Character Spotlight: Ch’rell

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: Ch’rell!

One of the great things about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is that each new adaptation feels free to do its own thing. And it's only with that freedom that we could get a character like Ch'rell.

Ch'rell was introduced by the 2003 animated series in the episode "Secret Origins, Part 1" (January 2004). In the episode, the Turtles are trying to learn how an alien race called the Utroms got to Earth, and they discovered it was because a Utrom ship passed by Earth while transporting an evil Utrom named Ch'rell, but the ship malfunctions and they crash land in 11th century Japan. Ch'rell escapes and steals an exosuit from another Utrom. It is also in this episode where the Turtles discover there was a Shredder that long ago as well. The next episode doesn't have that much information except that Shredder returns despite being previously decapitated, which is a clue to the big reveal of "Secret Origins, Part 3" (January 2004): Ch'rell has been Shredder the whole time! Not just from the beginning of the show, but since the 11th century.

Ch'rell has not been that active in the comics, unfortunately. We first meet him in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #56 (March 2016) - or more specifically, we don't meet him, because the whole plot is that while he's one of many Utroms that are kept in stasis and there's talk of waking all of them, the characters end up waking all the Utroms except Ch'rell because he's at least as dangerous as Krang.

Two years later, that changed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #22 (May 2018).

Where will he go from here? Will he take Krang's place in the narrative? Will he become the new Shredder? Will he take over a Triceraton's body like an abandoned plot from the 2003 series was going to have him do? I don't know, and knowing IDW, it might take four years to find out.

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.

TMNT: Dimension X #3. Just...All of It.

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: Dimension X #3. Just...all of it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Dimension X (2017) is exactly what it sounds like - a miniseries about the Turtles traveling through Dimension X. In issue 3 (August 2017), they come across a wrestling planet run by two aliens named Stump and Sling...

...get roped into a wrestling competition where Leonardo dresses like a samurai and they fight an alien named Cryin' Houn'...

...Michelangelo wrestles a creature named Antrax the Executioner...

...and Michelangelo uses the word "cowabunga!"

This whole story is a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #7 (December 1989), where Cudley the Cowlick takes the Turtles to a Dimension X wrestling planet run by Stump and Sling...

...get roped into a wrestling competition where Leonardo dresses like a samurai...

...and their match is against an alien named Cryin' Houn' (who, admittedly, is much different in this version).

As for Antrax, he is a denizen of Dimension X that appeared in the toyline in 1991 as Krang's executioner. He has also appeared in the 80s cartoon and other adaptations, but he's different in each of them.

As for "Cowabunga!", that's a word famously used by the Turtles in the 80s cartoon, and the comics' Turtles at the time would never have been caught dead saying it.

Character Spotlight: Shibano-Sama

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: Shibano-Sama!

Full disclosure: this entry relies on multiversal shenanigans, so is not technically a "true" canon immigrant. However, numerous previous posts will show that this blog counts these cases, since it's still a confirmation in the original property that these new characters exist in some form. Or to look at it another way, this part of the story wouldn't exist were it not for the adaptation, so it counts.

Anyway, in TMNT/Ghostbusters 2 #2 (November 2017), the teams have split off into pairs and are hopping through the multiverse in order to keep from being found by the villain of the miniseries. In one scene, Winston and Leonardo find themselves in the world of the Fred Wolf animated series from the 80s, and meet a skull-faced ghost who they quickly bust.

This skeletal spectre is the ghost of Shibano-Sama, who appeared in the episode "Blast From the Past" (1989). In the episode, we learn that Shibano was the founder of the Foot Clan, and Shredder awakens his ghost using a combination of a special scroll and Shibano's urn. However, once Splinter proves himself as the true leader of the Foot, Shibano turns on Shredder and then returns to rest.

Side note 1: Despite being a crossover, this miniseries is fully in continuity with both IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and IDW's Ghostbusters. Otherwise I wouldn't have featured it.

Side note 2: Leonardo is depicted here in his 80s cartoon form, which runs counter to how dimensional travel has otherwise been depicted in the Ninja Turtles multiverse (cf. Turtles Forever or "Trans-Dimensional Turtles"). Normally the Turtles retain their design regardless of what world they're in.

Character Spotlight: Ace Duck

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: Ace Duck!

Ace Duck is an interesting character because he always gets the chance to touch Ninja Turtles continuities, but never gets to hold on and make an impact. He was first created by Peter Laird in 1988 when Playmates asked for new characters for the Ninja Turtles toy line:

Playmates changed his look a bit and gave him the name Ace when they released his figure the following year.

In November 1989, he made a cameo in the 1987 series, but he was a fictional character on a tv show so he never interacted with the Turtles.

He made his comics debut in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #7 the following month, and despite nominally taking place within the animated series continuity, this comic had a much different version of Ace that was a pro wrestler on a distant planet.

He was mentioned as an idea for a henchman in the 2012 animated series in the episode "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman" (2014), but never actually seen.

And then he appeared in the IDW series in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Dimension X #4 (August 2017) where he was a witness that the Ninja Turtles were looking for.

Whether he'll continue to show up remains to be seen, but it would be cool!

Location Spotlight: Palmadise

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: Palmadise!

Palmadise is an alien world in Dimension X that first appeared in the Archie series Mighty Mutanimals #9 (June 1993). It's the homeworld of Slash in that continuity, and it was covered in palm trees until they were all cut down to build the president's mansion.

IDW's Palmadise is...a little bit different. Debuting in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Dimension X #4 (August 2017), it's still a world in Dimension X - as you can tell by the name - but instead of being an unspoiled tropical paradise...

