I’ve recently been going back through the first few issues of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics every Tuesday, hence the term “Turtle Tuesday” for the next few weeks. Eastman and Laird’s original versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are far darker and more serious than their later, more comedic and family-friendly interpretations; they all wear the same red bandanas, use their weapons to slice and even kill their opponents, and usually come out of most battles all bloody and cut up. After avenging the death of their master Splinter’s master in the first issue, the TMNT returned home from fighting Baxter Stockman and his robotic Mousers to find their lair ransacked and Splinter missing, presumed injured or dead. With nowhere else to go, the TMNT have moved in with their human ally, April O’Neil, while they regroup and try to come up with a plan of action.

Issue four kicks off with the TMNT taking to the rooftops of New York City at night for some exercise and to clear their heads; it’s been a week since Splinter went missing and tensions are still high but no mention is made of Raphael’s solo adventures (as covered last week) or his encounter with Casey Jones. Catching a breather on a rooftop, the TMNT are randomly attacked by the venge-seeking Foot Clan; in the bloody, violent battle, Foot are thrown from the roof to their deaths and beaten (presumably to death) by the TMNT’s weapons.

Raphael takes a spill off the roof, crashing through the window of a nearby civilian apartment and once again exposing himself to a family of New Yorkers, and summarily murders one of the Foot when he injures “Michaelangelo”’s wrist. I guess the Foot are still indiscriminately worthy of capital punishment, despite Raphael’s lectures to Casey about dishing out capital punishment in Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. With the Foot defeated, the TMNT suddenly realise that they are right across the street from the T.C.R.I. building. Yeah, apparently, the TMNT never spotted this giant, glass-and-steel building with “T.C.R.I.” emblazoned upon it in giant letters. Go figure. Anyway, with the sun rising, they head back to April’s and recap her (and the reader) on the specifics of their origins to explain the significance of T.C.R.I. to them (the company name is stamped on the canister that contained the mutagenic ooze responsible for the TMNT’s existence).

Curious about T.C.R.I. and their origins, the TMNT choose to suspend their search for Splinter and check out the T.C.R.I. building; April offers to help but, as their actions are illegal, the TMNT convince her to stay behind. With no visible entrances, the TMNT head up to a nearby rooftop and cross over to the T.C.R.I. building using a rope; Donatello then borrows the old “place a photograph in front of the camera” trick to allow them to slip past the security cameras and enter the building. Exploring their surroundings, they find the building has a strange layout (such as a reception area three floors from ground level) and pick up a mysterious security card that features some strange, alien writing on it. Eventually, after randomly trying a bunch of doors, they use the card to access a chamber and find Splinter being held in captivity. Enraged, and believing their father-figure to be dead, Raphael wants to trash the entire place but is stopped by Donatello, who reveals that Splinter is alive but held in suspended animation and that trashing the room could kill their master.

The TMNT are suddenly confronted by Splinter’s captors; alien, sentient brains stuck inside robotic endoskeletons. On edge and understandably upset, the TMNT don’t stop to think or listen to reason; instead, they attack full force but are forced to beat a hasty retreat due to the robots’ sheer numbers, dexterity, and sheer firepower (though they don’t seem to twig that their enemies are blasting them with stun rays). Fleeing to another room with a huge piece of machinery in it, the TMNT prepare to make their last stand, confidant that the odds are in their favour as their foes don’t want to risk damaging the “translocation device”. However, while trying to cause a distraction so his brothers can escape, Mike’s injured wrist gives out on him and causes him to destroy the machine’s control panel and, in a flash of light, the TMNT suddenly vanish from sight. This issue continues the ongoing story arc revolving around Splinter’s disappearance and the impact this has on the TMNT. We already saw how deeply it has affected Raphael (he got a whole one-shot comic to explore his rage at the loss of his master) but, here, it’s clearly affected each of the TMNT as they don’t even hesitate to fly at the cybernetic T.C.R.I.’s at full force. Clearly, seeing their father-figure held in captivity is skewing the TMNT’s usual stoic focus and, in their rage, it causes them to be caught in the translocation machine’s teleportation beam.

