Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a theme, officially first released in 2013, although it was available in stores in some areas as early as December 2012. It is based on the Nickelodeon TV show that premiered on September 29th, 2012 in the US, which in turn is based on the Mirage comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Seven more sets were released in 2014, with three being based on the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.^[1]

Background

Season 1

Ninjutsu master Hamato Yoshi (Splinter) is carrying his four pet turtles through the streets of New York City when he encounters members of an alien race called the Kraang. During an altercation with these aliens, Hamato and the turtles are exposed to their chemical, called Mutagen, and undergo major mutations. Hamato becomes a humanoid rat and the turtles become human/turtle hybrids. Splinter retreats to the New York City sewers, where he raises the four turtles as his sons and imparts to them his knowledge of ninjutsu.

Now teenagers, the Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo) venture to the surface for the first time and learn that the Kraang is using the mutagen as part of their plan to take over New York City. The Turtles befriend the teenage April O'Neil after she and her psychologist father Kirby are abducted by the Kraang. Donatello, who has developed a crush her, is able to save her, and while Kirby remains a prisoner of the Kraang, April becomes an ally of the Turtles as they help her to find out where the Kraang have taken her father.

Meanwhile, upon learning of Splinter and the Turtle's presence in New York, Splinter's adoptive brother and long-time enemy, Oroku Saki (Shredder), orders his Foot Clan to track down Splinter and his sons, and put an end to their clan. This family feud has the consequence of two of Shredder's deciples, world-famous martial arts star Chris Bradford and Brazilian street thug Xever Montes, getting mutated by Mutagen from one of the Kraang's Mutagen bombs into Dogpound (later Rahzar) and Fishface, and after Shredder learns of the Kraang's presence through his adopted daughter Karai, he has the Foot Clan enter an alliance with the aliens to destroy their mutual enemies in the Hamato Clan.

The Turtles soon discover the Kraang and their leader, Kraang Prime, have come to Earth from Dimension X and built their headquarters within a company called TCRI to use the Mutagen and a set of psychic Kraang-like powers that April was born with to convert the Earth into a planet suitable for their race. After the Turtles finally rescue Kirby, the Kraang invade New York using their mothership, the Technodrome, but the Turtles and April emerge triumphantly as they send the Technadrome crashing into the sea. Sent by his sons to confront Shredder, Splinter learns that Karai is actually his own daughter, Miwa, who Shredder had kidnapped after his last battle with Splinter in Japan. depressed, he returns to the Turtles to celebrate their victory, promising to tell them the surprise he got from Shredder later.

Season 2

The Turtles struggle to contain an outbreak of mutations that occurs thanks to them accidentally spilling the leftover Mutagen from the thwarted Kraang invasion for the Kraang. Kirby becomes one of the victims in the outbreak, causing April to become very disappointed and upset with the Turtles and break off her friendship with them. However, the Turtles earn her forgiveness when they save her from Karai, who has taken temporary command of the Foot Clan while Shredder is away in Japan. With April came her new friend Casey Jones, who helps Raphael repel a Foot Clan assault on the Turtle lair. Kirby is eventually restored to his human form when Donatello is able to construct another Kraang chemical, called Retro-Mutagen, and helps the other Turtles and April keep it away from former TCRI inventor Baxter Stockman, who was mutated into Stockman-Fly while employed by Shredder to make a perfect mutant army.

Meanwhile, Shredder returns from Japan with mutated Japanese bounty hunter Tiger Claw as his new second-in-command. While helping Tiger Claw fight the Turtles, Karai is informed of her true past by Leonardo, who had a crush on her since Season 1, but she is too reluctant to except it. When she is taken to the Turtle lair, she finally realizes the truth and disowns Shredder, who responds by imprisoning her. After the Turtles succeed in rescuing her, Shredder captures Karai again and uses her as bait for a trap that involves the Turtles mutating into snakes and unknowingly eating Splinter up. However, Karai ends up mutated instead, to everyone's horror.

In response to this, Shredder makes a full alliance with the Kraang, who have finally perfected their Mutagen, and help them launch a second invasion on New York, starting with the destruction of the Turtle lair once the Kraang find it, forcing the Turtles to abandon it. The Kraang begin the city's entire population, including Kirby, despite Earth's military and the Turtle's efforts to stop them. Leonardo is gravely wounded after being ambushed by the Foot Clan, and Splinter is seemingly killed during a battle with Shredder. As a result, Turtles, April and Casey are forced to flee the city as the Kraang successfully conquer it.

Season 3

The group takes refuge at the O'Neil family's summer home upstate in Northampton, New York in order to recuperate from their loss at the hands of the Kraang and the Foot Clan. Leonardo takes an extended amount of time to recover, but guided by an apparition of Splinter, is able to overcome his physical and mental wounds.

The group eventually returns to the city with the goal of finding Splinter, Karai, Kirby, and their other missing allies, and liberate the city from the Kraang. They are successful in finding Splinter, and set up a temporary base in the abandoned Antonio's Pizza while Donatello works on perfecting his Retro-Mutagen for them to retro-mutate the Kraang-enslaved humans as the search for Karai and Kirby continues.

Meanwhile, Shredder mutates Russian arms dealer Ivan Steranko and his only known disciple, international master thief Anton Zeck, into Bebop and Rocksteady for stealing the Kuro Kabuto (Shredder's legendary helmet) and hunting Karai as a bargaining chip for the securing of their safe departure from the Kraang-taken city and assigns them to find her again. However, the duo withdraw from the mission to get revenge on the Turtles, who were also searching for Karai. This results with them unwittingly leading Bebop and Rocksteady to her so that they could recapture her behind their backs (which they the duo successfully did) and sneak her back to Shredder, who promises to cure her of her misery.

The Turtles eventually re-take the city and retro-mutate everyone back with the help of a recently formed mutant squad called the Mighty Mutanimals (consisting of a few of the mutant friends the they met throughout the show, such as Slash, Leatherhead, Pigeon Pete and Monkey Brains), but the effect of Foot Clan's involvement in the invasion has given Shredder power over the city's criminal underworld. This was done by earning control over many Asian gangs through the Purple Dragons (under the leadership of martial arts gangster Hun), many South American gangs through Fishface, the Russian mafia through Rocksteady and the Sicilian mafia through Italian food critic Don Visiozo.

Notes

Although the theme was officially launched in January 2013, the sets have been available at Toys R Us, LEGOLAND, the LEGO Store and Shop At Home since at least December 2012 in the USA.
Most of the minifigures have molds that were designed exclusively for them.
The theme was discontinued since Mattel and Nickelodeon expanded their licensing partnership with MEGA BLOKS in 2016.^[2]
A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles LEGO Dimensions pack was planned for a Year 1 (2015 or 2016) release but was cancelled midway through development as Mattel acquired all the Nickelodeon licenses from LEGO for rights to produce Nickelodeon licensed MEGA BLOKS sets.^[3]