Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series, based on the fictional comic book characters of the same name. The series premiered on February 8, 2003 as part of the Fox's FoxBox programming block (later known as 4Kids TV) and ended on March 27, 2010.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Series logotype
GenreAction
Adventure
Comedy
Superhero
Science fiction
Supernatural
Martial arts
Based on
Developed byLloyd Goldfine
Voices ofMichael Sinterniklaas
Wayne Grayson
Sam Riegel
Greg Abbey
Darren Dunstan
Scottie Ray
Marc Thompson
Veronica Taylor
Theme music composerNorman J. Grossfeld
Russell Velazquez
Composer(s)Ralph Schuckett
Rusty Andrews
John Angier
Mark Breeding
Louis Cortelezzi
Joel Douek
John Petersen
Pete Scaturro
John Siegler
John Van Tongeren
Russel Velazquez
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes156 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Gary Richardson
Frederick U. Fierst
Alfred R. Khan
Norman F. Grossfeld
Tom Kenney
Producer(s)JoEllyn Marlow
Running time21–23 minutes
Production company(s)Mirage Studios
Dong Woo Animation
4Kids Entertainment
Distributor20th Television (2003–2009)
CBS Television Distribution (2009–present)
Release
Original networkFox (season 1–6)
The CW (season 7)
Picture format480i
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1
Original releaseFebruary 8, 2003 (2003-02-08) –
March 27, 2010 (2010-03-27)
Chronology
Preceded byTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
Followed byTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)
External links
Website

The series was announced on May 7, 2002 and is co-produced by 4Kids Entertainment and franchise creators Mirage Studios,[1] which co-owned rights to the show,[2] with animation provided by the studio Dong Woo.[3]

Series overview
Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) episodes

Unlike the 1987 TV series, the 2003 series more closely matches the tone of the original comics, with a greater emphasis on action and themes of familial bonds. As a result, the 2003 series is more adult-oriented, while still being considered appropriate for younger audiences. The series adapts a large scope of story arcs from the comics, with the Turtles' adventures combining elements of both fantasy and science fiction. Towards the end of the fourth season, the series undergoes a format change as the Turtles would be recruited by the Ninja Tribunal to use new mystic abilities to combat another version of the Shredder. Season five would be the last to use the original character designs and animation style with its plot concluding the series' main storyline.

The sixth season, subtitled "Fast Forward", would retool the series with a new art style and comedic tone. The season's plot focused on the Turtles being transported about 100 years into the future to the year 2105; where they meet and befriend Cody Jones, the great grandson of April and Casey. Fast Forward's main story would conclude in the seventh and final season, subtitled "Back to the Sewer", while sporting another redesign for the entire cast inspired by the designs from the 2007 TMNT film. After returning to the present day, the Turtles must battle a cybernetic version of the Shredder, with a running subplot centered on the wedding of April and Casey. The 2009 TV movie, Turtles Forever, serves as the finale to the 2003 series and centers around the Turtles encountering their 1987 animated counterparts, who have accidentally been transported to the 2003 Turtles' reality.

Characters
Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters

Main
Leonardo fighting the Foot Clan's ninjas in the season 1 episode "Shredder Strikes Back: Part One".
  • Leonardo (nickname Leo) – The leader of the group, and the most balanced, the most serious, level-headed, quiet, brave and the eldest of the turtles. He concerns himself mostly with his training and meditation. While this leads him to be the most disciplined of the Turtles, it can also be a shortcoming, as Leonardo has been shown to be a relative workaholic on more than one occasion. He wears a blue mask and favors twin ninjatō swords as his weapons.
  • Michelangelo (nickname Mikey) – The jokester of the group, and goofy, childish and mischievous, but fun, kind-hearted and lovable brother. The youngest of the turtles. He concerns himself with comics, video games, pizzas, and horror and science fiction movies, constantly making statements that spoof pop culture. He often refers to him and his brothers as superheroes, often wishing he could join the ranks of his favorite comic book characters. He wears an orange mask and favors twin nunchaku.
  • Donatello (nickname Donnie or Don) – The intellect of the group, and third-in-command. He surrounds himself with technological experiments and often endeavors to retain the enemies technology to make enhanced gear for the turtles. He is responsible for creating the shell-cell (a cell-phone like communicator) and Battle Shell (the Turtles' enhanced tactical vehicle) among other devices. Upon occasion he forgets to see the bigger picture by becoming obsessed by something else (usually his latest project). He wears a purple mask and favors a traditional bo staff as his weapon.
  • Raphael (nickname Raph) – The hothead of the group, and the second-in-command. He often lets his anger get the best of him and struggles to cope with some of the tougher issues the Turtles face. He would much rather rush into action than contemplate the best move. Throughout the run of the series, he works on his anger to some degree, but still flies into a rage when one of his brothers or friends are harmed or captured. He also has a soft spot when he interacts with kids. He wears a red mask (the only one of the four to keep the red mask) and his primary weapons are twin sai.

