Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in Half a Shell! turtle power!
If you’re a fan of a certain age, you read those words with a very specific cadence and rhythm in your mind, from the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon theme song of the late ’80s and early ’90s.
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Younger fans will have their own reference points for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who have never been out of the public eye in the media for very long.
but the whole tmnt media empire started with the comics. And for all those decades, comics have remained the heart and soul of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Illustrative Case: The recently concluded tmnt: the latest limited series of ronin comics in which Michelangelo, the only surviving turtle, embarks on a mission of revenge for his dead brothers.
but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great tmnt comic stories (or the tip of the sai, for more tmnt-appropriate idiom). Read on for the top ten Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories of all time!
10. teenage mutant ninja turtles #101
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #101 (Opens in a new tab) is notable as it introduces readers to the newest addition to TMNT: Jennika, the fifth turtle.
wearing a yellow mask and claws, he joins the brothers after his mutation through a blood transfusion he receives from leonardo.
although jennika’s debut took place six issues earlier, it wasn’t until this issue that her place on the team became official. While Sophie Campbell is carving out a remarkable tenure as a TMNT artist and writer, establishing Jennika on the core team may prove to be one of her most enduring endeavors.
And with Jennika taking center stage in the current series, now is the time to go back and read about her origins.
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9. urban legends
It’s true that the ‘urban legends’ (opens in a new tab) era of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a controversial topic among shellheads for the ways it deviated from what came before, But in the years since its publication in the mid…90s, it has become a cult favorite even among those who initially dismissed it (like TMNT co-creator Peter Laird).
The run of writer gary carlson and artist frank fosco, published by image comics, thrust the turtles into a fast-paced, ultra-violent world that saw them lose limbs, eyes, and even showed us donnie as a cyborg (for the first time ever). weather).
hell, he even made raphael take on the shredder mantle… who wouldn’t want to see that?
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8. attack on the technodrome
this 2014 arc – collected as teenage mutant ninja turtles: the idw collection vol. 5 (Opens in a new tab) – Reintroduced the sometimes comedic bebop and rocksteady in a brutal way that fans may still hold a grudge.
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why? Using a sledgehammer, they mercilessly attacked and smashed Donatello’s shell, ultimately leading to his death, due to injuries sustained there.
for fans coming to tmnt from the cartoons and the more kid-friendly versions of the team, we’ll give you a moment to sink in.
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7. usagi yojimbo / teenage mutant ninja turtles
once you get used to armored humanoid turtles, a samurai rabbit seems like an ideal companion.
usagi yojimbo and the teenage mutant ninja turtles first crossed paths in the 1987 anthology turtle soup, with usagi creator stan sakai telling a story of a rabbit out of time to put him alongside the team . Over the next several decades, yojbimbo became a frequent face, not only in comics but also in cartoons.
While this friendship over time gave fans one of the best tmnt action figures of the ’90s, it also provided an opportunity to showcase Leo’s admirable core traits, often subject to teasing by some. of his brothers and fans, through respect. that the samurai rabbit showed him.
You can read all the adventures to date in Usagi Yojimbo from Dark Horse / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection (Opens in a new tab).
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6. gang wars
although tales of the tmnt were canceled before tristan huw jones and jim lawson could complete their full story, what was released of their ‘gang wars’ arc stands out in the way it humanizes michelangelo while imparting the humorous side of the younger brother.
Published intermittently in the tmnt run stories (issues 36, 56, 59, 61 and 64), ‘gang war’ offers a new perspective on the turtles from mikey’s point of view, and despite being unfinished, still worth tracking down. This series has yet to be collected, but the stories in the tmnt collections (opens in new tab) are rapidly closing in on the issues harboring this story.
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5. old times
While not as rare as some of the earlier tmnt releases, good luck finding an original copy of Plastron Brown #1 from 1992, which contains the Peter Laird “old days” story.
Set sometime in the future, an older donatello is running a foot and crusher fighting simulation. it ends with him seeing his brother, causing him to break down and close the game. why? in this future, everyone is dead.
Nearly 30 years old, this standalone story now functions as a precursor to the current tmnt: last ronin series.
4. teenage mutant ninja turtles #1-5 (2011)
idw’s current teenage mutant ninja turtles series is arguably the best synthesis of the tones and storylines of the previous volumes, with writers kevin eastman, tom waltz, and now sophie campbell synthesizing them all together in an organic world that has been running for over 100 issues in the last decade.
The first original arc, collected as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 1 (Opens in a new tab), is particularly notable for artist Dan Duncan’s seminal take on the Turtles, which has defined their aesthetic throughout. last. decade in comics.
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3. city at war
Arguably the biggest story of all tmnt stories, the 90s “city at war” arc from issues #50-62, collected as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Definitive Collection, Volume 5 (opens at a new tab), was at the time, the grand finale of eastman and laird’s tmnt franchise, culminating in the final defeat of the shredder and the dissolution of the turtles.
One of the most poignant moments in the arc takes place not between the turtles, but between splinter and april o’neil when he recognizes her as part of his group.
1992’s ‘city at war’ was not only influential in its own right, but the 13-part arc would also be adapted in later cartoons, and even the current idw comic series.
So what else could rank higher than this seminal story? keep reading…
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2. teenage mutant ninja turtles #1
This is where it all started.
With only 4,000 copies originally published by hand, this oversized black-and-white edition from 1986 features the main characters and conflicts we’ve all come to know and love.
the issue was dedicated to jack kirby and frank miller, and this first issue includes a subtle (and not-so-subtle) homage to the latter’s reckless career: splinter and stick as mentors to budding martial artists; the evil ninja clans dubbed as human appendages; and of course, the mutagen and the radioactive liquid as catalyst of their respective origins.
However, the uniqueness of the story that Eastman and Laird invented helped launch a green empire of comics, cartoons, games, and movies thanks to this must-read first issue that still holds up as a bit of a punk rock. storytelling.
This, along with the entire first year of stories, is collected in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 (Opens in a new tab). Read our review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 – #7.
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1. go back to new york
While ‘City at War’ deserves praise for the epic manner in which it achieved the conclusion of TMNT’s first volume, no other story brought as much attention to TMNT as 1989’s ‘Back To New York’ from #19 – a 21 – Collected in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Definitive Collection Volume 3 (Opens in a new tab).
although the tension between raphael ready to fight and leonardo the leader seems almost cliche at this point, it was in ‘back to new york’ where the relationship between these two brothers is first seen and best at play.
Not only does this story really start to flesh out the family dynamic, but it also features an epic battle between Leo and the Shredder that resulted in what was thought to be the death of Oroku Saki (for the second time).
Between the fundamental development of the character and the impact of his story throughout the films, ‘return to new york’ stands out as the best tmnt story to date.
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