SATURDAY MORNINGS FOREVER: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

In 2009, Viacom (now ViacomCBS) purchased all of Mirage Studio’s rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise; although Mirage was still allowed to publish a number of Turtles comics a year. They began production on new Turtles media, including a cartoon to air on Viacom-owned Nickelodeon. The resulting series was the first to feature the Turtles rendered in computer animation (with the 2007 animated film being the first time overall) that also served as a love-letter to the franchise; blending in elements of every incarnation to date.

The new heroes in a half-shell.

The series could be seen as a spiritual sequel to the 1987 animated show, as it was decidedly more light-hearted than the 2003 version with humor derived from a number of anime influences; such as extremely deformed features during emotional outbursts. Like the 1987 series, the Turtles were raised and trained by Master Splinter (Hoon Lee), a former member of the Foot Clan known as Hamato Yoshi that was mutated into a rat by the same mutagen that would mutate the Turtles from his pets into human hybrids. Leonardo (Jason Biggs) was the leader who took his role and training very seriously, often struggling with his own doubts about his abilities; Donatello (Rob Paulsen, who originally voiced Raphael in the 1987 series and only took the role after clearing it with former co-star Barry Gordon) was a mechanical genius and developed the various gadgets the Turtles would use, such as their communication devices, the T-Phone, that played a midi of the 1987 series theme.; Raphael (Sean Astin) had rage issues that he often took out on his brothers, but was fiercely loyal to his family; and Michelangelo (Greg Cipes) was the youngest in the clan and showed it with his intense love of video games, skateboarding and pizza. Aside from their bandana colors and the shade of their skins, each Turtle featured unique body features for the first time: Donnie was the tallest with a gap between his teeth and brown eyes; Leo was a bit shorter than Donnie and had blue eyes; Raph had a chip in his front shell and green eyes; and Mikey was the shortest with a childlike face adorned in freckles. The Turtles’ trademarked battle cry “Cowabunga!” was updated to “Booyakasha!”, proclaimed mostly by Mikey.

April and her Tessen.

Their primary human friend/ally, April O’Neil (Mae Whitman), received the most dramatic changes of the series. She was depicted as a teenager like the Turtles, leading to Donnie having a tremendous crush on her (which eclipsed the one depicted in the 2003 series) and attempting to impress her constantly and win her affection. She was also a human/Kraang hybrid, the result of her mother (Renae Jacobs, who played April in the 1987 series) being experimented on. As a result, she developed strong psychic powers that would grow as the series progressed. As with several other incarnations, she began training with Splinter in order to better defend herself and participate at times in the Turtles’ missions. She was given a Tessen (war fan) by Splinter and later adopted a dragon tanto (short sword) as her weapons.

Casey Jones: vigilante.

Similarly, their other human friend/ally Casey Jones (Josh Peck) was made a teenager; becoming involved with the Turtles after April was assigned to tutor him in school. He still wielded a collection of sports equipment as weaponry and patrolled the city as a vigilante, often helping the Turtles in their fights with the battle cry “Goongala!” Casey also had a crush on April, which put him in a rivalry with Donnie that lessened as the show progressed.

The Kraang.

The first and constant threat to the Turtles was the alien race known as the Kraang (all Nolan North). Krang (Pat Fraley) was a villain created for the 1987 series based on the aliens known as the Utroms from the original Mirage comics. Like Krang, the Kraang resembled sentient brains and piloted humanoid robotic bodies where their stomachs would be, which were often disguised as the same man in a suit when operating in public (although there were different types of bodies they could use for various situations). They had no individual will, operating with a hive mind and possessing a limited and repetitive grasp of the English language. They were led by Kraang Prime (Roseanne Barr initially, Rachel Butera later on), an Utrom scientist that discovered the mutagen created within giant worm creatures and utilized it in evolutionary experiments. There was also Kraang Subprime (Gilbert Gottfried), who served as the Kraang’s spy and spent a lot of time posing as April’s best friend, Irma Langinstein (created for the 1987 series and resembling Velma Dinkley, who was also voiced by Kate Micucci).

The Utrom High Council: Pawn, Queen, Rook and Bishop.

The Utroms in this universe were those who resisted Kraang Prime’s mind control and fought back against them. The Utroms were led by the Ultrom High Council comprised of members named after chess pieces: Bishop (North), loosely based on antagonist Agent Bishop from the 2003 series, was the original designer of the exo-bodies the Kraang used and was Subprime’s brother; Queen (Cassandra Peterson), who piloted a recolored version of the autonomous Kraangdroid Ms. Campbell (also Peterson) who posed as a scientist with an interest in April; Rook (Miccuci), who created the Irma droid model and held a grudge against Subprime for stealing her design; and Pawn (North), who piloted an undisguised exosuit that had an additional curly mustache and spoke with a French accent.

Shredder and Karai.

Eventually, the Turtles’ customary foes of the Foot Clan would provide trouble for them as well; sometimes at odds with the Kraang, other times working with them. They were led by Splinter’s old friend, Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder (Kevin Michael Richardson). This Shredder was adopted by the Hamato Clan after the original Foot were defeated, but became angry and bitter upon learning his origins and unrequited feelings for Tang Shen (Minae Noji), Splinter’s wife. A conflict saw Saki accidentally kill Shen and end up badly burned, and in retaliation he stole their daughter, Miwa, and raised her into this show’s version of Karai (Kelly Hu). Leo became infatuated with Karai despite her being their sworn enemy, but her allegiances changed once she learned the truth about her origins. Both she and Shredder would end up mutated by mutagen; Shredder willingly to heal battle wounds, making him grow more massively muscular with natural retracting claws, and Karai accidentally, turning her into desert horned viper although she was able to shift back into her human form and assume hybrid variations of both.