Allies and friends
  • Splinter – Splinter is the mutant rat leader of the entire family, and adoptive father of the Turtles. He once was a pet for a renowned martial artist named Hamato Yoshi in Japan. It was from watching Yoshi that Splinter first learned the art of ninjitsu which he then passes on to the Turtles. Splinter often acts as much as a spiritual guide and counselor to the team as he does their teacher. While he does not wield a traditional Japanese weapon, Splinter carries a cane which he can utilize as a weapon (like a Jo staff) with fierce proficiency. Unlike the previous animated series, the Turtles often refer to Splinter as their father, rather than their master and he refers the Turtles as his sons.
  • April O'Neil – April O'Neil is the Turtles' first human ally, who also acts as a "big sister". When they first meet her, April was working for Dr. Baxter Stockman as a technical assistant. April is tech savvy on a level close to Donatello, making them fast friends once they become allies. April often assists the Turtles with recon on various missions. She later offers her apartment to the Turtles as a temporary home. April's apartment is located above the Second Time Around antique store which she owns and operates. April serves as the Turtles first true glimpse into human interaction and helps them learn about the outside world. April eventually becomes romantically involved with Casey Jones and even marries him in the series finale.
  • Casey Jones – Casey Jones is the Turtles' second human ally along with April, and Raphael's best friend. He operates as a vigilante, at first on his own, and then later as a member of the Turtles' extended crew and at times trains with them. While at first being more closely aligned with Raphael, Casey quickly becomes part of the family and a valuable fighter. When in his full get-up he wears a hockey mask, and utilizes a hockey stick and other sports paraphernalia as his weapons. He ends up meeting April through the Turtles and takes to her quite quickly. Though she initially dislikes him, April and Casey eventually become romantically involved and even get married in the series finale.
  • Professor Zeyton Honeycutt/Fugitoid – Professor Honeycutt is a robot from a distant galaxy. A humanoid extraterrestrial living on the planet D'hunib, he was forced to take his current form after he was struck by lightning during a storm which transferred his consciousness into his worker robot. He invented a transmatter portal device, which gives the user the ability to teleport anywhere in space. Two warring factions called the Federation and the Triceretons seek to gain control of the device. This makes the professor a fugitive on the run. When the Turtles encounter him, they attempt to help him escape his fate and keep the device away from both factions.
  • Leatherhead – Leatherhead is a mutated green crocodile who was taken in by the Utroms when they discovered that their mutagen (the same that transformed the Turtles) made him sentient. Leatherhead lived with the Utroms peacefully until Shredder's attack forced him into hiding. Some time later Baxter Stockman fooled him into aiding him with a scheme to restore his body. Ultimately, Leatherhead learned that Stockman had ties to the Shredder and wound up fighting on the side of good. As the series progresses he becomes a semi-regular member of the Turtles' extended family, aiding them in fighting such foes as the Foot and Agent Bishop.
  • Justice Force – A superhero group that is allied with the Turtles. The original members of the Justice Force was a spoof of the Justice Society of America while the second incarnation of the group is a spoof of the Justice League and the Avengers.
    • Stainless Steel Steve – The founding member of the original Justice Force. He has a metal saucer on his forehead that is capable of smashing through walls and withstanding any blows.
    • Joey Lastic – The founding member of the original Justice Force that has elastic powers.
    • Zippy Lad – The founding member of the original Justice Force that has super-speed even when his current age has him confined to a wheelchair. Zippy Lad was later seen in "Membership Drive" training the Justice Force's new recruits. He is a parody of Flash.
    • Metal Head – The founding member of the Justice Force who has fluid "metal" hair. Due to his artificial nature, Metal Head hasn't aged in a decade and is even a member of the Justice Force's second incarnation.
    • Dr. Dome – The founding member of the Justice Force. Dr. Dome has the ability to control robots called Domeoids. He later left the Justice Force following a squabble with Stainless Steel Steve over the love of Battling Bernice. Dr. Dome was later revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Battling Bernice.
    • Battling Bernice – A founding member of the Justice Force who appears to have possessed great physical strength. She was killed in action and was revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Dr. Dome.
    • Silver Sentry – The leader of the second incarnation of the Justice Force who would occasionally be partnered with Michelangelo. In the "Fast Forward" part of the series, it was revealed that Silver Sentry has a grandson who became the second Turtle Titan. He is a parody of Superman.
    • Ananda – The daughter of Battling Bernice and Dr. Dome who previously blamed the Justice Force for her mother's death. After Dr. Dome cleared things up with his daughter on why her mother died, Ananda joined up with the second incarnation of the Justice Force.
    • Chrysalis – Member of the second incarnation of the Justice Force who comes from India. She can create an energy field similar to psychic telekinesis where she can form wings for flight, project energy blasts, and use her mind to manipulate objects.
    • Tsunami – An aquakinetic Japanese superhero who is a member of the second incarnation of the Justice Force. He is somewhat similar to Aquaman and Namor.
    • Nobody – Officer Longe was a police officer who was demoted to archive duty after Ruffington complained to the police commissioner that he was stalking him. Angered at this, Officer Longe became the superhero Nobody and received help from Michelangelo and Leonardo into stopping Ruffington. In "Still Nobody", the Turtles helped Nobody when the Turks planned to threaten two elderly witnesses which ended with the Turks disbanding and their leader ending up arrested. In "Membership Drive", Nobody and Raptarr joined the second incarnation of the Justice Force. He is somewhat similar to Batman.
    • Raptarr – Raptarr is an Avian (a race of angel-like creatures with bird feet that were created by the Y'Lyntians from human slaves) who met the Turtles when it came to stopping the rogue Avian Mephos. In "Membership Drive", Raptarr joins the second incarnation of the Justice Force. He is reminiscent of Hawkman.
    • Nanobot – Nanobot was originally a group of small robots with the mind of a 3 year old that were created by Dr. Marion Richards for the government. It later escaped and ran into a street vendor named Harry "The Schlub" Parker and made a body from his broken toys. He fought the Turtles and Casey Jones which ended with him being thrown into the blast furnace. In "Modern Love: The Return of Nano", a part of Nano survived and recreated a body which he uses to spring Harry from prison and abduct Dr. Richards in order to make a happy family. This time, an electronic pulse from a roller coaster at Coney Island was able to defeat Nano. In "Membership Drive", parts of Nano were seen in the wreckage of a Triceraton ship which Baxter Stockman salvages for Bishop. Baxter Stockman placed a control microchip on one of the nanobots in order to control it. It caused an internal conflict that sent Nano on a rampage. In a new body, Nano fought the Turtles and the Justice Force until Michelangelo used Moleculo's shrinking belt to remove the rogue nanite. Afterwards, Nano built a new body and joined up with the Justice Force.
    • Green Mantle – Al Gordon found a superpowered cape made by an alien tailor and used to fight crime as the Green Mantle. During a fight with Mechazoid, Green Mantle's cape was knocked off him and was founded by a comic book fan. 25 years later, Al Gordon is working as a security guard at a comic book when he tries to stop Dr. Malignus from stealing the Green Mantle cape. After Dr. Malignus was defeated by Raphael and Michelangelo, Stainless Steel Steve picked up Al Gordon and the two Turtles give Al Gordon the cape back enabling him to become Green Mantle once again. He is a spoof of Green Lantern.
  • Ultimate Daimyo – The Ultimate Daimyo is the ruler of the Battle Nexus and the holder of the War Staff. He made himself known to the Turtles when he came to Earth to reclaim his son Ultimate Ninja after he was defeated by Leonardo. Sadly, his son proved to have villainous tendencies, and his apparent demise greatly affected the Daimyo. Fortunately, he was later reunited with his son, who had been turned into a child again by Lord Simultaneous.
  • Miyamoto Usagi – Miyamoto Usagi is a samurai rabbit and master swordsman from an alternative universe's 16th century Edo Period in Japan, where anthropomorphic animals are the dominant species and humans appear to be nonexistent. He became a friend and close ally of the turtles, especially developing a strong friendship with Leonardo, since both are swordsmen. This led Splinter to summon Usagi when Leonardo was wracked by guilt following the Turtles' near demise at the hands of the Utrom Shredder. Prior to this, Leonardo also ended up in Usagi's dimension when Ultimate Drako scattered the five mutants to different parts of the multiverse, and the pair teamed up to battle the evil Lord Hebi before facing Ultimate Drako to rescue the multiverse.