Eastman and Laird continue to keep the truth about the T.C.R.I.’s under wraps; we really don’t know anything about them except that they are aliens, scientifically curious, and have no intention on actually hurting or killing the TMNT or Splinter. It’s difficult to consolidate this in retrospect considering that these creatures served as the basis for the one of the TMNT’s most enduring villains, Krang, but, in their initial appearance, they more like scientists than anything else. I also liked that Mikey’s injury actually factored into the issue’s plot; so many times in comics, characters will be injured and get patched up and it’s either never addressed again or disappears between panels but, here, it’s directly responsible for the TMNT’s trip to parts unknown. If you missed Raphael’s one-shot, this issue also reinforces his friendship with Mike but, while Donatello’s knowledge of machines factors into the TMNT’s exploration of the T.C.R.I. building, I’m still waiting for “Michaelangelo” to actually stand out from his brothers in some way other than the unique weapon he wields.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think about the T.C.R.I. aliens? Do you still find it jarring to see the TMNT getting cut and hurt or are you getting used to it now that we’re a few issues in? Do you think the TMNT were right to leave April behind or should they have brought her along, or called on Casey for help? Feel free to share your thoughts on the TMNT below and pop back for next week’s instalment of Turtle Tuesday in which the TMNT are left stranded on an alien spaceship!

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the last few weeks of “Turtle Tuesday” it’s that, of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), it is Raphael that has stood out the most in even just the first three issues of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s initial run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. Sure, we’ve seen that Leonardo is the de facto leader; he’s been the voice of reason after Splinter’s disappearance and gives directions and strategy during the TMNT’s many bloody battles. Donatello has tinkered with some machines and hinted at his familiarity with computers, which was a significant aspect of issue two but has yet to be properly focused on, and “Michaelangelo” has been…there as well… But every issue has made a point to emphasise Raphael’s individuality from his brothers. Hell, the very first issue dedicated a whole side plot to Raphael that gave him his own inner monologue and he was the only one of the TMNT to fly off the handle after their lair was ransacked and Splinter went missing so is it any wonder that, of the four TMNT, it was Raphael who got his very first spin-off comic during this time?

Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle continues with the TMNT still hiding out at April O’Neil’s apartment after the disappearance of Splinter. Tensions are high and, as he spars with “Michaelangelo”, Raphael flies into a rage when his brother gets the better of him. Enraged, Raphael grabs a wrench and is moments away from bashing his brother’s brains in before Leonardo intervenes and admonishes him for his emotional state. Right away, this opening sequence establishes two things: one is that Raphael has one hell of a temper and has been pushed to breaking point by the disappearance of his father-figure and the second is that “Michaelangelo” is actually a competent and formidable fighter in his own right. How often do we see Michelangelo portrayed as not only a proficient and skilled fighter but also capable enough of not only holding his own with Raphael but actually besting him? Here, Mikey counters each of Raph’s moves and comments upon his brother’s technique and ability with a knowledge and wisdom far beyond his usual characterisation as a lackadaisical surfer-dude. Clearly, Raph’s anger is getting the better of him and causing him to make mistakes in this battle but Mikey’s commentary reveals that he’s no pushover when it comes to fighting and using an enemy’s skills against them; it’s not massively surprising considering all of the TMNT are far more focused and capable than their animated counterparts but it is interesting as, at this point, all we really know about Mikey is that he’s a ninja turtle with nunchaku.

Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle also establishes that “Michaelangelo” is Raphael’s best friend; as he takes to the rooftops, desperate to clear his head and wallowing in shame and regret, Raphael laments his actions and what his rage nearly made him do to his “best pal”, emphasising that Raphael’s bloodlust in battle leads him to not only make mistakes but also drives him to a frenzy where he can’t tell friend from foe. The story then switches to my second-favourite TMNT character, Casey Jones; sat before a television in his squalid apartment, Casey is randomly inspired by what sounds like either a clichéd cop show or a clichéd cop movie to take to the streets with a hockey mask and a bag full of sports equipment to teach criminal scum the lesson he feels they sorely deserve. Within a few hours, he spots Raphael beating up a couple of street punks when they try to steal a woman’s handbag but is incensed when Raph lets the scumbags escape and drops in to finish the job.

