TMNT 2012

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has undoubtably been one of the most successful toy lines in action figure history. However, the turtles were pretty much forgotten in the late 90's through the mid 2000's and the toy line suffered for a while. It wasn't until Peter Laird(co-creator of the turtles) sold the franchise to Viacom in 2009 that the Ninja Turtles would make a comeback. A new TMNT cartoon was released on Nickelodeon in 2012 and was well received. Once again the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were popular. Of course the next step for the franchise was to release a series of toys.  I will be doing quick reviews of some of these characters.

The first series released nine characters

Leonardo

Donatello

Raphael

Michelangelo

Splinter

April O'Neil

Shredder

Foot Soldier

Kraang

A few differences from the original toy line that stand out are some of the character redesigns. 

April is no longer a news reporter, she is now a teenager.

Kraang is still a brain but the character is closer to the Mirage comic. The Kraang are a species of alien brains(not just one character) and the main antagonists of the show.

The second wave saw three new figures released.

Dogpound

Fishface

Metalhead

Metalhead, a classic character from the 80's toy line was redesigned for the new series.

Series 3 was varations of the four turtles so we'll just move onto the fourth wave.

Baxter Stockman

Snakeweed

Leatherhead

I'm not quite sure why Baxter has a robot body but they made him a black guy which is another similarity to the Mirage comic series. Another character from the 80's that was revived is Leatherhead. The new cartoon puts a twist on him and has him as a friend of the turtles.

Wave five

Cockroach Terminator

Rat King

A newly designed Rat King for the new series.

Wave 6

Ninjas in Training: Leo & Donnie

Ninjas in Training: Mikey & Raph

Shredder W/Removable Helmet

Mousers

Spider Bytez

I kind of like the Ninjas in training turtles. I also like that the Mousers are back in the new series.

I plan on doing an in depth review of the designs of the figure on a separate post, but I can't help mention real quick how ugly I think the packaging is.

With that being said, I actually like how the figures look considering the cartoon looks awful. 

Once again playmates has hit a home run with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line. It's a hit with a new generation of fans and the older generation that was around for the 80's line. It looks like once again the turtles will be all over the place.