Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984, debuted in the world of American comics, published by independent publisher Mirage Comics. The comic focused on the four anthropomorphic turtles, who, as one might infer from the name, are also teenagers, mutants and ninjas. There were four turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo.

The concept was apparently borne from a comical drawing that played upon the inherent contradiction of a slow, cold-blooded reptile with the speed and agility of the Japanese martial art. The comic became a loose parody of two of the most popular comics of the early 1980's: Marvel Comics' X-Men, which featured teenage mutants, and Daredevil, which featured ninja clans dueling for control of the New York City underworld. Eastman and Laird cite the influential work of Jack Kirby and Frank Miller as their major artistic influences.

The small-press black & white comic book was successful enough to inspire a Saturday morning cartoon, which catapulted the characters into a nation-wide merchandising craze. The cartoon, while obviously inspired by the comic book, diverged in almost every way. While the comic was meant for an older audience, the cartoon focused on more standard children's fare and typically avoided overt human violence and any semblance of real conflict. Popularity exploded with the release of a live-action feature film (which more closely followed the comic) and its two sequels. There was also a long-running spinoff comic published by Archie Comics that started out following the cartoon, but as time progressed, diverged into rather overtly propagandistic environmentalist and animal-rights themes.

TMNT: The Comic Books

As the origin story goes, the four pet turtles were exposed to a liquid mutagen during a traffic accident at which their young owner, Chet, was a bystander. Most comics fans will recognize the accident, involving a blind man and a truck carrying radioactive waste, as an allusion to Daredevil, which was one of the primary influences in the creation of the TMNT. This mutagen caused the affected animals to become more human-like in intelligence and dexterity. Also exposed to the mutagen was Splinter, a pet rat once owned by ninjutsu expert Hamato Yoshi. Splinter taught himself the art of ninjutsu by mimicking Yoshi during his practice sessions. Trying to escape a bitter love triangle, Yoshi emigrated from Japan to the United States, but was murdered by his rival, Oroku Saki (aka Shredder). This left Splinter homeless, wandering the streets and sewers of New York City. Still fresh from their accident and wallowing in mutagen, Splinter happened upon the turtles and adopted them. Within days Splinter and the turtles had grown to humanoid size and had developed the power of speech. Splinter grew slower than the turtles. It was then that Splinter decided to train the young turtles in ninjutsu, so they would grow strong enough to exact revenge on the Shredder for the murder of Splinter's beloved Master Yoshi.

The four turtles were named after famed master Renaissance artists whose work their master admired: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Although Michelangelo was indeed misspelled as Michaelangelo, it was an error that stuck until Volume 4 of the TMNT comic, which began publication in late 2001.

The first issue of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was published in May, 1984. It was printed in an oversized "magazine-style" format using black & white artwork on cheap newsprint. The cover was a direct parody of the first issue of Frank Miller's successful Ronin mini-series. The book premiered at a comic book convention in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and had a print run of only 3,000 copies. The series continued, albeit sporadically, for nine years, terminating with the publication of issue #62 in August, 1993. During this period the book had a multitude of guest artists, giving the series a disjointed, almost anthology-type feel. Some of these artists, including Michael Dooney, Eric Talbot, Craig Farley, Ryan Brown, and Jim Lawson, continued to work with Mirage Studios for years to come.

In May, 1987, Mirage began publishing a sister book, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which introduced many peripheral characters who were to return later in the series. Jim Lawson and Ryan Brown were the primary creative team on this series.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 2 was launched by Mirage Studios in October, 1993, as a full-color series that maintained the continuity of the previous volume. This short-lived series lasted only two years, with the final issue, #13, published in October 1995.

Erik Larson came to the rescue in June, 1996, with the publication of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 3, which was published in black & white under the Image Comics banner. The 23 monthly issues were written by Gary Carlson and pencilled by Frank Fosco. This volume is notable for having a faster pace, intense action, and inflicting major physical changes on the turtles themselves (e.g. Raphael losing an eye, Leonardo losing a hand, and Donatello becoming a cyborg). However, it is not considered part of the "official" TMNT comics continuity.