    • Murakami Gennosuke – Murakami Gennosuke is an Indian rhinoceros bounty hunter who is a companion of Miyamoto Usagi. Unlike Usagi, Gen is primarily motivated by money, entering the Battle Nexus tournament and betting money on himself to win before being defeated by Kluh. He joined Usagi in aiding the Turtles on other occasions, though his friendship with them isn't quite as close as Usagi's. On one occasion he donned attire identical to that of the classic TMNT character Rocksteady.
    • Tomoe Ame – A female Cat warrior whom Leonardo and Usagi fought alongside when Leonardo ended up in Usagi's world. A human character based on her also appeared in the Utrom simulation of feudal Japan, and was defended from Foot Ninja by the Turtles.
  • Lord Simultaneous – Lord Simultaneous is a Time Lord who is the Master of Time and Space. He once had an apprentice named Savanti Romero who tried to steal Lord Simultaneous' Time Scepter (which also has a mind of its own) and was banished to the 15th Century. Lord Simultaneous later took on another apprentice named Renet, who proved to be somewhat of a scatterbrain. Simultaneous often appears as a large, glowing bald human head-reminiscent of Zordon from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers-but has a humanoid form resembling a short human male with white robes and a horned helmet. While Simultaneous is benevolent, he evidently gets tired of "cleaning up after megalomaniacs".
    • Renet – Lord Simultaneous' latest apprentice, who resembles a human girl in her late teens with long blond hair usually contained within her blue helmet. She was later put through a Trial to become a Timestress (a female Time Lord) by defeating Savanti Romero in the past. Something of a scatterbrain, she managed to lose Simultaneous' Time Scepter to Ultimate Drako and later to Savanti Romero, and briefly became stranded in the Cretaceous Period with the Turtles.
  • The Ancient One – The Ancient One is an ancient ninjitsu master who had adopted Hamato Yoshi and Yukio Mashimi as young boys and trained them in ninjitsu. He also adopted Tang Shen as a daughter, and was thus bereaved when Mashimi murdered her for favoring Yoshi over him. However, he remained close to Yoshi and later Splinter, and mentored Leonardo following Ch'rell's defeat. In the end, he joined his own masters, the Ninja Tribunal, after the Tengu Shredder was defeated. The Ancient One was a very short, fat Japanese man with a healthy appetite, a tendency to be insulting, and persistent loud flatulence.
  • Ninja Tribunal – A group of four ninjitsu masters who gathered the Turtles and four others to be their acolytes in order to combat the growing threat of the Tengu Shredder. The Tribunal were once part of a group known as the Five Dragons, with their membership (including Oroku Saki) in ancient Japan. Unfortunately, Saki made a bargain with a demon creature, whose essence merged with him and gave him dark powers that he used to conquer Japan. As such, the four traveled to other parts of the world to learn mystical and martial arts in order to defeat him, which they managed to accomplish after a battle in which both they and their former comrade assumed Dragon form. Unable to destroy him, they removed his gauntlet and helmet and separated them from his body, which was contained in a sarcophagus. Knowing that he would return, they kept watch over his resting place in their monastery, the so-called Lap of the Gods, and later recruited the eight acolytes. Knowing that Yoshi's death would play an essential role in the demise of Oroku Saki, they refrained from aiding in the war with the Utrom Shredder Ch'rell. After the Foot Mystics invaded the monastery, the Tribunal were thought to have been destroyed, but later returned after their students succeeded in destroying the Tengu Shredder. They then departed in company of the Ancient One, but would return in a story written by Splinter and Cody Jones to teach the Turtles a lesson about trying to learn about their futures. All four also appeared as guests at Casey and April's wedding, where they helped engage the forces of the Cyber Shredder.
    • Kon-Shisho – The Ninjitsu Master of Spirit, a man with light blue hair and magical energy. He was the first of the Ninja Tribunal to reveal his true form to the Turtles and the other Acolytes. While teaching the acolytes to do likewise, he was astonished to see that Leonardo-like himself and the other members of the tribunal-could project the astral form of a Dragon and transform into one, considering Leo's youth.
    • Juto-Shisho – The Ninjitsu Master of Weapons, who is similar in temperament to a stereotypical drill instructor. He was the second of the Ninja Tribunal to reveal his true form to the Turtles and the other Acolytes. Of all the Turtles, he was most impressed by Raphael, who was the first to gain a mystical weapon for use against the Demon forces.
    • Chikara-Shisho – The Ninjitsu Master of Strength who is the only female of the group. Perhaps the harshest and least sympathetic of any of the masters, her best pupil was Donatello. In Cody and Splinter's fictitious reproduction of April and Casey's diary, she was depicted as ejecting Leonardo after the account suggested that he would attack Karai out of suspicion, not realizing she was trying to make amends for her past.
    • Hisomi-Shisho – The Ninjitsu Master of Stealth who is the largest of the group. He doesn't speak as he embodies the three pillars of ninjitsu that consist of stealth, silence, and secrecy. Michelangelo was the closest of the Turtles to him, having displayed a surprising adeptness when it came to Hisomi's teachings. He wielded a pair of fans in battle, and while speed was his discipline he was also quite strong, demonstrated when he helped Leatherhead hold up a collapsing barn roof.
  • Ninja Tribunal Acolytes – Besides the Ninja Turtles, four humans were gathered by the Ninja Tribunal to be their acolytes and to train them for the fight against the Tengu Shredder. They trained alongside the Turtles in preparation for the battle with the Tengu Shredder, but seemingly perished along with the Tribunal when the Lap of the Gods was apparently destroyed by the Foot Mystics. They later returned to help the turtles during the final battle with the Demon Shredder.
    • Adam McKay – A large human who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. Adam is shown to wield a war hammer and a ball and chain. Adam is good friends with Donatello and contributed ideas for the design of the Turtle Taxi. His avatar is the bear, and he had something of a crush on Chikara-Shisho.
    • Faraji Ngala – A human from Africa who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. Faraji's weapon of choice is an African Blade and has become good friends with Leonardo. His avatar is the lion, and he received a magical katana that he passed to Leonardo when he believed he was dying, but later had returned upon his return.
    • Joi Reynard – A female Japanese human who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal, and the only female student amongst the Turtles and her fellow humans. Joi's weapons of choice are a rope dart and a staff. Joi is good friends with Raphael, and her avatar is the hawk.
    • Tora Yoshida – A human from Japan who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. He is good friends with Michelangelo despite not usually getting his sense of humor, and wields a pair of sickles in battle. His avatar is the wolf.
  • Cody Jones – In the "Fast Forward" series, Cody Jones was the great grandson of April O'Neil and Casey Jones. He was the one who accidentally brought the Ninja Turtles and Splinter to 2105. After Cody's parents died, his uncle Darius Dun took over O'Neil Tech as the CEO, but Cody later took over after learning of his uncle's underworld connections. In the event that Cody joins the Ninja Turtles in battle, he rides in the Turtle X battle suit.
  • Serling – A robot butler who acts as the caretaker of Cody Jones. Serling is often annoyed by the Turtles' antics, but still comes to their aid. While he is rather proper and usually against getting involved in violence, his consideration for Cody led him to take to the field, and he was later modified into a new version of the Turtle X battle suit. During the "Back to the Sewer" season, Viral took over Serling causing him to end up in the present day. He proved instrumental in the final defeat of the Cyber Shredder, who had been born from his recurring possessor and foe Viral, but was curiously absent during the events of "Turtles Forever", possibly indicating that he had somehow returned to his own time.
  • Starlee Hambrath – A young alien girl with blue hair and skin who works as an intern at O'Neil Tech who is in love with Cody Jones. Starlee is a recurring ally of Cody and the Turtles, responsible for helping the Turtles create their futuristic weapons. Not a fighter like her friends, she is nevertheless willing to come to their aid when they're in trouble, particularly if it concerns Cody. Her greatest annoyances are Cody's tendencies to try to get out of their dates and her family, especially given her mother's objections to her living on Earth.
  • Constable Biggles – A gold robot who is the Chief Constable of the Peace-Keepers (the law enforcement of the Pan Galactic Alliance). He often clashed with the turtles due to their tendency to get involved in stopping criminals such as the Street Phantoms, but demonstrated a willingness to forgive their antics whenever they helped him capture a criminal.

