turtlepedia

2012 Raphael

A mutant is any being that has been exposed to mutagen, Oozesquitoes, or in some other way has undergone some kind of transformative mutation.

The idea of a mutant is a common trope in comic books and science fiction. The new phenotypes that appear in fictional mutations generally go far beyond what is typically seen in biological mutants, and often result in the mutated life form exhibiting superhuman abilities or qualities.

In TMNT

Within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the term "mutant" is almost exclusively used to describe any being who has been affected by mutagen, rather than any naturally occurring mutations. Mutagen can mutate a being in numerous ways, ranging from animals taking on human traits (e.g., the Ninja Turtles) to humans taking on animal traits (e.g., Bebop and Rocksteady), to either taking on the traits of other objects (e.g., Muckman) or simply growing in size and strength (e.g., the Super Shredder). Generally, however, the Mutagen can mutate any living organism into the last thing they touch, or if an animal comes in contact with it, they'll mutate into a form typically befitting the creature's age.

1987 TV series

The 1987 TV series states that whatever was being mutated would take on the traits of the last living thing it touched. This is not stated in any other series, and would seem contradictory in many cases.

2012 TV series

The Mutagen exposure is the same in the 2012 TV series. According to a Kraang operative in "Pulverizer Returns!", the Mutagen's effects are unpredictable outside Dimension X. It was also shown that if anyone is exposed to Mutagen and hasn't come in contact with anything animal or plant-related, they will end up turning into a mutant monster or blob. As shown with April in "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman," the Mutagen is shown to not mutate anyone who has Kraang DNA in them.

Rise of the TMNT

In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as opposed to being carried in a canister, the mutagen is carried by an Oozesquito that causes anyone who gets stung by them to mutate into a mutant. Like the 1987 TV series and the 2012 TV series, any who come in contact with an animal or a plant turns into a mutant with the appearance of those they last came in contact with. The Yōkai alchemist Baron Draxum plans to use the Oozesquitoes to mutate humanity while Big Mama wants to create fighters for her Battle Nexus. Technically, all Yōkai are mutants as they originated from mutation-inducing contact with Empyrean, but regardless, Yōkai do not identify with the term "mutant" and have an established society and a significantly longer history than Draxum's mutagen mutants.

Individuals

Mirage

TMNT & Other Strangeness

Splinter and his sons (basically the same as those from the Mirage Chronology)

1987 TV series

Archie

1990 film series

Las Tortugas Ninja

TMNT (Rizzoli)

Image

Next Mutation

2003 TV series

IDW

2012 TV series

2014 film series

Batman/TMNT

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures

Rise of the TMNT

Batman vs. TMNT

TMNT: The Last Ronin

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/TMNT

TMNT vs. Street Fighter

TMNT x Stranger Things

2023 film series

2024 TV series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed

Turtles of Grayskull

TMNT x Naruto

Toys

This section details mutants that only appeared as action figures in the TMNT toylines.

External links