Peter Laird and Jim Lawson brought the turtles back to their roots with the publication of TMNT: Volume 4 in December, 2001. It continues to be published, along with a relaunched version of Tales of the TMNT, by Mirage Studios to this day.

Major cross-overs with other successful independent comics characters include Dave Sim's Cerebus the Aardvark, Erik Larson's Savage Dragon, as well as an appearance in two issues of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot comic book.

TMNT: The Series (December 10, 1987-November 2, 1996) (1987 Cartoon Version)

In animation, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are four wise-cracking, teenaged, pizza-scarfing cartoon turtles who fought the forces of evil from their neighborhood sewer hangout. This cartoon series, known as the 1987 TMNT cartoon series, was made by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Film Productions Inc. Mirage Studios does not own the rights to the old 1987 TMNT cartoon series.

The origin story in the 1987 cartoon series differs greatly from that of the original Mirage Studios comics, evidently to make the often confusing origin easier for children to understand. Here we see that Splinter was formerly a human being, an honorable ninja master named Hamato Yoshi. Yoshi was banished from his clan after being deceived by the malicious Oroku Saki, who tricked him into drawing a blade before their sensei. In this version, the turtles came to Yoshi before being exposed to the mutagen. Yoshi returned one day from his explorations around New York to find the turtles covered by mutagen. The mutagen caused the turtles- most recently exposed to Yoshi- to become human while Yoshi- most recently exposed to sewer rats- became a humanoid rat.

Each ninja turtle wore a mask over his eyes having a distinctive color, carried and used a distinctive weapon, and had a favorite flavor of pizza. The color of each turtle's mask is the favorite color of each of the turtles.

• Leonardo: Turtle with blue mask who wields katana, the leader of the bunch, he takes after Splinter. Voiced by Cam Clarke.
• Donatello: Turtle with purple mask who wields bo staff, he acts as the scientist and is constantly tinkering with various inventions. Voiced by Barry Gordon.
• Raphael: Turtle with red mask who wields sai, he is the cynical and sardonic one. Voiced by Rob Paulsen, except in the final season. Michael Gough was the voice of Raphael in the final season of the 1987 TMNT series.
• Michaelangelo: Turtle with orange mask who wields nunchaku, he is the party animal of the group. Voiced by Townsend Coleman.
• Splinter:, born Hamato Yoshi, a rat-man who taught the Turtles, a strict and wizened mentor. Voiced by Peter Renaday.
• April O'Neil: Red-headed Channel 6 TV reporter who discovers their home in the sewers. Ally of TMNT. Voiced by Renae Jacobs.
• Irma: A Channel 6 TV associate. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.
• Casey Jones: Vigilante of the Big Apple, also an ally of TMNT. Voiced by Pat Fraley.
• Shredder: the arch-villain, born Oroku Saki. According to the original TMNT comic book by Mirage Studios, he turned evil trying to avenge the death of his brother Oroku Nagi. Voiced by James Avery (Most notable for playing Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) except in the last three seasons. In the 1995-1996 seasons, William Martin was the voice of Shredder.
• Krang: A disembodied alien brain within the Technodrome, which was Shredder and Krang's giant mobile fortress, that could go anywhere. Krang was inspired by the original comics' "Utroms," who were also sentient alien brains, but did good deeds on earth. Generally immobile, he often uses a humanoid robot to walk. Voiced by Pat Fraley.
• Bebop and Rocksteady: Two clumsy oafs mutated by the Shredder to act as his personal henchmen. A warthog and a rhinoceros, respectively. The former was voiced by Barry Gordon. The latter was voiced by Cam Clarke.
• Neutrinos: 1950s-college-kid types of people in flying cars (complete with tailfins) from another dimension. Their names are Dask, Kala, and Tribble. Friendly to the Turtles. Dask was voiced by Thom Pinto, and Kala and Tribble were voiced by Tress MacNeille.
• Foot Soldiers: The ninja clan that Shredder leads. In the 1987 cartoon series they are generally mindless robot drones.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have also appeared as guest stars in Usagi Yojimbo (book 3), summoned to the Edo period of Japan by magic.