Alarmed that Casey is about to kill the punks, Raphael steps in and fight ensues, with Casey managing to catch Raphael off-guard by feigning defeat and then knocking him out with a golf club. After coming to, Raphael is determined to track Casey down and put a stop to his vigilante ways before he goes too far and kills someone but has no idea where the masked vigilante ran off to. New York City is rife with crime on this night, however, as Casey soon stumbles upon a couple of guys stealing a car radio and dishes out his own brand of justice by bashing them with a couple of baseball bats, even breaking one of the perpetrator’s legs. Right as Casey is about to deliver the killing blow, Raphael steps in, incensed that Casey believes that every crime is deserving of capital punishment.

Ignoring Splinter’s training and Leonardo’s words of caution, Raphael dashes across a busy street and engages in a long, bloody fight with Casey in Central Park; the two are evenly matched in their ability to both give out and take punishment and, before long, they’re both absolutely exhausted and bloodied up from their scuffle. In the end, the two reach a compromise and a degree of understanding as Casey recognises that Raphael is not above killing those when they deserve it and Raphael advises that Casey needs to keep his temper under control so that he doesn’t needlessly kill for the most minor of crimes and, begrudgingly, the two agree to race to the aid of a nearby citizen in peril.

Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle more than makes up for the last issue’s lack of TMNT action; nearly every panel of this one-shot is dedicated to Raphael and some classic TMNT action. Not only that but it introduces one of the TMNT’s most enduring human allies in Casey Jones, a hockey mask and sports-gear-wielding vigilante who is more than happy to beat street punks to death. Very little is revealed about Casey’s background; we have no idea why he feels so strongly about engaging in vigilante justice and it seems he’s meant to be a commentary (or parody) of the influence violent television can have on the mentally unstable. And Casey definitely seems to be a bit off his rocker as he relishes in dishing out violent retribution for the most minor of crimes and Raphael agrees to tag along with him mainly to ensure that he does not go too far with his vigilante ways. This serves to help Raphael come to a realisation about his own violent actions and his temper; well aware that he went too far during his training with his brother, Raphael knows that his anger is an issue and that he needs to try harder to maintain his focus in battle but Casey represents what he could become if he doesn’t work to keep his temper in check. While this works as a character arc, of sorts, for Raphael, the issue ends with him only hoping to do better and it’s a little jarring seeing Raphael suddenly being so against killing as he and his brothers didn’t hesitate to kill in their debut issue.

While you can make an argument that the Purple Dragons and the Foot Clan were deserving of this punishment, there was nothing in the first issue to indicate that this was the case. The Foot were considered as evil and dishonourable as their master, the Shredder, who was unequivocally stated as deserving of death for murdering Splinter’s master, but were they really? Maybe they were disillusioned youths like in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Barron, 1990) live-action movie, or new recruits who hadn’t done anything more than the street punks Raphael is so quick to defend in this issue. It seems like Raphael only admonishes Casey for wanting to kill indiscriminately because it fits the theme and message of not only this one-shot but also Raphael’s character as depicted here. Don’t get me wrong; he’s right to say that capital punishment isn’t always necessary but, up until this point, he and the TMNT certainly seemed to think that it was so, while it works as a lesson for Raphael to learn, it does seem a little contradictory to what we’ve seen of the TMNT so far.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think about this one-shot TMNT comic? Do you think Raphael deserved to be the first of the TMNT to get his own spin-off or would you have preferred to see a different character get that honour? Do you like Casey Jones? If not, which of the TMNT’s human allies is your favourite? Whatever you think about this issue, or the TMNT in general, feel free to leave a comment below and come back next week as the TMNT continue their search for their master in the next instalment of Turtle Tuesday.

