The franchise began as a comic book,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which Eastman and Laird conceived as a parody of elements popular insuperhero comics at the time. The first issue was published in 1984 by Eastman and Laird's companyMirage Studios and was a surprise success. In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensed the characters toPlaymates Toys, which developed aline ofTurtles action figures. About US$1.1 billion ofTurtles toys were sold between 1988 and 1992, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time.
The action figures were promoted with ananimated series, which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade. It was succeeded by several other television series. ThefirstTurtles video game was released in 1989, the first of several developed by the Japanese companyKonami. The firstTurtles film, released in 1990, became the highest-grossingindependent film up to that point.
Eastman sold his share of theTurtles franchise to Laird in 2000. In 2009, Laird sold it toViacom, nowParamount Skydance Corporation. The franchise has continued with a new comic book series, television series, films and video games.
The comic book authorsKevin Eastman andPeter Laird met in Massachusetts and began working on illustrations together. In 1983, Laird invited Eastman to move in with him inDover, New Hampshire.[1] That November, Eastman drew a masked turtle standing on its hind legs armed withnunchucks to make Laird laugh.[2] Laird added the words "teenage mutant".[1] The concept parodied several elements popular insuperhero comics of the time — the teenagers ofNew Teen Titans, the mutants ofUncanny X-Men and the ninja skills ofDaredevil — combined with the comic tradition offunny animals such asHoward the Duck.[3]
Eastman and Laird developed the concept into a comic book. They considered giving the turtles Japanese names, but instead named them after theItalian Renaissance artistsLeonardo,Donatello,Raphael andMichelangelo, which Laird said "felt just quirky enough to fit the concept".[2] They developed a backstory referencing further elements ofDaredevil: likeDaredevil, the Turtles are altered by radioactive material, and theirsensei,Splinter, is a play on Daredevil's sensei,Stick.[3]
In March 1984, Eastman and Laird founded a comic book company,Mirage Studios, in their home.[2] Using money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle, they printed copies of the first issue ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and advertised it inComics Buyer's Guide.[2] This attracted the interest of comic distributors, and all 3,000 copies were sold in a few weeks.[2] Sales of further issues continued to climb.[2]
In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensedTurtles toPlaymates Toys.[3] Between 1988 and 1997, Playmates producedTurtles toys including around 400 figures and dozens of vehicles and playsets. About US$1.1 billion toys were sold in four years, makingTurtles the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time, behindGI Joe andStar Wars.[2]
Influenced by the success ofG.I. Joe,He-Man andTransformers, which had promoted toy lines with animated series, Playmates worked with the animation studioMurakami-Wolf-Swenson to produce the firstTurtles animated series,[4] which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade.[3] It introducedTurtles elements such as their color-coded masks, catchphrases, love of pizza and distinct personalities.[3] To make it acceptable to parents and television networks, the series had a lighter tone than the comics, with no expletives, less violence and less threatening villains.[2] In the United Kingdom and some other European regions, the franchise was renamedTeenage Mutant Hero Turtles due to the violent connotations of the word "ninja".[5][6]
ThefirstTurtles video game was released for theNintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1989, the first of several developed by the Japanese companyKonami.[7] It sold approximately four million copies, making it one of the bestselling NES games.[2] In response to concerns that the series was drifting from its origins, Eastman and Laird published an editorial in the comic in 1989, writing: "We've allowed the wacky side to happen, and enjoy it very much. All the while, though, we've kept the originals very much ours."[8] Eastman later said they regretted approving some projects, and Laird wrote of his dislike for the softer tone of the animated series.[9][2]
