One of the most well-known and well-liked characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is Casey Jones, who is equipped with a hockey mask, homemade weaponry, a bike, and a desire for vengeance.
He is without a doubt one of the most angry guys you will ever see, but it all stems from his history, which largely explains why he is the way he is. In addition to exploring his roots, the documentary will also cover his debut television appearance and the character’s interpretation in the IDW comics.
Although Casey Jones is a valuable member of the Ninja Turtles and has always aided the powerful turtles in whatever way he could, his journey did not start out that way. As we take you on the emotional roller coaster that is Casey Jones’ narrative and learn more about your favourite character, sit back and unwind. Shall we get started?
Prior to explaining further, we have a very minor request.
Please subscribe to our channel if you enjoy our work. It may seem like a tiny gesture to you, but it means a lot to us.
The First Time on Television (TMNT 1987)
Casey Jones barely has a small part in the beloved animated series, which debuted in 1987, and only appears in five episodes. In this play, there is a scene where the audience can see his blue boxers but never his face because he always wears a mask. Compared to the episodes and comics that came after, this Casey Jones is significantly different from what the fans had been used to. In addition, his bond with Raphael in the 1987 programme does not even exist, but the Ninja Turtles may still depend on him for assistance when they require it.
Casey is shown to be impulsive and willing to use all of his strength to punish any bad guy. It is also important to note that this version of Casey and April O’Neil had no significant relationship, and they didn’t even meet each other until season five. But they ultimately team up once in season seven and then again in season eight.
In Casey’s final appearance in the 1987 series, he duels The Shredder and can evenly match his strength after being able to wield a mighty weapon, a sword. Notably, this is the only interpretation of Casey Jones that can wield a weapon. Casey’s character was added to the 1987 series on a special request by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, who were both popular co-creators of the comic book. Although Casey wasn’t a central character in this cartoon series, he still made an impact by avenging and punishing those he could, and also by often nicknaming the villains scuzzbuckets and lawbreakers.
The 2003 Remake (TMNT 2003)
Season one, episode four, titled “Meet Casey Jones”, dives into this beloved character’s origin story and helps the viewers know more about him than the 1987 series did. The episode begins with the Ninja Turtles in their lair, Michelangelo trying to rile Raphael up, throwing punches his way, and dodging anything that Raphael throws at him. We catch a glimpse of just how much anger is built up in Raphael when he eventually had to be stopped and snapped out of it before he caused severe harm to Michaelangelo.
Splinter then explains that rage is a true monster that will destroy Raphael from within, if he doesn’t bring it under control and find balance. I mean, if you think about it, anger really is second to madness. It’s just a punishment we give to ourselves for someone else’s mistakes. Anyway, we see Casey Jones sitting on his couch, watching TV as they report about vigilantes in the city. Casey takes it upon himself to make them pay, as he puts his infamous hockey mask on and picks up his set of golf clubs, ready to get to his job.
As Casey gears up, we see a woman on the streets of the city being harassed by three men. It seems that these men belong to the street gang, Purple Dragons. Fortunately enough, it isn’t long before Casey shows up, ready to put on a good fight, and all this while Raphael watches the entire showdown until he realizes that Casey is out of control and decides to intervene.
He disarms Casey by taking the golf club away from Casey’s hand. Raphael tries to do the right thing by trying to calm Casey down, letting him know that he saved the woman and scared the men away, but this only angers Casey as he punches Raphael in the face before running after the men yet again.
If that wasn’t enough, the woman insults Raphael too, calling him a lizard-like thing, which only adds salt to his wounds, or maybe chilly powder, for that matter. Once again, Raphael manages to track Casey down, who is ruthlessly beating those men up, but they manage to escape yet again. Casey has had enough, as he now stands up against Raphael, ready to fight. Meanwhile, at the lair, the Ninja Turtles are busy working and honing their skills, blissfully unaware of the trouble Raphael might be in.
As Raphael and Casey gear up to fight, Raphael tries his best to explain that while Casey’s intentions are right, he is going about it the wrong way. If there’s one thing we know about Casey, it is the fact that he’s hot-head and in no mood to listen to Raphael, only wanting to fight him for letting those men get away. Back at the lair, the Ninja Turtles find a secret door and head inside to explore, when they see a crystal and attempt to find a power source, but instead, get locked in. This episode shifts between two scenes, one with the Ninja Turtles, and the other with Raphael and Casey.
Raphael is trying to teach Casey a thing or two about anger, especially after he almost hurt one of his fellow Turtles because of it. If there’s anyone who understands Casey’s anger, it is Raphael. Casey defends himself by saying that he has his reasons for doing what he does, and Raphael agrees, giving him exactly what Casey needed at that moment, a fight. It is short-lived when Raphael peels Casey’s mask off, reminding himself and Casey that they are both on the same side.
