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Facts about Slash!

by Kyle Tobey
written by Kyle Tobey

Slash and Metalhead were my 2 favorite toys when I was little.

They were both still “Ninja Turtles” but looked even more weird and gross. (Yes, I know they aren’t actual Ninja Turtles but I was 4. Slash, Metalhead, Krang and Leatherhead were all Ninja Turtles to me.)

Both of which are still my favorite characters. The new Kevin Eastman artwork for Slash is my current wallpaper for my phone. One would think I should have my fiancee in that spot, and she would agree. But it’s Slash! He’s weird, teal, and all around awesome.

Here are some facts about Slash!

Slash’s 1st appearance – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #23

Slash 1st appeared in the Archie comics series in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #23 – “Search and Destroy” as part of a snapping turtle alien species. He lived on a tropical planet that was destroyed by alien invaders.

Slash died when he refused to leave Maligna’s hive which was crashing into the sun in order to make sure Maligna and Null didn’t escape. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kid Terra, April O’Neil, Oyuki, the future TMNT, Ninjara, Splinter and a couple others held a funeral for him and honored Slash as the fifth Ninja Turtle in a sunset memorial ceremony.

Slash has demonstrated super-strength, invulnerability, and expertise skills with a katana, bo, sai, and nunchaku.

He is adept with every weapon that the TMNT wields, as well as Pantera claws similar to those used by Shredder.

Image property of IDW Publishing

In the IDW series he was an experiment of Stockgen. His immense strength and low IQ could cause him to break out of his cage and then wander the streets causing destruction.  He is named “Slash” by the media for leaving slash marks on objects he comes across.

Originally Slash’s intelligence was very low in the IDW series, but after receiving another dose of mutagen; he displays great intelligence not only being able to understand scientific explanations, but easily understands directions on how to by-pass Donatello’s tight security programs.

Slash appears in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series as Bebop’s pet!

He and Rocksteady mutated Slash in order to complete tasks Shredder assigns them that they don’t want to do.

However, in the 2012 series, Slash appears first as Spike, the turtle pet of Raphael. In the episode “Slash and Destroy” (the title of the episode was a homage to the title of his first comic book appearance which was titled “Search and Destroy”) Spike mutated into Slash.

Spike, Raphael’s pet turtle, in the 2012 series

Slash, still technically Raph’s pet.

He later resurfaces as a vigilante fighting the Kraang, and became an ally to the TMNT. The TMNT offer him a place on the team, but he declines, stating that he works better alone, but thanked them for the offer.

Slash is sometimes referred to as “The Fifth Turtle.” However, he’s not the only one. “Kirby” was to be set to be introduced in an unmade 4th live action TMNT movie. It was going to be much more adult oriented, and was scrapped after the lackluster performance of the 3rd film. Another fifth turtle is Venus De Milo from Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. She was hated by both critics and fans alike, and Peter Laid himself regrets her to this day.

Unfortunately, Slash is rarely featured in collectibles.

His first appearance was in 1990, and not again until Playmates released another in 2014.

Slash appears as a boss in both the NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project and in the Super Nintendo version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. He appears as a boss at the end of the prehistoric level, which he is considered one of the games most difficult bosses as he blocks most of the player’s attacks. Slash replaces Cement Man, who was featured in the arcade version.

The back of his card on the 1990 action figure reads-

Accessories: Nasty Nunchuku, Psycho Sai, Mutant Mace, Twisted Turtle Belt, Razor-spiked Gnarly Knife

Birthplace: Universe Number 9, Dimension X

Height: 6 ft. (from spike to spur)

Weight:’ 200 lbs. (with a heavy attitude problem)

Favorite Food: Anything but pizza

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Delivery or Pickup – New Releases 5/31/2017: Adventures Aplenty!

by Dan Gehen
written by Dan Gehen

Two new releases from IDW come out this week, both involving cartoon incarnations of the Turtles, in both modern and vintage styles. So let’s take a look at this week’s solicits:

