List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters


The following is a list of characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

Overview



This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles throughout the franchise.
  • A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the series or film, or that the character's presence in the series or film has not yet been announced.
  • A indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
  • A indicates a performance in costume.
  • A indicates a singing role.
  • A indicates an appearance in deleted scenes only.
  • A indicates a motion-capture role.
  • A indicates a character is mute.
  • A indicates an uncredited role.


Main characters

In most versions, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are created when four baby turtles are exposed to radioactive ooze, transforming them into humanoids.

Leonardo

, nicknamed Leo, is the leader of the ninja turtles, as well as the most disciplined and skilled. Naturally stoic and mature beyond his years, his main priority is to help his brothers to be the best ninjas they can. Because of his leadership, he is often challenged with the constant rebelliousness of Raphael. An expert swordsman, he wields two katanas and wears an ocean blue mask.

Donatello

, nicknamed Donnie, is the smartest and gentlest of the Turtles. An intellectual, he often attempts to reach his goals through science and technology rather than through violence and so frequently invents gadgets and vehicles. He is typically the passive turtle and Leonardo's second-in-command, always one step ahead of his brothers and coming up with solutions to complex problems when they cannot. Studying the art of Bojutsu, he wears a purple mask and wields an oak bō.

Raphael

, nicknamed Raph, is the most aggressive and temperamental of the turtles. Rebellious, cynical, and quick witted, he is often driven by his strong emotions and is more prone to temper loss than his brothers. He possesses a strong desire for independence, often going rogue whenever opportunity calls for it and displaying disapproval of authority. His quick temper tends to get the better of him, but he openly loves his family, and is fiercely loyal to his allies. He wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai.

Michelangelo

, nicknamed Mikey, is the least disciplined and most fun-loving turtle. He is usually portrayed as the most agile and naturally gifted, contrasting his free spirit and inability to take training seriously. The most stereotypical teenager of the team, he is an avid fan of pop-culture and often speaks with a surfer dialect. He yearns to live life to the fullest, resulting in a tendency to fool around whenever possible. He wears an orange mask and fights using nunchucks.

Splinter

is the mutant rat sensei and adoptive father of the Ninja Turtles. Generally depicted as wise and powerful, he raised the four turtles and trained them in the art of Ninjutsu. He is very cautious and protective of them, constantly warning them of the dangers on the surface. In stark contrast to his coarse gnarly appearance, Splinter always speaks in a quiet gentle dignified voice.

April O'Neil

is a confident, courageous, benevolent, intelligent, and outgoing human companion of the Ninja Turtles. She met the Turtles when they saved her from a group of Shredder’s henchmen chasing her down the sewers. She embarked on many of the Turtles' adventures and aids them by doing the work in public while the Turtles cannot.

Casey Jones

is a hockey-masked vigilante, armed with an assortment of sporting goods that he carries in a golf bag. He is a close ally of the Ninja Turtles, whom he met after having a martial-arts skirmish with the temperish Raphael regarding Casey's own inflamed behavior when battling the bad guys.

Recurring characters

Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi is a ninjutsu master whose history is always intertwined with Splinter's. In most versions, Splinter is either his pet rat or a mutated form of Yoshi himself.

Mighty Mutanimals

Dreadmon

Jagwar

Leatherhead

Leatherhead is a mutant American alligator and hot-headed ally of the Ninja Turtles.