1990s: First films, franchise expansion and commercial peak
The franchise reached its commercial peak in the early 1990s.[10] ThefirstTurtles film was released in 1990, featuring costumes designed byJim Henson's Creature Shop.[10] It was based more closely on the comic than the animated series, with a darker tone.[10] It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1990 and broke the record for the highest-grossingindependent film, earning more than US$200 million worldwide.[11][12]
A second film,The Secret of the Ooze, was released in 1991. With a rushed production and a lighter tone, it received weaker reviews and was less successful at the box office.[12]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) was aimed at the Japanese market, the largest foreign market for US films at the time, but failed to see release there and had weaker reviews and sales.[3][12]
In 1990, a stage musical featuring the Turtles as a rock band,Coming Out of Their Shells, played 40 shows across the United States.[2] The musical was sponsored byPizza Hut and promoted with an appearance onThe Oprah Winfrey Show.[13] A soundtrack album and VHS were released.[2] After the animated series ended, a live-action television series,Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, was created in 1997 withSaban Entertainment. It introduced a fifth, female turtle,Venus de Milo. The series was canceled after one season.[2] Eastman later said he liked the series, while Laird said it was the onlyTurtles project he "truly regrets".[14][2]
Eastman sold his share of theTurtles franchise to Laird in 2000.[3] In 2003,4Kids Entertainment launched anew animated series, which ran for seven seasons, concluding in 2009.[2] Laird had a role in the production, creating a closer adaptation of the original comic.[2] A computer-animatedTurtles film,TMNT, was released in 2007.[2]
In most versions, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are created when four baby turtles are exposed to radioactive ooze, mutating them into humanoids.[26] They fight evil in New York City,[11] where they reside in the sewers.[27]
Leonardo, the leader, is the most disciplined and skilled turtle.[28] An expert swordsman, he wields twokatana and wears a blue bandana.[29]Raphael, the strongest and most quick-tempered turtle,[28] wears a red bandana and uses a pair ofsai.[29]Donatello uses his intellect to invent gadgets and vehicles.[28] He wears a purple bandana and uses abō staff.[29]Michelangelo is the least disciplined and most fun-loving, and is usually portrayed as the fastest and most agile.[28] He wears an orange bandana and usesnunchucks.[29]
Splinter is a mutant rat who is the wise adoptive father of the Turtles and teaches themninjutsu. In some iterations, he was once the pet rat of ninja masterHamato Yoshi; in others, he is a mutated Yoshi.[30] The Turtles are assisted byApril O'Neil, who is variously depicted as a news reporter, lab assistant or genius computer programmer.[30][31] In most versions, she is pursued romantically byCasey Jones,[32] a hockey mask-wearingvigilante who usually becomes an ally of the Turtles.[33]
The Turtles' nemesis is theShredder, a criminal mastermind clad in samurai-like armor, who leads the ninja clan known as theFoot Clan. His real identity is usually the ninja Oroku Saki.[34] In most versions, the Shredder's second in command isKarai, a skilled martial artist; in some iterations she is the Shredder's daughter.[34] In some versions, the Shredder allies withBaxter Stockman, amad scientist,[34] andKrang, an alien warlord fromDimension X. Krang was introduced in the original animated series, was inspired by the Utrom race from the comics, and is sometimes depicted as an Utrom himself.[34] Also created for the series were the Shredder's buffoonish henchmen,Bebop and Rocksteady, a mutant warthog and rhinoceros.[34]
Eastman and Laird'sTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered in May 1984, at a comic book convention held at a local Sheraton Hotel inPortsmouth, New Hampshire. It was published by their companyMirage Studios in an oversized magazine-style format using black and white artwork on cheap newsprint, limited to a print run of 3000 copies.[35] It was initially intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series.[2]
