Character Spotlight: Maligna (and the Malignoids)

The current run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics by IDW is trying to more or less be the definitive TMNT story by synthesizing all the Ninja Turtles media that came before it. As such, that means it has had a ton of canon immigrants and will continue to have many more.

This week: Maligna (and the Malignoids)!

Maligna is an alien insectoid who's the queen of the Malignoids, a race of insects implied to all be her children. They first appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #12 (July 1990) when Krang wants to borrow ten of her soldiers in exchange for showing her the planet Earth. Maligna and the Malignoids made several more appearances in that series, and were even going to be recurring protagonists in the Mighty Mutanimals cartoon, but it never got made.

She didn't appear again until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #73 (August 2017) when it was mentioned she was filling the void left by Krang (ecause he was on trial).

She hasn't appeared again, but this series plays the long game. She'll pop up again when you least expect it.