X-Men ’97 now has two full seasons available to stream on Disney Plus, and the show has proved that Marvel’s animated revival is much more than a nostalgia exercise. The series remains the epic, comic-book-faithful action fest fans hoped it would be, thanks in large part to Marvel’s decision to make it a direct continuation of the original X-Men: The Animated Series rather than “just another X-Men cartoon.”
That decision recognizes something fans have been saying since the 1990s: X-Men: The Animated Series was spectacular. With complex, thoughtful stories drawn from the comics, it was a cut above most children’s animation of its era.
But while Marvel’s mutants are enjoying their much-deserved renaissance, another group of cartoon mutants from the same period continues to be overlooked. I’m talking, of course, about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the original animated series.
Running from 1987 until 1996, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles introduced millions of viewers to Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. The TMNT had previously starred in a successful indie comic, but they were hardly household names. No matter how many times the franchise has been rebooted since, the Turtles from that original cartoon remain its most recognizable incarnations.
And yet the series is often dismissed as glorified toy advertising or kiddie fare, rarely mentioned alongside animated classics like Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series. Admittedly, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could be wildly inconsistent. But at its best, it was every bit as inventive as those more acclaimed shows — and occasionally even surpassed X-Men.
These five selections prove it.
5
“Splinter No More”
In this season 2 episode, Donatello (Barry Gordon) develops an anti-mutagen that can temporarily transform the Turtles’ sensei, Splinter (Peter Renaday), from a mutant rat back into the human Hamato Yoshi. (In this incarnation, Splinter began life as a human; in others, he was Hamato Yoshi’s pet rat.)
After spending years beneath New York as a rat, Splinter returns to the surface and is disturbed by how terribly humans treat one another. Then the transformation begins to wear off, forcing him to hide from people terrified by the sight of a five-foot-tall rat.
Meanwhile, the Turtles grapple with the possibility that their master may not want to return to the sewers. They worry that, given the choice, Splinter would rather remain human and live among his own kind than rejoin them.
X-Men: The Animated Series gets plenty of deserved credit for depicting prejudice against mutants, but “Splinter No More” explores similar ideas just as effectively — and grounds them in the Turtles’ fear of losing their father.
4
The First Season
Including the entire five-episode first season as one entry is admittedly cheating. But listing all five episodes separately would be an even bigger cheat, especially because they essentially form one complete story — not unlike the multipart arcs that X-Men: The Animated Series would later become known for.
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics had already become a successful indie phenomenon when licensing agent Mark Freedman brought the property to Playmates Toys. The company was interested in producing action figures but wanted an animated series to support the toy line. The result was a five-part miniseries produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, the company that would eventually become Fred Wolf Films.
Across those episodes, viewers learn the origins of the TMNT and Master Splinter, witness the Turtles’ first meeting with reporter April O’Neil (Renae Jacobs), and meet nearly every major villain who would define the series: Shredder (James Avery), Krang (Pat Fraley), Bebop (Gordon), Rocksteady (Cam Clarke), and Baxter Stockman (also Fraley).
The show would become much sillier as it continued, but these first five episodes strike a near-perfect balance between humor and action. The Turtles are relentless wisecrackers, but they’re also a formidable fighting team. There’s a reason so many fans still consider this opening arc the high point of the series.
3
“Plan Six from Outer Space”
Including the entire five-episode first season as one entry is admittedly cheating. But listing all five episodes separately would be an even bigger cheat, especially because they essentially form one complete story — not unlike the multipart arcs that X-Men: The Animated Series would later become known for.
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics had already become a successful indie phenomenon when licensing agent Mark Freedman brought the property to Playmates Toys. The company was interested in producing action figures but wanted an animated series to support the toy line. The result was a five-part miniseries produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, the company that would eventually become Fred Wolf Films.
Across those episodes, viewers learn the origins of the TMNT and Master Splinter, witness the Turtles’ first meeting with reporter April O’Neil (Renae Jacobs), and meet nearly every major villain who would define the series: Shredder (James Avery), Krang (Pat Fraley), Bebop (Gordon), Rocksteady (Cam Clarke), and Baxter Stockman (also Fraley).
The show would become much sillier as it continued, but these first five episodes strike a near-perfect balance between humor and action. The Turtles are relentless wisecrackers, but they’re also a formidable fighting team. There’s a reason so many fans still consider this opening arc the high point of the series.
2
“The Maltese Hamster”
Season 3’s “The Maltese Hamster” is another showcase for the series’ surprisingly sophisticated comedy. The episode is an elaborate parody of film noir, complete with hard-boiled narration from Donatello and a plot modeled after The Maltese Falcon.
April purchases a hamster statue from an antique shop, unaware that it contains the formula for a powerful explosive. That makes her the target of both Shredder and a gangster named Tony “The Butcher” Vivaldi (Renaday), each of whom is desperate to get his hands on it.
Once again, the comedy makes the episode memorable. “The Maltese Hamster” enthusiastically embraces the most recognizable conventions of noir — then fills them with mutant turtles, gangsters, and a priceless rodent statue.
1
“Turtles on Trial”
Season 3’s “Turtles on Trial” returns to the series’ recurring theme of mutants being mistreated by humans. This time, the Turtles become the target of loudmouth talk-show host Clayton Kellerman (Townsend Coleman), who denounces them as dangerous freaks and criminals.
Kellerman’s rhetoric has consequences. Despite attempting to stop a crime in progress, the Turtles find themselves chased through the streets by an angry mob. They eventually agree to appear on Kellerman’s show and make their case directly to the public.
Their effort largely works. For much of the series that follows, the TMNT are regarded as heroes and rarely have to “hide in the shadows” the way they do in most other incarnations.
In other words, for all Professor X’s talk about achieving peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles accomplish his dream just 20 episodes into their series.
Beat that, X-Men.
