The ORIGINAL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was INSANE!

[@comicpop]

Buy this volume of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! amzn.to/48CmwFj

[@banonKING]

Hell yeah. I had these first three volumes growing up. So when the Original Movie came out, I knew what I was in for.

[@kylemoore2330]

I'm crying tears of joy

[@adamparkansky1887]

9pp​@@banonKING

[@daoust26]

Please cover the original mask by dark horse comics

[@SmokeysVideos]

I'm glad that ComicPop decided to give the guys different colored flannels so I can tell them apart!

[@danielferguson5971]

Glad you're here, loved the recent video.

[@DCPatrol]

Oh God! I didn't even notice!!! I wonder if it was on purpose or not?

[@HIGHUP619]

😂

[@spiceweasel]

Could’ve done with letters on their belts but it’s pretty good I guess

[@Epidoxa]

Loveable Nerd Lumberjacks

[@shiningnight12]

The great thing about the 2003 series is that it's basically the og mirage series with some modern additions

[@FusionFullForce]

Yeah it's super strange to them but to me it's like inherent TMNT lore

[@TheCaptainKuhn]

The 03 series had one of the creators, Kevin Eastman, as one of the producers which is why it's so close to the Mirage comics

[@tezmard3003]

@@TheCaptainKuhnI thought it was Peter laird

[@hellocanyourhearme7518]

I never knew that the 2000s TMNT cartoon show was so faithful to the original comics. I mean sure they took their liberties but pretty spot on.

[@JamesSerapio]

Yeah, having had read the comics when the show came out, I got pretty excited with season 1 of that series.

[@cje499]

Helps that Peter Laird was consultant for the show

[@galaxy_kitten95]

The 2003 series was one of the shows where I became more and more desensitized as a child. The amount of stuff 4Kids were able to get away with back then was insane.

[@UnseelieRose]

Indeed, that's one of the several reasons I love TMNT 2003 so much.

[@hellocanyourhearme7518]

@@UnseelieRose The 2000s show was my first introduction to TMNT

[@loganthomas2421]

Ben’s reaction to TMNT coming out in 1984 is gold

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

Shredder came into the fight with the Turtles expecting a duel of warriors. Instead, he got the 5 Boroughs Special. My man's got jumped by our little green pals over there. Leo: "Get him up. Let him get up. Let him get up, let him get up." Raph: "Fight back, Shredder! Fight back, Shredder! Fight back!"

[@qmchale5130]

The 5 Boroughs Special? 🤣

[@thread6971]

This belongs in the comment hall of fame

[@loganthomas2421]

Well they were trained by a rat so it’s fitting they’d fight like one

[@theadmiral7471]

“Major league butt kicking is back in town!” Is my favorite line from the original movie

[@comix6358]

11:46 Ethan: "Well how does she eat?", Ben: "With her mouth". Then Ben just sits there and chuckles to himself lol, I love it! 😂

[@fafnirdragonbane3625]

Mirage TMNT is an adventure. And it does have the Rat King. He showed up in the Tales of the TMNT side series and iirc was quickly killed by being knocked off a wall into his abandoned building lair, having his back break, and being left to starve to death/die of exposure.

[@raz0rbladeapolo]

Yes. He thought he had powers of various monsters. It's later hinted that there was something possibly mystic about him. He appears to Splinter when he dies to spirit him onto the other side.

[@theotherjared9824]

He would also approach Splinter while trapped in a grain silo, egging him on to commit cannibalism by eating a rat. It's unclear if the rat king was alive or a spirit in that story.

[@vemoniscool]

You know its fun watching the generational difference of tmnt fans because while ethan and ben are suprise to see how different the comic is to the 80s show and 90s movie. Im here, who saw and is a big fan of the 03 cartoon, nobbing my head like yep that's a tmnt staple!

[@joshrowland7605]

"In my bathroom corner" is my favorite Ethan line

[@RichLuciano1]

Hulkamania and Turtle Mania begin running wild in the same year

[@cybercop0083]

Giving ‚mania‘ a good rap.

[@marcushamner5994]

What you gonna do when TURTLEMANIA runs wild on YOU, brother??🤣🤣🤣❤️💛❤️💛👊🏾👊🏾

[@carlosarjon7189]

YEAH BABY WE GOT MIRAGE ON BACK ISSUES

[@Omar-wq9dz]

I always liked how the end of Turtles Forever was set in the original comics’ universe

[@Ducaso]

I feel like Honeycutt’s consciousness transfer follows SOMA’s rule of copying consciousness. 2 copies that exist simultaneously, until the pervious is destroyed.

