We all know the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They're a gang of pizza-eating, surfer-slang-using mutated turtles who hang out and beat up bad guys, all while having a ton of fun. However, the original TMNT comics by Eastman and Laird are a very different story than the famous cartoon series. Rereading the very first issue of this significantly darker take on the story might just open your eyes to what the TMNT are really about, and these are the three weirdest things you'll learn upon revisiting the turtles' past.
Splinter Raised Them As Vengeful Killing Machines
In Issue #1, before even mentioning how the turtles came to be, Splinter tells a long story about where he comes into the picture. It is revealed that, as an ordinary rat, Splinter was owned by a high-ranking member of the foot clan who escaped to America after beating a fellow clansman to death to protect the woman he loved. The man who Splinter's master killed was the brother of the dangerous ninja who would come to be known as The Shredder. Shredder followed Splinter's master to America and murdered him and his wife. As soon as Splinter met up with the mutated turtles and discovered their abilities, he immediately began to train them to hunt down and murder The Shredder.
The lovable, pizza-eating turtles we all know are actually ruthless killing machines, blindly murdering hundreds of members of the foot clan to seek revenge for Splinter's long dead master.
Shredder Is Defeated In His First Meeting With The TMNT
Since this first issue wasn't supposed to spawn a decade-long series and cultural icons, the main conflict of the series is eliminated by the end of Issue #1. In the final pages of the book, the boys final catch up with The Shredder after Raphael issues a personal challenge. After some minor problems, they actually defeat the ninja master when Leonardo impales him with his signature katana. The boys offer Shredder an honorable death, handing him a sword to commit the ancient suicide act seppuku, however, when Shredder attempts to take them all out with a grenade, he is tossed off the side of the building, falling to his death.
Daredevil Created The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
When Splinter begins to explain the origins of the TMNT, it all sounds very familiar.
As an old blind man crossed the street, a truck containing toxic waste barreled down the road right at him. At the last moment, a nameless young man leaped into the street to save the helpless old man. A canister of the waste fell off the struck, striking the young man in the face. The young hero of the story? None other than Matt Murdock.
After the canister struck the young Daredevil, changing his life forever, it spun off into the street and cracked open in the sewer, right on four young turtles, and the rest is history.
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the creators of the TMNT, were apparently huge fans of the Frank Miller Daredevil series, and the entire concept of the Ninja Turtles was simply created to parody and tribute Daredevil. In newer adaptations, like the IDW series, this story has obviously been altered, but we all have Frank Miller's Daredevil to thank for our favorite pizza-eating, crime-fighting turtles.
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