Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles** (often shortened to the **TMNT** or **Ninja Turtles**) are four fictional teenaged superhero anthropomorphic mutant turtles. Named after Italian Renaissance artists, they were trained by their anthropomorphic rat *sensei* in the Japanese martial art of *ninjutsu*. From their home in the sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated creatures, and alien invaders while attempting to remain hidden from society. They were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The characters originated in comic books published by Mirage Studios and expanded into cartoon series, films, video games, toys, and other merchandise. During the peak of the franchise's popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it gained worldwide success and fame.

## Main characters

* Leonardo (Leo) – The tactical, level-headed, quiet, courageous leader and devoted student of his *sensei*, Leonardo wears a blue mask and wields two swords. As the most conscientious of the four, he often bears the burden of responsibility for his brothers, which commonly leads to conflict with Raphael. Leonardo was named after the Italian polymath, painter, engineer, inventor, writer, anatomist, and sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci.
* Michelangelo (Mikey or Mike) – The most stereotypical teenager of the team, Michelangelo is a free-spirited, relaxed, goofy, mischievous, jokester known for his love of pizza and kind-hearted nature. Michelangelo wears an orange mask and wields a pair of nunchaku. He provides the comic relief, though he still has an adventurous side. The least mature of the four Turtles, he shows characteristics of a "surfer" type and is often depicted with a Southern Californian accent. He is named after the Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer, Michelangelo. His name was originally misspelled "Michaelangelo" by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.
* Donatello (Donnie or Don) – The scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius, Donatello wears a purple mask and wields a bo (staff). Donatello is perhaps the least violent turtle, preferring to use his knowledge to solve conflicts, but never hesitates to defend his brothers. He is named after the early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence, Donatello.
* Raphael (Raph) – The team's antihero, Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He has an aggressive nature, and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. He is often depicted with a New York accent. His personality can be fierce and sarcastic, and oftentimes delivers deadpan humor. He is intensely loyal to his brothers and *sensei*. He is named after the Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, Raphael.
* Splinter – The Turtles' *sensei* and adoptive father. In the original comics, Splinter is a Japanese mutant rat that learned the ways of ninjutsu from his owner and master, Hamato Yoshi. His name and character are a parody of the Marvel Comics character, Stick, who trained Matt Murdock/Daredevil. For the 1987 TV series, Splinter's origin was changed so he is Hamato Yoshi himself mutated into a humanoid rat. In the IDW comics, he is Hamato Yoshi reincarnated as a mutated rat. Other versions usually follow one of these origins.
* April O'Neil – A former lab assistant to the mad scientist Baxter Stockman, April is the plucky human companion of the Turtles. April first met the Turtles when they saved her from Baxter's Mouser robots. She embarks on many of the Turtles' adventures and aids them by doing the work in public that the Turtles cannot. In the 1987 TV series, Archie Comics series, the first three films, and the 2014 film reboot, April is a television news reporter. In the 2007 CGI film, she and Casey Jones own a shipping firm. In the 2012 series, April is a teenager who is rescued by the TMNTs and later given some "crash courses" in being a ninja by Splinter.
* Casey Jones – A vigilante who wears a hockey mask to protect his identity, Casey Jones has become one of the Turtles' closest allies, as well as a love interest to April. Casey first encountered the Turtles after having a fight with Raphael. He fights crime with an assortment of sporting goods he carries in a golf bag, such as baseball bats, golf clubs, and hockey sticks.
* The Shredder – A villainous ninjutsu master clad in armor called Oroku Saki, he is the leader of the Foot Clan, an evil ninja clan (the followers of the Foot Clan aren't necessarily evil, as it appears that they are brainwashed local youth of all races that are tasked with carrying out illegal deeds of a mysterious higher order). In every incarnation of the TMNT franchise, he has been the arch-enemy of the Turtles and Splinter as well as the main antagonist in most installments of the franchise.
* Foot Soldiers/Ninjas – The ninjas of the Foot Clan who work for the Shredder.
* Karai – A female high-rank member of the Foot Clan, she has appeared in several different TMNT comics, cartoons, and films, as well as in multiple video games. In her original appearance she was a commander on the same level as Shredder while in some of her later incarnations of the character, she is closely related to Shredder as his adopted daughter or biological granddaughter as well second-in-command. In most works, she shares an ambiguous rivalry with Leonardo, which occasionally even borders on romantic interest.
* Baxter Stockman – Baxter Stockman is a scientist and inventor who often acts as an enemy to the Turtles in various incarnations. He is known as the inventor of the mouser robots that appear in many versions, and is often depicted as allied with the Foot Clan, Krang, or going on his own.
* Krang – Krang is a small brain-like alien warlord who often appears as one of the main villains of the franchise alongside The Shredder. The character was originally inspired by the Utroms, an alien race from the original comics, while in later versions he is a member of the Utroms. In some incarnations Krang teamed up with Shredder while some versions have them as rivals for conquest.
* Bebop and Rocksteady – A criminal duo of a mutant warthog and rhinoceros, respectively, who were originally two human thugs who become the Shredder's henchmen in some versions. They are usually depicted as super-strong but not very smart and often serve as comic relief.

