Bandanas (also spelled Bandannas) are a recurring and iconic item in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, appearing in essentially every incarnation to some extent, and the sight of the standard Ninja Turtles bandana in other contexts is still ubiquitously identified with them.
The regular bandana seen in the franchise is actually a hachimaki (kanji: 鉢巻), a traditional Japanese headband, with holes cut out for the eyes. Characters besides the Ninja Turtles also wear these bandanas, usually in imitation of the Ninja Turtles, or a standard hachimaki around the forehead. Still, others (as well as sometimes the Ninja Turtles themselves) wear full headscarf-style bandanas (sometimes with eyeholes cut out).
The colors of the bandanas are as iconic as the bandanas themselves. While the original Mirage Ninja Turtles all wore red bandanas exclusively in color images of them, the turtles began wearing the blue, orange, red, and purple ones starting with the 1987 TV series have become immersed in pop-culture.
Bandana colors worn[]
For sanity reasons, keep these to the "eyehole" versions for now (either hachimaki or headscarf varieties)
Red[]
- Ninja Turtles (Mirage)
- Ninja Turtles (Image)
- Ninja Turtles (IDW) (originally)
- Raphael (all incarnations)
- A Ground Pounder
- Donatello (Archie) (Wrestling gear)
- Michelangelo Splinterson (2003 TV series) (Turtle Titan)
- The Pulverizer
- Turtlebot
- Amaro
- Fitz
- Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang / Smash
- Tubular Pterodactyl
- Medusa
- Sewer Snake Buddy (art)
- Ninja Turtles (Rise of the TMNT) (Hamato Clan outfits)
- Statue of Liberty (Shredder's Revenge)
Blue[]
- Leonardo (most incarnations)
- Turtle Saint
- Ryan
- Sewer Warcat
- Dingy Dino
- Dark Turtle New York Comic-Con
- SpongeBob SquarePants (Funko Pop)
Purple[]
- Donatello (most incarnations)
- Kirby (turtle)
- Avril
- Ninja Rabbid
- Graviturtle
- Ninja Rats
- Trippy Tyrannosaurus
Orange[]
- Michelangelo (most incarnations)
- Tortoise-Man
- Shellectro
- Hans
- Silly Stegosaurus
Cyan[]
Yellow[]
- Michelangelo (1987 video games) (arcade cabinet art)
- Metalhead (paint)
- Leonardo (The Next Mutation) (pre-production)
- April O'Neil (2012 video games) (Trick or Treat Tussle)
- Jennika
Black[]
- Slash (most incarnations)
- Leonardo (IDW) (Foot Chūnin)
- Ninja Turtles (Deviations)
- Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) Foot Clan
- Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series) (Super Ninja)
- Ninja Turtles (2012 video games) (Armored)
- Mechaturtle (Nintendo Power art)
- Kirby (turtle)
- Garfello
- Robin / Nightwing
- Terrible Turtle
- Donatello (1987 TV series) (Dark Turtle)
- Michelangelo Splinterson (2003 TV series) (Turtle Titan Fast Forward)
- Michelangelo (Ronin-verse)
- Penguin Pal
- Raphael (IDW) (post #100)
- Donatello (The Next Mutation) (originally proposed)
Green[]
- Zach
- Mechaturtle (Amiga)
- Picasso (IDW)
- Screwloose (Archie)
- Radical Raptor
- Pete (1987 TV series)
- Sewer Snake Buddy (toy)
- Alopex (IDW)
- Splinter (Rise of the TMNT)
Brown/Tan[]
- Mechaturtle (NES)
- Fake Brother
Gray[]
- Slash (1987 TV series) (metal)
- Ninja Turtles (Mirage) (Turtles Forever)
- Ninja Turtles (Mirage video games) (Portal Power)
- Pepperoni
White[]
Pink[]
- Venus de Milo (action figure prototype)
- Lita
- Mushroom
- Zanna
- Zink