Antagonists and villains
  • The Foot Clan – A secret ninja organization that seeks to take control of the city through criminal activity.
    • The Shredder/Oroku Saki/Ch'rell – The main antagonist of the series, and the archenemy of the Turtles. A wealthy businessman and philanthropist, he is secretly the leader of the Foot Clan, an organization of ninja that seek to take control of the city through criminal activity. The Shredder's empire was functioning at its peak until the arrival of the Turtles; soon after their arrival and interference, the Turtles become the Shredder's main focus. The Shredder then focuses his efforts on ridding himself of the Turtles using his Foot Ninja to aid him. During the course of the series the Shredder is first revealed to be the killer of Splinter's former master Hamato Yoshi and later an alien posing as human. He is in truth an Utrom war criminal named Ch'rell who was responsible for causing numerous deaths throughout the galaxy under numerous other aliases like Torrinon, Kako Naso, and Duke Acureds. The Utroms (except for Ch'rell) are a peaceful alien race who crash-landed on earth during the feudal period in Japan at the time when they were transporting Ch'rell, who then took on the guise of an ancient warrior, the original Oroku Saki. He faced the Turtles on multiple occasions, often appearing to be destroyed only to return with constantly upgraded battle suits. When it came to the final battle, Ch'rell used salvaged Triceraton technology to build a spaceship to take revenge on the Utroms only for the Turtles to stow away. When the spaceship exploded, an Utrom ship teleported everyone off the ship. Ch'rell ended up standing trial before the Utrom High Council for his various crimes and the Utrom High Council eternally exiled Ch'rell to the ice asteroid Mor Gal Tai. He would eventually return for the TV movie "Turtles Forever" after being freed by the 1980s animated Shredder, and set out to destroy the Turtles by eliminating their Mirage Comics original counterparts. An alternate future version of Shredder appeared in the episode "Same as It Never Was!" as a dystopian dictator of Earth. In this future, Donatello's disappearance led to a rift in the Turtles, which allowed the Shredder to take power. He managed to enslave a number of Utrom scientists and most of the planet, with only a token resistance led by April O'Neal, and was preparing to spread his conquest to other worlds. Splinter and Casey Jones fell during his rule, and when the present-day Donatello of the main timeline arrived Baxter Stockman, Hun, Leo, Mikey, and Raphael also fell during the final battle. Despite being equipped with a massive, state-of-the-art battle suit, he was defeated by Donatello, and preceded in his demise by Karai. Ch'rell appeared in an episode of "Fast Forward" due to a time portal bringing him to the year 2105 shortly after his first defeat at the Turtles' hands. Had it not been for production of that series being cut in favor of "Back to the Sewer", Ch'rell would have returned by fixing himself to a Triceraton body and becoming known as the Trishreddatron. The Utrom Shredder utilized a number of armored exo-suits, including an early model equipped with feudal era Japanese armor, a gray version with a waist sash that was his most common form, a silver version of that suit lacking the sash, and a large, four-armed and heavily weaponized battle suit that he donned after departing from Earth. He typically relied upon the strength and speed of his armors in battle, with his favored weapon being the double-bladed gauntlet associated with all versions of the Shredder. However, he did also invent and utilize the Sword of Tengu, a weapon created using Utrom technology that could unleash powerful hypersonic waves often mistaken for magic.
      • Tengu Shredder – This is the true and original Shredder that tries to take over the world. His original form was a giant demon until he tempted Oroku Saki, a former member of the ninja tribunal, to take over the world using his power, and took over his body. He was defeated by the other members of the tribunal, but they were unable to destroy him and resorted to imprisoning him in a sarcophagus and hiding it in separate locations from his gauntlet and helmet. His loyal minions, the Foot Mystics, remained loyal to him and made various attempts to free him over the centuries, before finally embarking themselves after being freed from Karai's control. They later succeeded in reviving him, and he attempted to reshape the world in his own image. After a series of battles with the Turtles and their allies, he was defeated when the combined magical energies unleashed by the Turtles summoned Hamato Yoshi's spirit, which slew Oroku Saki. He later appeared in a possible future that saw him at war with Ch'rell and the Cyber Shredder. The Tengu Shredder possessed powerful magical abilities, including conjuring weapons, unleashing energy, flight, and transforming into a massive dragon.
      • Cyber Shredder – A program created by Utrom Shredder as a backup identity in case he was defeated. Viral's attempt to gain the data of Shredder causes her to merge with the data of the Utrom Shredder resulting in the creation of the Cyber Shredder. He would subsequently attempt to escape to the real world, assisted by the reformed Foot Clan under Master Khan. After facing the Turtles on several occasions, he absorbed a powerful energy source and attacked during April and Casey's wedding. This ability made him more than a match for the Turtles and even the Justice Force, but the Turtles found a way to make him digital again and delete him using Serling's Decompiler weapon.
    • Karai – The adopted daughter of the Utrom Shredder, and a master of dual-wielding katana like her rival Leonardo. Making her debut during Season 2, she made herself known to the Turtles during a gang war between the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and the mob, in which she intervened to bring an end to the conflict. Following the Shredder's return she became his new second-in-command, though his increasingly dishonorable actions conflicted with her belief in bushido. Despite this, after the Utrom Shredder was exiled to Mor Gal Tai by the other Utroms, Karai became the next Shredder to "avenge his honor". She thus became the Turtles' most vehement nemesis until the revival of the Tengu Shredder, who later targeted her for daring to assume his mantle; Karai was thus forced to team up with the Turtles to defeat him. The Foot seems to have disbanded following this occasion, with Karai retiring and appearing at Casey and April's wedding. However, when the 1980s animated Shredder brought her "father" back to Earth, Karai somehow became aware of it and reassembled the Foot to serve him. This later led her to finally turn against him openly when his determination to destroy the Turtles led him to attempt the destruction of all reality.
      • Yin and Yang – Karai's personal aides, who appear virtually identical to each other apart from their height. Both of them rarely speak, and wear identical purple and black foot gi. They didn't appear often in the series, debuting during the "City at War" arc and later returning to join the battle against the Tengu Shredder.
    • Hun – Hun is the Shredder's muscle and original second-in-command (prior to being replaced with Karai), a massive human with incredible strength, and leader of the Purple Dragons. He constantly seeks the Shredder's approval and leads the Foot into battle against the Turtles. He is revealed to have been responsible for the death of Casey Jones's father years earlier, and as such, is a particular enemy of Casey. Later in the series when it appears that the Shredder is gone for good, Hun returns to leading the Purple Dragons as a separate criminal entity, only to return to the Shredder's side when he returns. Hun hates what he calls "freaks", which are basically any being other than a human, and was shocked when he discovers his master's true form. After this experience, Hun leaves the Foot for good, and organizes the Purple Dragons from a street gang to a criminal organization. In [[Turtles Forever] he mutates into a monstrous turtle-like creature, and rejoins the Shredder before being erased by Shredder's attempts to annihilate the Turtles; it is unknown whether he was restored either to existence or to human form.
    • Baxter Stockman – Baxter Stockman, the first arch-villain the turtles encounter, is a technical genius and mad scientist responsible for creating the mousers: a series of mouse-like robots that can eat through practically anything. While at first it appears the robots were created in order to help control the cities growing rat problem, it is revealed that Stockman created them as a technical resource for the Shredder. Portrayed to be extremely arrogant, Stockman often does his best to win the favor of the Shredder, but frequently fails leading to his general torture and ultimate dismemberment until only his brain and eye remained. Shortly before the Utrom Shredder was exiled to the ice asteroid Mor Gal Tai by the Utroms, Baxter Stockman defected to Agent Bishop's side. He grew increasingly despondent as time went by, longing for his suffering to end while being constantly fitted into new cybernetic vessels. "Fast Forward" saw him survive to 2105 by modifying his brain with alien DNA, and he later sought revenge on Bishop for leaving him to his apparent demise. However, Bishop later rescued him and offered him work in the government; unproduced episodes would have seen him reunited with his former master, the Utrom Shredder.
    • Dr. Chaplin – A young scientist who was later recruited by the Shredder and idolizes Baxter Stockman and is in love with Karai. Following the Utrom Shredder being exiled to Mor Gal Tai, Dr. Chaplin stays by Karai's side, and becomes the head of her technical division. The two later appear to start a relationship, departing hand-in-hand at the end of "The Lost Episodes" and later attending April and Casey's wedding together. Curiously, he was absent during the events of "Turtles Forever".
    • Master Khan – Member of the Foot Clan and servant of the Cyber Shredder. He gained control of the Foot Clan following the Tengu Shredder's defeat, and attempted to rebuild the ninja clan by brainwashing new members such as Casey Jones. The Turtles' first encounter with him from their perspective was in an aborted possible future, in which he destroyed them prior to the Cyber Shredder entering into war with the Utrom and Tengu Shredders.
    • Yukio Mashimi – Hamato Yoshi's childhood friend, fellow orphan, and adopted brother, as well as the adopted son of the Ancient One. He and Yoshi were lifelong rivals in Ninjitsu, membership in the Utrom Guardians, and love of the Ancient One's adopted daughter Tang Shen. Yoshi's superiority in all these fields led to Mashimi becoming violently jealous, and he murdered Tang Shen and joined the Foot Clan. Yoshi later came after him to avenge Tang Shen's death, and the Shredder left the incompetent Mashimi to battle alone. Yoshi then slew his former friend.