### First animated series (1987–1996)

Logo of the 1987 cartoon

When little-known Playmates Toys was approached about producing a TMNTs action figure line, they were cautious of the risk and requested that a television deal be acquired first. On December 28, 1987, the TMNT's first cartoon series began, starting as a five-part miniseries and becoming a regular Saturday-morning syndicated series on October 1, 1988, with 13 more episodes. The series was produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Film Productions, Inc. (later Fred Wolf Films). Mirage Studios does not own the rights to this cartoon series. The show is more lighthearted than the comics. Here, the Turtles are portrayed as four funny but serious superheroes that fight the forces of evil from their sewer hideout. They love pizza and put weird toppings on it. They make their first appearance in masks color-coded to each turtle, where previously they had all worn red. The turtles were also well known for their use of idiomatic expressions characteristic of the surfer lingo of the time, especially by Michelangelo. Words and phrases included "bummer", "dude", "bogus", "radical", "far-out", "tubuloso", "bodacious", and possibly the most recognized, "cowabunga".

The cast included new and different characters, such as Bebop and Rocksteady and the Neutrinos. Original characters such as Splinter, Shredder, and the Foot Soldiers stayed true to the comics in appearance and alignment only. Instead of being Hamato Yoshi's mutated pet rat, Splinter was a mutated Hamato himself. The Foot Soldiers changed from human ninjas to an endless supply of robotic grunts, allowing large numbers of them to be destroyed without anyone dying (this was a very important decision in terms of the show's child audience; excessive violence would have alienated parents of children, the show's target demographic). Krang, one of the series' most memorable villains, was inspired by the design of the Utrom, a benign alien race from the Mirage comics. The animated Krang, however, was instead an evil warlord from Dimension X. Baxter Stockman, whose race was changed from black to white, was rewritten as a shy and meek lackey to Shredder, later mutating into an anthropomorphic housefly. During the final two seasons of the show, the lead villain switched to Lord Dregg, an evil alien overlord bent on world conquest by trying to distract the public into believing that the Turtles were the enemy instead of himself.

Starting on September 25, 1989, the series was expanded to weekdays and it had 47 more episodes for the new season. There were 28 new syndicated episodes for season 4 and only 13 of those episodes aired in 1990. The "European Vacation" episodes were not seen in the United States until USA Network started showing reruns in late 1993 and the "Awesome Easter" episodes were not seen until 1991. These episodes were delayed because of animation or scheduling problems. On April 21, 1990, a drug-prevention television special was broadcast on ABC, NBC, and CBS named *Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue* that featured some of the most popular cartoons at the time; representing TMNT was Michelangelo, voiced by Townsend Coleman.

