Everyone is talking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but what are they really all about? We have pulled together some information about the TMNT so you can look cool when you talk to your children or grandchildren regarding these ninja warriors.

Most of the crime-fighting super heroes lead lives of solitude and loneliness, their contact with humans limited to hiding their identity behind masked disguises or being the unsuspecting anti-hero in real life. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles break out of that stereotype by working together as a foursome unit, demonstrating the notion that saving the world isn’t an individual endeavor.

Commonly referred to as Heroes in a Half Shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originated from a comic book, which became a cartoon series, then a film and later a video game. Immensely popular, they expanded into toy merchandising. During TMNT peak popularity in the 1980s, their images could be found on Pez dispensers, linens, towels, cameras, skateboards, breakfast cereal, school supplies and even toy shaving kits. Turtle Power was everywhere!

Unlike the dark and gritty tone of the comic book series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television show was light-hearted and funny, helping it last for 10 seasons! Children gravitated towards these TMNT sewer dwellers in droves. Similar to other super heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles battle evil overlords, petty criminals, alien invaders and other mutated animals. But it isn’t the TMNT strength and brute force that helps them win, it’s their stealth maneuvers of ninjutsu training and bonds of brotherhood that get them out of precarious predicaments.

Like many of the 80s trends, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made a comeback onto the big screen this year with a new TMNT movie. You can see these Renaissance artist-named turtles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello, under the tutelage of the sensei rat Splinter, take on the evil kingpin Shredder, who of course, wants to take over New York City.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Characters or TMNT Cheat Sheet

If you don’t know anything about this quartet of mutated humanoid warriors, here is a brief overview of who the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) really are:

	LEONARDO	MICHELANGELO	RAPHAEL	DONATELLO
Nickname	Leo	Mike or Mikey	Raph	Don or Donnie
Mask Color	Blue	Orange	Red	Purple
Weapon of Choice	Swords	Nunchakus	Pair of Sai	Bo Staff
Personality	Courageous leader and authoritative, bearing most of the responsibility of the TMNT	Adventurous, laid-back pizza lover who provides comic relief as an easy-going jokester	Sarcastic, can be a strong and aggressive hothead, but is intensely loyal	Technological guru who prefers to solve conflicts with knowledge rather than violence

Get in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spirit by serving sewer water (Green River soda), sewer slime (add gummy worms to green Jello) and sewer lids (prop open Oreos and put green gumballs inside to represent the TMNT) to your family for fun!

We have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fever as well and carry personalized Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello ornaments ready for your home! Our personalized TMNT ornaments are made of shatterproof material so that they are safe for children to hang on the tree. Get yours today while supplies last!