    • Amazonian Blade Bots/Karai Legion – Robots created by Dr. Chaplin and modeled after Karai; a trio of them engaged the Turtles aboard a fallen Triceraton warship, but one was destroyed by the Turtles while Baxter Stockman sabotaged the others covertly. In the future seen in "Same as It Never Was", they were mass-produced and included in the Future Shredder's forces, but one was modified into a combat mech by the resistance and piloted against the Shredder in the final battle by Donatello.
    • Foot Ninjas – The Foot Soldiers of the Foot Clan, who all wear identical black and grew uniforms emblazoned with the Foot emblem. They wield various weapons, but are generally depicted as being inferior ninjas in comparison to the Turtles.
    • Foot Tech Ninjas – Foot Ninja that can turn invisible thanks to Baxter Stockman's reverse engineering of Utrom technology. Their cybernetic armor makes them faster and stronger than regular Foot Ninja.
    • Elite Foot Ninjas – The seemingly most-skilled members of the Foot Clan who serve as Shredder's personal guard and field commanders on specific missions. They appear virtually identical to each other, and are only distinguishable from one another by their choice in weapons, which include hook swords, a spear, a trident, and a double-bladed sword.
    • Foot Geneticists – Foot scientists who created the underground monsters and Shredder-Clones; the group who created the former were later destroyed by their creations, whom they had mutated from abducted humans.
    • Foot Police – Also known as the Foot Gestapo, the Foot Police are Foot Soldiers empowered by Ch'rell in the episode "Same As It Never Was," where Donatello is transported by Ultimate Drako into an alternate reality where Utrom Shredder takes over the world. These members of this reality's Foot Clan served as security enforcers and patrolled the streets. They wore long trench coats with the symbol of the Foot present on their left shoulder which identified them as members of the police force.
    • Foot Technicians – Members of the Foot Clan that have cybernetic enhancements.
    • Foot Mechs – The robot soldiers of the Foot Clan that were created by Baxter Stockman.
    • Foot Mystics – The seldom-seen magic-using members of the Foot Clan. Each one has powers over a classic element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Metal. It is later revealed that they are the heralds of the Tengu Shredder.
      • Metal Mystic – Controls metal can form blades that can stab or tear enemies asunder. He can also create liquid metal and metallic dust.
      • Earth Mystic – Larger and more muscular than the other Mystics. He can create dust, sand, dirt and mud that blinds or overwhelms enemies, hurl large boulders, and tunnel underground.
      • Fire Mystic – He can create large flames and fireballs that packs a burning touch and explosive power.
      • Water Mystic – He can make waves of water and choking giant bubbles that submerges someone and drown them. He is also capable of creating walls of ice as well as freezing.
      • Wind Mystic – The most agile and flexible of the Mystics. He can conjure powerful wind currents such as tornadoes and can dodge many attacks and is shown to run faster than other beings. Although all of the Mystic Ninjas can fly, the Wind Ninja is the fastest while in the air.
    • Kappa Tengu – Turtles demons who serve the Tengu Shredder.
    • Mutant Shredder Clones – Three mutants who dress in Shredder style armor.
      • Mini Shredder – A mutant who resembles a mini version of Shredder.
      • Shiva Shredder – A mutant with four arms.
      • Spike-Armed Shredder – A mutant with lobster like claws
    • Nezumi-Tengu – A group of minions in the Tengu Shredder's army.
    • Re-Animated Foot Soldiers – The undead minions of the Tengu Shredder.
  • Purple Dragons – An urban street gang that is led by Hun and initially allied with the Foot Clan.
    • Angel – A female Purple Dragons initiate would be member who becomes an ally of the Turtles.
    • Bam-Bam – A heavyset member of the Purple Dragons.
    • Claw – A Purple Dragon member who has a claw on his hand.
    • Dagger – A Purple Dragon member who carries many daggers.
    • Dragon Face – The acting leader of the Purple Dragons who works under Hun. Dragon Face has a tattoo of a dragon on his face. He became the second-in-command to Hun after his predecessor John was killed by the Shredder. Dragon Face later turns on Hun.
    • John – John was the acting leader of the Purple Dragons during the group's first encounter with the Turtles. He was killed by the Shredder for the group's failure to steal an armored car with money.
    • Max – Member of the Northampton branch.
    • Mohawk – A member of the Purple Dragons that sports a tall pink mohawk. In Turtles Forever, he is with some other Purple Dragons members who caught the Turtles from the 1988 series reality. When the 2003 series Turtles liberated their counterparts, he was splashed with Mutagen. Because he had been in contact with a fighting dog that belonged to the Purple Dragons, he was turned into a mutant dog. In his mutated form, he helped Hun attack the two groups of Turtles and the 03 Splinter. Splinter later fired missiles at Mohawk with the Battle Shell, which shredded him. Later at the Purple Dragon Headquarters, Mohawk was somehow still alive and returned to his normal state and fought alongside a mutated Hun against the Turtles and was last seen getting erased from reality due to the Utrom Shredder's plan.
    • Ruffington – The head of Ruffington Arms who was an ally of the Purple Dragons and a top government weapon supplier. He was first seen being targeted by Nobody, whom he had demoted in the police force for investigating him. Unknowingly, he created a far more dangerous enemy, as Nobody turned vigilante in order to stop Ruffington's operations.
    • Spike – A red spiky-haired member of the Purple Dragons.
    • Spike (2) – A black bald member with a tattoo on his head.
    • Spuds – The leader of the Purple Dragons' Northampton branch.
    • Sunny – Member of the Purple Dragons with blue hair and a ponytail.
    • Two Ton – A heavyset member of the Purple Dragons.
    • Vang – Member of the Purple Dragons. He has the same hairstyle as John. Vang became Hun's second-in-command after the Dragons went solo.
    • Waxer – Member who wears a backwards hat.
  • The Mob – An organized crime group who fought the Foot and Purple Dragons for control of the city. They were allied with Baxter Stockman for a brief time, but he later ended up as a slave of the Foot through unknown means. Following "City at War" the mob all but disappeared as a threat, giving way to such threats as the Earth Protection Force. They were notably absent from the heroic and villainous parties united to fight the Tengu Shredder, and future crime wars in New York were only seen to involve the Purple Dragons and the Foot.
    • Big Boss – The leader of the Mob, a large red-haired man who runs the New York mob, or at least a portion of it. When Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder posing as businessman Oroku Saki, was thought to have perished, he led the Mob in an effort to claim control of organized crime in New York. This led to a brief tangle with Raphael, followed by a gang war with the remnants of the Foot Clan and the Purple Dragon.
    • Weasel – The Mob's lieutenant, a bald man with a red beard who wears a purple overcoat and a yellow tie. He typically leads the Mob goons in the field in the absence of his boss, but typically refrains from the physical work due to his skittish nature.
  • Dr. Malignus – A supervillain who was the archenemy of Silver Sentry. He planned to use "mind-control bugs" to brainwash Silver Sentry into becoming his minion. But thanks to the intervention of "Turtle Titan" (Michelangelo), Malignus was defeated and carted off to jail. He would later return in an attempt to gain possession of the Green Mantle's namesake item of power, but would be thwarted once again by the efforts of the Turtles.
  • Garbageman – A morbidly-obese man in a high-tech contraption that he gets around in. He planned to make his own kingdom out of different junk which his plans always being thwarted by the Ninja Turtles. He was dumped into one of the New York rivers, only to begin building a new empire that was destroyed by the Turtles upon being discovered. Garbageman was slated to appear in the Lost Season episode "Nightmares Recycled". The plot was supposed to resolve around the revelation that the Garbageman and Hun were born as conjoined twins, separated at birth by a seedy, back-alley surgeon. The baby that would later become Garbageman was thrown in the trash, whereas Hun was kept and raised. This was deemed by the powers-that-be at 4Kids as inappropriate for children's programming. Thus, the episode was scrapped before being completed.
  • Touch and Go – Mr. Touch and Mr. Go are two assassins often hired by Hun who draw their special abilities from touching their fists together, in similar fashion to the Wonder Twins. Mr. Touch has superhuman strength while Mr. Go has superhuman speed, and they address each other in similar fashion to Mr. Kidd and Mr. Witt from the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.
  • Ultimate Ninja – The son of Ultimate Daimyo who first appeared to challenge Leonardo to the death to become the greatest ninja in the universe, to which he loses. During the Battle Nexus Tournament, he returns claiming to be the turtles' friend, but in reality he sided with Drako to kill Leonardo and the Daimyo to take control of the universe. Both fail and are sent drifting through the universe for countless millenniums, causing their bodies to merge into one. Both return to steal the Time Scepter and the Daimyo's war staff and send the turtles into different worlds. After the turtles escape they fight Drako and Ultimate Ninja until both the war staff and the Time Scepter turn on both and turn them into ashes. Lord Simultaneous then revives Ultimate Ninja into a child so that the Daimyo can raise his son once again.
  • Drako – A dragon warrior that previously fought against Master Splinter at the Battle Nexus tournament. He became angry after losing and took his anger out on Splinter until the Ultimate Daimyo drove him away. He forms an alliance with Ultimate Ninja to kill the Daimyo in turn for the Daimyo's war staff. Both fail and are sent drifting through space for thousands of years, causing their bodies to merge into one. Both steal the war staff and the Time Scepter in attempt to take their revenge on the turtles until both the war staff and the scepter turn on Drako and Ultimate Ninja and turning them into ash. However, while Lord Simultaneous restored the Ultimate Ninja to life in child form, Drako remained deceased.
