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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984-) may have started out just as an indie comic book created by two passionate comic book artists, Kevin Eastman, and Peter Laird, but it has since grown into a 15-billion-dollar, multimedia franchise and a pop culture phenomenon beloved by many generations and has influenced animation and comic books as we know it; the question is, how?
Who And What Are ‘The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)?’
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, also known as TMNT, is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984.
TMNT follows a group of four ninja turtles brothers, who are trained in jitsu and fight the forces of evil in New York City.
- Leonardo is the leader and the oldest brother of the TMNT, he wears a blue mask and is named after famous Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.
- Raphael is the strongest and the most temperamental turtle, he wears a red mask and is named after Italian painter Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.
- Michelangelo is often depicted as the youngest brother of the four turtles. He is the most carefree and laid-back turtle in the group; he wears an orange mask and is named after artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni.
- Donatello is the inventor of the group; he uses his intellect for technology and science to create gadgets for the group to use. Donatello wears a purple mask and is named after Italian sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi.
The Creation Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1983-)
It all started one night in 1983 when author Eastman was struck with the inspiration to draw a masked turtle holding a pair of nunchucks. He drew the picture as a joke and showed it to his partner Laird. Peter saw the drawing and decided to jokingly draw some “ninja turtles” of his own.
“Pete drew a cooler one,” remembers Eastman. “Then, of course, I had to top his sketch, so I drew four of them standing in a dramatic pose.”
(( The Week Staff. “The Fascinating Origin Story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The Week, 8 Jan. 2015, The Week ))
The end resulted in four different “Ninja Turtles” drawings. Eastman names the picture “Ninja Turtles” and Laird adds “Teenage Mutant,” Together the two partners came up with the name “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Though it only started as a joke, the two saw potential in this bizarre concept; together they decided to develop the idea into a comic book.
Eastman and Laird were both comic book fans so they drew inspiration from comics that they enjoyed like Jack Kirby but they were heavily influenced by Frank Miller’s work on Ronin and Daredevil. There are plenty of connections between The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Daredevil; for example, Splinter, The Turtles Sensei, and Father Figure are an homage to Daredevil’s sensei, Stick.
The turtles even share the same origin story as Daredevil. In Daredevil #1 (1968), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, Matt Murdock pushes a man clear of an oncoming truck but is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from the truck. (( Sandwell, Ian. “Daredevil Was Directly Responsible for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Digital Spy, 13 Mar. 2021, Digital spy )) While the radioactive material blinds Murdock it also enhances all his other senses beyond normal human ability. He now uses his heightened senses to fight crime as Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen.
This is not confirmed but it is implied that the canister of radioactive substance that supposedly struck Murdock, collided with a bystander who was carrying a fishbowl containing his pet four baby turtles. The radioactive fluid that came in contact with the four baby turtles then transferred them into humanoids. In a later interview, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were asked about this theory and they admitted that they intentionally incorporated Daredevil’s backstory into the ninja turtle’s origin.
In 1984 Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird founded the company Mirage Studios and printed 3,000 copies of the first issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and brought them to a convention in Portsmouth. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Wikipedia, 21 July 2023, Wikipedia.org )) They sold out quickly and before you knew it they were selling more than 100,000 copies. (( Downey, KC, and Jessica Kisluk. “Cowabunga! Original TMNT Comics Sold out at Portsmouth Convention 39 Years Ago.” WMUR, 4 May 2023, WMUR.COMM ))
How The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) Gained Popularity
After Eastman’s and Laird’s successful comic run, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gained a newfound popularity and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle merchandise began to hit the shelves.
In 1988 the franchise generated merchandise sales of $175 million and in 1989 it generated $350 million. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures.” Wikipedia, 15 May 2023, en. Wikipedia. )) One of their biggest profits was from a company named Playmate Toys. About US$1.1 billion worth of Turtles toys were sold within four years, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever made at the time. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures.” Wikipedia, 15 May 2023, en. Wikipedia. ))
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise made a fortune selling toys, lunch boxes, clothing, puzzles, video games, and other merchandise. Soon they would roll even more dough with their animated 1987 television show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! In 1987 the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series premiered and ran for almost a decade.
The television show was changed from the darker-tone comics to make it more family-friendly. Since then there have been five other TV series.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legend Of The SuperMutants (1996);
- Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (1997-1998);
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003);
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012);
- Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018-2020).
In 2009 Viacom acquired the global rights from the Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for $60 million. Szalai, Georg. (( “Ninja Turtles Snapped up by Nickelodeon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2011, The Hollywood Reporter ))
“Nickelodeon’s goal with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is to reintroduce the franchise to existing and potential fans across various media platforms.”
(( “Ninja Turtles Snapped up by Nickelodeon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2011, The Hollywood Reporter ))
The deal also gave Nickelodeon all merchandising rights, but the company still continued to work with the franchise’s longtime partner, Playmates Toys. Nickelodeon planned to create a CG-animated TV series based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The series premiered on Nickelodeon in 2012 and ran for five seasons. The show received positive reviews and is arguably the best show since the 1987 series. (( “Ninja Turtles Snapped up by Nickelodeon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2011, The Hollywood Reporter ))
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) Franchise (1990-2022)
The infamous turtles have starred in six theatrical feature films and in total they have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. (( Box Office History for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies – The Numbers. TheNumbers ))
In 1990, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie was released. Unlike the animated 1987 television series, the movie was based more closely on the comics and kept its darker tone. The film was titled simply Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The movie was a box office success, grossing $202 million on a budget of $13.5 million; it was the highest-grossing independent film up to that time and the ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1990. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 Film).” Wikipedia, 11 July 2023, Wikipedia.org ))
The following year, 1991 a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: The Secret of the Ooze was released. It received weaker reviews and was less successful at the box office. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.” Wikipedia, 20 June 2023, Wikipedia.org )) And in 1993 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle III was released. This was the weakest film in the trilogy and received mostly negative reviews. (( “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.” Wikipedia, 15 June 2023, Wikipedia.org ))
In 2014 the fifth TMNT theatrical film was released. It served as a reboot of the series and was announced shortly before Peter Laird sold the rights to the characters to Nickelodeon in 2009. It became the highest-grossing film of the series and the highest-grossing film from Nickelodeon Movies. In 2016 a sequel was released titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Out of the Shadows.
TMNT, The first animated movie in the franchise released in 2007 in theatres. The film had minor commercial success, grossing $95.6 minion worldwide against a budget of 14 million. “TMNT (Film).” Wikipedia, 21 July 2023, Wikipedia.org
The Success Of The ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (TMNT)
Considering that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started out as a wisecrack between two friends, it is beyond incredible that it has developed into a billion-dollar global franchise. There have been several remakes, reboots, and new stories written for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles throughout their history, and they will most certainly continue to do so in the future. With 30 years behind them, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is still one of the most popular cartoons of all time.