...it's Space Vegas.

Character Spotlight: Tatsu (sort of)

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: Not Tatsu!

In TMNT Universe #12 (July 2017), Karai runs afoul of a biker chick who shoots her in the shoulder. Later, it turns out the girl, named Natsu, is the granddaughter of one of Karai's new business partners.

Now, there's no character from the movies or tv shows named Natsu. But there is a Tatsu.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989), Tatsu is Shredder's right hand man and helps train the Foot members. Originally, Natsu was supposed to be Tatsu, but the writer discovered he was not able to use the character. So here's the interesting question: will Natsu grow into a role similar to Tatsu? Or will she be her own thing? After all, Karai is currently in charge of the Foot, so it's very possible Natsu could become her second-in-command. But she could also go in a completely different direction, such as taking over the Purple Dragons or something.

Either way, she was originally meant to be Tatsu, and she's in a position that she could take a similar role as him, so I'm going to count it.

Character Spotlight: Dreadmon (IDW)

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: Dreadmon!

I've spotlighted Dreadmon before, but it only sort of counted because he was seen in what was clearly meant to be an alternate reality representing the animated universe. This time it's a true blue canon immigrant.

Dreadmon, in case you didn't click through earlier, Dreadmon first appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #15 (September 1990). Despite going on to become a Mutanimal, he's not actually a mutant. He was turned into a wolf creature by a magical talisman.

Dreadmon later debuted in IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #11 (June 2017). This Dreadmon is a jackal-mutant who grew up as a child soldier in the Congo. The Gang of Four is sent to collect him, but offers him the option of joining their team (and being made a cyborg in the process) instead of whatever other fate awaits him. He declines. Later the Mutanimals offer him a spot on their team, but he declines them too because he's tired of being a soldier.

Character Spotlight: Manmoth

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: Manmoth!

Manmoth first appeared in TMNT Meet Archie #1 (1991) as a caveman who was found frozen in a block of ice by the Shredder. He performed an experiment that accidentally combined the DNA of the caveman with the DNA from the mammoth pelt he was wearing, turning him into Manmoth. He later appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #41 (February 1993), which takes place a couple months later.

In IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #71 (June 2017), Manmoth is introduced as a member of the Pantheon, a family of deities that reign over animals. We talked about his sister, Jagwar, two weeks ago.

Character Spotlight: Gorath

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: Gorath!

This is a weird one, folks. Gorath is an alien who appeared in the Battle Nexus Tournament beginning in "The Big Brawl, Part 2" (2004).

He later appeared in IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #74 (September 2017). Only this time, he's a...judge? He presided over Krang's trial until he was killed.

Character Spotlight: Vernon Fenwick

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: Vernon Fenwick!

Vernon - or Vern, as he was often called - was a creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, who first appeared in the pilot (1987). As the Channel 6 cameraman, he usually accompanied April O'Neil on stories, although he often played the role of antagonist by blaming the Turtles for things they didn't do.

He later appeared in IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #78 (January 2017). Although not officially named, the character is a Channel 6 cameraman who accompanies Burne Thompson, who is also a character from the animated series.

In keeping with IDW's philosophy of pulling from all parts of TMNT history, this version of Vern (if indeed that's who he is) more closely resembles Vern as played by Will Arnett in the recent pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films that came out in 2014 and 2016.

Character Spotlight: Wyrm

Last summer I spent 30 days addressing all the canon immigrants in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles world. You wouldn't think an independent comic that doesn't think too highly of most of its adaptations would have many immigrants, but it does - especially since the current IDW run is trying to distill every previous run into something new that all works together. And from what I've seen, they've been doing a pretty good job of it.

Of course, as the series is still running, it can still introduce new canon immigrants, and that brings me to Wyrm!

Wyrm is a mutant that originated as a group of worms that came across a broken canister of mutagen (the same canister as the Turtles? Who can say) and developed a hive mind and the ability to form into a body. He first appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #6 (January 2017), and you can't quite tell from the picture, but Wyrm is an updated version of this character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #10 (May 1990):

This Wyrm is a mutant leech who wants to drain the Turtles of their mutated blood. But it's not so strange that he looks different, because he also looked very different when he became an action figure in 1991:

Of course, the action figure's backstory is different too, as he started out as a garbage man who was mutated into a leech, or worm, or something. He doesn't really look like either one.

Anyway, the yellow one later revealed he could break into individual worms as well, so the IDW Wyrm is following from that. The hive mind is new, though.

Character Spotlight: Agent Dolls

Wynonna Earp is a weird western series of miniseries about Wyatt Earp's great-great-granddaughter, who belongs to a special division of the US Marshalls that deals with paranormal crime. The series has been around at different times since 1996, but in 2016, it was adapted into a show on SyFy.

The show plays with the premise a bit. Whereas the comic travels all over the west and deals with a variety of strangeness, the tv is set in the town of Purgatory, which Wynonna has to protect from the Revenants, the ghosts of the 77 people Wyatt Earp killed with his magic gun, the Peacemaker. The show also gives a partner to Wynonna named Xavier Dolls, and somehow includes Doc Holliday as a character.

2016 also saw the release of a new comic miniseries, and you can easily see they were willing to make changes to better match the show.

One of those changes was the inclusion of Agent Dolls. He first appears in Wynonna Earp #1 (February 2016), only in the comic, Dolls is Earp's superior officer.

Note: Although Wynonna Earp did not premier on SyFy until July 2016, while the 2016 comic series debuted in February, SyFy bought the rights to the series in July 2015 and the show went into production in September 2015 with an automatic 13-episode order.