2023 has already delivered a solid summer for family-friendly movies thus far, and since the only thing more solid than a turtle shell is four of them — and probably a lot of other stuff — I think it’s totally bossanova that another big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adventure is here. The most quotable quartet to ever spring from the sewers have made their return to the big screen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg serving as producers and co-writers for the animated action-comedy. With the new movie is bringing out so many excellent B-side characters such as Mondo Gecko, Leatherhead, and Ray Fillet, I feel there’s never been a better time to celebrate all the most baffling, WTF characters that this ever-expanding comic, TV, and movie universe has delivered in its 30+ years of existence.
The group noted below features characters that, if I were to describe them to someone unfamiliar with the Ninja Turtles’ history, would make me sound like I was ad-libbing nonsense on the spot. Such is this gloriously weird and try-anything-once universe first created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. To note, this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of the rarest characters and oddities within this bonkers universe, but rather a curated selection of villains, heroes and others who all sound like their origins were tied to LSD-infused pizza toppings. (Just not anchovies.)
