Summary
TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesare a team of four radical mutant teens who like to goof off, have fun, and casually save the world from total annihilation. At least, that’s how they’ve come to be known. However, in the original Mirage StudiosTMNTcomic series, the Turtles were much, much darker. There were no bright colors, no ‘pizza time’, and certainly no ‘Cowabungas’ to be had in the original series. Instead, fans got an edgy black and white indie comic featuring four hardcore mutants living in the sewers of New York, who were trained for one purpose: to kill.
Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984,Mirage Studios’TMNTwas decidedly much more maturethan what the series has become. Today,TMNTis a popular kids' property, with the Turtles acting more like teenagers than trained assassins - a trend that was established with the release of the classic ‘90s cartoon. However, despite how the series evolved over the years, the original comics are always there for fans who want a more hardcore take on the Turtles. During that timein theTMNT’s history, these are 10 of the most unbelievably dark moments from the original comics.
TMNT’s 40th Anniversary Comic is a Celebration of the Turtles' Legendary Legacy
2024 marks 40 years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created, and the series in celebrating with a truly incredible 40th anniversary comic!
10The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Brutally Kill Shredder in their 1st Issue
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#1 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' dark and gritty reputation was firmly established in the original series' very first issue. In it, fans get the entire origin story of the Turtles, as well asthe reason Master Splinter trained the TMNT as ninjas to begin with: to kill Shredder. Originally, the Turtles' entire lives were shaped to pull off one assassination to settle a blood-feud that began well before their time - and the Turtles were successful.
The issue showed in gruesome detail howthe Ninja Turtles beat, sliced, and stabbed Shredder until he was on the cusp of death, before finishing their target off by throwing him from the top of a building. This was definitely a gnarly way to introduce the TMNT, putting the Turtles in a murderous light right from the start.
9TMNT’s 1st Mouser Gruesomely Shows Why It was Created
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#2 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
TMNT’s Mousers have always been unmistakably gruesome, as the function of these little robots is to hunt mice and rats in New York City, and when it finds them, it exterminates them. Simple enough, and not unlike any other kind of pest control solution. However, where the Mouser stands on its own is that it ‘eats’ the mice and rats, grinding their little bodies in its metallic mouth - and theTMNTcomic showed it.
It’s not as though the Mouser catches rodents and discretely kills them within its robotic body, it chews them while the rodents squeal in horror and pain until they’re finally dead, with blood dripping from the Mouser’s jaws as it does so. This process is inhumane and horrible, and the first time it’s shown is one ofTMNT’s darkest moments.
8The Debut of the Utroms was as Disturbing as It was Shocking
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#3 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
Utroms are the race of interdimensional aliens that the infamous Krang belongs to, and their first appearance certainly laid the groundwork for their villainous reputations inTMNTcanon. After being injured by the Mousers,Splinter stumbles upon a secret base where three Utroms reside, and each of them is sitting on a table with their ‘human suits’ sitting vacant behind them. Their robotic stomachs were open, and their eyes stared lifelessly at what appeared to be brains with faces and tentacles sitting in front of them.
Needless to say, this entire scene was incredibly shocking. However, as dark and terrifying as the scene is, the Utroms in the original comic were ironically a peace-loving species, and meant the Turtles no harm - though that doesn’t detract from how terrifying they were upon their first appearance.
7The Ninja Turtles Didn’t Hesitate to Murder Triceraton Soldiers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#6 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
When the Turtles are whisked away to another world, captured by unknown beings, and forced to battle against anthropomorphic alien dinosaurs for reasons they don’t fully understand, they don’t hesitate to kill their opponents.The Turtles are being forced to fight the Triceratons, and rather than knocking them out, or trying to reason with them, or looking for ways to escape this barbaric arena, the Turtles simply kill themas brutally as they killed Shredder.
The more modern TMNT would opt to negotiate with the alien species, especially if they were technically the invaders themselves. However, in the original comic, the Ninja Turtles were more than cool with killing an enemy, no matter the circumstances - which is as dark as it is badass.
6Leonardo Stuck a Shuriken in a Ninja’s Skull (While Another Ninja was Drowned)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#9 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Michael Dooney
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles once took on a mission that saw them effectively being bodyguards for a family that was being targeted by a mysterious ninja clan that wanted to end this family’s bloodline by killing every living member. As the ninjas were sneaking through this family’s house, the Turtles were watching them from the shadows, launching counterattacks practically before these ninjas had the chance to strike.