Tuesday’s are “Turtle Tuesday” for the next few weeks as I use this time to look back on the first few issues of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which painted a far darker and serious picture of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) than their later animated interpretations. After avenging the death of their master Splinter’s master in the first issue, the TMNT made a new friend in issue two when they saved April O’Neil from Baxter Stockman’s robotic Mousers. Not only did issue two start to distinguish the TMNT by more than just their weapons, it also began a storyline that would continue not just in this next issue but over the next few issues as well, showing that Eastman and Laird were fully capable of plotting out ongoing story arcs even this early into their fledgling publication.

Issue three begins with the TMNT and April finally escaping from Stockman’s laboratory; indebted to the TMNT for their help, April leaves them her number as they head back to their sewer hideout…only for them to discover that their beloved master and father-figure, Splinter, is missing. Not only that, their lair has been ransacked and there are smashed up Mousers and blood all over the place. Enraged and fearful for his master’s safety, Raphael is inconsolable; despite Leonardo’s efforts to calm him and assign him a task to help compartmentalise the problem, Raphael flees into the night, determined to find Splinter sooner rather than later. While we saw a glimpse of his headstrong Raphael was in issue one, this is the first real indication that he is, by far, the more hot-headed and emotional of the TMNT; interestingly, Raphael and Leonardo don’t come to blows over the issue, which is a nice change of pace. Instead, Raphael simply allows his emotions to get the better of him and to ignore Leonardo’s more measured approach to the situation and, even more surprisingly, when Raphael returns to the group, he even admits that he was wrong to rush off alone and apologises for his actions. Reunited, but still unsure of how to proceed, the TMNT call April and she immediately comes over to pick them up in her van.

Unfortunately, as April drives the TMNT back to her place, they attract the attention of the police, who mistakenly believe the van to be the same one involved in a robbery, unaware of this, and desperate to not be caught or discovered, a high-speed pursuit ensues that takes the TMNT, April, and the cops through Central Park and causes a great deal of damage and disruption. Thankfully (luckily), no one seems to be seriously hurt from the pursuit and, quite coincidentally, the TMNT catch a break when they just happen to pass the real perpetrators of the crime and finally lose the police pursuit (resulting in an amusing full-page spread of New York’s finest spouting every cop cliché line in the book while holding the thieves at gun point). Arriving back at April’s place, the TMNT have a brief moment where they bond with her before falling asleep from the stress and exhaustion of the last few days. For anyone familiar with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Barron, 1990) live-action movie, a lot of this issue will ring a bell as the TMNT also returned to their lair to find Splinter missing and took shelter at April’s apartment; April even lives alone above a junk shop, just like in the movie, showing just how faithful that initial film was to Eastman and Laird’s original vision of the TMNT.

Compared to the last two issues, though, issue three is far less action-packed; the chase sequence amounts to the entirety of the issue’s action and, instead, we see a different side to the usually stoic and action-orientated TMNT. Confronted with a situation where their ninja skills and weapons cannot help them, the TMNT are somewhat clueless as to how to proceed, turning to April as they have nowhere else to go. As with the other issues, though, it is mainly Leonardo and Raphael who have the strongest, most distinct reactions to Splinter’s disappearance, with Raphael reacting in angered haste and Leonardo not only trying to hold his brothers together but remaining steadfast that they will recover their master and father-figure. The issue ends with an extended epilogue that reveals to the read the specifics of what happened to Splinter; caught off-guard by a sudden Mouser attack, Splinter is wounded and barely manages to escape with his life. Discovered by a couple of mysterious, strange-sounding men, Splinter is taken to the T.C.R.I. building for medical care but, when he awakens, Splinter discovers that his rescuers are actually sentient brains inside robotic shells, ending the issue on another cliffhanger that will be continued in next week’s instalment of Turtle Tuesday!

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Last week, I announced that, for the next few weeks, Tuesday’s would be “Turtle Tuesday” as I take a look back at the first few issues of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After debuting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) in a one-shot comic, Eastman and Laird advertised their property through a media kit and advertisements so that interest in the TMNT grew, justifying not only the release of a second issue but also, in time, a spin-off comic book series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 to 2010). The TMNT weren’t quite the multimedia juggernaut they would become, however, meaning that the original Mirage Comics run continued to be decidedly darker and more violent than its eventual animated incarnations, with the turtles still sporting the same red colour schemes and using their ninja weapons to maim and even kill their foes.