After publication was temporarily assumed by Image Comics for the third volume, Laird (by then the sole owner of the franchise) and Lawson relaunched the main series at Mirage with a fourth volume in 2001. Following the sale of the franchise to Nickelodeon in late 2009, Laird retained the right to continue the Mirage series,[36] but no issues have been released since the release of issue #32 in 2014,[37] and Mirage Studios was wound down in 2021.[38]
The main Mirage series was published for 129 issues across four volumes.[2] Additional one-shot issues and miniseries were also published. Mirage published a companion book,Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, designed to fill in the gaps of continuity in theTMNT universe.[39]
From 1988 to 1995,Archie Comics publishedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, a series aimed at a younger audience.[2] Initially adapting episodes of thefirst animated series, it soon moved to original storylines.[40] The main series ran for 72 issues;[41] in addition, there were numerous annuals, specials and miniseries. An ongoing spin-off series,Mighty Mutanimals, features a team of supporting characters.[42]
In 1996,Image Comics co-founderErik Larsen, seeing that there were noTMNT comics in active publication, oversaw a relaunch of the comics through Highbrow Productions, his studio at Image, with writing byGary Carlson and art by Frank Fosco. This third volume of the main series, intended as a continuation of the Mirage comics, saw Splinter become a bat, Donatello a cyborg, Leonardo lose a hand and Raphael become scarred and assume the identity of the new Shredder. The series was canceled in 1999 after 23 issues without a conclusion.[2] In 2018, IDW began reprinting the series in full color asTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Urban Legends, and commissioned Carlson and Fusco to create three additional issues to tie up the unfinished story.[43]
A monthly comic inspired by the2003 TV series was published byDreamwave Productions from June to December 2003. It was written byPeter David and illustrated byLeSean Thomas. In the first four issues, which were the only ones directly adapted from the TV series, the story was told from the perspectives of April, Baxter, Casey, and a pair of New York City police officers.[44]
In 2011,IDW Publishing acquired the license to publish new collections of Mirage storylines and a new ongoing series.[45] The first issue of the new series was released in August of that year. Eastman and Tom Waltz wrote the book, and Eastman and Dan Duncan provided the art. In 2017 issue #73 of the comic was published, making it the longest-running comic series in the franchise's history.[46] In addition to the main series and spin-offs set within its continuity, IDW also published comics based on the2012Turtles animated series[47][48] and the 2018 animated series,Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[49] The volume one of the series ended in April 2024 at issue #150, while volume two[50] was released three months later in July.[51]
Mutant Turtles (ミュータント・タートルズ,Myūtanto Tātoruzu) is a 15-issue series by Tsutomu Oyamada, Zuki mora, and Yoshimi Hamada that simply adapted episodes of the original American animated series.
Super Turtles (スーパータートルズSūpā Tātoruzu) is a three-issue miniseries by Hidemasa Idemitsu, Tetsurō Kawade, and Toshio Kudō that featured the "TMNT Supermutants" Turtle toys that were on sale at the time. The first volume of the anime miniseries followed this storyline.
Mutant Turtles Gaiden (ミュータント・タートルズ外伝,Myūtanto Tātoruzu Gaiden) by Hiroshi Kanno is a reinterpretation of the Turtles story with no connection to the previous manga.
Mutant Turtles III (ミュータント・タートルズ３,Myūtanto Tātoruzu Tsuri) is Yasuhiko Hachino's adaptation of the third feature film.
Mutant Turtles '95 (ミュータント・タートルズ９５,Myūtanto Tātoruzu Kyūjūgo) is a 1995 series by Ogata Nobu which ran in Comic BomBom.
Mutant Turtles '96 (ミュータント・タートルズ９６,Myūtanto Tātoruzu Kyūjūroku) is a continuation of the 1995 series that continued to run through 1996.
Adaily comic strip written and illustrated by Dan Berger began in 1990. It featured an adventure story Monday through Friday and activity puzzles on weekends (with fan art appearing later). The comic strip was published insyndication until its cancelation in December 1996. It was published in more than 250 newspapers at its highest point in popularity.
