After a full retrospect of how it all began, it can be deduced that TMNT: Mutant Mayhem serves as a perfect reboot of the film series for good reasons. From their humble beginnings on the pages of a comic book series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have become globally recognized fictional heroes. However, their original story has experienced changes over the years but the 2023 version promises to stay true to the franchise’s roots.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem is embracing the comics and heroics side which the franchise’s original lore is all about. Scheduled to drop at the theaters in August 2023, this TMNT installment will once again bring to the fore the true origin of the mutant turtles. The iteration will also shed light on the parody side of the franchise which targets a particular Marvel hero.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Were Created By Accident
So, the original comics had the mutant turtles come in contact with the ooze accidentally, but a few adaptations like Michael Bay‘s iteration of the TMNT franchise make it seem like their creation was intentional or planned. While Bay’s version of the Teenage Turtles looks like part of an experiment, the fictional superheroes were in fact made by accident. Their origin goes back to the 1980s when Kevin Eastman casually drew a squat turtle wearing a mask during an evening of brainstorming with his friend and co-artist, Peter Laird. The friends found the sketch funny and went ahead to add more ideas with Laird suggesting a team of four turtles, each wielding different weapons. They also named them Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo. The ideas continued to flow until a comic project was born.
The foregoing is the real story that gave birth to the idea of the TMNT franchise but there is a different story on how the turtles became mutants. The franchise has grown since its comic days and the story has also evolved but most versions reveal that the Teenage Mutant Turtles transformed into anthropomorphic creatures when they came in contact with a mysterious chemical. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), which is the first film adaptation of the comic book characters, Master Splinter told the story of how the turtles mutated.
A young boy was walking on the street with a glass jar holding four baby turtles. Just a few steps away from the boy, an old blind man was trying to cross the street but would have been hit by a truck save for Matt Murdock (Daredevil) who pushed him to safety. However, Murdock was struck by a canister from the truck which in turn bounced on the ground and hit the little boy’s glass jar. The glass jar didn’t just break, the four baby turtles were released and covered with the glowing radioactive ooze from the canister. The chemical caused the turtles to mutate, gradually turning them into humanoids.
TMNT’s Original Lore Is A Parody Of Marvel
While previous adaptations have not leaned into the parody aspect of the TMNT franchise but rather treated the mutant turtles like straight superhero stories, there is no denying the fact that it’s original story is a parody of Marvel’s Matt Murdock. Before the idea of TMNT was conceived, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman were fans of Marvel’s Daredevil and it pretty much inspired the whole mutant turtle origin story. This accounts for the similarities in the origin of Daredevil and the mutant turtles respectively.
In addition to being mutated by the same radioactive ooze, Murdock and the turtles became interested in ninjitsu and trained with their masters. Murdock was trained by his master, Stick, on the streets of New York while the turtles were taught by their master, Splinter in the sewers underneath the city. Another parody reflects in how TMNT channeled Marvel’s ninja clan, The Hand to create The Foot for the turtles. Again, the original color of the masks worn by the turtles in the comic books was red, the same color used by Daredevil. Suffice to say, the TMNT franchise recreated the Matt Murdock story in a new light. Should TMNT: Mutant Mayhem bring the original lore to the big screen, it will be very exciting for fans of the franchise.The chemical caused the turtles to mutate
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