Bebop and Rocksteady in the hizzy.

The Foot was initially comprised of actual human ninjas but were eventually supplemented with various versions of Footbots (like the 1987 series, which allowed the Turtles to commit limited acts of violence against them). Shredder also had several mutants in his employ. Bebop (J.B. Smoove) and Rocksteady (Fred Tatasciore) were his primary muscle. Bebop started as Anton Zeck (named after comic artist Mike Zeck), a professional thief with high tech gadgetry that used his dancing skills in a fight and was eventually mutated into a warthog. Rocksteady was Ivan Steranko (named after comic artist Jim Steranko), a Russian arms dealer and artifact collector that was mutated into a white rhinoceros (the fact that he’s Russian was possibly an allusion to the Marvel Comics villain Rhino). Baxter Stockman (Phil LaMarr) was a brilliant scientist brought in to reverse-engineer Kraang’s technology. He was mutated into a humanoid fly after too many failures and was put in charge of mutagen experiments. A running gag had the Turtles always misremember his last name. Newly created for the show was Xever Montes (Christian Lanz), a crime boss of the Brazilian mob in the city, and Chris Bradford (based on Chuck Norris, voiced by Clancy Brown), a world-famous martial artist who used his dojo chain to recruit for the Foot. Eventually both were mutated: with Xever becoming a giant snakehead dubbed “Fishface” and requiring a breathing apparatus and robotic legs, and Bradford into the humanoid Akita dubbed “Dogpound”. Bradford was further mutated into the near-skeletal werewolf Rahzar (based on the creature that debuted in the 1991 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze). Eventually allying with Shredder was Tiger Claw (created in 1985 for a Turtles tabletop RPG by executive producer Brandon Auman, voiced by Eric Bauza), a Japanese assassin and bounty hunter that was mutated into a tiger. He was the most competent of the mutants, and the most dangerous.

The Turtles and the Mighty Mutanimals.

Other characters included The Purple Dragons, a street gang led by Fong (Andrew Kishino) in the absence of Rahzar or Fishface and later Hun (modeled after Bruce Lee, voiced by Bauza), who had a rivalry with Casey; Don Vizioso (Brian Bloom), an obese crime lord in the Italian mafia; The Rat King (Jeffrey Combs), a sleazy scientist that was mutated into being able to control any kind of rat and could only see through the eyes of his white rat companion, Aristotle; Metalhead, a sentient turtle bot created by Donnie from Kraang tech; Newtralizer (created for the show based on rejected toy designs by Ryan Brown and a character executive producer Ciro Nieli created as a kid, voiced by Danny Trejo), a member of the alien Salamandarian (humanoid newts and salamanders) race and an intergalactic bounty hunter that hated pretty much everyone; Ice Cream Kitty (franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman), a stray cat that ate mutagen-covered ice cream and became cat made of ice cream, living in the Turtles’ freezer; Kirby O’Neil (Keith Silverstein), April’s father and a scientist (like the 2003 series) who was briefly mutated into a bat; and the Mighty Mutanimals, a team of mutants brought together by private investigator and journalist Jack J. Kurtzman (based on Jack Kirby, voiced by Robert Forster) to fight the Kraang which included Slash (Corey Feldman, who voiced Donnie in two of the movies), Raph’s mutated former pet tortoise, Leatherhead (Peter Lurie), a flushed pet alligator mutated by the Kraang, Pigeon Pete (A.J. Buckley), a dim-witted mutated rock dove obsessed with sourdough, Mondo Gecko (Robbie Rist, who voiced Michelangelo in the films), a high school skateboarder that accidentally had mutagen dropped on him and his pet gecko (and who adopted the “Cowabunga!” cry), Muckman (a nod to The Toxic Avenger, voiced by Nolan North & Grant Moninger), a sewer worker turned into a walking pile of garbage and had a partner in the form of his sentient left eyeball, Joe Eyeball (also Moninger), and Doc Rockwell (Frank Welker for vocal effects, Tom Kenny for speaking), a neuroscientist mutated into a chimpanzee that gained telepathy and telekinesis.

Character model art for Leonardo.

Leading up to its debut, production artwork of the character designs was leaked on the Nick website before being taken down. An official trailer was released on June 21^st. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally arrived on Nickelodeon with a preview on Friday night, September 28, 2012, and the full one-hour debut episode the next morning. It garnered high ratings for the network, easily earning multiple renewals to let it run for 5 seasons. The series was written by Auman, Eastman, Joshua Sternin, J.R. Ventimilia, Jeremy Shipp, Joshua Hamilton, Tom Alvarado, Russ Carney, Ron Corcillo, Kenny Byerly, Jase Ricci, Pete Goldfinger, Todd Garfield, Eugene Son, Kevin Burke, Chris “Doc” Wyatt, Thomas Krejewski, Nicole Dubuc, Gavin Hignight, Johnny Hartmann, Mark Henry, Peter Di Cicco, John Shirley, Christopher Yost, Doug Langdale, Henry Gilroy, Randolph Heard, Greg Weisman, Todd Casey, Andrew Robinson, Elliott Casey, Stan Sakai and Jed MacKay, with character designs by Nieli, Jose Garibaldi, Felipe Smith, Dou Hong, Irineo Maramba, Rusty Tracy, Steve Jones, Glenn Wai Lim Wong, Mayumi Nose and Jose Baribaldo. Series composer Sebastian Evans II also composed the show’s theme with Stan Martinez, which essentially introduced the characters much in the same way as the 1987 theme. The intro would incorporate changes that occurred to the status quo (designs, new characters, etc.), but would always end with the Turtles striking a pose similar to the cover of 1984’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. Layouts and CG animation was handled by Bardel Entertainment.