Last week, I looked at the TMNT’s seminal first issue in which Eastman and Laird first introduced this ridiculous concept to the world. Parodying the works of Frank Miller and inspired by the likes of Daredevil, the New Mutants, Ronin (Miller, et al, 1983 to 1984), and Cerebus (Sim and Gerhard, 1977 to 2004), the TMNT were grim, stoic turtles mutated by radioactive ooze and trained in the ways of the ninja by their aged mentor Splinter, a mutated rat. After being told of their origins, the TMNT set out to avenge the death of Splinter’s master by confronting his killer, the Shredder, and his Foot Clan of ninja criminals; after a bloody battle, the TMNT emerged victorious and, with the Shredder dead, returned home to the sewers…

Issue two opens with Leonardo reprimanding Raphael and “Michaelangelo” for sparring so loudly that Splinter can’t hear the television; immediately in these first few panels we see a few glimpses of the personalities that will, in time, come to define the TMNT: Leonardo is the stern voice of reason and authority, Raphael is focused only on fighting and training, and Donatello is tinkering with a piece of machinery. The only odd one out is “Michaelangelo” who still exhibits none of his now-characteristic lackadaisical, surfer-dude attitude and is, instead, just as keen to fight and train as his traditionally hot-headed brother.

The TMNT are distracted from their activities by a news report in which Doctor Baxter Stockman reveals his proposed solution to New York City’s rat problem: the robotic Mousers which, when set to task, devour up to five rats at a time. Naturally, this has our heroes deeply troubled considering their mentor and father-figure, Splinter, is a rat but it seems like quite the leap in logic for them to consider Stockman’s machines a threat at this point when it seems they’re only programmed (and capable) of hunting regularly-sized rats. After several weeks, Baxter’s assistant, April O’Neil, voices her concerns about a series of robberies throughout the city and suggests that the Mousers have gone rogue, somehow, and are responsible. Baxter then decides to show April the full extent of his work: a veritable army of Mousers with which he has successfully robbed several banks and also plans to use to hold the city to ransom for a cool $20 million.

It turns out that Baxter is literally out of his mind, willing to destroy several buildings (including the World Trade Center) and cause the deaths of countless innocents simply because it would be more fun than legally becoming a millionaire through his research. Escaping Baxter’s clutches, April is nonetheless close to being devoured by his Mousers when she is promptly rescued by the TMNT and faints upon seeing them in all their mutated glory. Awakening in their lair, April is briefed on the origins of Splinter and the TMNT (thankfully, unlike the vast majority of comic books at the time, Eastman and Laird simply direct readers to the first issue for the full story rather than wasting pages recounting the origin once again). After that, Baxter makes his demands, destroying the “Retxab” building (which totally isn’t the Fantastic Four’s famous Baxter Building) to show that he’s serious in his demands.

As she knows Baxter’s systems and security measures, April accompanies the TMNT as they move to confront and stop Baxter; however, despite taking the mad doctor out with little effort, the TMNT soon find that they’re trapped in the building with the entirety of Baxter’s army now reprogrammed to destroy the entire structure (and, obviously, them as well). While Leonardo, Raphael, and “Michaelangelo” desperately fight off the Mousers, Donatello (who is “familiar with some computer systems”) stays behind in Baxter’s office with April to try and find some way of shutting the Mousers down. With the Mousers closing in and close to devouring them all, Donatello is able to shut down the radio transmitter and render the Mousers harmless just in the nick of time.