Debuting in 1987 as a five-part miniseries and becoming a regular Saturday-morning syndicated series on October 1, 1988, the first animated series follows the adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their allies as they battle theShredder,Krang, and numerous other villains and criminals in New York City.[52] The property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comics, to make it more suitable for children and families. Produced byFred Wolf Films, the series ran for ten seasons and ended in 1996.[53]
In addition to the American series, a Japan-exclusive two-episodeanimeoriginal video animation (OVA) series was made in 1996, titledMutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen. The OVA is similar in tone to the 1987 TV series and uses the same voices fromTV Tokyo's Japanese dub of the 1987 TV series. It featured the Turtles assuperheroes, 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.[54]
In 1997–1998, a live-action series,Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, aired onFox.[55] It introduced a female turtle,Venus de Milo, skilled in the mystical arts of theshinobi.[56] TheNext Mutation Turtles made a guest appearance onPower Rangers in Space.[57]The Next Mutation was canceled after one season of 26 episodes.[55]
In 2003, a newTMNT series produced by4Kids 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,[58] 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 more mature tone than the 1987 cartoon, though still considered appropriate for younger viewers. This series lasted until 2009, ending with a feature-length television film,Turtles Forever, which was produced for the 25th anniversary of the franchise.
Nickelodeon acquired the global rights toTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and produced a new CGI-animatedTMNT television series.[59][60][61] 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 and ended in 2017.
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the second Nickelodeon-produced animated series in the franchise and premiered in September 2018. It returned to using 2D animation, while also using some anime iconography, and was characterized by its lighter humor.[62][63] The series aired between 2018 and 2020, and was followed by afeature film released onNetflix in 2022.
The franchise generated merchandise sales of$175 million in 1988 and$350 million in 1989.[66] By May 1990, it had generated$650 million in domestic retail revenues.[67] By 1994, it was the most merchandisable franchise, having generated total revenue of $6 billion in merchandise sales up until then.[68] The brand generated more than $1 billion in retail sales from 2003 to 2005.[69]
During the run of the 1987 TV series, Playmates Toys produced hundreds ofTMNTaction figures, along with vehicles,playsets, and accessories, becoming one of the top collectibles for children.[70] Staff artists at Northampton, Massachusetts-based Mirage Studios provided conceptual designs for many of the figures, vehicles, and playsets and creator credit can be found in the legal text printed on the back of the toy packaging. In addition, Playmates produced a series ofTMNT/Star Trek crossover figures, due to Playmates holding theStar Trek action-figure license at the time. Playmates employed many design groups to develop looks and styles for the toy line, including Bloom Design, White Design,Pangea Corporation, Robinson-Clarke, and McHale Design. The marketing vice president of Playmates, Karl Aaronian, was largely responsible for assembling the team of designers and writers, includingJohn Schulte andJohn Besmehn, who provided the seminal writing and copy for the toy line, which in turn, filtered through to the various iterations of the television series.
Never before in toy history did an action-figure line have such an impact for over two decades, generating billions of dollars in licensing revenue. The series was highly popular in the UK, where in the run-up to Christmas, theArmy & Navy Store in London'sLewisham devoted its entire basement to everything Turtle, including games, videos, costumes, and other items. Playmates continued to produceTMNT action figures based on the 2003 animated series. The 2007 filmTMNT also gave Playmates a new source from which to make figures, whileNational Entertainment Collectibles Association produced a series of high-quality action figures based on character designs from the original Mirage comics. In 2012, a new toy line and a new classic toy line from Playmates were announced to be released.[71]
The turtles are playable characters in theDC Comics fighting gameInjustice 2 as a part of the "Fighter Pack 3"DLC, with Corey Krueger, Joe Brugie, Ben Rausch and Ryan Cooper voicing their roles.
The beat 'em upShredder's Revenge was released in June 2022. It is inspired by the 1987Turtles animated series and the early Konami games.