In one instance,Leonardo threw a shuriken at a ninja, hitting him square in the forehead- blood squirting from his head, with half of the weapon still sticking out of his skull - and another ninja was drowned in a fountain by another Turtle Brother. The Ninja Turtles weren’t messing around on this mission, and they didn’t offer a square-inch of leeway.
5TMNT’s Triceraton Ally Guns Down Foot Clan Soldiers (& Impaled Others on His Horns)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#20 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Jim Lawson
After coming across a lost Triceraton all alone in the New York City sewers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles recruit him to help in their ongoing mission against the Foot Clan. Since the Triceraton had his own reasons for wanting the Foot dead, he agreed to join them. Upon reaching a Foot Clan base of operations, the Turtles and their new, unexpected ally waste no time in their brutal dismantling of the villainous ninja clan - including and especially the Triceraton.
Using a giant gun that he brought from his homeworld,the Tricerton guns down a room full of Foot Clan soldiers like it was nothing, shredding their bodies with a seemingly endless barrage of bullets. Then, when the Triceraton was swarmed by Foot Ninjas, he took to using his horns to impale the ninjas through their stomachs.
4Raphael Uses a Gun to Kill One of Shredder’s Elite Foot Clan Soldiers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#61 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Jim Lawson
The traditional weapons wielded by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are arguably as iconic as the Turtles themselves. While the Turtles have been known to change their weapons from time to time depending on the circumstances, they almost never opt to use guns. However, in the early days ofTMNTcanon, the Turtles were ninjas in the purest sense, meaning they’d use any weapon available to them to ensure the death of their enemy - including guns.
In this case, Raphael had his back against a wall as one of Shredder’s Elite soldiers was closing in on him while threatening one of his allies. Injured and without his twin sai, Raphael looked around him to see what he could use to kill the Elite ninja, andthe Ninja Turtle found a gun that was dropped by a dead Foot Clan soldier - and Raph proceeded to blow his enemy away with it.
3The Debut of the Rat King in TMNT Lore is Shocking (for More than 1 Reason)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#55 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Jim Lawson
While modern fans recognize the Rat King as an elder god in the IDW PublishingTMNTuniverse, he was originally something far more disturbing.The Rat King was a man who mutilated his body in an effort to separate himself from the rest of humanity, and that was immediately obvious when the Rat King made his shocking full debut. However, his appearance alone wasn’t the only thing about the Rat King that was immensely disturbing.
The Rat King came across Splinter as the mutant rat lay injured in the sewers, and he wouldn’t stop trying to convince Splinter to eat other (non-mutant) rats to survive, rather than just help him. It’s a twisted sequence, especially upon its conclusion when Splinter gives in and eats a rat out of pure desperation - something the Rat King derives great pleasure from.
2TMNT’s Casey Jones Kills a Kid During One of His Patrols
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#48 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Jim Lawson
Casey Jones has been a valiant vigilante inTMNTcanon right from the start, and remains so to this day. However, there was a moment in his past that rocked Casey to his core, making him question if he was even any different from the criminals he was beating up. One night during a routine patrol, Casey challenges a gang of criminals, unleashing his unique brand of brutal justice upon them. However, what he didn’t know until it was too late, was thatone of them was just a kid, and Casey accidentally killed him.
This story is called “Shades of Gray”, and it’s one of the heaviest in the entireTMNTcatalog. For many issues afterward, Casey goes through torturous internal struggles, which only makes this dark moment inTMNTthat much darker.
1Shredder’s Resurrection is an Unnatural Horrorshow in TMNT Lore
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#21 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Jim Lawson
While Shredder’s demise was the first ‘dark moment’ inTMNTcanon that set the tone for the rest of the series, his resurrection is arguably even darker. Shredder explains to Leonardo that the Foot Clan found his mangled corpse and breathed new life into it through a mixture of advanced technology and ancient spells. This method of resurrectionsucceeded in bringing Shredder back, but his body was a mutilated mess of scarred flesh.
Not only was Shredder himself a disturbingly unnatural sight, but his resurrection also gave life to a number of mutant clones of Shredder, each one more horrifying than the last. Plus, the brutal action that was featured during Leonardo’s fight against Shredder, and the other Turtles' battle against the Mutant Shredders was vicious and graphic, making this one of the 10 darkest moments in the originalTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlescomic.
