Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are a group of four anthropomorphic turtle brothers, who, as one might infer from the name, are also teenagers, mutants and ninja. The Turtles are each named after a famous Renaissance artist: Leonardo (Leonardo da Vinci), Raphael (Raffaello Santi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), and Donatello (Donatello). The TMNT live in the sewers of New York City.

Related Topics:
Anthropomorphic - Turtle - Teenager - Mutants - Ninja - Renaissance - Leonardo - Leonardo da Vinci - Raphael - Raffaello Santi - Michelangelo - Michelangelo Buonarroti - Donatello - Donatello - Sewer - New York City

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Created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the TMNT originated in an American comic book published by Mirage Studios. The small-press black & white comics were successful enough to inspire a syndicated cartoon series, which catapulted the characters into an international merchandising craze. The cartoon, while obviously inspired by the comic book, diverged from it in almost every way. While the comic was meant for an older audience, the cartoon was standard children's fare and typically avoided overt human violence and any semblance of real conflict. The characters' popularity exploded with the release of a live-action feature film (which most closely followed the comic) and its two sequels.

Related Topics:
1984 - Kevin Eastman - Peter Laird - American - Comic book - Mirage Studios - Merchandising - Violence - Live-action - Sequel

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The TMNT stories were written with a generally consistent philosophy of moral absolutism (although it could be argued that Raphael, at least, displayed shades of grey on occasion). The Turtles were consistently depicted as the "good guys," and their arch-enemy Shredder (with maybe one or two exceptions) was depicted as a "bad guy." As the plots became more complex, more ambiguous characters were introduced but the main characters remained either "good" or "bad."

Related Topics:
Moral absolutism - Ambiguous

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The TMNT stories contain something of an ensemble cast; although the TMNT are the main characters (and are given slightly different levels of importance depending on the particular story), there are usually three strong supporting characters, including the Turtles' sensei, Master Splinter, and their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones. Each character has been featured in a solo adventure.

Related Topics:
Ensemble cast - Sensei - Master Splinter - April O'Neil - Casey Jones

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves are variously referred to as the TMNT, Ninja Turtles, or even, after being introduced more completely, the Turtles. In the United Kingdom they are sometimes known as the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.

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