Bonnie

**Home**
 **Affiliation**
 **Species**
 **Gender**
 **Height**
 **Voiced by**

**Bonnie** was a human-born mutant frog and a member of the Punk Frogs who was badly injured and taken in by mutant reconstructive surgeon Jasper Barlow. As **Venus**, she is a patchwork mutant with a mainly turtle-like appearance, whose current form was created by Dr. Barlow.

## Etymologies

### Chinese

Her original Chinese name, Mei Pieh Chi (in Wade-Giles romanization system), was given to her by Chung I.

**Mei** can transcribe:

* 美: beauty
* 眉: eyebrow
* 梅: plum

**Pieh** can mean:

* 河: river
* 鱉: (soft-shelled) turtle

**Chi** can mean:

* 志: energy
* 气 or 息: breath
* 笛: flute
* 机: machine

The most obvious component of her name is 'turtle' (specifically, soft-shelled turtle), although since she was found washed in the sewers, 'river' could also be significant.

Whatever character represents 'beauty' would make sense with her later appearance. It is possible that by the time she was found, she might already be humanoid enough to be considered beautiful to Chung. As the turtles do not have eyebrows, that is not a likely meaning. Nor do we know if Chung is a plum fan.

The 'chi' component is the least obvious. Venus inherited some mystical 'chi magic' abilities, so it could refer to Chung being a proponent for chi-related mysticism. It could also refer to the amphibious nature of turtles in that they can breath in both air and water, so to speak.

Splinter tells Venus that Chung I told him he thought Venus was good luck, his "Beautiful Turtle of Energy" when he found her in the sewer water and decided to take her back to China with him. While not explicitly stated in any source material to be what characters are used for her name, 'Beauty' (美) 'Turtle' (鱉) and 'Energy' (气) are the most likely based on this line from the television show. Even so, 美鱉气 translates to English "beautiful (soft-shelled) turtle's (vital) energy".

### Venus

Her adopted Western name, Venus de Milo, is based on the sculpture. Like Mona Lisa, she is named after a work of art, rather than an artist.

The sculpture of Venus de Milo is thought to have been created by Alexandros. Previous to this it was mistaken as the work of Praxiteles.

## History

Bonnie was a member of the Punk Frogs who was taken by Dr. Barlow and reconstructed partially into a ersatz mutant turtle under commission from Madame Null. Barlow deemed the "Venus" project a failure and then used her for experimentation. On a few occasions, she had escaped, and Clyde had mistaken her for a "weird-shelled" turtle who had captured Bonnie. She escaped and began to live with the turtles in the Sewer Lair.

## Appearance

Her bandana is cyan colored, a much lighter blue than her oldest brother and captain Leonardo's. It is braided in the back to resemble a ponytail. Due to being a different gender, she is thinner, leaner, more athletic and slimmer than the other turtles, who are generally stocky and bulky. Her plastron is shaped that at the front, the underside has round protrusions resembling breasts.

## Fictional character biography

### Origin

Venus was a frog that was exposed to ooze in the sewers. When Splinter gathered up all the turtles, he mistakenly left Venus behind. Somehow making her way to Chinatown, she was discovered by a shinobi magician called Chung I. Chung I took the turtle with him to China where he raised her as a daughter and named her Mei Pieh Chi. He also trained the turtle in the art of Shinobi.

Apparently, Chung I would, on occasion, travel to the realm of dreams and encounter Splinter. Each swapped stories of their turtles, choosing to keep them a secret until the time was right. In his possession, Chung I also had a glass mirror, within which were trapped humanoid Dragons. It was Chung I's purpose to make sure the Dragons would never escape the mirror. The Dragons eventually crossed over into the realm of dreams, attacking Chung I and kidnapping Splinter's spirit. On his deathbed, Chung I revealed to the female frog her true origin and told her her place was in New York.

### Life in New York

Venus went to New York and founded the Punk Frogs, a group of punk-rocker amphibians and reptiles that renamed her Bonnie. She lead the Punk Frogs until she was kidnapped by Dr. Barlow.

## Notes and Trivia

* Bonnie is named after American bank robber Bonnie Parker, as Clyde is named after Parker's partner, Clyde Barrow.