'The Next Mutation'

In the late '90s, a live-action TV series was made. A fifth turtle was introduced, a female named "Venus de Milo", and the series took place generally after the storyline of the 1987 cartoon series, as Shredder had been defeated and the Ninja Turtles had new villans. Also, these ninja turtles made a guest appearance on Power Rangers: In Space, a similar live-action superhero show of the time. It wasn't very popular and was canceled after one season.

TMNT: The Series (February 8, 2003-present) (2003 Cartoon Version)

As of 2003, the Fox Network revived the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with the help of 4Kids Entertainment as a Saturday-morning cartoon in Fox's Fox Box programming block. The 2003 TMNT cartoon series was produced by Mirage Studios according to Big Cartoon DataBase.

The new show deviates from the 1987-96 cartoon significantly. While still a Saturday morning cartoon, the show bears more resemblance to the original, "darker and edgier" comics, published by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Mirage Studios. Gone are a foolish Shredder and his inept mutant/alien associates. Rocksteady and Bebop are no longer in the new show, and Shredder is a lot more menacing and threatening than his previous incarnations. In addition, the show is more rewarding if one views it sequentially because there is a main plot and several sub-plots running through each episode in the series, revealing hints for plot points which will become more developed as the series unfolds. For example, the identity of black-clad people and the biomechanical suit fished out of New York Harbor are never explained clearly at first, but subsequent viewings definitely should provide some clues. In the new show, Splinter was depicted as a rat who has been mutated to sapian form, instead of being a man who has been mutated to rat form. This is how it was in the movie and comic books. Also, in the new show, Baxter Stockman is African-American, which reflects his portrayal in the Eastman and Laird comic book series.

Eventually, the various plot points and story arcs culminate in a way many fans of the franchise have never seen. Peter Laird introduced radical new origins for The Shredder, making him a renegade alien Utrom at war with his peaceful race. The decision to make him an alien spawned controversy among the fandom, but the majority adored the concept.

In February 2004 a TMNT trading card game based on this cartoon was released by Upper Deck Entertainment.

Mirage Studios owns one third of the rights to the 2003 cartoon show.

Video games

Not only did the Ninja Turtles have a successful toy line, cartoon series, and movies, but they also starred in many video games. Japanese video game manufacturer Konami was largely responsible for them.

The older TMNT games are based on the old 1987 TMNT cartoon show, while the modern TMNT games are based on the new 2003 TMNT cartoon show.

80-90's

Popular in the arcades during the 1990s was the first TMNT arcade game, a side-scrolling "beat-em-up." It was successful enough to be followed by an arcade sequel known as Turtles in Time, which later appeared on the Super Nintendo. Several games were made for the Famicom/NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Famicom/Super NES, and others.

The first Famicom/NES TMNT game is called Gekikame Ninja Den in Japan. It was more complicated than the rest, as it was alternately a maze-type game and a side-scroller. At any point, the player could switch from one turtle to the next. The difference in their weapons. Because Donatello's bo-staff was longer and stronger than the other turtles' weapons, he was more popular among gamers. In the game, the turtles could pick up projectile weapons (i.e. ninja stars, boomerangs) and there were even parts allowing the player to navigate the famed Turtle Van. The second NES TMNT game is an adaptation of the original arcade game, with two additional levels. It was featured in Nintendo Power Volume #21 and rated no. 1 in the Nintendo Power Top 30 in Nintendo Power Volume #25, having Super Mario Bros. 3 in second place, but Super Mario Bros. 3 returned to first place in the following issue of Nintendo Power, putting the second NES TMNT game in second place. The third NES TMNT game was called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project. It was featured on the cover of Nintendo Power Volume #32.

Revival

Konami was recently commissioned to transform the current 2003 series into a video game franchise, gracing the PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. The result of the first modern TMNT game was panned by many critics for uninspired design and failing to live up to the originals, the second game, released recently has received similar critics, making both of them totally forgettable, especially the second game. For one reason, these two games are based on the 2003 series not the 1987 series, and most of these critics were fans of the 1987 series. The Game Boy Advance versions of the two games received higher ratings than the home console versions from the same critics. Some video game players believe the modern TMNT games are underrated.

