Character Spotlight: Antonio Puzorelli

Continuity's a funny thing. Sometimes things are canon at one point and later ruled not canon (and vice-versa!). This can happen for all sorts of reasons. For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles volume 3, it happened because the creators weren't involved.

See, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for Mirage, their independent comics company. TMNT quickly became a media powerhouse so Eastman and Laird were pulled away from the comic fairly early on (issue 11 was the last one they both worked on until issue 50). Presumably as part of that, Mirage started a second volume of the series, written by Jim Lawson, that ran for two years. In 1996, Image Comics published volume 3 and made it part of the Image Universe, but when Peter Laird and Jim Lawson partnered to make a new volume in 2001, they decided to ignore the events of volume 3, since it didn't have any input from Laird or Eastman. Therefore, this blog treats volume 3 as an adaptation like any other.

And that brings us to our point. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vol. 3 #7 (December 1996) introduced a gangster named Antoine "Big Tony" Puzorelli. He is the grandfather of Shadow, Casey Jones's adopted daughter, and he hired the Foot to find her and return her.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #25 (August 2013), we meet Antonio Puzorelli, a Mafia don who tried to broker peace during a turf war between the Foot and the Savate. He did not appear again until #93 (April 2019), which is when his last name was used for the first time and his connection to Big Tony made clear.

Character Spotlight: Gyoji

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can occasionally be tricky in terms of canon immigrants because there are TWO official continuities: there's the original Mirage Comics continuity that ran off and on between 1984 and 2009, and there's the IDW continuity that ran from 2011 to present. For the most part, it's not a big deal: while Mirage was mainly interested in doing its own thing, IDW seems to want to pull in as many details as possible from every other continuity to create a single unified Ninja Turtles story. Therefore, whenever TMNT canon immigrants appear on this blog, it's safe to assume they're appearing in the IDW version. Imagine my surprise, then, when I learned this one happened in the Mirage continuity.

I've covered the Battle Nexus before, but a brief recap: the Battle Nexus is a cross-dimensional tournament that first appeared in the 2003 animated series but then was introduced into both the Mirage and IDW continuities.

But we're not here to talk about the Battle Nexus (yet), we're here to talk about Gyoji. Gyoji is a masked being who first appeared in the 2003 series episode, "The Ultimate Ninja" (February 2004), to referee a fight between Leonardo and the titular "Ultimate Ninja", aka Ue-sama. There is an air of mystery around Gyoji and why he appeared, especially once its revealed Ue-sama is from another dimension and from the same species as Gyoji's master, a species that claims to have taught humans ninjutsu. Splinter seems to know more about all this than he lets on.

Of course, this is all a set up for the four-part season finale, "The Big Brawl" (May - October 2004), which introduces us to the Battle Nexus. It's then we learn that Gyoji is the Battle Nexus's referee. 

When the Battle Nexus started appearing in TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gyoji came with it, although now his name is spelled "Gyogi". He first appeared in issue 29 (February 2008).

Team Spotlight: Earth Protection Force

I haven't had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles post in a while, and the reason for that is that my main source for them, TMNT Entity, is no longer active. So while I used to be able to count on it to regularly update about the new issues and all the intricate continuity and connections to other Ninja Turtles media, I don't have that anymore.

I was able to find this one on my own, but most canon immigrants aren't major enough to make it into story synopses. If you ever see one in the IDW TMNT series that I haven't featured yet, be sure to let me know!

Anyway, the Earth Protection Force originated in the 2003 animated series. They were a black ops unit created by President Ulysses S. Grant and led by Agent John Bishop, with the goal of protecting Earth from alien invaders. I can't find a specific first appearance for them, but Bishop first appears in "Space Invaders, part 2" (October 2004), so I'm going to assume the organization does as well.

They later appeared in the 2012 animated series in "The Invasion, Part 2" (September 2014), almost exactly ten years later. Bishop is still a member, and presumably they have the same role in this continuity, although on this show they fight a Kraang invasion, while in the 2003 show, they fight a Triceraton invasion.

Bishop has been appearing in the comics for a while now, so it makes sense the Earth Protection Force would come along at some point too. In fact, it didn't take that long: he first appeared in January 2016, and their first appearance was in August 2016 in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1, an anthology series.

Character Spotlight: Irma

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: Irma!

Irma was a mainstay of the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. She first appeared in the episode "Return of the Shredder" (October 1988) as Burne's secretary and April's best friend, and is one of the few humans that knows about the Turtles.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #83 (June 2018), Irma Langenstein appears as a Channel 6 news reporter.

For right now, as far as I know, it's just a cameo. But small details become important later on in this series all the time, so you never know!

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.

Team Spotlight: Gang of Four

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: the Gang of Four!

This is an exciting one because they're actually a DOUBLE canon immigrant. The Gang of Four as they originally appeared are a group of cyborgs named Waster, Fist, Lynch, and Dead Eye that work for Null. Specifically, they're reanimated corpses augmented with mechanical parts. They first appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #48 (September 1993), but three of them were created for a Mutanimals animated series that never happened, although they had different names. Waster was called Executor:

Lynch was called Gunskull:

And Deadeye was called Guzzler:

They're pretty silly characters, but they are notable for one thing: killing the Mutanimals.

Which makes it pretty ominous that they - or a version of them - appeared in a Mutanimals-focused story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #11 (June 2017).

As you can see, they're quite different. Although they have the same names (although Deadeye has been renamed Dead Aim) - and in fact that's the only way we know they're the same characters since they don't call themselves the Gang of Four - they are now cyborg werewolves. But they still work for Null.

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: Jagwar (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: Jagwar!

I've talked about Jagwar before on this blog, so you can go there to read more about him (short version: he was an unproduced toy idea that was included in the animated spin-off comic), but it was a little different. In that instance, he only appeared in an alternate reality that represented the animated universe, so he was only technically a canon immigrant. But he is now an official, full-fledged canon immigrant.

In IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #71 (June 2017), Jagwar appears - as a female this time. Instead of being a Mutanimal, she's a member of the Pantheon, a family of mostly-animalistic gods.