[@benreilly4347]

"just like we keep down the dolphins, elephants, and octopi..." Funniest thing I've heard in a while 🤣😂

[@nickkern4109]

Ive never clicked a Comicpop so fast in my life. This is it.

[@frodrickfronkenstien582]

Dude the second animated show, TMNT with the song "turtles count it off, 1 2 3 4, mutant chain reaction, living underground, ninjitsu action, it's a shell of a town" that show was awesome and surprisingly super faithful to this comic.

[@ItsOver9000Productions]

"we got normal grounded stuff aaaand space, SPACE, *SPACE* exactly how I feel about literally anything lmao

[@Killfakerightynerds]

I’ll never forget listening to Casey Kasem describe the origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on American Top 40 right before playing Bobby Brown’s “My prerogative” in like 1989

[@murasakicupcake]

I’m surprised how faithful the 2003 turtles (the ones I grew up with) were to the mirage comics then. All this stuff is familiar to me because it showed up in that show at one point or another.

[@kaiwilliams141]

I think that's because Peter Laird was much more involved in that series

[@murasakicupcake]

@@kaiwilliams141That makes a lot of sense!

[@lazerflipz]

Didn’t realize how close the 2003 cartoon stayed to the original comics.

[@teddybeer6206]

That is why it was created. Peter Laird wanted a TMNT cartoon that was faithful to his comics. It wasn't a remake of the 1987 cartoon like so many people think.

[@Three_Tiny_Robots]

"Sometimes our myths come from hollow places," Ooof, that hits hard 😵😆

[@spoogtastic]

Eastman and Laird are from Dover, NH and it's about 20 minutes from me. They had huge celebrations for them and they have stuff in the city made for them, it's a huge point of pride for us new Hampshire people lol

[@marcushamner5994]

“I LOVE BEING A TURTLE!”- Michaelangelo 🐢💛 At 0:23 Ben’s reaction to the revelation of 1984 Mirage Ninja Turtles had me rolling!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ericmauro1573]

Sal used to come into my job and I would always talk to him about tmnt. Stoked you guys finally got around to this one. Hope you guys talk about the city at war arc eventually. Cheers.

[@comicpop]

Hey dude!

[@ericmauro1573]

Hey buddy! I still listen to the show all the time. Stoked on all of your success!

[@JakeTylenol]

1,2,3,4 TURTLES, Mutant chain reaction, TURTLES, Living underground, TURTLES, NINJITSU ACTION, TURTLES, ITS A SHELL OF A TOWN!!!

[@CanaryBricks]

2003 was the best tmnt hands down

[@thedukeofchutney468]

Still the best TMNT series. No contest.

[@IzzysIssues]

That was my intro to the series too!

[@ryangarcia3729]

2003 show is the best!

[@teddybeer6206]

To me, it's a tie between the comics, the first movie and 2003.

[@daelen.cclark]

It’s cool how much a world can evolve and grow when you’re flying by the seat of your pants and just build on what sounds cool at the moment.

[@plotshift]

Splinter naming the Turtles makes me think of how the names were chosen in Gargoyles.

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

Eh, splinter put a little more effort into it than looking at street signs or a map.

[@SeelkadoomandJokic00]

What's funny is I'm listening to this & understanding everything cause the 2003 TMNT show was closer the comic so I was like "OH I know where this is going"

[@Darkraes743]

It's so fun watching you all react to how different the comics were from the original cartoon. As someone who grew up on the 2003 show, which is basically an adaptation of this, everything you're talking about is pretty normal to me.

[@wilbertrobinson205]

You have to show Ben & Ethan the 2003 TMNT animated series. Just to watch as all of this unfolds b4 their eyes.

[@mttylerdurden9]

What happens to Baxter stockman in the 2003 series is insane

[@shiningnight12]

@@mttylerdurden9 that man became more machine than man by the end of the series. I think he was just a brain by the end

[@mongeeses7112]

Sal not even mentioning how Shredder was resurrected by WORMS left me with a worm shaped hole in my heart...

[@comicpop]

I think we said it in the other episode.

[@teddybeer6206]

You have done a wonderful job covering the early Mirage TMNT run. Subcribed! 21:55 He's called The Shredder because Eastman And Laird based his design on a cheese grater. 31:51 The Rat King First showed up in the Mirage comics as well. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how many people in the comments are finding out that the 2003 cartoon was based on the Mirage comics.