Censorship and Hero turtles

Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom, the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have too violent associations and connotations. Consequently, everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released in the UK (or Ireland). The lyrics were also changed, eliminating the word ninja, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens." The policies also had other effects, such as removing Michelangelo's nunchakus on the same basis. At the start of the later comeback these policies had been abolished, and no changes were made to the 2003 TMNT show. The name Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remained unchanged for the 2003 show. As a result, in the U.K., the 1987 show is still called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the 2003 show is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Video releases

All the movies are avaliable on DVD and VHS as well as the 2003 animated series. The 1987 animated series is available on its out of print VHS tapes which are a vintage favorite and there is one DVD release of the 1987 series available since April of 2004, which contains the original episodes that aired back in December of 1987 and four bonus episodes from its tenth and final season. The Next Mutation is also available on DVD and VHS.

Other information

• The comic books debuted during a period of intense speculation investing in comic books. At the time, there was also strong interest in black and white comics from independent companies. The first printings of the original TMNT comics had small print runs. Within months, the books were trading at prices above 50 times their cover price. The Overstreet guide lists near mint copies for 120 USD. This phenomena also spawned a number of knock-offs and parodies including the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, the Cold-Blooded Chamelion Commandoes, the Naive Inter-Dimensional Commando Koalas the Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos and the Pre-teen Genetically Altered Martial Arts Iguana.
• Their love of unusual pizza, overt marketing catch-phrases and distinctly colored masks were unique to the 1987 and 2003 cartoons and cartoon-spinoffs like the Archie comic and almost all merchandising. These traits were carried forward into the movies and video games.
• Movie 3: Turtles in Time was based on a substory involving the "Sacred Sands of Time," which debuted in Eastman and Laird's TMNT Volume 1, issue 8. The story device continued to pop up in later issues of the Mirage comic.
• In the comics, movies, and 2003 cartoon, the "mutagen" acted more like a growth formula, while in the 1987 cartoon it worked as a "crossbreeding" tool, used to mix animal characteristics with people and vice-versa. The subject would have its gene spliced with the organism it last comes into contact with.
• In the comics, movies, and 2003 cartoon, the turtles came to Splinter after being exposed to mutagen. In the 1987 cartoon, they came to him before being exposed to mutagen.
• In the old 1987 cartoon series, Splinter was a man (Hamato Yoshi) who was mutated into a rat-man. In the original comics, the movies, and the new 2003 cartoon series, Splinter is a rat who gets mutated, and his master was Hamato Yoshi, and Yoshi and his wife Tang Shen were murdered by Oroko Saki (The Shredder). He was voice-acted by Peter Renaday in the 1987 cartoon series and by Darren Dunstan in the 2003 cartoon series.
• Contrary to everything following, the original origin story in the comics has Oruku Nagi (the older brother of Oroko Saki) as Hamato Yoshi's rival, and the Shredder's amnity towards Yoshi and Splinter consists only of revenge for his older brother, having no previous relationship to Yoshi. Originally, Yoshi killed Nagi to protect Tang Shen. This was probably considered to be a needless complication to the story, and all modern versions of the story leave him out, his role is filled by Saki instead. Tang Shen was omitted in the 1987 cartoon version of the origin story.
• The Shredder was depicted as a goof-ball in the 1987 cartoon series. He was depicted as a scary, lethal ninja in the comics, movies, and the 2003 cartoon series. He was least menacing and threatening in 1987 cartoon series. He is most menacing and threatening in the 2003 cartoon series. He was voice-acted by James L. Avery, Sr. (credited as James Avery) in the 1987 cartoon series. He was voice-acted by Scottie Ray in the 2003 cartoon series.
• In the movies and the old 1987 cartoon series, April O'Neil was a news reporter with no ties with Baxter Stockman whatsoever. In the 1987 cartoon, she worked for Channel 6, and in the movies she worked for Channel 3. In the original comics and the new 2003 cartoon series, she was Baxter Stockman's lab assistant. She was voice-acted by Renae Jacobs in the 1987 cartoon series and by Veronica Taylor in the 2003 cartoon series.
• A fifth Ninja Turtle was a female named Venus de Milo. She was in the short-lived live-action "The Next Mutation" series that aired on Fox shortly after the 1987 cartoon series and prior to the 2003 cartoon series. Since its cancellation, and the program is considered non-canonical, Laird and Eastman have disavowed all knowledge of her (in November 2000).
• The Mirage Studios comics, the movies, the 2003 cartoon series and the video games based on the 2003 series are considered canonical TMNT material, meaning part of the backstory of the TMNT. Next Mutation, the older TMNT video games, the 1987 cartoon series, and the Japan only anime OAV series are considered non-canonical.
• Mirage Studios owns all the rights to the Eastman and Laird comic books and one third of the rights to the 2003 cartoon series. New Line Cinemas owns the rights to the TMNT motion pictures. The 1987 cartoon series is owned by Murakami Wolf Swenson Film Productions. Mirage Studios does not own the rights to the 1987 cartoon series.
• The newer TMNT video games are based on the 2003 cartoon series seasonwise, while the older ones are based on the 1987 cartoon series.
• Baxter Stockman, April O'Neil's colleague, is African-American according to the original TMNT comics and the 2003 cartoon series. He was Caucasian and was later a mutated fly (Baxter the Fly) in the 1987 cartoon series. He was voice-acted by Pat Fraley in the 1987 cartoon series and by Scott Williams in the 2003 cartoon series.
• In the 1987 cartoon series, Casey Jones, the hockey mask wearing-baseball bat toting vigilianty, was not in frequent episodes. In the 2003 series, as with the comics, he plays a more pivital role with the Turtles.
• A Pen and Paper RPG based after TMNT was published by Palladium Games in 1985. Turtles and rats were not the only option for mutated animals, a rather large list of animals was made available.
• A short lived Japan only two episode anime OAV series was made in 1996, titled Mutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen (Superman Legend). It featured the turtles as superheroes, who gained costumes and super powers with the use of "Muta-Stones," while Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang gained supervillain powers with the use of a "Dark Muta-Stone." Characters resembled those in the original US cartoon series, but with very different personalities. The show was aimed at a much younger audience, and used many non-serious elements of Sentai and superhero comics.