TMNT Amazing Adventures: Robotanimals! #1

Caleb Goellner (w) • Chad Thomas (a & c)

Baxter Stockman is looking to become the new major villain on the streets! His first step to world domination? Turn the Mutanimals into robots!!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points: 

  • All-ages three issue mega-story!
  • If you dug the Batman/TMNT Adventures books, you’ll get a major kick out of the next adventures of the TMNT from the current Nickelodeon cartoon!
  • Variant cover by Ryan Jampole!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures Vol. 13

Dean Clarrain (w) • Chris Allan (a) • Steve Lavigne (c)

The all-ages action continues in this collection of TMNT Adventures! Collects issues #55-57 of the Archie Comics series and the back-up Mutanimals comics.

TPB • FC • $19.99 • 120 pages • 7” x 10.187” • ISBN: 978-1-63140-885-4

Bullet points: 

  • Relive the fun and adventure of the TMNT you knew as a kid!
  • Advance solicited for May release!
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The Mighty Mutaniamls – The “Mutant” Team

by Zach Gasior
written by Zach Gasior

The Mighty Mutanimals

When Archie Comics set out to make a few extra bucks on a TMNT spinoff comic, no one could have predicted that everyone on the mutant team would die when the book was cancelled.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to the Mighty Mutanimals in 1993.  However, just because the lives of those mutants had to end (as well as their time in the comic world), doesn’t mean they don’t stand out as characters worth remembering.

           

Mondo Gecko’s story started with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, when the lizard fell into the same exact mutagen puddle.  While Splinter found the four brothers, a man named Mr. X picked up Mondo.   Mr. X was a bank robber that taught the mutated lizard to follow in his footsteps, and Mondo did so without objection until he met Michelangelo.  Mikey convinced Mondo Gecko to give up his criminal ways, and together they stopped Mr. X for good.  With nowhere to go, Mondo accompanied Mikey to the sewers, and moved in next door to his new friends.

           

Dreadmon hailed from South Africa, where he lived with his father.  However, when revolution took hold in his country, Dreadmon was sent to Jamaica to be with his mother.  To get by, the boy was forced to steal.  Unfortunately, his sticky fingers got the better of him when he pilfered a magic talisman that turned him into a wolf with super speed.  Jagwar, who also came from Africa, was the son of a human woman named Juntarra and the Jaguar Spirit of his homeland.  On his own since the age of twelve, Jagwar eventually met the Ninja Turtles, helping them rescue April O’Neil from the lost Tepui mine, before finally joining the Mutanimals team.

           

Leatherhead began life as a man named Jess Harley living deep in a swamp.  While in most versions he is a crocodile that comes into contact with mutagen, the Archie Comics version (and thus, the one that joined the Mighty Mutanimals) was cursed by the witch Mary Bones, who used the Turnstone to make him a gator-man.  Shredder later tricks Leatherhead into working for him, but when the mutant discovers Shredder’s villainy, he starts fighting against evil with his other mutant friends.

           

Wingnut and Screwloose were aliens from the planet Huanu.  However, Krang destroyed their home world, and the two were forced to flee to Earth through a dimensional vortex.  When they arrived, they searched frantically for Krang, seeking revenge, but found the Ninja Turtles instead.  The turtles were able to subdue the pair, and after explaining the situation, Wingnut and Screwloose left Earth to compete in an intergalactic wrestling tournament and find a way to stop Krang.  While they were gone, they met up with the other Mutanimals, and formed their new team.

           

Ray Fillet was once known as Jack Finney, an aquarium worker in New Jersey who showed particular fondness for manta rays.  After a chance meeting with the turtles, Finney went to investigate some illegal dumping activity in a local sewer pipe.  However, he was trapped in an overflow (that contained mutagen), and carried out to sea, where he was transformed into the Man Ray, Ray Fillet.  In his new form, Ray could summon and communicate with marine life, and his desire to save the oceans was even stronger than before.