[@manuelortiz3039]

Middle aged mutant ninja turtles, middle aged mutant ninja turtles. Turtles with back pain, turtle power.

[@taterslam0573]

I do kind of appreciate the fact that they decided to write what they wanted to write. Also the 2003 cartoon, the 90’s movie, and the 2012 cartoon are my favorite interpretations of the turtles

[@rocknamn8202]

Fun fact, there is actually an entire issue of Tales of The TMNT where they focus on whether or not Fugitoid is a copy of Honeycut or actually him (they confirm he's a copy) And there actually is another Dinosaur based alien species in Mirage TMNT, which are based on Styracosaurus

[@thahotkidd]

There's actually three alien dino species if you can believe it. The third one is called the Protoceratons and their princess might possibly be Mikeys baby mama

[@tylerbertram7065]

The original Mirage comics makes me want to see an R rated Ninja Turtles adaptation that embraces the dark tone of the comics.

[@mttylerdurden9]

The closest you'll get to this comic is the 2003 series

[@tylerbertram7065]

​@mttylerdurden9 probably.

[@daelen.cclark]

There’s apparently an R-rated Last Ronin adaptation in the works.

[@tylerbertram7065]

@@daelen.cclark I did hear about that.

[@skeetlewis240]

Great episode! I really hope you guys eventually cover Batman/Superman: Worlds Finest. It’s just so fantastic and entertaining. The Boy Thunder into Kingdom Come arc is truly one of the greatest Batman/Superman stories I’ve ever read! Love the channel!

[@saqwana25]

The Rat King is actually from Mirage, but of course he's nothing like the toon. To avoid spoilers, his issue is a major head trip. Totally worth a read.

[@theotherjared9824]

Well, his first appearance is nothing special. His later appearances are where things get trippy.

[@darkfantasy7807]

Thanks to this video, I bought the ultimate collection that you are holding right now, thank you guys!

[@matthewconlon2388]

As the turtle that "does machines" it makes sense he'd get a complex widget to fight with at some point.

[@teddybeer6206]

Yeah but Mirage Don isn't a super genius like his counterparts. He's more of a Mr. Fix-it/IT guy.

[@TheGreatDevlin]

So... the executives stopped at the first 3 issues and said "ONLY THIS".

[@johnthai6188]

not really because in the next two volumes, the movie pulls more from that. at the every least the next volume has the shredder and the foot clan return to fight against the turtles. in that volume the turtles get's the butt kicked and moved to North Hampton. which this story point is in the second volume.

[@mo_4484]

I met Kevin Eastman at C2E2 last year and got my Last Ronin book signed. I will be watching this episode repeatedly as a huge fan.

[@theredknite]

Learning Ethan is from Maine feels like a retcon

[@rchafer917]

Idk if I've seen Ethan with a beard before, but it's badass

[@ftfasttalkfoodreviewsyt]

I'd love to see Ben and Ethan reaction to shredders resurrection. Worms! Worms!

[@mrtable2861]

29:50 According to David Wise, one of the writers on the 1987 turtles cartoon, the idea was that the Turtles would indeed, as you guys guessed, have a human compatriot on the surface to relay information to them and so they created a plucky reporter character inspired by Lois Lane. And when it came to naming her, he just took the name of an unrelated character, April O'Neil, and gave it to his new reporter character. And fun fact, once again according to him, her design (mainly the haircut and Jumpsuit) was inspired by Fujiko Mine from the Anime Lupin the 3rd, where she wore that jumpsuit when she posed as a reporter.

[@tallyharris1657]

Man I’d love to see these continue

[@TheRealProudNoob]

40:40 Teenage Mutant Samurai Turtles, Warlords in a Half-Shell. Feudal Power

[@jollypopcomics2]

At 36:20... The building that Baxter Stockman threatens to destroy is the Baxter building from Marvel's Fantastic Four. Neat! 😂 Makes me want a Marvel x Ninja turtles crossover even more. 😎

[@nicklynch127]

Oh my god, he pointed out "The Way Things Work" and starts explaining what it is, as I slowly turn in my chair and look across my office at my tattered copy the bookshelf... I was the only dork I knew that loved that book as a kid. Awesome!