Obviously, the most memorable thing about this second issue is that it introduces the TMNT’s human ally, April, to the canon for the first time; rather than being a yellow-raincoat-clad reporter, however, April is Baxter Stockman’s assistant and quite knowledgeable when it comes to computers and machines. While those skills don’t really factor in to the story at all (it is Donatello who does all the computer work which April merely advises), it is interesting to see this character who is usually so synonymous with being a hard-hitting reporter be portrayed so differently. Also introduced in this story is, of course, Baxter Stockman and his Mousers, both of whom would go on to be recurring foes of the TMNT in cartoons, videogames, and other media. Rather than being a comical, Caucasian scientist, Stockman is, instead, a bat-shit crazy African American, which finally saw the light of day (for better or worse) in his madcap appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (Green, 2016). It’s also worth noting that elements of this issue were incorporated into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Barron, 1990) live-action movie (specifically the way the TMNT meet April) and the cartoons, though Baxter doesn’t undergo his own metamorphosis in this issue.

This is also the first time the TMNT refer to each other by shortened versions of their names, which makes it much easier to identify which turtle is which when you can’t see their weapons as “Leo” takes up far less space than “Leonardo”. Not only do the TMNT also display a bit more of their individualities in this issue, even Splinter is given a bit more characterisation than just being the wise old master: he enjoys his television, despairs of his sons’ rough-housing, and even is a little snarky to April. Unlike the last issue, the TMNT get far less roughed up here; as they’re primarily fighting the robotic Mousers, there’s less “real” on-page violence (thought he Mousers do still seem to bleed when they’re cut) and the writing whole is far less serious than in the first issue. Instead, largely thanks to Baxter’s kooky dialogue and clichéd monologues, the story is far more whimsical than its darker predecessor. The TMNT are still mostly played completely straight but issue two establishes that their world has the potential to be even more ridiculous than just featured talking, ninja turtles, something which would be dialled up to eleven in the next issue.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What do you think about these original versions of the TMNT? Did you read this first issues when they were originally published or, like me, did you discover it after the TMNT took the world by storm? Did you know that April O’Neil was originally introduced as Baxter Stockman’s assistant rather than being a reporter? What is your favourite iteration of the TMNT or your favourite piece of TMNT merchandise? Whatever your thoughts and memories of the TMNT, feel free to leave a comment below and come back for next week’s instalment of Turtle Tuesday in which the TMNT’s beloved master Splinter is mysterious rat-napped right from their lair!

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times before but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) really were an absolute phenomenon back in the day; kids in playgrounds all over the country were watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon (1987 to 1996), collecting the various action figures, or proudly wearing any piece of TMNT merchandise they could get their hands on (or convince their parents to buy). Growing up in the United Kingdom, I was obviously exposed to the more censored “Hero” Turtles but the mania the TMNT inspired in kids was infectious nevertheless. It wasn’t until the release of the amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Barron, 1990) live-action movie that the majority of us kids were exposed to a darker, more violent version of the TMNT; I actually saw the under-rated sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (Pressman, 1991) first and, for the longest time, actually preferred it over the far darker first movie. In time, I’ve come to hold both in high regard as each showed a more serious, far lass neutered portrayal of the TMNT than the original animated series.

It was some time before I found out just how dark and violent the original TMNT were. Created and self-published by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird back in 1984, the TMNT were initially inspired by the works of Frank Miller and comic book heroes both mainstream (like Matt Murdock/Daredevil and the New Mutants) and obscure, such as Ronin (Miller, et al, 1983 to 1984) and Cerebus (Sim and Gerhard, 1977 to 2004). As such, the four mutated ninjas were rendered in striking black and white and exposited their stoic, stilted dialogue (largely through text boxes) in a clear pastiche of Miller’s trademark art and writing style. Since then, the TMNT have gone on to be an enduring multimedia franchise, spawning numerous cartoons, movies (both live-action and animated), toys, videogames, and merchandise but, even when the TMNT were at their family-friendly peak, Eastman and Laird’s original, far more violent and serious comic book continued to be published until the rights to the TMNT were purchased by Nickelodeon in 2009. Back when I was a kid, in addition to the toys and cartoon and movies, I was mostly reading the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (1988 to 1995) comic book published by Archie Comics and it would be some years before I finally read the original Mirage Studios issues. Having recently purchased the first Color Classics (2018) volume of the original TMNT comic, I figured I would rechristen Tuesdays as “Turtle Tuesday” for the next few weeks to talk about Eastman and Laird’s first few issues and revisit this cult classic that became a worldwide cultural phenomenon.