The Triceratons invade.

Each season was broken up into story arcs. The first season largely introduced the world and characters as the Turtles learned about and put a stop to the Kraang’s invasion of Earth. The second season featured the Kraang’s second, more successful attempt with a greater focus on mutagen and the mutants it created. The third season began the practice of splitting the season up into two arcs that generally connected into an overall story. The first arc saw the Turtles driven out of the city and having to go to April’s family’s farm in Northampton, Massachusetts to recover and retrain themselves for a rematch with the Kraang. There, they encountered a group of mutated frogs bent on world domination known as the Punk Frogs, but were turned off of the idea through Mikey’s friendship with the super-chill Napoleon Bonafrog (Jon Heder, who played Napoleon Dynamite). After returning to the city for the second arc of the season, they encountered Renet (Ashley Johnson), an immature and rash Assistant Time Master in Training who took them back in time to rescue a pre-mutated Hamato Yoshi, and the alien Triceratons, who were willing to destroy the Earth to eliminate the Kraang.

Leo recovering from his injuries.

During production of the second season, Biggs was in the midst of an alcohol abuse problem when he fired off a series of offensive “jokes” on social media. They were offensive enough that a number of people contacted Nick in displeasure. When the tweets didn’t stop, Nick was finally forced to fire Biggs from the show. Dominic Catrambone was brought on to finish out the season, doing a near-perfect impression of Biggs for consistency. Seth Green auditioned for the part--claiming because Leo was his wife’s favorite Turtle--and won the role. To explain away the noticeable difference in his voice, Leo’s throat was “damaged” in a battle and didn’t heal correctly, resulting in a change in his vocal cords.

Promo art of the Turtles in space with Fugitoid and a looming threat.

The fourth season’s first arc saw a major change for the series as a friendly robot scientist named Professor Honeycutt, aka Fugitoid (David Tennant), rescued the Turtles, April and Casey and took them into space 6 months in the past to prevent the Triceratons from succeeding. They encountered and battled against a variety of aliens, as well as made new friends: such as Raphael’s crush, a fight-loving Salamandarian he nicknamed “Mona Lisa” (Zelda Williams). The Turtles even found time to traverse dimensions and team-up with their 1987 counterparts, with Cam Clarke, Gordon, Townsend Coleman and Paulsen reprising their roles of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael, respectively (the 1987 Turtles cameoed before in a season 2 episode). Succeeding in their mission, the Turtles returned to the city for the second arc which dealt with April’s growing powers, new mutants such as Tiger Claw’s estranged assassin sister Alopex (first introduced in the IDW comics, voiced by Noji), and the return of Shredder enhanced by mutagen as a nod to his form in the second film. During a winter break in the season, a special, Kicking Shell and Taking Names, aired on November 25^th, 2015, which caught viewers up with the story so far.

The fifth season ended up being the most dramatically changed of all. The original plan was always to end the show at five seasons, and Nickelodeon made no efforts to extend that as they were looking to do another reboot for the franchise. The season was split into seven different story arcs that didn’t necessarily connect, the show was renamed Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which was the name of a companion comic series), and given a new opening title sequence and theme song (the sequence was also modified depending on which arc it aired within). Seven episodes would also make their debuts on sister channel Nicktoons rather than Nickelodeon proper. “Tales from the Beyond – The Kavaxas Saga” saw the Foot taken over by Tiger Claw and attempting to resurrect the Shredder with the aid of mighty demodragon Kavaxas (Mark Hamill). “Alien Tales – When Worlds Collide Saga” was a two-part storyline that saw Mona Lisa and her superior, Sal Commander G’Throkka (Keith David) arrive on Earth looking for help to deal with Newtralizer. “Samurai Tales – The Samurai Turtles Saga” had the Turtles travel to an alternate Feudal Japan inhabited by anthropomorphic animals where they had to aid samurai rabbit Miyamoto Usagi (Yuki Matsuzaki) in accomplishing his quest. Usagi was created in comics by Stan Sakai, which were eventually published by Mirage. Usagi had crossed over with the Turtles multiple times, with the first being in the anthology Turtle Soup, and has been featured in all three Turtle cartoons. “Tales from the Past – Lone Rat and Cubs” was a one-shot flashback episode that showed how Splinter came to find the Turtles. “Tales from the Future – Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse Saga” was originally intended to be the series finale, following Raphael in a dystopian future reminiscent of Mad Max, to put a cap on the timeline the crew had built and not allow anyone else to add on to it. However, it was decided to render the episodes non-canon and taking place in an alternate dimension. “Monstrous Tales – Monsters vs. Mutants Saga” featured the return of Renet as she took the Turtles back in time to battle against the classic Universal Monsters and prevent them from taking over the present. “Crossover Tales – Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady Saga” became the true series finale, with 1987 Shredder (Richardson) and Krang (Fraley) employing the 2012 Bebop and Rocksteady and finding that their plans became infinitely more successful.