[@ryebreadreturn1]

Nice!!! Loved that book. Still have it on my bookshelf as well :)

[@Merlin0824]

Volume 2 of these collections covers basically the second half of the 1990 movie and is overall a more cohesive story and definitely worth checking out as well.

[@theotherjared9824]

Shame it got cut short due to circumstances outside of the creator's control, only for image to take over and make it so bizarre that the whole run was struck from canon.

[@willmackinnon9397]

So excited for East Warehouse on Lairdman Island version of the story

[@daelen.cclark]

First time I heard that line was from Sam Rockwell.

[@MugenNiFukuzatsuna]

I love how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is actually just a glorified Daredevil Fanfic.

[@ninjaboy4831]

I love that the Fugitoid's existence brings up the teleportation argument considering he brings up that same theory in the IDW series to Donatello in defense of the concept of reincarnation.

[@The_GeekLeak]

I had to stop and go back for the lobster discussions because that was hysterical

[@Prodbass]

Favorite PART: When you guys are talking about Honeycut being a copy of himself and actually dead vs being transferred into the robot. LOL

[@gnomeknight2311]

Great episode. Also it’s crazy how much the 2000s cartoon adapted from the comic.

[@Dropdeaddonuts]

this may be my favorite back issues episode to date. I always love the more indie episodes!

[@yabbadabbindude]

It amazing how many of the tried and tested idea and concepts were nailed from the very start of the comics. The authors were genuinely very smart and inspired and were on fire and brought out the very best in each other.

[@zombiedempsey135]

Even if you don’t read through the original run there are a few really great runs later on. I’d shout out The River by Rick Veitch as an example - love this series, thank you guys for covering it!

[@CoronetChris]

It's amazing to me, someone who grew up with the 2003 cartoon, just accepts all these shifts in story as classic TMNT lore. But to like Ben and Ethan it's just way out of pocket. Man the 03 cartoon was super loyal, and i love it!

[@teddybeer6206]

Because like 95% of 30-40 year olds, they got introduced to the series via the 1987 series....which was just as weird, if not weirder than the comics.

[@kiptelgat]

As someone who grew up when the 2003 show was airing, I never knew the Uroms were in the original comic and super early. I always thought it was an homage to the 80s cartoon, since I never heard Krang or anyone mention that name in the episodes I saw of the first show.

[@davidesterley3163]

Ethan rocking a beard is amazing plus I do love the coordinated style of clothes, not intentional I'm sure

[@hartthorn]

I would LOVE for y'all to do the Usagi Yojimbo comics. Like, from the versions used in the cartoon, NO ONE will be prepared for what Sakai did in that comic.

[@evankehoe4558]

27:28 This unearthed a memory i forgot i had 😂. I definitely remember having that book at some point.

[@rickfowler3975]

I said this a few years ago I'll say it again. Yall definitely deserves more followers. Such a channel

[@Grievousish]

Im curious to know what everyone's favourite Turtles cartoon is. Personally I love the 2000's show. Leave a reply with yours!

[@daelen.cclark]

I like all of them, but I’ve seen “Rise of TMNT” more recently.

[@tylerbertram7065]

2003 for me

[@IzzysIssues]

2003's series is what introduced me to this wacky world!

[@teddybeer6206]

Even though I grew up with the 1987 series, the 2003 series is by far my favorite TMNT cartoon.

[@mariahbell2302]

2003 for me as well. Pity many ideas like Fast Forward 2 season remained ideas.

[@Yandeezy]

As someone who just realized his knowledge of the OG Turtles only comes from the very 1st issue & the Turtles Forever crossover, it was cool to find out how many of the ideas seen in future adaptations were introduced from the beginning. While it’s a demonstrably 80s concept, TMNT has proven to be quite a versatile and timeless franchise imo

[@johnwerner69]

It would be kinda funny to celebrate the turtles 40th birthday by making a comic where the turtles are 40

[@cybercop0083]

40 Turly-years are about 25 human-years. Since they are male-coded, the turtles would still behave the same as we know them🤷🏻‍♀️

[@johnwerner69]

@@cybercop0083 That's close to my age so that's pretty chill

[@rueblie2627]

There’s a series from the 2000s where they were in their 30s so wouldn’t be a big leap from there

[@galaxy_kitten95]

@@rueblie2627Umm. Are you talking in literal turtle years? The Turtles have always been 15, even the 2003 Turtles despite them acting way older than their age (except for Mikey).

