The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gain a heroine in the half shell

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are getting a new addition to their team.

Spoiler alert for the latest issue of IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No. 95! In this week’s action packed issue, the world of the Ninja Turtles was shaken to its very core! A new ninja turtle has mutated before them, and this time it’s a she! In this incarnation, it’s their friend and ally, Jennika. Debuting in 2015’s TMNT No. 51, Jennika is a Foot Clan assassin who was loyal to the Shredder, who ultimate adapted to the mutant rat Splinter assuming command following the villain’s death. She since went on to become his faithful student, and his right hand.

As part of the current “City At War” storyline, which is an homage to an arc in the original Mirage Studios run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jennika had been stabbed and mortally wounded by Karai. The Ninja Turtles, their allies Alopex and Nobody, and her boyfriend Casey Jones were all desperate to save her. Left with no other options, the decision was made to use mutagen ooze to try to revive her. The same ooze that created the Turtles (and other mutants) has vast healing capabilities.

The process was interrupted by Agent Bishop, the robot Metalhead, and their Earth Protection Force squad. Left with no other choice, the only source of mutagen became a blood transfusion from Leonardo. And while this did save Jennika’s life, it may have been at the cost of her humanity! While it is a stunning development, there is precedent for this within the franchise, and series writers Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman and Bobby Curnow hinted of it as far back as May’s Free Comic Book Day issue.

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There have been previous female Ninja Turtles in past incarnations and adaptations of the franchise. In Archie Comics’ TMNT Winter Special No. 11 (circa 1994), longtime ally April O’Neil was briefly transformed into a Ninja Turtle. Yet the most infamous example was during the live-action TV show TMNT: The Next Mutation, which ran on Fox Kids from 1997-1998. In it, the Turtles gained a new teammate in Venus De Milo, who also had vague psychic powers. In order to allow the shell-backs to flirt with her without it being considered incest, that series claimed the Turtles were not biologically related.

To say that Venus was a divisive figure is an understatement. In an interview, Kevin Munroe, who directed the 2007 CGI film TMNT, stated that franchise co-creator Peter Laird wouldn’t allow any mention of the character whatsoever. Out of all the various compromises and creations added by other studios, Venus seemed to be unforgivable to him. It is a risky gambit for the IDW comic to reintroduce an incarnation of her. It is arguably the biggest “shocker” this run has produced since 2015’s 44th issue, in which Donatello seemingly died.

In a Facebook post, writer Tom Waltz stated that he, Eastman, and Curnow had planned this moment for years. He also credited frequent TMNT artist and collaborator, Sophie Campbell. Her last direct involvement was in December’s Leonardo macro-issue. It continues IDW’s incarnation’s effort to involve more heroines within a franchise which once was criticized for lacking them.