Four of the five cartoons the Turtles frequently enjoyed.

Over the course of the series, there were several traditionally animated shows that the Turtles would watch; their adventures often tying into the episode’s storyline. The first was Space Heroes, a parody of sci-fi shows, especially Star Trek: The Animated Series. Mikey had found the second on a set of discarded VHS tapes: Super Robo Mecha Force Five! It was a parody of 1980s anime such as Voltron and Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, as well as more recent series Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (on which Cipes voiced the lead character and was created by Nieli). The third was Crognard the Barbarian, which parodied Thundarr the Barbarian and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe while taking its name from Conan the Barbarian. The fourth was received via signals while the Turtles were in space: Chris Bradford’s 2 Ruff Krew, a 1980s cartoon centered around the exploits of Bradford and other expert combatants. It was a parody of the weird 1980s trend of turning rated R movies and action heroes into cartoons, specifically Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos as well as Rambo: The Force of Freedom and Mister T. The final show was Space Heroes: The Next Generation, a parody of Star Trek: The Next Generation and a sequel series to the original Space Heroes; also found on VHS by Mikey. Bloom, North. Scott Menville and Ben Cross provided many of the featured characters’ voices along with members of the main Turtles cast.

Ninja Turtles was critically acclaimed throughout most of its run, racking up numerous award nominations for Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Annie Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, Producers Guild of America Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Children’s Award. It ended up taking home three of the of the Creative Arts awards. In 2015, Nick produced a 2D special called Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past, which was done in the style of Playmates Toys’ Half-Shell Heroes action figure line that was directed at younger fans. Beginning in 2016, Nick would produce a series of shorts by various creators and done in various animation styles. The first three debuted at 2016’s San Diego Comic-Con before heading to YouTube. The following year, Nick released a series of “Summer Shorts” on YouTube expanding on the concept. A sub-series, TMNT Team-Up, had repeated entries; totaling six altogether.

Long-time franchise merchandising partner Playmates Toys released a new line of toys that began before the series aired its first episode. Seven waves of figures were released between 2012 and 2014, which included playsets and roleplay toys. LEGO produced several sets in that timeframe as well. In 2014, Build-A-Bear Workshop released a series of plush versions of the Turtles and themed accessories. Diamond Select Toys produced a series of Minimates mini-figures. The first wave released in 2014 as blind bags at Kmart and comic shops and in 2-packs at Toys ‘R’ Us, with both retailers getting their own exclusive characters along with the common shared ones. The second wave in 2015 skipped Kmart. Other merchandise included clothing, bedding, bookbags and more. At San Diego Comic Con in 2024. NECA announced they would be producing new figures based on the series beginning in 2025.

Danger of the Ooze game cover.

Several video games were released in relation to the show. The first, Rooftop Run, was a mobile game developed by Nickelodeon Interactive in 2013 that featured the characters constantly moving forward with screen taps controlling various actions based on their location and what obstacles are in range. Out of the Shadows (not to be confused with the 2016 film of the same name) was released by Red Fly Studio and Activision for home consoles. While not a direct adaptation—utilizing different designs and voices for starters—it was heavily inspired by the mythos of the cartoon and featured elements introduced in it. Another mobile game, Mutant Rumble developed by Swappz Interactive, utilized a toys-to-life model and required the purchase of figures in order to get the whole experience of the game. The second console game, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was released a month later from Magic Pockets and Activision. This game was a direct adaptation, using both the show’s aesthetics and season 2 voice cast. In 2014, WayForward Technologies and Activision released Danger of the Ooze, which was set between seasons 2 and 3 and introduced the Salamandrians before the show did. Battle Match from Tiny Castle Studios in 2015 was a mobile block-matching puzzle game based on the space theme from the 4^th season. Red Fly returned in 2016 with a new mobile game called Portal Power, where a player could control one or all the Turtles with various dragging and swiping motions. In 2017, Ludia, Inc. released the mobile game Legends, which was a turn-based RPG that used an in-game collectible card system to award items and characters. China got their own exclusive game with Rěnzhě Guī OL, which was a 3D action brawler. Additionally, Leap Frog had several educational games featuring the Turtles and they appeared as playable characters in 2018’s Nickelodeon Kart Racers. Lee would reprise the role of Splinter—albeit the 1987 version—in 2023’s Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.

Worlds collide.

IDW Publishing, the current comics licensee of the franchise, published two series based on the show. The first, New Animated Adventures, began in 2013 and ran for 24 issues before it was cancelled and replaced by Amazing Adventures. Along with the 14-issue regular series, there was a one-shot featuring NBA player Carmelo Anthony, a three-issue mini-series called Robotanimals, and a crossover with Batman: The Animated Series titled Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (not to be confused with the other three-chapter crossover series that was running around the same time and served as the basis for a direct-to-video movie). 2013 also saw the release of European magazine Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Panini Comics, which featured activities and comics.

DVD cover.

Nickelodeon released the entire series onto DVD, typically by breaking up a season into various volumes before releasing the season as a whole. Domestically, each season was split across three volumes while international releases were expanded into four. The international releases eventually resulted in a complete season released shortly after the final volume, while only the first and second season saw any full release domestically until the complete series was finally released in 2022. Additionally, a compilation DVD, Pulverizer Power, was released containing all of the appearances of the Pulverizer (Roger Craig Smith) character; a teenaged fan of the Turtles who tried to be a superhero and ended up mutated into Mutagen Man. Half-Shell Heroes was released on its own in 2016, and three episodes were made available for download onto LeapFrog’s LeapPad as Turtle-y Epic Face-Offs. The series could be streamed on Hulu, with episodes available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes, and was gradually added to Paramount+ season by season.

EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Rise of the Turtles” (9/29/12) – On their first trip to the surface, the Turtles witness April and her father being taken by the Kraang and a smitten Donnie convinces the others to rescue them.

“Turtle Temper” (10/6/12) – Raph has to control his temper in order to defeat the nosy Vic after he’s mutated into Spyder Bytez after filming the Turtles in action.

“New Friend, Old Enemy” (10/13/12) – Mikey tries to prove they can be friends with humans by befriending famous martial artist Chris Bradford, who happens to be Shredder’s pupil.

“I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman” (10/20/12) – The Turtles sneak out when they’re grounded and accidentally allow Baxter Stockman to find their new T-Pod and use it for his revenge.

“Metalhead” (10/27/12) – Tired of his weapon, Donnie uses Kraang tech to make the remote-controlled robot turtle Metalhead to send into battle in his stead.

“Monkey Brains” (11/3/12) – April and Donnie investigate the disappearance of a British neuroscientist whom they discover was mutated into a psychic monkey by Dr. Victor Falco.

“Never Say Xever” (11/10/12) – The Foot Clan launches a new attack with a Brazilian street thug Leo trained to be his street contact in the lead.

“The Gauntlet” (11/17/12) – After April receives a message from her father, she and the Turtles set out to rescue him from the Kraang and end up facing the Foot as well.

“Panic in the Sewers” (11/24/12) – A nightmare has Splinter training the Turtles 24/7 just as Shredder launches an attack on their lair.

“Mousers Attack!” (12/8/12) – The Purple Dragons attacking with Stockman’s MOUSERS forces the Turtles to split into two groups.

“It Came From the Depths” (12/15/12) – The Turtles rescue Leatherhead from the Kraang and discover he has stolen their power cell.

“I, Monster” (1/25/13) – The Turtles must save the city and Splinter after Falco turns himself into the rat-controlling Rat King.

“New Girl in Town” (2/1/13) – Tired of criticism, Leo lets Raph lead the fight against Snakeweed while Karai attempts to lure him to the Foot.

“The Alien Agenda” (2/8/13) – April’s science project attracts the attention of the Kraang while Karai tries to convince Shredder that they even exist.

“The Pulverizer” (2/15/13) – Donnie converts Leatherhead’s subway car into a battle van and their test drive brings them face-to-face with their first fan: a teenager in a costume called The Pulverizer.

“TCRI” (3/1/13) – The Turtles infiltrate TCRI and discover that the Kraang plan to launch an invasion and are after April.

“Cockroach Terminator” (3/15/13) – Donnie’s spyroach not only gives the Turtles valuable intel, but ends up mutated and targeted Raph since he tried to destroy it earlier.

“Baxter’s Gambit” (4/5/13) – Baxter lures the Turtles, Dogpound and Fishface into a deadly labyrinth to get his revenge on all of them.

“Enemy of My Enemy” (4/12/13) – Karai offers to help the Turtles against the Kraang invasion, but changes allegiances when they seek to destroy the Shredder as well.

“Karai’s Vendetta” (4/27/13) – The Turtles discover the Kraang plan to change the Earth’s water into their own while Shredder sends Karai to capture April, the key to the Kraang’s plans.

“The Pulverizer Returns!” (5/11/13) – Not only does Splinter make the Turtles switch weapons, but they must rely on The Pulverizer to get them intel from within the Foot.

“Parasitica” (7/20/13) – A mutant wasp ends up putting all but Mikey under its thrall, leaving him the only one to finish Donnie’s antidote before he joins them.

“Operation: Break Out” (7/27/13) – Donnie tries to impress April by rescuing Kirby himself, getting them both trapped with a deadly prisoner.

“Showdown, Part 1” (8/8/13) – The Turtles launch an assault on TCRI to stop the Kraang’s portal, but are unable to succeed before the Technodrome comes through.

“Showdown, Part 2” (8/8/13) – The Turtles infiltrate the Technodrome to save April while Splinter discovers that Karai is actually his daughter, Miwa.

Season 2:
“The Mutation Situation” (10/12/13) – Stopping the Kraang’s mutagen shipment to Shredder leads to the Turtles accidentally causing Kirby to mutate into a vampire bat.

“Invasion of the Squirrelanoids” (10/19/13) – A mutated squirrel burrows into a homeless man and multiplies within him.

“Follow the Leader” (11/2/13) – With Shredder in Japan, Karai leads the Foot and captures Leo with their new Footbots.

“Mutagen Man Unleashed” (11/9/13) – Donnie grousing about April tutoring Casey leads a mutated Pulverizer to seek to make April his special friend.

“Mikey Gets Shellacne” (11/16/13) – Mikey plays with some rejected retro-mutagen that gives him a dangerous infection, and Baxter has the only centrifuge needed to make his cure.

“Target: April O’Neil” (11/23/13) – Karai sends an advanced Foot Bot called Chrome Dome after April, forcing her to put aside her grudge and call on the Turtles for help.

“Slash and Destroy” (11/30/13) – Slash ends up mutated and Raph happily teams-up with him, until he learns Slash wants to kill his brothers.