Issue one opens with the four titular turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo [sic]) backed up against the wall in an alleyway by the Purple Dragons (“the toughest street gang on the east side”). Despite the gang’s youth, they’re not only “street tough” but also armed to the teeth; luckily, as their name may suggest, the TMNT are well-trained in the art of ninjitsu [sic] and make short work of the street punks. When the police arrive, the turtles scatter, retreating to a nearby sewer and returning both to their underground home within the storm drains of New York City but also their mentor and father-figure, Splinter, a wise and aged mutated rat. Interestingly, it is Michaelangelo who reports on their great victory rather than Leonardo; as we’ll see in these early issues, it took some time for the turtles’ distinct personalities and unique characteristics to help separate them from each other. Until then, and especially in this first issue, it can be tricky to tell the turtles apart as they all wear the same coloured bandanas and are separated only by their weapons, meaning that you don’t always know who is who unless you can see their weapon or the dialogue mentions their names. Nonetheless, pleased with their debut, Splinter finally decides that it is time to relate to his students and sons the details of their origin and the purpose for which he has trained them in the arts of “ninjitsu”. Splinter relates that, about twenty years ago, he was simply the pet rat of the martial artist Hamato Yoshi, the greatest shadow warrior of his clan, the Foot, the most feared warriors and assassins in all of Japan. Though merely a rat at the time, Splinter was still intelligent and dexterous enough to learn and understand his master’s moves and teachings and quickly became as adept in the ninja ways as Yoshi.

Yoshi’s rival in all things was Oroku Nagi; the two even fought for the love of Tang Shen, but she loved only Yoshi. In a jealous rage, Nagi beat Shen to within an inch of her life and, overcome with bloodlust, Yoshi killed him. Disgraced, Yoshi fled Japan with both Splinter and Shen, relocating to New York to begin their lives anew. However, Nagi’s younger brother, Oroku Saki, swore vengeance for the death of his brother and, within a short time, became the Foot’s most cunning assassin. For his accolades, he was chosen to travel to America and establish the New York branch of the Foot. Rechristening himself the Shredder and donning razor sharp armour, Saki’s Foot become a burgeoning criminal enterprise and, when the time was right, he finally struck against Yoshi.

After the deaths of his keepers, Splinter roamed the streets half starved and wallowing in grief until, one fateful day, a young boy saved an old man from being hit by a truck and was struck by a canister of glowing, radioactive ooze. For those paying attention, yes, this is clearly meant to be a reference to Matt Murdock, the blind boy who would grow up to become Daredevil, heavily implying that the TMNT exist in the same world as the Marvel superheroes. The canister then goes on to smash a glass jar and the four baby turtles contained within are swept into the sewers, where Splinter rescued and cared for them. After only one day, both the turtles and Splinter had grown; Splinter’s intellect, especially, increased thanks to his contact with the ooze and, soon, the turtles were standing upright, copying Splinter’s movements, and even capable of speech. Seizing the opportunity, Splinter named each of the turtles after renaissance artists and spent the next thirteen years training the turtles in the ways of the ninja with one goal in mind: to avenge his fallen master by killing the Shredder.

Raphael is sent to deliver an ultimatum to the Shredder to meet with the turtles in a duel to the death for honour and glory. Of all the turtles in this first issue, it is Raphael who gets the chance to stand out the most thanks to this solo mission; he relishes the outside world in a way his brothers do not and is only too eager to deliver Splinter’s message, indiscriminately killing some of Shredder’s men and disrupting a crucial meeting between Shredder and some potential clients as he does so. Enraged at the insult and the challenge, Saki gears up and confronts the turtles on a rooftop; Shredder is no fool, however, and brings his best men along to soften up the turtles. A bloody battle ensues and, while the TMNT emerge victorious, they are covered in scratches, cuts, bruises, and blood; it’s absolutely mind-boggling to see the TMNT not only cutting their enemies down with their weapons but also bloody and cut up. Back when I was a kid, I always wondered why the TMNT never (or, at least, rarely ever) used their weapons offensively in battle and the only explanation ever offered was that they were for defence only so it’s refreshing to see them skewer their enemies without a second’s hesitation.