[@rueblie2627]

@@galaxy_kitten95 I think it’s human years, I don’t really remember. The point is they said they were 30.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Great job guys on covering the original teenage mutant ninja turtles it was freaking fantastic and tons of fun.

[@bensneb360]

The original TMNT comics are some of my favorite… talk about comic-bunga lol

[@Hoagie312]

Awesome surprise! I still have the first 4 volumes of the collected colored editions from the 80s. I'm currently on the hunt for the TMNT Adventures Archie series for my son. I had most of the first 24 issues along with the Might Mutanimals mini series but life happened and I'm not sure what happened to them. So far I scored the original 3 issue mini series that leads into the run. I never knew this mini series existed and is the first appearance of their different colored masks along with Bepop, Rocksteady and Krang.

[@kurtoogle4576]

So many fantastic lines in this episode! Love it!

[@chuckwatson1527]

This episode was so fun! The OG Mirage comics are some of my all time favorites. Really hope one day you guys cover Return to New York, and then City at War one day!

[@vicentenavarro1190]

I'm a really huge TMNT fan, to the point that very rarely do I learn anything new from this kind of thing, so I appreciate Comic Pop for telling me about the lobsters

[@logan2b]

These original tmnt comics are insane and beautiful and most importantly super fun and thus iconic

[@polyglotprogrammer]

@comicpop I love these longer episodes. Keep them coming!

[@peacerevolver]

I really wanna see the guys’ reactions to both of Shredder’s resurrections

[@johnk9352]

This was a fantastic episode, and I'm *always* down for more lessons in comic history.

[@EniGmaFactor134]

Wow, I never knew how much of this was adapted into the 2003 series. When you guys got to the gladitorial arena part, the entire space arc season of the show popped back into my head.

[@cristianbumblebee]

My introduction to the turtles was the 2003 cartoon. Listening to this I see so much ideas were taken and adapted into that cartoon.

[@Bubblegob]

OMG that's the episode I was waiting for, I'll watch it religiously I find the original run of the Turtle a fascinating piece of media.

[@thedefinitionisthis]

It seems so… wrong to say the TEENAGE Mutant Ninja Turtles are 40 this year…. *shudders* 😭

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

The years between 8 and 18 pass slower than a snail. The years between 18 and 50 pass faster than a hare with a hotfoot.

[@thedefinitionisthis]

@@nonnayerbusiness7704 That's... too real.

[@MrEnKaye]

"Octopi: smart as hell, and unfortunately delicious."

[@DCPatrol]

This was a hoot! Nice to see something different on the couch! (That said, sorry. I tried a couple with the star wars episode but... I couldn't. But this was awesome! )

[@OutlawKing36]

I am The OutlawKing, and this is my favorite episode of Back issues. I waited years for this and now it's here! Thanks Comic Pop. I was born in 84, didn't read comics until 1991.

[@jayconant3816]

Man I wish I still had my mirage copies from back in the day ...just kick me in the nuts

[@Gronmin]

Honestly I love all the space stuff with the Turtles, it seems weird and like it jumped the shark but it actually works really well

[@knoltate7323]

Oh hell yeah! This is the series that got me serious about comics in 1985 and later when the 90s came around how much comics can suck. Thank you for doing this one.

[@CapLives]

Crazy how many concepts and stories from this stuck. I grew up with the 2003 and 2012 cartoons, so Purple Dragons, Fugitoid, Triceratons, and Utroms are all pretty normal to me. I actually got excited when Sal got to that 😄

[@MrEnKaye]

I can't wait for Sal to talk about worms 😂

[@VanCantian01]

1:19:51 Niiiiiyaactually they are reptiles but wtfc 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Great episode ❤❤❤

[@jordanhamilton2500]

Just in time for my lunch break, thanks guys!

[@benbaragona]

I hope your lunch break is an hour and 45 minutes! Otherwise, it's time to pretend to be on a work-call

[@jameskingman1227]

1:11:50. Lol Ben’s quite joy at his stupid joke. I’d be the same way lol.

[@andrewpragasam]

Awesome episode, guys. One of the funniest ever. But man, I wish you'd also covered the insane time travel arc featuring Cerebus the Aardvark.

[@bradenhogan2]

I like how the Fugitoid speculations literally turned into Alan Moore Swamp Thing

[@ahsunk6537]

As someone who's only really seen the 2003 Turtles show, it's insane just how many ideas from this comic run I can recognize!

[@emperorg9910]

I never realized how fast they go into space from killing Shredder.