“The Good, the Bad and the Casey Jones” (2/2/14) – Casey decides to protect the city and follows the Turtles back to their lair, inadvertently leading the Foot there as well.

“The Kraang Conspiracy” (2/9/14) – April insists on accompanying the Turtles on a mission to TCRI, and along the way they learn something about April from a man named Jack Kurtzman.

“Fungus Humungous” (2/16/14) – Mutated sentient mushrooms cause the Turtles to live their worst fears, and Leo must push through in order to help his friends.

“Metalhead Rewired” (2/23/14) – The Turtles are concerned over the upgrades Donnie gives Metalhead and discover the Kraang are capturing mutants to control them.

“Of Rats and Men” (3/2/14) – Mikey adopts a pet cat who ends up mutated into sentient ice cream, and Splinter must overcome his fear of the Rat King in order to defeat him.

“The Manhattan Project” (3/14/14) – Donnie and Casey team-up and discover giant worms that are the source of mutagen, and Shredder returns with a new mutant in tow: Tiger Claw.

“Wormquake!” (3/14/14) – Donnie figures out a way to stop the worms and send them back while the others try to rescue Splinter from Tiger Claw and Karai.

“Mazes & Mutants” (4/27/14) – The Turtles try to relax by playing a game, but a mutant sparrow ends up sending them into the game for real.

“The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman” (5/4/14) – When Stockman ends up mutated, he kidnaps April in order to force the Turtles into giving him the retro-mutagen Donnie discovered.

“Newtralized!” (5/11/14) – Casey’s inability to handle bigger threats puts a rift between him and Raph just as Slash returns with a partner of his own.

“Pizza Face” (5/18/14) – Mikey has to save his friends from being possessed by living pizzas.

“The Wrath of Tiger Claw” (6/8/14) – Tiger Claw works with Karai in trying to discover the Turtles’ lair, but she ends up learning her true origin and turns on the Foot.

“The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto” (6/15/14) – The Turtles set out to rescue Karai by offering Shredder his helmet that a rival had hired two thieves to steal.

“Plan 10” (6/22/14) – Raph’s mind ends up switched with a Kraang and he has to find his way out of the Technodrome before they can initiate their next plan.

“Vengeance is Mine” (6/29/14) – Leo manages to free Karai but she goes after Shredder for revenge and ends up falling into a vat of mutagen.

“A Chinatown Ghost Story” (9/12/14) – The Purple Dragons release the ghost of a powerful martial artist who wants to drain April’s mental energies.

“Into Dimension X!” (9/19/14) – Leatherhead warns the Turtles that the Kraang have perfected the mutagen, sending them into Dimension X to infiltrate their fortress.

“The Invasion, Part 1” (9/26/14) – Shredder joins the Kraang as they launch their invasion on New York.

“The Invasion, Part 2” (9/26/14) – The Turtles’ lair is destroyed, Leo faces-off against Shredder’s men and soldiers, and Splinter and Leatherhead face-off against Shredder himself.

Season 3:
“Within the Woods” (10/3/14) – The Turtles are driven out of the city and spend the next 3 months recovering and planning at the O’Neil farmhouse.

“A Foot Too Big” (10/10/14) – Donnie encounters Bigfoot and tries to protect her from a collector, which results in her developing a crush on him.

“Buried Secrets” (10/17/14) – The Turtles discover a Kraang ship under the farmhouse, along with--April’s mother!

“The Croaking” (11/7/14) – Sulking after getting in trouble causes Mikey to end up inadvertently joining mutant frogs’ takeover of a nearby city.

“In Dreams” (11/14/14) – April uses her powers to try and free the Turtles from vampiric Dream Beavers while Casey looks for help in the real world.

“Race with the Demon!” (11/21/14) – Donnie and Casey build a hot rod together to take on a mutant car.

“Eyes of the Chimera” (1/11/15) – Weakened April and Leo are left to rescue the others from a mutant Chimera.

“Vision Quest” (1/18/15) – Splinter’s astral projection visits the Turtles and tells them they must face their enemies in a vision quest to prepare to return to the city.

“Return to New York” (1/25/15) – The Turtles return to find the city overrun with Kraang and an amnesiac Splinter held captive by Stockman and three mutants created from Shredder’s DNA.

“Serpent Hunt” (2/1/15) – The Turtles search for Karai, as does Zeck and Steranko who hope to use her to gain Shredder’s favor and protection from the Kraang.

“The Pig and the Rhino” (3/8/15) – The Turtles resume their search with a batch of retro-mutagen, and this time so do the newly-mutated Bebop and Rocksteady.

“Battle for New York, Part 1” (3/15/15) – The Turtles encounter a Kraang resistance force called the Mighty Mutanimals and end up in disagreements with them on how to carry out a mission.

“Battle for New York, Part 2” (3/15/15) – The Turtles and Mutanimals team-up to rescue people from Dimension-X and battle Kaang Sub-Prime and Mrs. Campbell.

“Casey Jones vs. the Underworld” (3/22/15) – Casey tries to prove that he can handle the city’s criminals on his own—unfortunately, they’ve all joined up with the Foot.

“The Noxious Avenger” (4/26/15) – A garbage man is accidentally mutated during a Turtle battle and Bebop and Rocksteady attempt to trick him into helping them.

“Clash of the Mutanimals” (5/3/15) – Shredder uses his mind-control serum to take control of Slash, Dr. Rockwell and Raph.

