Heroes in a Half Shell.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in a comic book in 1984, it was later developed into an animated cartoon series in 1987. The series was wildly successful and spawned a wide variety of toys, action figures, video games, clothing, glasses, lunch boxes etc. The first animated series had a wildly successful 9 year run, and is still on the air in syndication. It also spawned a series of movies.

At its core, TMNT was an action/buddy cartoon about a group of sewer dwellers that became mutants due to a toxic spill. It often focused on each character's strengths and weaknesses, and tried to establish morals when it could.

Leonardo - The leader of the group wields two katana. He is the oldest of the brothers, and he was named after Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo wears a blue mask.

Michelangelo - Was the easy-going surfer dude. He wields a pair of nunchaku, and he provided most of the comic relief as he was more light hearted than the others. Michelangelo was names for the famous painter of the same name. Mikey wore an orange mask.

Donatello - Was the genius of the group, and he used a Bo staff.  He was great at solving conflicts between the brothers. Donnie wore a purple mask.

Raphael - Was the hot-headed go to guy when you needed violence. He often let his temper get the best of him, but he was a very gifted martial artist. He is equipped with a pair of sai. Raph wears the red mask.

Their master was a talking Rat named Splinter that often taught the boys more about life than martial arts. The main enemy of the ninja turtles was the Foot Clan and their evil leader Shredder.

Ninja turtles favorite food was pizza. They loved it. pizza was like Scooby Snacks to these guys. 

 

I remember watching this show often, and it was always fun. I also enjoyed the video games, and even had an action figure. There were a lot of great after-school cartoons during this time. and this was one of my favorites. The first movie wasn't bad at all, and there have been many more films made, at least 2 more cartoon series, and at least one more movie on the way, but for me, it will always be about the cartoon from the 80's.