However, the turtles are initially no match for the Shredder; that is, of course, until they fight as a unit and keep their distance, throwing Shredder off balance enough for Leonardo to deliver a mortal wound with one of his katana. Bleeding and defeated, the turtles offer Saki one last chance to commit suicide and die with honour; Shredder, defiant and arrogant to the end, angrily refuses and produces a thermite grenade, threatening to blow them all to kingdom come. Thanks to the timely intervention of Donatello, however, Shredder is knocked from the roof and perishes alone in the blast. Wounded and weary, the turtles head back home, nonchalantly tossing away a piece of the Shredder’s blasted armour as they fade away into the night. The TMNT has always been a ridiculous premise: four mutated turtles with the mindset of teenagers and the training of ninjas fighting the forces of evil. It’s ridiculous in the best way possible and this first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is no exception to that rule. In fact, thanks to its stoic dialogue and overly dramatic tone and art style, it’s perhaps even more ridiculous but not in a slapstick, goofy kind of way like the original cartoon and more as a parody of the dark, brooding, gritty noir-style adopted by the likes of Frank Miller.

While it helped no end when the TMNT took on their individual, iconic colours, there’s something very bold about seeing all four in red here; you know, just from a glance, that these are the tough, no-nonsense, serious TMNT rather than the surfer-dude, pizza-loving fools they are often portrayed as. There are glimmers of their personalities but they’re far less defined here than they would be in later issues and other merchandise: Leonardo is generally assumed to be the leader, Raphael seems to relish being in the outside world more than his brothers and is slightly brasher (he is the first to take on Shredder in the climax), but Donatello and “Michaelangelo” don’t really get to showcase much that separates them other than the fact that they wield different weapons. Indeed, all four turtles even “sound” the same; there’s no distinctive dialogue to separate them and they are a uniformed whole in a way that they’ve never (or, at least, rarely ever) been portrayed since. Each of the turtles has the same grim, stoic mindset and commitment to honour and the teachings of their master and is as dedicated to the idea of avenging Yoshi’s death as the other. In a sense, they’re all comprised of Leonardo and Raphael’s later mentalities, with neither Donatello’s intelligence or the lackadaisical attitude of “Michaelangelo”s  being present in this first issue. Yet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works because it’s so ridiculous; it takes a ludicrous premise and plays it completely straight, as though it’s perfectly normal for these mutated turtles to be walking, talking, and kicking ass and, because of that, it’s very enjoyable to read. I can totally see how this self-published, independent one-shot of a comic would have turned heads and inspired a line of toys and subsequent issues but it’s crazy to see the Shredder be so casually killed off in this first issue considering that he would be the TMNT’s most enduring foe by far over the years and across all media. Eastman and Laird would refine the concept in subsequent issues and when the TMNT became a licensed commodity and, for those whose only exposure to the TMNT is the more watered down, family friendly iterations, this first issue is a shocking glimpse into the TMNT’s more darker origins and is all the better for it. Probably the best indication of how crucial and influential this first issue is to the TMNT is the fact that it served as the basis for the 1990 live-action movie, which faithfully recreated the TMNT’s origins and their battle with the Shredder almost exactly as it appears here and it has been returned to again and again over the years as the TMNT have been reimagined time and time again.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What are your thoughts on the original, more violent versions of the TMNT? Did you read this first issue when it first came out or, like me, did you discover it after the TMNT took the world by storm? Do you also find it amusing that Eastman and Laird killed the Turtles’ most enduring villain, the Shredder, off in the first issue considering how influential he became to the larger franchise? What is your favourite iteration of the TMNT or your favourite piece of TMNT merchandise? Whatever your thoughts and memories of the TMNT, feel free to leave a comment below and come back for next week’s instalment of Turtle Tuesday as the TMNT meet their most recognisable ally and battle an army of robotic mice!