“Meet Mondo Gecko” (5/10/15) – Mikey and Casey meet a skateboarding mutant Gecko that Mikey becomes fast friends with, but Casey has his suspicions.

“The Deadly Venom” (5/17/15) – Shredder controls Karai into attacking the Turtles, and Shredder teaches Leo a healing mantra that could counteract her venom.

“Turtles in Time” (8/2/15) – The Turtles must help a clumsy Time Master in Training retriever her time-controlling scepter from an evil mutant Time Master.

“Tale of the Yokai” (8/9/15) – Trapped in the past, the Turtles encounter a younger Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki and witness their rising rivalry.

“Attack of the Mega Shredder!” (8/16/15) – The Turtles attempt to steal one of the worms to counteract the mind-control serum, encountering Shredder’s biggest mutant yet.

“The Creeping Doom” (8/23/15) – Mikey fooling around in Donnie’s lab causes Donnie to lose his intelligence and a revival of the Creep and Snakeweed.

“The Fourfold Trap” (9/13/15) – Karai captures the Turtles and places them in deadly traps while Splinter must face her to free her from Shredder’s control.

“Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!” (9/20/15) – Raph meets a delusional alien dinosaur that seems to put fear in the Kraang.

“Annihilation: Earth! Part 1” (9/27/15) – To stop the invasion of the Kraang and the Triceraton Empire, the Turtles team with a Kraang rebel to take out the Technodrome.

“Annihilation: Earth! Part 2” (9/27/15) – The Turtles must rescue Mikey from the Triceratons while Shredder is forced to join forces with Splinter to stop the destruction of Earth.

Season 4:
“Beyond the Known Universe” (10/25/15) – The Turtles travel back in time with the Fugitoid to keep the Triceratons from completing the weapon they’ll use to destroy Earth.

“The Moons of Thalos 3” (11/1/15) – As they escape the Triceratons on an icy moon, Raph meets and develops feelings for a Salamandarian.

“The Weird World of Wyrm” (11/8/15) – Investigating a wrecked spacecraft leads to the discovery of Wyrm, who can grant three wishes.

“The Outlaw Armaggon!” (11/15/15) – The Turtles find themselves between an alien bounty hunter and a space station AI system.

“Riddle of the Ancient Aeons” (1/10/16) – The Turtles go through an ancient alien temple for a piece of the black hole generator.

“Journey to the Center of Mikey’s Mind” (1/17/16) – The Turtles travel into Mikey’s subconscious via April to root out some microscopic aliens.

“The Arena of Carnage” (1/24/16) – The Turtles team-up with a convicted traitor to escape the Triceraton’s arena while the others work to free them.

“The War for Dimension X” (1/31/16) – The Turtles must gain the trust of the Utrom Council to get the next piece of the black hole generator.

“The Cosmic Ocean” (3/13/16) – The Turtles journey through the cosmic ocean where they must prove themselves worthy to its queen to get the next piece.

“Thrans-Dimensional Turtles” (3/27/16) – The Turtles are sent to the 1987 universe where they team-up with themselves to battle Krang and Kraang Subprime.

“Revenge of the Triceratons” (4/3/16) – Fugitoid’s intelligence gives Donnie an inferiority complex as the Triceratons attack.

“The Evil of Dregg” (4/10/16) – Raph has to get out of his slump when Mona Lisa betrays him in order to rescue his brothers from Lord Dregg and Armaggon.

“The Ever-Burning Fire” (4/17/16) – The Turtles go after the final piece on a lava planet but end up losing them all.

“Earth’s Last Stand” (4/24/16) – The Turtles return to Earth and attempt to change history before it’s destroyed again.

“City at War” (8/14/16) – April transitions into a full kunoichi while Karai takes over the Foot and tries to make amends for a gravely-wounded Shredder.

“Broken Foot” (8/21/16) – Partnering with Karai and her Foot to go after Shredder’s assets proves too dangerous a proposition.

“The Insecta Trifecta” (8/28/16) – Raph has to overcome his fear of bugs to help the others stop Stockman’s minions Scumbug and Antrax.

“Mutant Gangland” (9/4/16) – Don Vizioso decides to fill the void left by Shredder with his new anti-mutant weapons and takes Donnie and Mondo prisoner in the process.

“Bat in the Belfry” (9/11/16) – Donnie’s examination of the Sol Star fragment accidentally brings four of Mikey’s favorite comic characters to life.

“The Super Shredder” (11/6/16) – Amped up by the mutagen that was keeping him alive, a new Super Shredder challenges Splinter to a duel to the death.

“Darkest Plight” (11/13/16) – The Turtles desperately hunt for Splinter while April and Karai face off against the Super Shredder.

“The Power Inside Her” (11/20/16) – Tests Donnie runs on April only succeeds in allowing her to become host to a powerful elder Aeon.

“Tokka vs. the World” (2/5/17) – Tokka comes to Earth looking for the baby that Raph took back with him.

“Tale of the Tiger Claw” (2/12/17) – The Turtles try to befriend mutant assassin Alopex, but as she’s so bent on destroying her brother Tiger Claw she cuts Casey with one of her cursed blades.

“Requiem” (2/19/17) – With his mutagen stabilized, Super Shredder finally kills Splinter at the site of their very first encounter.

“Owari” (2/26/17) – Splinter’s spirit informs the Turtles that Super Shredder survived their last encounter, and they head off for their final confrontation.