For a moment, the audience and Raphael are convinced that Casey has calmed down and understood that fighting Raphael isn’t the way to go, but everyone is soon proven wrong as Casey attacks Raphael again and runs away. We see Casey in this ultimate form for the first time; he’s got his mask, golf club, and his infamous bike as he invites Raphael to come and see him on Friday at Central Park, before driving away. Meanwhile, Purple Dragons begin to gear up and plot their revenge against Casey, who has been putting a spanner in their work for far too long now.
Raphael finally returns to the Turtle lair, where the rest have managed to return after exploring the secret chamber, which turns out to be an elevator to an abandoned warehouse. Raphael convinces the turtles to help him stop Casey, explaining that he isn’t a bad person, but just a little out of control. They all make their way to Central Park, the Turtles, the purple Dragons street gang, and Casey Jones.
However, before they reach the park, Raphael chases Casey down, finally getting him to open up about his past and what led to his being pent-up again and his vendetta against the Purple Dragons. When Casey was a young boy, the Purple Dragons shook Casey’s father for some protection money, and when Casey’s father refused to pay, the gang torched his store, and it is implied that the gang’s leader, Hun, eventually killed Casey’s Father, which would explain his intense hatred towards the gang.
Casey sheds a tear as he recalls this incident, and we finally see him warm up to Raphael for the first time. Before the two can continue bonding, they are surrounded by the Purple Dragons, but the Ninja Turtles arrive just in time for a showdown of Casey and the Turtles against the Purple Dragons. Once the Purple Dragons are defeated, there begins the story of Casey and Raphael’s friendship.
Casey’s appearance in this series is one of the most interesting and entertaining ones because throughout, we know he’s a good guy but him constantly putting up a fight against Raphael ruffled some feathers.
The 2012 Revamp (TMNT 2012)
The 2012 series doesn’t reveal too much about Casey Jones’ past or even a lot about him other than the fact that he is a human vigilante, a close friend and ally of the Ninja Turtles and April O’Neil, and is very aware of the existence of mutants, the good ones, and the bad ones.
Although he isn’t a central character in this series, he has some significant appearances throughout the seasons. His debut isn’t until season two, when April is his tutor, and the two of them begin talking while also trying to study. This is the first time we see Casey trying to fight off Mutagen Man while trying to save April. Casey lands a few punches in place, and manages to escape along with April, both of them unharmed.
During the entirety of season two, we see Casey and April bond with each other, while Casey tries his level best to save April from any harm that comes her way, helps the Ninja Turtles fight the villains of this season, and tries his level best to stay alive. As season three begins, we see Casey training with the Ninja Turtles and April. However, soon enough, while trying to save Raphael, Casey and April end up getting kidnapped by the Creep, who is a bog monster-like creature, but Leonardo manages to save them all in the end.
While the season is spent with Casey and April helping the Ninja Turtles fight evildoers, there is obvious friction between Donatello and Casey, because they both have feelings for April, but that doesn’t stop them from helping one another when the time comes. We also see Casey trying to fight big guns like Hun, the new leader of the Purple Dragons, but he doesn’t succeed.
Moving forward to the fourth season, even though Casey doesn’t have a major role in every episode, he is at least present in them all, contributing to fighting against some of the biggest villains in this series thus far, serving purpose time and again to the Ninja Turtles and April as well. In the fifth and final season of the series, Casey manages to land himself in the hospital but is soon discharged as he makes a full recovery.
In this season, we witness the Netherworld and how Casey helps send spirits back there, and after he bids his final goodbye to Splinter along with the others, he returns to the afterlife, enjoying the sunset. In the episode A Wasteland Warrior, we see an alternate timeline; we see Casey’s skull, indicating that he died instantly after the Mutagen Bomb was set off along with all the other humans. This was officially his last appearance in the 2012 series.
IDW’s Take on The Character
IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series dives into the backstory of Casey Jones, a fellow vigilante. Present-day Casey and Raphael are fighting thugs in a dark alleyway, casually conversing about Casey’s high school hockey accomplishments as they take action. Using his signature hockey stick to trip and bash the criminals, Casey goes on to say he has to get his grades up to keep playing in the hockey team. He can’t tell the coach that he’s “been busy” fighting crime, and that’s what’s keeping him from spending time in the library.
Casey asks the man and woman they’ve saved if they can call the cops since Raphael left his phone in his other shell, and the couple simply stands in disbelief, completely shell shocked, no pun intended. As the infamous duo walks away, Casey jokes about patrolling with Michelangelo next time, while the couple decides not to go South of Canal Street the next time around.
