstories. This was based on a request to "put more mutants in the series."
Bebop and Rocksteady in Media
Television Shows
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996)
In the 1987 cartoon, Bebop and Rocksteady started as human street gang members in New York City. They worked for Shredder. Rocksteady was a strong, blond man, and Bebop was a taller man with a purple mohawk.
Shredder wanted to make his gang members stronger than the Turtles. Rocksteady and Bebop volunteered for a special procedure. They were exposed to a mutagen along with a warthog and a rhinoceros. This turned Bebop into a humanoid warthog and Rocksteady into a humanoid rhinoceros.
Even though they became bigger and stronger, they were still clumsy and not very smart. They often failed to stop the Turtles or help Shredder's plans. The Turtles usually outsmarted them instead of fighting them head-on. Shredder and Krang often got angry with them for their mistakes.
In one episode, Bebop's pet turtle accidentally mutated into the evil turtle Slash. Bebop and Rocksteady also caused a bull and a mole to mutate into Groundchuck and Dirtbag.
Their last appearance in this series was in season eight. They were trapped in Dimension X with the Technodrome. Shredder and Krang returned later, but Bebop and Rocksteady did not.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003–2010)
In the 2003 series, characters who look like Bebop and Rocksteady before they mutated appear in one episode. Another episode features a rhinoceros character who looks like Rocksteady and a warthog assassin.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012–2017)
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In the 2012 cartoon, Rocksteady was first known as Ivan Steranko. He was a Russian arms dealer and collector. Bebop was Anton Zeck, a professional thief with high-tech gadgets. Zeck had given Steranko his diamond eye in an earlier meeting.
Shredder wanted to capture the mutated Karai. Steranko and Zeck helped him, hoping to leave the city safely. But Shredder found out Steranko had stolen his helmet earlier. In a rage, Shredder had both Zeck and Steranko mutated.
Zeck became a warthog, and Steranko became a rhinoceros. They were forced to join the Foot Clan. They decided to go after the Turtles for revenge. They captured Donatello, Raphael, April O'Neil, and Casey Jones. They later captured Karai again for Shredder.
Bebop and Rocksteady often caused trouble with their clumsiness. In one episode, they accidentally created a giant mutant from Shredder's other mutants. Shredder was very angry and ordered them to be punished.
They helped Shredder fight the Turtles many times. In "Annihilation: Earth," they fought aliens alongside the Turtles. When Shredder was defeated in the fourth season finale, they abandoned the Foot Clan. They feared they were in too deep.
In a special crossover, they met their 1987 cartoon versions. They even thought about becoming superheroes.
Movies
Bebop and Rocksteady were supposed to be in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, but they were replaced by Tokka and Rahzar. They are mentioned in a song during the credits of the TMNT movie.
They appeared in Turtles Forever. Their human forms were also shown. They were still very clumsy, but one of Bebop's mistakes actually saved all of Turtle existence by accident!
Bebop and Rocksteady were also planned for the 2014 film but didn't make the final cut.
They finally appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Gary Anthony Williams played Bebop, and Sheamus played Rocksteady. They were criminals who helped Shredder escape. Shredder then mutated them into their animal forms. They were strong fighters but not very smart. They often got distracted and caused more chaos than good. By the end of the movie, they were arrested.
Video Games
Bebop and Rocksteady appear as bosses in many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Missions
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Super NES version)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Rocksteady only)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Action Figures
Bebop and Rocksteady were among the first action figures released by Playmates Toys in 1988. Rocksteady came with a "Retromutagen Rifle" and a "Turtle Carver Knife." Bebop came with a "Turtle Shell Drill" and a double-edged knife. They were very popular and were re-released many times over the years.
Weapons and Fighting Style
In the 1987 cartoon, Rocksteady and Bebop used many different types of weapons. In early episodes, they used automatic rifles and machine guns. Later, they used laser rifles and pistols from Dimension X. Sometimes, Rocksteady used a sword and Bebop used a baseball bat. They also had combat knives.
Unlike the Turtles and Shredder, who use traditional ninja weapons, Bebop and Rocksteady used firearms. This showed that they were street punks who knew how to use guns and knives before they mutated.
In video games, their weapons changed. In TMNT: The Arcade Game, Rocksteady used a machine gun, and Bebop used a ray gun. In The Manhattan Project, Rocksteady had a harpoon gun, and Bebop had a ball and chain on his head. In the Super NES version of Turtles in Time, they were pirates. Rocksteady used a rapier, and Bebop used a whip.
In the 2012 series, Anton Zeck/Bebop had many high-tech gadgets. These included gauntlet lasers, special glasses, a cloaking device, and laser blasters. Ivan Steranko/Rocksteady used brass knuckles, a war hammer, a sickle, a laser chaingun, a flamethrower, and grenades.
See also
In Spanish: Bebop y Rocksteady para niños
