In news that I’m sure excited you as much as it did me, the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is going to lean heavily into a bunch of random mutant characters! Subtitled “Mutant Mayhem,” the new movie debuted its trailer and voice cast this week, and I’m as giddy as a school girl. Ninja Turtles were my jam as a young child in the 1980s. I watched all the cartoons, but the Ninja Turtles were my favorite. And I’m a sucker for nearly every new reboot that comes out.

Much to my surprise, Mutant Mayhem is going to feature a ton of obscure and also ran characters from Turtle lore. Mondo Gecko? Genghis Frog? Ray Fillet?! I am so on board! I was a huge collector of the Ninja Turtles action figures as a kid. I loved all the weird, random mutants they introduced in the toyline. And it was even more fun when they then showed up in the cartoon. And then it gets even more fun when they also get rebooted with every new iteration. So you best believe I’m even more excited about this new movie than I was a week ago. And what better way to celebrate than to run down some of my favorite TMNT characters? For nostalgia’s sake!

Join me after the jump for my favorite characters in TMNT lore, be it comics, movies, toys, cartoons or rock shows. And feel free to share your own favorite such characters in the comments below!

6. Antrax/Walkabout/Mondo Gecko/Dirtbag

Look, I have my top favorites, and then there’s just a bunch of the toys I owned as a kid or episodes of the cartoon that I really enjoyed, so I gotta name them too! Antrax?! C’mon! He’s a four-armed executioner ant! Walkabout was a kangaroo toy I had, which was really neat. Australian animals rarely get their due when it comes to stuff like this, even though they’re so unique and cool. Mondo Gecko is just plain cool. I used to use books to create skate rinks for him in my room. And Dirtbag was in an episode of the cartoon that was really cool, that I really enjoyed. And he’s just cooler than Groundchuck. Fight me.

5. Ray Fillet

When I was a kid, not only did I watch the cartoon, but I had all sorts of young tyke books about the turtles. And one of those books featured Ray Fillet as a champion of, like, the ocean? My memory is vague. He helped the turtles protect a Sea World, I think. He was a big, cool, mutant hero guy. Sadly, that book never got adapted into the 80s cartoon. But I read that book over and over again, and had a Ray Fillet action figure. So he’s tops in my book and I’m very excited to see him get his due!

4. Slash

Slash is just plain cool in whatever reboot he’s included. He’s the evil turtle with the black mask. Sometimes he’s a kook from Dimension X. Sometimes he’s just another mutant. Whenever he shows up, Slash is a great addition to the mythos. He’s almost like the Green Power Ranger of the Ninja Turtles. He’s similar to them, but he starts off as evil. I love that sort of thing. Plus, just the idea of taking a mutant turtle and using a snapping turtle is cool. Those dudes are mean as hell!

3. Rocksteady

I have taken on a real appreciation of Bebop and Rocksteady in my later years. I never cared for them as a kid, largely because they were just dummies in the original cartoon. But they are actually pretty cool bad guys. Some chill, badass warrior mutants who have their own unique and interesting personalities. They make for good foes against the turtles, and are some legitimately entertaining henchmen. I like Rocksteady more because the military-themed rhino is just cool than the street punk warthog, but maybe that’s just me.

2. Wingnut

I like bats. They’re my favorite animal. So you best believe I’m a big fan of the bat character from TMNT. It helps that Wingnut and his buddy Screwloose were fun supporting characters in the Archie comics from the 80s and 90s. The Mighty Mutanimals were my jam! I’ve never been a big fan of him being an alien instead of a mutant, because why? But Wingnut will always be cool in my book, and I’m excited to see the character show up in the new film! A voice actor for Screwloose hasn’t been announced, but hopefully that character is also involved somehow. They’re a team! Still, a kooky bat alien with metal wings supporting his tiny wings is a fun character.

1. Leonardo

Leonardo is the best Ninja Turtle. Hands down. No arguments to be had. He’s a badass warrior who struggles with the burden of leadership, and then always comes through. He’s the best fighter, the most noble of warriors, and he has a pair of katana blades as his weapon! He’s a sword guy! And like every other character on this list, he’s just plain cool. A lot can be said about a person based on their favorite Ninja Turtle, and everything that can be said about me because of Leonardo is cool in my book. He’s the best and always will be. Simple as that.

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