Season 5:
“Scroll of the Demodragon” (3/19/17) – The Turtles may have defeated their old foes, but a new threat begins to rise.

“The Forgotten Swordsman” (3/26/17) – Karai, Kavaxas and Tiger Claw all search for the Kuro Kabuto for different reasons.

“Heart of Evil” (4/2/17) – Donnie’s anger towards Don Vizioso puts the Turtles’ mission to steal the hart of Shredder from him in jeopardy.

“End Times” (4/9/17) – Having failed to stop Shredder’s resurrection, the Turtles must stop Kavaxas from destroying the world.

“When Worlds Collide, Part 1” (6/18/17) – The Turtles team-up with Mona Lisa and Sal Commander to stop the Newtralizer’s attack on the Ultroms.

“When Worlds Collide, Part 2” (6/18/17) – The heroes seem to be losing the battle until Mikey returns with new powers similar to Newtralizer.

“Yojimbo” (7/23/17) – The Turtles end up in an alternate dimension where they must help rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi on his quest.

“Osoroshi no Tabi” (7/30/17) – Usagi leads the Turtles to a haunted forest where they face highly dangerous Yokai spirits.

“Kagayake! Kintaro” (8/6/17) – Reaching their destination, the Turtles and Usagi must keep dark forces at bay to allow Kintaro to fulfill his destiny.

“Lone Rat and Cubs” (8/13/17) – Homato Yoshi must learn to deal with his new mutated form on the run while caring for four baby turtles.

“The Wasteland Warrior” (9/22/17) – Raph and Donnie traverse the mutant wasteland to keep ahead of a road gang and end up meeting warrior Mira, the last of her tribe.

“The Impossible Desert” (9/22/17) – Raph, Donnie and Mira find Mikey who takes them in from the desert, but their reunion is short-lived as their adversaries find them.

“Carmageddon!” (9/22/17) – Raph, Donnie and Mikey discover Leo is still alive, having been further mutated into Maximus Kong.

“The Curse of Savanti Romero” (9/27/17) – Strange monsters interrupt the Turtles’ Halloween by threatening to transform the city.

“The Crypt of Dracula” (9/27/17) – Renet takes the Turtles to Transylvania to stop Savanti Romero from recruiting the actual Count Dracula.

“The Frankenstein Experiment” (10/4/17) – Savanti extends his recruitment to the Frankenstein monster and plans to unleash his creatures on the 21^st Century.

“Monsters Among Us” (10/11/17) – Renet and the Turtles return home only to discover they made things worse as their world is now run by monsters.

“Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady” (11/12/17*) – 1987 Shredder and Krang hire Bebop and Rocksteady to carry out their plans.

“The Foot Walks Again!” (11/12/17*) – The Turtles train the 1987 Turtles to deal with tougher threats while April and Casey recruit Karai and Shinigami to help.

“The Big Blowout” (11/12/17*) – The Turtles team-up with the Mighty Mutanimals to stop 1987 Shredder and Krang from destroying their Earth.
*Released on DVD on September 12, 2017.

Special:
“Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past” (11/22/15) – The Turtles accidentally end up back in the Jurassic era and must find their way home.

Shorts:
“Don vs. Raph” (7/22/16) – Don and Raph have it out to prove who’s the better between them.

“Turtles Take Time (and Space)” (7/22/16) – April buys a scepter that ends up sending the Turtles through time and dimensions.

“Pizza Friday” (7/22/16) – The Turtles disguise themselves so that they can sneak into April’s school and partake of pizza Friday.

“Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles” (6/4/17) – An aged Mikey mentors four teenagers in turtle-shaped mech suits in protecting a futuristic NYC.

“TMNT Team Up! #1 ‘No Fly Zone’” (6/11/17) – Shredder talks smack over text; Splinter breaks some boards; Bebop and Rocksteady explore their bromance; Casey Jones announces he’s back; Baxter ruins the Turtles’ new wax job.

“Boulangerie” (6/18/17) – The Turtles go under cover to explore the wonders of Paris.

“TMNT TeamUp! #2 ‘Flora the Fedora’” (6/25/17) – Leo crashes into a pothole; the Turtles race through the sewers; April has toilet trouble; Shredder learns he can’t fly; Leatherhead talks gumbo; Krang boops a couple of pregnant women; Bebop and Rocksteady watch a creepy cartoon; Raph needs his soy sauce.

“We Strike Hard and Fade Away into the Night” (6/18/17) – The Turtles and April try to keep a crystal out of Krang’s tentacles.

“TMNT Team Up! Comic-Con Exclusive” (7/18/17) – The Turtles head to Comic-Con where they meet Kevin Eastman.

“TMNT Team Up! #3 ‘Turtle: Impossible’” (7/30/17) – The Turtles have a Saturday night binge party; the Turtles don’t believe a news report about a giant pigeon; a Foot Soldier takes a lunch break; Splinter shares cage wisdom; Ace Duck crashes into rubber duckies; Sherdder ducks his mother; Donnie tries to defuse a bomb while the others “help”.

“TMNT Team Up! #4 ‘Big Daddy’s TV’” (8/13/17) – Leo gets run over by a train; Shredder shows off his new TV; Mikey pretends he’s Donnie; Rat King tries to be dramatic; Bebop and Rocksteady sing another song; Casey creeps out the gang.

Originally posted in 2021. Updated in 2025.

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February 27, 2021

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

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