The 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series had a lot of weird and obscure pieces, and that was what made it great. From Donatello’s inventions to the cavalcade of human and mutant allies, there was rarely a dull moment. The lineup of menacing, goofy, and just plain weird villains was no different. They added an element of fun, danger, and uncertainty to the show, and the constant rotation of new and exciting characters made sure there was always a challenge for the turtles. While there were too many individual villains to count, these are six of the oddest that proved Shredder and Krang had serious competition for world domination.
Don Turtelli was a New York City mobster and heir to Tony “The Tickler” Turtelli. Turtelli adopted his grandfather’s infamous method for interrogation – tickling his enemies into submission. Followed by his henchmen Rodney and Bruce, Turtelli spent his time trying to collect valuable artifacts, and took several hostages during his appearances, including April O’Neil. While his methods may not seem impressive, Turtelli was the only villain to resort to torture of any kind, making him formidable for even the most seasoned of heroes. Man, women, children, and mutants alike didn’t stand a chance against his tickling, making Don Turtelli the successful crook that he was.
Groundchuck and Dirtbag were just two of the many mutant villains the turtles faced. Created by Rocksteady and Bebop during their own tests, the mutated bull and mole took matters into their own hands, rebelling against Shredder’s goons to attack the turtles on their own. Their thieving ways put countless people in danger, and they even went so far as to threaten an entire city of Turtleoids on the planet Shellri-la. Their villainy quickly surpassed their creators, making Groundchuck and Dirtbag far more effective than Rocksteady and Bebop ever proved to be.
Dirk Savage was a man known for his hunting and tracking abilities, and his skill with taking down larger targets. Because of his talents, Savage became the mutant hunter, believing all those mutated to be evil. He was hired by A.J. Howard, and captured Tokka, Rahzar, Mondo Gecko, and two of the Punk Frogs before heading after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, Savage learned that Howard was a slug mutant himself, and turned on his benefactor, freeing all those he captured and permanently changing his view of mutants in general.
Donatello’s quest for knowledge brought him face-to-face with a villain in the place he’d least suspect: College. Trying to earn his degree from Sopho University, Donatello is mistaken for a girl, and Irma must fill in for him. But he also discovered that Professor Filo Sopho has world destruction on the brain, and so the turtle worked with Irma to bring the megalomaniac down to Earth. Sopho would only appear twice, but the second time included a plan to take out the turtles as well as accomplish his other objectives. Fortunately, Donnie and the others were able to defeat him, too.
Mad Dog McMutt was one of NYC’s most powerful criminals. He had a strong organization that couldn’t be infiltrated no matter how hard the good guys tried. Until, however,Raphael was taken right into the heart of things. No one would take Raph seriously as a master of disguise, so he decided to show off his prowess by challenging the others to pick him out of the crowded park. His mask of choice was Mad Dog, but it worked a little too well. Raph was taken back to Mad Dog’s hideout, while the real criminal was escorted to the turtles’ lair. With Mad Dog’s goons planning a major heist, Raphael has no choice but to go along and stop them, thwarting the effort, but unable to take down the boss.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles faced countless obscure villains, and very few of them stood a chance. But once in a while, that really odd bad guy managed to put a plan into action. Fortunately for Earth it didn’t matter how strong or out there the villains were, because the mutant heroes of NYC made sure they never stood a chance.
1 comment
I remember the Rat King. Now that was an evil, almost scary villain. His voice was creepy, the fact he hung out in the sewers and commanded a rat army (probably cuz I got something against rats, Splinter excepted of course.). He was just one creepy, yer ingenious bad guy who nearly got the best of the Tuetles.
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