In March 2023,Paramount Global announced that aAAA video game based onThe Last Ronin, a 5-issue miniseries that was published from 2020 to 2022, was in development. Doug Rosen, senior vice president for games and emerging media at Paramount Global, mentioned the game will a single player third-personAction-RPG with elements taken from the recentGod of War games. It is currently being developed by an unnamed studio and would likely be a "few years off" from release, according to Rosen.[81] In August 2023, it was revealed that the game would be developed byBlack Forest Games, published byTHQ Nordic, and release onPlayStation 5,Xbox Series X/S, andWindows.[82]
In 1985,Palladium Books publishedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness.[83] It is a standalone game, but uses the many key mechanics from Palladium'sMegaversal system and is compatible with material from other Palladium games. It introduced rules for creating anthropomorphic animal mutants. Examples of mutants are included in the appendices as potential antagonists, including the Terror Bears, Caesars Weasels, and Sparrow Eagles, as well as including stats for the Turtles and other characters. A series of supplements were released over the next few years, which remained in print until, due to the cost of maintaining the license, Palladium decided to end its license with Mirage Studios in January 2000.[84]
During the height of their popularity, the Turtles had a number of food tie-ins.[85] There were also fourTMNT mail away items available to order from Hostess and Royal OOZE Gelatin Desserts, distributed byNabisco under "Royal Gelatin" in three different flavors: orange, strawberry, and lime.Shreddies was a Canadian cereal withTMNT-themed box art and promos. One example of aTMNT prize was rings featuring a character from the cartoon (1992).Chef Boyardee also released a canned pasta with the pasta in the shapes of the four turtles. There were multiple versions of the pasta released, including one with Shredder added into the shapes. Customers could mail away for an exclusive Shredder action figure that was darker than the standard Playmates figure, it was shipped in a plastic baggy. This Shredder is one of the more valuableTMNT action figures today.[86]
To capitalize on the Turtles' popularity, a concert tour was held in 1990, premiering atRadio City Music Hall on August 17.[87][88] The "Coming Out of Their Shells" tour featured live-action turtles playing music as a band (Donatello on keyboards; Leonardo on bass guitar; Raphael on drums and saxophone; and Michelangelo on guitar) on stage around a familiar plotline: April O'Neil is kidnapped by the Shredder, and the Turtles have to rescue her.[89] The story had a veryBill & Ted-esque feel, with its theme of the power ofrock n' roll literally defeating the enemy, in the form of the Shredder (who only rapped about how he hates music) trying to eliminate all music. A pay-per-view special highlighting the concert was shown, and a studio album was also released.[90] A behind-the-scenes video,The Making Of the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour, depicts the characters as real-life people without explaining the mechanics of the faces and costumes.[13] A second tour, Gettin' Down in Your Town, was less successful.[13]
In theDream Island in Moscow, one of the nine zones is themed afterTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, licensed fromParamount.[95]
Majaland Gdańsk inOsowa,Gdańsk, which opened in 2024, contains ride Lot Żółwiem[96] themed afterTMNT, as well tie-ins to franchise, thanks to the signing of an agreement between the Nickelodeon and park's owner,Momentum Leisure.[97]
AlthoughTMNT had originated as something of a parody, the comic's explosive success led to a wave of small-press, black and white comic parodies ofTMNT itself, includingAdolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters,Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos, and a host of others. Dark Horse Comics'Boris the Bear was launched in response to theseTMNT clones; its first issue was titled "Boris the Bear Slaughters the Teenage Radioactive Black Belt Mutant Ninja Critters". Once the Turtles broke into the mainstream, parodies also proliferated in other media, such as in satire magazinesCracked andMad and numerous TV series of the period. The satirical British television seriesSpitting Image featured a recurring sketch "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turds".[98]Samurai Pizza Cats is also considered a parody of the Turtles franchise, including a line in the opening theme song 'they've got more fur than any turtle ever had', and an episode 1 reference to 'A retirement home for aging ninja turtles'.[99]
^Granberry, Ted; Churnin, Nancy (November 30, 1990)."Turtles Shell Out Ninja Concert Fun".The Los Angeles Times.Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. RetrievedAugust 27, 2010.