Starting on September 8, 1990 (with a different opening sequence), the show began its run on CBS. The CBS weekend edition ran for a full hour until 1994, initially airing a few Saturday-exclusive episodes back-to-back. Also, a brief "Turtle Tips" segment aired between the two episodes, which served as public-service announcement about the environment or other issues. After 1994, the show was reduced to just a half-hour and only eight episodes per season were produced, grouped into a "CBS Action Zone" block that also featured *WildC.A.T.s.* and *Skeleton Warriors*, both of which were canceled after one season; though TMNTs retained their "Action Zone" introduction. The series ran until November 2, 1996, when it aired its final episode. Its enormous popularity gave rise to its numerous imitators, including the *Battletoads*, *Cheetahmen*, *Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa*, *Road Rovers*, *Street Sharks*, *Extreme Dinosaurs*, and *Biker Mice from Mars*. Currently, all 193 episodes are available on DVD and VHS.

### Original video animation

In addition to the American series, a Japan-exclusive two-episode anime original video animation (OVA) series was made in 1996, titled *Mutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen*. The OVA is similar in tone to the 1987 TV series and uses the same voices from TV Tokyo's Japanese dub of the 1987 TV series. The first episode was made to advertise the *TMNT Supermutants* toys. It featured the Turtles as superheroes, that gained costumes and superpowers with the use of Mutastones, while Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady gained supervillain powers with the use of a Dark Mutastone. As with the *Super Sentai* and *Power Rangers* franchises, the four Turtles could combine to form the giant Turtle Saint. The second episode was created to advertise the *Metal Mutants* toys in which the characters gain *Saint Seiya*-esque mystical metal armor that can transform into beasts.

### Live-action series (1997–1998)

In 1997–1998, the Turtles starred in a live-action television series called *Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation* that directly follows the events of the first three movies. A fifth turtle was introduced, a female named Venus de Milo, who was skilled in the mystical arts of the *shinobi*. The series was intended as a loose continuation of the movie franchise, as Shredder had been defeated and the Ninja Turtles encountered new villains. Other connections to the feature films include the fact that Splinter's ear was cut, the Foot Soldiers were humans, and the Turtles lived in the abandoned subway station seen in the second and third movies. *The Next Mutation* Turtles made a guest appearance on *Power Rangers in Space*. It was canceled after one season of 26 episodes.

### Second animated series (2003–2009)

In 2003, a new TMNT series produced by 4Kids Entertainment began airing on the "FoxBox" (later renamed "4Kids TV") programming block. It later moved to "The CW4Kids" block. The series was co-produced by Mirage Studios, and Mirage owned one-third of the rights to the series. Mirage's significant stake in creative control resulted in a cartoon that hews more closely to the original comics, creating a darker and edgier feel than the 1987 cartoon, but still child-friendly enough to be considered appropriate for children.

This series lasted until 2009, ending with a feature-length television movie titled *Turtles Forever*, which was produced in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the TMNTs franchise and featured the Turtles of the 2003 series teaming up with their counterparts from the 1987 series, and eventually are visited by the black and white comic versions of themselves in the final act. 4Kidstv.com featured all the episodes of the series, until September 2010, when Nickelodeon bought the series and air the series occasionally on Nicktoons and Nickelodeon normally during TMNTs marathons.

### Third animated series (2012–2017)

Nickelodeon acquired the global rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and announced a new CGI-animated TMNT television series. The 2012 version is characterized by anime-like iconography and emphasis on mutagen continuing to wreak havoc on the everyday lives of the Turtles and their enemies; in addition, the tone of this version is similar to the original series, but also features a handful of serious episodes as well. The series ran for five seasons.

### Fourth animated series (2018–present)

Nickelodeon made a new 2D animated series based on the franchise, which appeared on September 2018. This version is characterized by lighter humor, and also had some anime iconography.