As we move forward, Casey tells the story of how he got started as a hockey player. When he was nine years old, his father took him out on the coldest day of winter and taught him how to play. His father was abusive, throwing pucks at him until he was bruised; it was his cruel way of trying to toughen Casey up. While Casey was freezing, his father kept himself warm with a flask of whiskey.
Casey still wears that old hockey mask his father gave him, and it has now become a huge part of his identity. We see the sort of trouble that Casey’s father got into, for instance, gambling without the means to pay his debts. Late at night, mobsters show up to collect their dues, but Casey’s father never did have the money to pay these men. He offers a gold hockey stick necklace to cover his tab for the moment, but it’s not enough, and he’s given 48 hours to come up with the remaining money. All this while, Casey watches his miserable father.
The necklace belonged to Casey’s mother. In a flashback to Casey’s high school days, we learn that his mother was sick with cancer and that his father was absent, not showing up for his games. It is rather emotional watching Casey interact with his dying mother, knowing how his father is the complete opposite of her. In the present, Casey’s father is watching a hockey game on television, breaking bottles when the team he bet on fails to secure his bet.
Casey dons his goalie mask and seeks out Raphael, enlisting his help to keep an eye on mobster Blake Anders and his goons, the people who have been threatening his father. They check out a dive bar, Skara Brae, where Blake hangs out and preys on drunks like Casey’s father.
In another flashback, Casey’s mother tells him that his father isn’t strong like he is, referring to his descent into alcoholism, as he prepares to lose her. She tells him that he’ll have to take care of his father when she’s gone. We return to the present when the televised hockey game is over, and Blake is leading another man from the bar, Matthew, outside to have his goons beat him up.
Raphael and Casey stop them from hurting Matthew by beating them before they can beat him. While the two vigilantes have the mobsters taken down, Casey lets them know both Matthew and Arnold Jones are paid up, and Arnold Jones, who is Casey’s father, is especially off-limits. And Casey can retrieve his mother’s necklace back from Blake.
Casey returns home, and his father demands to know where he’s been. When Casey doesn’t give him an answer, Arnold smacks him across the face. Casey hears the promise he made to his mother – that he’ll let his father feel strong, even though he’s not, but he doesn’t know how long he can keep going like this.
Casey meets up with the Ninja Turtles, who are shocked to see Casey in a state like that, but he tries his best to keep up a strong front, acting like everything is okay, knowing he had to do this for his mother as he holds on to her necklace in his hands.
This comic that focuses on Casey’s origin story is a rather emotional instalment in the series as we see the struggles that Casey has been through his entire life and continues to go through because of his father.
Appearances In the Video Games
Casey Jones appeared in the 1987 video games where he is a playable character in the NES and MegaDrive versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, which also has an opponent, who is a clone of Casey Jones, and has an unusually long reach during attacks, which makes him more difficult to win against as compared to the other villains in the video games.
In the 2003 video games, he is introduced as Arnold Casey Jones Jr. and appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Game Boy Advance) during Raphael’s chapter, which adapts the episode Meet Casey Jones from the 2003 remake. He also appears in the games Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus as a playable character.
Moving on to the 2007 video games, Casey plays the role of an ally to the Turtles and is also April’s boyfriend, and in the final game sequence, he proposes to April, a scenario that was plotted into the TMNT film but never made it to the final cut. He also appeared in the 2012 and 2014 video games as a playable character in both of them.
Interesting Facts You Should Know About Casey
There’s no doubt that Casey Jones is one of the most loved characters in this series, but beyond his persona and charms, there are several interesting things you should know about this character. His hockey stick has Eastman written over it, and his arm protection has the name Laird, which are the names of the Ninja Turtles’ creators.
Somewhere in the beginning, Casey was terrified of Master Splinter, when he immediately fainted after their first encounter. This is because Casey has musophobia, which is the fear of mice and rats. In the 2012 series, it is also revealed that Casey has a younger sister, although she is only briefly mentioned, and her name is never revealed. Some facts about Casey Jones that help us learn more about him are that his favorite color is green, he loves Halloween, and much like the Ninja Turtles, he enjoys his food, especially Mexican and Italian.
Apart from the good stuff, there is no denying the fact that originally, Casey’s character was created as a lunatic with homicidal tendencies, who often took things a little too far. In one of the Mirage comics’ story arcs, he accidentally kills a teenage mugger, which can only be seen as the tip of the iceberg.
There is no denying that Casey Jones will go down as one of the most loved characters in the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, but the fact remains that there is so much more to the surface than what we see. To understand this character, it is important to understand every interpretation of him in this series. He will always be one of the most formidable allies to the Ninja Turtles, and his charm will continue to work on April, and the viewers as well.