Mondo Gecko

Ray Fillet

Wingnut and Screwloose

Slash

Slash is a humanoid turtle who is either an enemy or ally of the Ninja Turtles depending on the version.
In the Archie comics continuity, he is a turtle-like alien from a tropical planet in Dimension X. Slash's home world was destroyed by alien invaders, leaving him the only survivor. He was later found by Krang, who made a deal with him to find his way back to Earth, and in return, Slash came under the former's leadership and kept the Ninja Turtles busy while Krang sought to possess Shredder's body, but to no avail. Slash's rampage caught the attention of the Mighty Mutanimals, who captured him and brought him to their island. With Leatherhead's help, Slash was able to control his violent spree and informed that he would be allowed to stay in a grove of palm trees. Grateful, he went on to become a member of the Mutanimals, ultimately sacrificing himself to save the Turtles.
In the 1987 animated series, Slash was Bebop's pet turtle, mutated by Rocksteady to carry out an assignment for Shredder. When Bebop accidentally drops the plastic palm tree in his tank down an air duct, Slash goes berserk and steals Shredder's shaolin, chasing them around the Technodrome before going to Earth on Bebop's part. There, he encounters a corrupt businessman who sends him to smash the Freedom Bell, which would tarnish the Turtles' reputation. The Turtles eventually stop them and sent Slash into space aboard a rocket, which unknowingly contained a plastic palm tree. Slash later returns to Earth, having had his intelligence enhanced by an extraterrestrial machine, but is foiled and returned to space.
In the IDW comics, Slash was introduced as Specimen 6, a snapping turtle experiment at StockGen mutated with Old Hob's DNA assigned to hunt down the Ninja Turtles and Splinter. However, his mind became unstable and gave him a savage nature, so Specimen 6 was contained in a special tank guarded by the Rock Soldiers. He was later freed due to April O'Neil's diversion to retrieve the Turtle Tracker for the Ninja Turtles. After punching one of the Rock Soldiers, he escaped from the lab. Though proven more powerful than the Turtles, Slash is accidentally impaled by Leonardo and left to fall into the sewers. He survives and is found by Old Hob, who tells him that they should work together to hunt down anyone with a connection to StockGen. Slash is shown the error of his ways when Michelangelo gives him a candy bar that he instantly fell in love with. He agrees to help the Turtles escape from one of Shredder's traps. Slash later injects himself with a syringe containing Splinter's compound-infused blood, declaring that he wanted to be a "hero" like Michelangelo. He gains increased intelligence and becomes the co-founder of Hob's new mutant army the Mutanimals.
In the 2012 animated series, Slash was introduced as Spike, a young box turtle who was flushed into the sewers from his original owner's home and saved from drowning by Raphael, who took him in as his pet. He used to listen to his owner's angry ranting about his troubles with his family and learned ninjutsu by watching Raphael practice it in his room. Although no one knew at the time, Spike even developed a hatred for the Ninja Turtles, thanks to hearing Raphael's angry chants all his life. One night, he is mutated after drinking from a canister of mutagen that spilled in Raphael's room. Obtaining a mace, Slash joins the other Turtles on patrol but revealed his true intentions by beating Donatello and Michelangelo. Slash later allies with the Newtralizer, only to see the error of his actions and side with the Turtles and Casey Jones to stop him. He becomes the leader of the Mighty Mutanimals as they work with the Turtles to take back the city from the Krang.
Slash appears as a boss in the video games Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project, the Super NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.

Mutagen Man

Mutagen Man is a character in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise that suffers a bizarre encounter with mutagen that exposes his internal organs and resides in a special robotic suit.
In the 1987 animated series, Mutagen Man is Seymour Gutz, a nerdy mailman who became dismembered after falling into a vat of mutagen.
In the IDW comics, Mutagen Man is a failed attempt at combining several animals into one mutant. When the Mutanimals find him strapped to a bed, they try to free him. Although he is told that he is being saved, Mutagen Man has a different idea of the term by forcing Old Hob's gun to his dome and urging him to fire. Hob refuses and they all escape the facility together. Later, Mutagen Man is given the name "Seymour Guts" by Mondo Gecko.
In the 2012 animated series, Mutagen Man is introduced as Timothy, a young ineffective ice cream vendor who, after witnessing the Turtles' first battle with Baxter Stockman from his apartment window, dedicated himself into fighting crime as a wannabe superhero in a turtle costume called the Pulverizer. After being exposed to mutagen, he transforms into a humanoid blob composed of mutagen with floating organs and a disintegrating touch. He is kept in a special mutagen container by Donatello, who promises to help him find a way to turn back to normal.