           

The most interesting part about the Mighty Mutanimals is that the casual observer would expect them all to be mutants created in similar ways to the Ninja Turtles.  However, only two members were.  Magic spells, alien creatures, and mystic unions were the origins of the rest, and that would have given this team a very unique aspect if their own television show had been allowed to move forward.  There would have been countless different story lines that could have played out, and the Mighty Mutanimals could have become a successful franchise it its own right.  Unfortunately, the group was never to be, but hopefully the concept will be revived someday.

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The Mighty Mutanimals – Inception and Cancellation

by Zach Gasior
written by Zach Gasior

With the unparalleled success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, including a popular television cartoon and two comic series, Archie Comics wanted to capitalize further.  In the Spring of 1991, a mini-series was created starring several of the turtles’ most notable allies.  So Dreadmon, Jagwar, Leatherhead, Mondo Gecko, Ray Fillet, Wingnut, and Screwloose became a new mutant hero team called the Mighty Mutanimals.

 

the mighty mutanimalsWith the limited success of the mini-series, Archie Comics printed a new book for the Mighty Mutanimals in April 1992.  All of the mutant characters had their starts in either the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic or the 1987 cartoon.  Mondo Gecko was a friend of Michelangelo’s, while Wingnut and Screwloose first served as villains in the TV show.  The Mighty Mutanimals ran for nine more issues until 1993, when low sales caused the book to be cancelled, and the new heroes were relegated back to the comic from which they came.  In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures issues 48-54, the team was given a 7-part backup series to finish their own storyline, though.

 

This new series marked the beginning of the “Megadeath” Arc, and was combined with the “Future Shark” trilogy of the TMNT comic to round out the Mutanimals’ story.  Unfortunately, the writers felt the way to do this was to have the evil Gang of Four assassinate the members of the Mutanimals one by one, until no one remained, even though it happened during a time travel story, and everyone could have remained alive at the end.  The creators wanted to set a particular tone for their characters, and avoid having these mutants become second string, forgotten to the annals of comic lore.  (However, the deaths of Jagwar and Dreadmon were actually planned out well before the cancellation, and they were to be replaced with Slash and Metalhead.)

 

During their limited stories, the Mutanimals had several allies make appearances, beyond the ninja turtles and their rat master, Splinter.  Other friends of the team included Mondo Gecko’s girlfriend, Candy Fine; Raphael’s special vixen lady friend, Ninjara; the evil turtle Slash; GlubLubs; Kid Terra; and Merdude.  Of all these characters, Slash was the most notable, as he was supposed to be a Mutanimal.  However, he too was killed off shortly after the Mutanimal massacre, leading to an even greater lasting impression of the team in TMNT lore.

 

The success that this new team was predicted to have led to Mirage Studios even creating a TV pitch in 1992.  The new cartoon would see Ninjara added to the team as a female member, and the Mighty Mutanimals would battle Krang as he tried to take over the universe.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have occasional guest appearances, but would stick to their own series so that these new mutants could have their day in the sun.  While a character/animation bible was created, there was very little interest from Ruby-Spears Productions, and the pitch never became anything more than just that.  While no one will ever know for sure, a television show may have been just what the Mighty Mutanimals needed to stay alive (with the TMNT audience already built in), both economically and literally.

 

the mighty mutanimals 2The Mighty Mutanimals as a TMNT spinoff had something special.  They were the best of the best from the turtles’ rouge and ally galleries, and had several factor that the turtles were missing, like different creations and drastically conflicting personalities.  They provided a sense of adventure that was sometimes missing from the 1987 cartoon and the Archie Comics TMNT incarnations.  While the Mutanimals may have never achieved the same success as their all-reptile counterpart, they were also arguably never given the chance to succeed.  The book wasn’t given a chance to do anything amazing, and the TV show never got off the ground, so how was this new team supposed to succeed in the first place?  Ultimately, the Mighty Mutanimals simply become another part of the cast of TMNT characters, where they will always remain.  Stay tuned next week for a look at all the members of the team, and what they brought to the Mutanimals during their short lives.

 

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