    • Drako's Soldiers – A group of warriors employed by Drako and the Ultimate Ninja in their plots. They worked with Drako in an attempt to eliminate Splinter and later the Ultimate Daimyo, and also attacked Leonardo on the Ninja's orders.
  • Agent John Bishop – Agent Bishop is a secret government agent from the Earth Protection Force (a secret organization formed by President Ulysses S. Grant that is tasked with protecting the planet from alien invasion and any other sort of extraterrestrial threat). He first comes into contact with the Turtles during the Triceraton invasion, somewhat later in the series. Although he at first appears to be somewhat of an ally, he in fact wishes to gain access to the Turtles in order to study their mutant DNA. Long after the Triceraton threat is over, Bishop continues to hunt the Turtles ultimately becoming one of their main villains for the majority of the fourth season. Bishop allies with Dr. Baxter Stockman and utilizes his technical knowledge in much the same way the Shredder did previously, though their partnership works better as Bishop does not give Baxter "punishments for failure" as Shredder did. It was revealed that John Bishop was a soldier back in the 19th century and was experimented upon by Grey Aliens which granted him longevity. In the "Fast Forward" part of the series, Bishop becomes the President of the Pan Galactic Alliance and an ally of the Turtles ever since one of the aliens he held captive rescued him from one of Baxter Stockman's experiments that went horribly awry. With the exception of the Shredder, Bishop is the only villain who is more agile and quicker than the Turtles.
  • Savanti Romero – He was Lord Simultaneous' earlier apprentice until he tried to steal the Time Scepter and was banished to 15th century Europe while transformed into a demon-like state. When the Turtles and Renet came to the 15th century, Savanti captured Renet and plotted to use the Time Scepter's magic to take his revenge on Lord Simultaneous. The Turtles managed to defeat him and rescue Renet and Lord Simultaneous banished him to prehistoric times. Savanti later tried to amass an army of dinosaurs and invoke the "Ring of Fire" which he plans to use to cause all the volcanoes in the "Ring of Fire" to erupt and push Earth out of the way of the asteroid, making it so the dinosaurs never became extinct and humanity never rose, thus erasing the Turtles from existence. Savanti Romero was defeated by the Ninja Turtles and Renet and struck by a blast of energy that he himself generated.
  • Necro-Monster – A Lovecraftian horror with more than a passing resemblance to Cthulhu, apart from its crimson coloration. The Creature came to Earth on a meteorite, landing on the site of the then-future New York City and spreading its corruptive influence. Though its call lured in the Native American population, they didn't succumb to its temptations, and crafted a weapon from the meteorite to destroy the creature. On big misfortune, its call brought European settlers to the area, one of whom claimed the weapon and accepted the Creature's promises of power and wealth. Eventually he recognized the creature's evil and sought to destroy it, but the long centuries of its darkness resting on him left him unable to act against it. It continued to lure in fortune seekers with promises of wealth, with those unfortunate enough to reach its lair ending up its victims, trapped in nightmares until they perished. The Turtles encountered it when they came looking for the latest of these treasure hunters, the brother of their friend Angel, and briefly found themselves victims of its nightmarish visions. Leo was forced to endure visions of Splinter perishing, Donatello had similar nightmares of Angel, Mikey was attacked by an illusory Leo who had become an ally of the Creature, and Raphael faced an evil version of himself wearing the armor of the Shredder. Escaping, Leo managed to use the meteor spear against it, freeing themselves, Angel's brother, and the Creature's long-time slave, who was at last able to pass away. However, the creature was implied to have survived the attack and continued its predation, with the Turtles remaining unaware.
  • Rat King – Rat King started out as a prototype bio-mechanical super-soldier that was created by Agent Bishop's group using genetically manipulated DNA of aliens, the Turtles, Bishop, and Splinter. The use of Splinter's DNA created a strange affinity between him and rats, and he possessed tremendous strength and speed.
  • Lord Hebi – A large snake villain who is the archenemy of Miyamoto Usagi. Leonardo engaged him after being sent to Usagi's world, and despite Hebi's superior size and immense strength defeated him. Hebi later sent an assassin to Leonardo's world to take revenge.
    • Kojima – An anthropomorphic warthog assassin from the world of Miyamato Usagi. He was dispatched to the Turtles' world of Third Earth by Lord Hebi to seek revenge on Leonardo. Despite his vast size, he was surprisingly fast and a dangerous opponent for swordsmen like Leo and Usagi.
  • Darius Dun – One of the primary antagonists of the "Fast Forward" season. The uncle of Cody Jones and the CEO of O'Neil Tech who covers up his illegal activities. For the early part of Fast Forward he maintained a spotless reputation, but was eventually discovered to be developing weapons for sale on the black market. His fate is uncertain due to several unfinished episodes; though he would have most likely been defeated by both the Turtles and the Dark Turtles. He is a slight spoof of Lex Luthor in the 1996 animated Superman series.
  • Sh'Okanabo – One of the primary antagonists of the "Fast Forward" season. Sh'Okanabo is a shape-shifting alien who planned the "Day of Awakening" on Earth. He is part of a race known as the Kanabo, who travel from world to world infecting other races and turning them into Kanabo Drones, mindless minions who join them in ravaging their worlds. While attempting to do so on Earth, he ran into a surprising obstacle: the light of Earth's sun proved toxic to Kanabo kind. In his efforts to overcome this, Sh'Okanabo made a deal with Darius Dun, creating the Dark Turtles in exchange for the Time Window schematics. He later created a Time Portal of his own that produced rifts in time and space, even bringing the Utrom Shredder to the year 2105 before it was stopped. He is ultimately defeated by the Turtles after his "Day of Awakening" failed and he is killed after being weakened exposure to the sun and swallowing a solar grenade.
    • Viral – A female computerized system that is Sh'Okanabo's assistant. She can go into computer systems and infect them similar to a computer virus. Following the defeat of Sh'Okanabo, Viral possessed Serling and followed the Turtles back to the present. She came across the personality data of the Utrom Shredder and her attempt to encrypt it caused her and the data to merge into the Cyber Shredder.
  • Inuwashi Gunjin – A group of four winged warriors who are controlled by Darius Dun. Their name is Japanese for "Golden Eagle Soldiers." They later become allies of the Turtles after Darius Dun loses control of them and came from a once-honorable race.
  • Dark Turtles – Evil clones of the Ninja Turtles created by Sh'Okanabo and controlled by Darius Dun. Due to being produced by Kanabo genetics technology, they are physically larger than their templates and possess other different traits, such as being the colors of their counterparts' bandannas. Unproduced episodes would have featured them joining forces with the Turtles after Darius Dun replaced them with the robotic Tech Turtles and attempted to eliminate them.
    • Dark Leonardo – The Dark Turtles clone of Leonardo and the leader of the group. Dark Leo allowed himself to be captured by the Turtles as part of a plot to lower their home defenses and destroy them, which he did, but not without being given a taste of kindness that he later demonstrated in his relationship with his brothers. Dark Leo wears a pair of strange swords as opposed to katana, and appears to have only one organic eye.
    • Dark Michelangelo – The Dark Turtles clone of Michelangelo, who possesses a bizarrely lengthened tongue that hangs out of his mouth. Dark Mikey wields a pair of clubs as opposed to nunchucks, but like Michelangelo is known for his zaniness. Unlike his brother's, whose skin color match or are at least similar to the masks of their counterparts, Dark Michelangelo's skin color is Yellow. But he does have an torn orange sash around his waist.
    • Dark Donatello – The Dark Turtles clone of Donatello, who possesses a tail and wields gauntlets as his weapons. He is the inventor of the Terrorpin (which is similar to the Ninja Turtles' Hovershell), and like Donatello is scientifically inclined-though with a mad scientist twist.
    • Dark Raphael – The Dark Turtles clone of Raphael, who fights with large spikes on his fists instead of sai. Like Raph he possesses a fierce temper, but is also somewhat sensitive about his appearance.
  • Torbin Zixx – A mercenary who is constantly outsmarting the Turtles, claiming that his intentions are good, when in reality, he was smuggling weapons for other aliens or using the Turtles for his own benefit. He is also known as Zixx of the Black Blade or Zixx the enigma, and his various employers/associates have included Sh'Okanabo, Triceraton Boss Zuko, and the lobster-like alien Big Red. His fate is uncertain due to several unfinished episodes in the "Flash Forward" season.
  • Triple Threat – A three-headed alien professional wrestler who was banned from wrestling for his violent moves and causes trouble throughout the "Fast Forward" season. His heads consist of a red head with a white face and dreadlocks on his right side, a one-eyed blue head in the middle, and a yellow head on his left side. Each head has its own personality, Red is violent and likes to destroy things. Blue is calm, usually the one who comes up with plans, and suggested that Triple Threat become a supervillain. Yellow is crazy and love to create chaos and anarchy, he usually says crazy things, like wanting to eat a comic book, which usually makes the other Heads very confused.
  • Jammerhead – A cyborg who is the leader of the Street Phantoms. Jammerhead and his Street Phantoms use their cloaks that enable to become non-solid, enabling them to avoiding attacks and go through solid objects (such as walls). Jammerhead clashed with the Turtles on multiple occasions, using his cybernetics in efforts to frame or defeat them. He was temporarily fried after utilizing a device that allowed him to possess the bodies of others, with his systems being hit by feedback after the Turtles destroyed the machine. He later returned with an upgrade that allowed him to program the moves of various martial arts masters into his body for use in combat, but had this ability hacked by Starlee and used to humiliate him.