Lists of episodes

• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes (1987 series)
• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes (2003 series)

Quotes

General TMNT quotes

"As long as I am in charge of this ship of Turtles, Venus de Milo will never be mentioned again." - Peter Laird

Quotes from the 1987 TMNT series

"Say sayonara, Splinter!" - Shredder - from Episode #6: "Return of the Shredder."

"Shredder? Are you there? Where have you been, Shredder?" - Krang - from Episode #36: "Cowabunga Shredhead"

"I wasn't born yesterday, I was born today."--Michaelangelo thinking the other Turtles had forgotten his birthday.

Movie Quotes

"You guys must be studying the abridged book of ninja fighting... I mean, come on! How do you guys expect to beat me?"--Raphael during a rooftop fight.

"Good answer. Good answer!"--Raphael upon seeing more adversaries than previously thought.

"That was a crime, you purse-grabbing pukes. And this is a penalty!!!"--Casey attacking some random hoodlums.

"A José Canseco bat? Tell me you didn't pay money for this."--Raphael warding off Casey's attack.

External links

• Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Website - From Mirage Studios
• Ninja Rap Page
• Original Theme Song Lyrics

1987 TV series

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at TV Tome
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Internet Movie Database
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Big Cartoon DataBase

• An usenet post on alt.fan.ninja-turtles with an excerpt from a Washington Post article published in 1991 regarding the above-mentioned censorship upon the 1987 TMNT show
• The Technodrome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Website - Information about the 1987 cartoon show

2003 TV series

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at TV Tome
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at the Internet Movie Database
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at the Big Cartoon DataBase

Movies

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

de:Ninja Turtles fr:Les Tortues ninja zh:忍者龜

Table of voice actors of the cartoon shows