This is all speculation, but I believe Turtle is related to Rhino:
- Going into Turtle’s voicelines, it appears he originally didn’t have a Turkish accent - introducing himself in a British one instead.
- In Turtle’s concept art, you can clearly see he had multiple variations with darker skin tones, but the few white ones were finalized instead - Turtle himself is VERY pale. I’m not saying Turkish people can’t have light skin tones, but it’s a little suspicious his paler tones were chosen when most Turkish people have an olive skin-tone.
- This makes Turtle the seventh dark haired white male Merc with stubble, and I find it hard to believe SD would settle on a homogenized design like this with no reason (unless they change Turtle’s design upon release like they did with Aimee).
- Turtle knows about Western pop-culture not just in the way he’s dressed as a hipster punk, but in his dialogue: he’ll reference TMNT and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”.
- Turtle shares the same “Hagia Sofia” voice line with Rhino, and it appears the two appreciate the history and architecture of the building. Furthermore, they’re the only Mercs named directly after animals (besides Phoenix who’s named after a mythological bird), and they have tertiary education mentioned in their lore (Rhino was working on his MBA, and Turtle blew his arm off in class).
- Rhino and Turtle have the same birth marks and cut eyebrows
- Finally, Turtle’s old lore pegged him as a university student.
Conclusion:
- Turtle is either Rhino’s son or relative, and the two may have a rivalry based on their opposing dynamics (Young/Old, Land animal/Water animal, Full Assault/Full Defense, CG trailer rivalry etc).
- Or Turtle is 100% Turkish, there’s no conspiracy theory around his character, and everything here was fever dream speculation.
FORGOT TO ADD PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART:
- Rhino regretfully mentions “It was this or finish the MBA. And I was just… done with that stuff, y’know?” and “Someone tried to bully me once. Didn’t go so well for them.”
- Turtle’s dialogue says “Think I look bad? You should have seen the other guy.” Rhino’s entire body is covered - who’s to say he isn’t damaged or cybernetically enhanced to carry a minigun? He also used to have a Charge ability.
- This could be a stretch, but maybe Rhino and Turtle went to university together in Turkey - hence their mention of Hagia Sofia. Turtle seemingly bullies Rhino, so Rhino blows Turtle’s arm off. When Turtle says “You should have seen the other guy” perhaps he’s mentioning Rhino getting kicked out (thus failing to finish and losing interest in his MBA), unseen injuries on Rhino, or a mean jab at Rhino’s weight?
- Additionally, Rhino’s dialogue depicts him as a sophisticated older gentlemen “That’s no way to behave. Have you no manners?”. Perhaps Rhino had a teaching position and Turtle was his student?
- Instead of rivals, maybe they’re both friends: Turtle has had a hard time due to his implied association with Islam (as evident in his dialogue and the prayer beads on his model), and Rhino was bullied.
- Okay I’m pooped I hope this keeps everybody up at night.