Extraterrestrials
  • The Utroms – An alien species that Ch'rell was a part of. Some of the Utroms ended up crash-landing on Earth 700 years earlier while they were transporting Ch'rell. Since then, the Utroms have set up TCRI as their front until they could find a way to get back to the Utrom Homeworld. After spending centuries trapped on Earth, they managed to construct a Transmat device to allow them to return home, but were nearly destroyed by the Shredder. They later returned in force to apprehend Ch'rell, whom they banished to an ice asteroid. They apparently became members of the Pan-Galactic Alliance by 2105, and had an ambassador to Earth whom Torbin Zixx managed to upset by mistaking his wife for sushi.
    • Utrom High Council – The governing body of Utroms that reside on the Utrom Homeworld.
    • Council of Three – A group of high-ranking Utroms who were among the Utroms that had crashed on Earth 700 years earlier. They were the mind-linked navigators of the Utrom ship, and shared their connection while on Earth.
    • Mortu – An Utrom Captain that was among the Utrom that crashed on Earth 700 years earlier. He takes his orders from the Council of Three, and while disguised as a human acted as head of TCRI. Of all the Utroms he was the closest to the Turtles, and appears to have had the most personal antagonism with the Shredder. He was a skilled exo-suit pilot, but sadly not as formidable in combat as the Shredder. He and a small group of Utroms later returned to Earth as guests at Casey and April's wedding. His name is "Utrom" spelled backwards, and while posing as a businessman he was known as "Merciless Mortu".
    • Krang – A Utrom by the same name as the villain from the 1987 cartoon. He made a cameo as one of the Utroms escaping back to the Utrom Homeworld.
    • Utrominators – In the dystopian future reality, amongst the Utrom Shredder's soldiers are enslaved, and apparently somewhat zombified Utroms. Some of these zombie Utroms are fitted into giant, winged, mechanic-like exo-suits, and are known as Utrominators.
    • Guardians – Human beings that protect the Utroms, having been trained in Ninjitzu. Like the Foot Clan, they have existed since shortly after the Utroms arrived on Earth, and share a uniform of black bodysuits and blue overcoats; previously they wore a blue sleeveless ninja gi. All the Guardians wield futuristic katanas, and wear a golden medallion inscribed with the image of the Utroms. Hamato Yoshi and Yukio Mashimi were both members of the Guardians, with Yoshi reaching the level of Guardian Prime; Mashimi's jealousy over this was one of several factors that led to his defection to the Foot Clan.
  • The Triceratons – The Triceratons are a warring alien race whose home planet was destroyed, whose members have the appearance of a humanoid Triceratops. Their appearance is larger than most humans, and breath an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulfur rather than oxygen. The Turtles come into contact with when they are accidentally transported across several galaxies at the end of the first season while attempting to find the missing Master Splinter. The Turtles then become a public enemy of the Triceratons for harboring a fugitive known as the Fugitoid, who possesses a transporting technology that the Triceratons desperately want. The Triceratons wish to use Professor Honeycutt's technology to aid them in their war with a military group called the Federation. Later in the series, the Triceratons invade earth believing that the Fugitoid is still in hiding there when in reality he has gone to live with the Utrom on their homeworld. In the "Flash Forward" part of the series, the Triceratons are members of the Pan Galactic Alliance, though the Republic has fallen on hard times and produced a number of criminals.
    • Zanramon – The Prime Leader of the Triceratons, who led the Republic down a path of corruption and dishonor. He led the Triceratons into hunting the Fugitoid for the teleportation device that he had. He was later overthrown and shares a cell with General Blanque.
    • Commander Mozar – A Triceraton with an eyepatch over his left eye and a robotic hand who is the leading soldiers of the Triceraton Army. He later sided with Traximus to overthrow Zanramon after recognizing the Prime Leader's utter ruthlessness and lack of honor.
    • Traximus – A Triceraton warrior who befriended the Turtles during their visit to the Triceraton Homeworld, having been imprisoned as a gladiator after speaking out against corruption. Later he becomes the leader of the Triceraton Republic after he overthrows Zanramon.
    • Zog – A Triceraton that was stranded on Earth after being teleported there accidentally by the Utroms. Due to his breathing mask being damaged, oxygen was introduced into his system and caused him to become somewhat delusional. He sided with the Turtles and Splinter-whom he mistook for Triceraton commandos-to fight Shredder and sacrificed his life to defeat Shredder on his ship-which he believed was a Federation installation. On two occasions when the Turtles were sent back in time to the Mesozoic Era, they befriended a Triceratops; both of these were named Zog by Michelangelo in honor of their Triceraton friend.
    • Monza Ram – Leader of the Triceraton All-Star Team, who fought the Turtles but were defeated. Later he and his team join Traximus' rebel army, having been liberated by Traximus after Zanramon imprisoned them for their defeat. Monza Ram's name is an anagram of Zanramon, but no connection was shown to exist between them.
    • Zed and Raz – Two Triceraton sports announcers who cover the Tri-Sports Arena "games".
    • Gruell – A Triceraton that was the Tri-Sports Arena Master.
    • Boss Zukko – A Triceraton who is the leader of a gang of Triceraton Rebels in "Fast Forward" and a recurring associate/enemy of Torbin Zixx.
  • The Federation – The Federation is an extraterrestrial military organization of humanoid appearance that the Turtles meet when they are in space. The Federation is locked in a war with the Triceratons and both sides seek to gain access to a robot known as the Fugitoid. The Fugitoid, having created a portal that would give either side a huge tactical advantage in their current battles, has become the prized object of the war. When the Turtles befriend Professor Honeycutt, the Federation seeks to destroy them for harboring him. After Honeycutt escaped the Federation engaged in a brutal war with the Triceratons, which eventually led them to Earth where they formed an alliance with Bishop's Earth Protection Force in an effort to obtain Honeycutt. However, the Professor succeeded in crippling their fleet with a virus, and the Triceratons' acts in helping them led to a peace between the two groups. After being rebuilt, Honeycutt apparently reestablished contact with the Federation-whom he identified as the D'Hoonib Federation, based on what was apparently the capital planet of the organization-and was recognized with various honors, including being made the apparent equivalent of a Justice of the Peace.
    • General Blanque – The head of the Federation military. He led the Federation into hunting the Fugitoid for the teleportation device that he had. He was later imprisoned in a cell neighboring that of deposed Prime Leader Zanramon after the Triceratons made peace with the Federation.
    • Lonae – A female who is General Blanque's aide and a double agent for the Triceratons who informed them of the Fuguitoid's identity as Professor Honeycutt. She was later exposed by Commander Mozar and presumably imprisoned by the Federation.
  • The Levram – A race of vicious warriors who believe in combat to the death and have no respect for the concept of honor. They have green and purple skin and yellow growths resembling either hair or horns. At least one of them has demonstrated the ability to change size from a form smaller than the Turtles at adult height to a massive, muscular body on roughly the same scale as Hun.
    • Kluh – The most prominent Levram and the only one identified by name. He was a competitor in the Battle Nexus Tournament, and while in his more diminutive form was angered and mocked by Michelangelo. When Mikey showed no fear for facing him, Kluh grew into his usual, more muscular form, upon which Mikey became terrified. He proved to be a Battle Nexus finalist, defeating Gen before facing Mikey in the final round. The match was interrupted by the battle between Drako and the Ultimate Ninja and the resulting tear in reality; Kluh was accidentally knocked out by Mikey after the crisis was resolved. He promptly joined Traximus' Triceraton Rebellion alongside a number of other competitors, but didn't forget his defeat at Mikey's hands. This later led to a rematch between the pair in the Battle Nexus, in which the Levram attempted to ensure that Mikey's defeat would result in his demise. However, through training Mikey proved to be Kluh's better in battle, and triumphed.
    • Ammag – Kluh's father, who was outraged over his son's defeat at Michelangelo's hands, which led him to appeal to the Ultimate Daimyo. However, Ammag had little to no regard for the rules of the Battle Nexus, and led his warriors in an attack on the Turtles in their home dimension before the Giyogi intervened. The rematch was then set up in the Battle Nexus, and Ammag resorted to an attempted kidnapping of the Daimyo's young son in order to force him to allow their modifications to the match, which was intended to end in Mikey's demise. However, Leonardo overcame the Levram warriors to save the Daimyo's son, and Mikey triumphed over Kluh in the arena.
    • Wizard – An unnamed Levram sorcerer who appears smaller than other Levram but makes up for it with his skills in the mystic arts. The Wizard used his powers to lift the magical safety rules surrounding the Battle Nexus competition for Kluh and Mikey's rematch, which would have resulted in Mikey's death in the event of Kluh's victory. His efforts were quickly detected by the Daimyo, who apparently could have thwarted him with relative ease had it not been for Kluh's father having the Daimyo's son held hostage.

Voice cast

The voice director for the series was Susan Blu (seasons 1–5) and Roy Burdine (Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer), while the ADR voice director was Darren Dunstan.

Main
  • Michael Sinterniklaas – Leonardo, Dark Leo, Graviturtle, Lord Hebi
  • Wayne Grayson – Michelangelo/Turtle Titan, Dark Mikey, Krang, Gruell, Metal Head, Blobboid
  • Sam Riegel – Donatello, Dark Donnie, Dr. Chaplin, Zippy Lad, Shellectro
  • Greg Abbey – Raphael, Dark Raph, Griddex, Officer Laird

Recurring
  • Darren Dunstan – Splinter, Council of Three, Sliver Sentry
  • Veronica Taylor – April O'Neil, Nanobot (young)
  • Marc Thompson – Casey Jones, Serling, Ultimate Daimyo, Drako, Mr. Touch, Juto-Shisho, Officer Eastman
  • Greg Carey – Hun
  • David Zen Mansley – Bishop, Savanti Romero, Zog, Rat King, Monza Ram, Kon-Shisho, Darius Dun, Triple Threat (Green Head)
  • Karen Neill – Karai, Tang Shen
  • Scottie Ray – Ch'rell/Shredder/Oroku Saki, Tengu Shredder, Cyber Shredder, Triple Threat (Yellow Head)
  • Scott Williams – Baxter Stockman, Military General
  • Christopher C. Adams – Cody Jones

Additional voices

Crew

Production

In May 2002, 4Kids Entertainment announced to produce a new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series for the FoxBox programming block to air on Saturday mornings.[1] The series was renewed for a second season in the summer of 2003; the third in May 2004; the fourth in April 2005. The "Ninja Tribunal" was originally intended to be the fifth and final season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, but the schedule was changed to try to increase interest in the series and "Fast Forward" became the fifth season. The "Ninja Tribunal" episodes were scheduled to be released on DVD sometime in early 2007, but 4Kids Entertainment later removed them from their release schedule and the season was promoted in commercials as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Lost Episodes.

Series development was headed by producer Lloyd Goldfine, who had known the Ninja Turtles since the original Mirage Studios comics and declared he "loved the charm of the cartoon", but much preferred the idea of turtles raised to be ninja assassins, and was interested in using said plot while also being family friendly. Once he heard 4Kids had an interest in the franchise, Goldfine suggested going straight to Mirage for guidance, and then he and other company representatives went to the company's headquarters in Northampton, Massachusetts. Turtles co-creator Peter Laird and Mirage CEO Gary Richardson approved their pitch, and Mirage remained very close during development, with Laird reading every outline and draft of the script, and approving most of the character designs.[4]

Home video
Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) home video releases

The series has been released to home video.

Complete seasons of the show have not yet been released.

Broadcast history

The series originally aired in the US on Fox for its first six seasons from 2003 to 2009. It then aired on The CW for its seventh and final season from 2009 to 2010.

The show (excluding season 5 and Turtles Forever) aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTE Two from 17 September 2003 to 2010.[5]

Critical reception

The series was both highly acclaimed and commercially successful throughout its first five seasons. Many consider this to be the greatest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show ever made. The praise went towards the storytelling, action, darker tone, humor, character development, the theme song, background musics, voice acting, faithfulness to the source material, animation and appeal to all ages.

4Kids was known for its controversial history of censoring anime, but the series was a most popular and critically acclaimed for trying to follow the dark and gritty tone of the original Mirage comics.[6] However, due to 4Kids having to keep their ratings under PG, the last two seasons of series, Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer, were panned by critics and fans.

Several of the characters introduced in the series would later appear in subsequent publications of the TMNT franchise. Hun was introduced into the Mirage Comics with the issue Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 2 #56 in March 2009,[7] and also appears as a recurring figure in the IDW comic series and in the 2012 animated series, as does Agent Bishop. Angel, Ch'rell, Darius Dun and the Street Phantoms would also be featured in the IDW comics, and the Triceraton Mozar as an antagonist during season 4 of the 2012 series.

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gollark: Does it reload the entire file on every command?
gollark: +>markov 258639553357676545
gollark: Oh, just slow.
gollark: Hmm, broken.

References
  1. "4kids To Produce And Launch New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series" (PDF). 4kidsentertainment.com. May 7, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  2. "4Kids Entertainment Annual Report 2002" (PDF). March 31, 2003. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  3. "TMNT – Dongwoo Animation Official Site". Dongwoo Animation Co. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  4. NYCC2009: TMNT Animation: 25 and Going Strong
  5. RTÉ Guide.   13-19 September 2003 edition and subsequent dates.
  6. Patrick Coakley (24 September 2014). "Why Does No One Talk About the 2003 Ninja Turtles". Unleasth the Fanboy. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume Two #56". Miragelicensing. March 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

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