History ComicBook / TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage

* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: During the assault on the Foot compound in "Return to New York", Raph has gone off the deep end and is out for the Shredder's blood, separating from the rest of his brothers intending to take him down himself. However part way through he's ambushed by Saki's elite guards and it's only Leo's intervention that saves his life. Raph acknowledges that Leo — whom Shredder nearly killed in ''Leonardo #1'', and after Raph called him a coward in part 1 — must confront and defeat the Shredder himself. He then falls back to help Mike and Don, allowing Leo to face Saki himself.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Hildagaard Rail in issue #30, from the story 'Sky Highway.' She was very well endowed but she resided in a dimension that mutated her to the point that she had a gigantic set of lips that took up most of the space on her face. The German woman took a liking to Raphael and gave him a long passionate kiss goodbye against his wishes.

* RetCanon: A notable aversion. Despite the huge popularity of the '80s cartoon, the Mirage comics never adapted their own continuity to match it. Not until the 2000s did they bring in a handful of outside elements, and then only from the second cartoon -- itself significantly TruerToTheText on the Mirage comic anyway.

* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: During the assault on the Foot compound in "Return to New York", Raph has gone off the deep end and is out for the Shredder's blood, separating from the rest of his brothers intending to take him down himself. However part way through he's ambushed by Saki's elite guards and it's only Leo's intervention that saves his life. Raph acknowledges that Leo — whom Shredder nearly killed in ''Leonardo #1'', and after Raph called him a coward in part 1 — falls back to help Mike and Don, allowing Leo to face Saki himself.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Splinter to [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} Stick]], Raphael to Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}, the Foot for [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} the Hand]], the Justice Force to the Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica

** Several, notably with [[ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo Miyamoto Usagi]], ComicBook/{{Cerebus}}, the WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa, The ComicBook/FlamingCarrot, and ComicBook/TheSavageDragon, among others.

* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: The first issue is played surprisingly straight, featuring an origin story filled with murder, lust and revenge, and four identical turtles who scowl constantly, brutally cut down a gang of street thugs, and tell the Shredder to commit seppuku. Things get a lot less gritty from the second issue onwards, as the turtles gained more distinct personalities, a good amount of humor was introduced, and the antagonists moved away from street-level humans to more absurd stuff like mad scientists and aliens, although things did tend to get darker and more violent again whenever the Foot clan returned. One of the funnier issues, #8, ironically co-starred the actual [[ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark Cerebus]].

* SdrawkcabName: When Baxter Stockman uses his Mousers to hold the city at ransom, the genius chooses the Retxab building as his first victim. Presumably also a ShoutOut to the Comicbook/FantasticFour's headquarters.

* AnAssKickingChristmas: Both the ''Michaelangelo'' and ''Leonardo'' micro-series see the Turtles having adventures during their Christmas festivities. The "Return to New York" three-part storyline is also set on Christmas, but this is only indicated by an easily-missed date on a newspaper.

%%* AlienAmongUs: The Utroms

* CliffhangerWall: In the most technical of terms, the final three issues of ''Urban Legends'' are this in relation to Volume 4, since they were not only a belated ending to Volume 3, but they were written to be able to at least somewhat fit in Volume 4's continuity. In fact, Nickelodeon hasn't done much with the Mirage continuity in general, and in the rare moments they do, it always takes place at some point before Volume 4.

* CliffhangerWall: In the most technical of terms, the final three issues of ''Urban Legends'' are this in relation to Volume 4, since they were not only written to be a belated ending to Volume 3, but they were written to be able to at least somewhat fit in Volume 4's continuity. In fact, Nickelodeon hasn't done much with the Mirage continuity in general, and in the rare moments they do, it always takes place at some point before Volume 4.

* ContinuitySnarl: Zig-zagged; as mentioned under ExiledFromContinuity on the Trivia page, virtually all of the Guest Artist Era issues were removed from continuity due to legal reasons, and while this isn't a problem for the most part, since almost all of them were standalone stories, there's one exception; #28, "The Sons Of the Silent Age", directly references the events of #25/26, "The River", which no longer officially took place. Here's where the zig-zagged part comes in; when asked years later, Peter Laird admitted that he felt "The River" could take place nicely in the Mirage universe, though as he's no longer the owner of the franchise, he clarified that his statement is only his opinion.

* CanonImmigrant: Hun, the Battle Nexus, Bishop via WordOfGod cameo (4Kids Cartoon); Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

%%* BlackSheep: Sid, Casey's cousin.

* InterspeciesRomance: Michelangelo/Serilicus (Mutant Turtle/Styracodon); Leonardo/Radical (Mutant Turtle/Human)

* SdrawkcabName: When Baxter Stockman uses his Mousers to hold the city at ransom, the genius chooses the Retxab building as his first victim. Presumably also a ShoutOut to the Comicbook/FantasticFour's headquarters.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Mich''a''elangelo. Spelled that way because Eastman and Laird didn't look up how to spell "Michelangelo."
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Raphael, ''especially'' in Vol. 1. Of all the Turtles, he gets by far the most attention, and if an issue gives any single Turtle the starring role, it's almost certain to be Raph. This is eventually toned down in Vol. 3 and 4, where the focus is more evenly split between the four Turtles.

* CaptainErsatz: "[[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Mr. Weasel]]" appears in the first Image story arc and is swiftly and graphically beheaded by Pimiko. He has four claws on perhaps only one hand, and is [[{{Pun}} "extremely expendable"]].

%%* WingedHumanoid: Raptarr.

* BodyHorror: Anyone who finds their way to the Sky Highway quickly begin to mutate into grotesque, Big Daddy Roth-esque caricatures of themselves, which can range from just bizarre (Hildagaard) to really, really ugly (Quake Butt, Diddy Wah Daddy, Casey in his mutated form), to outright inhuman (Bone Ugly). The Turtles aren't affected at all because they're already mutants. Ironically, the people who end up on the Sky Highway don't seem to mind their new appearance much, and the Mutato-Heads even decide to return there and become mutants again rather than return to their boring lives on Earth.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Volume 1 #11 is told from April's perspective, through her diary entries.

* CrapsackWorld: The Mirage universe, as a whole. While there are lighter spots and good things ''do'' happen, the recurring theme is that nothing good ever lasts and everything ends in tragedy. Especially the glimpses of the future we get in Tales of the TMNT Vol 2, show that they're headed for a BadFuture and there is nothing they can do to avoid it. It's perhaps best summed up by Kirby's quote in the ''Donatello'' one-shot: "Life, at best, is bittersweet." It may not have been intentional by the creators, but these words come to sum up the entire Mirage continuity pretty neatly.

* OpeningMonologue: Every issue of ''Tales'' begins with one, ending with the line "Let me tell you a story..."

* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: During the assault on the Foot compound in "Return to New York," Raph has gone off the deep end and is out for the Shredder's blood, separating from the rest of his brothers intending to take him down himself. However part way through he's ambushed by Saki's elite guards and it's only Leo's intervention that saves his life. Raph acknowledges that Leo — whom Shredder nearly killed in ''Leonardo #1'', and after Raph called him a coward in part 1 — falls back to help Mike and Don, allowing Leo to face Saki himself.

* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: Volume 1 issue 11, released in June of 1987, begins in January of that year, before working its way through the following months to the then-present.

* {{Tulpa}}: [[spoiler: April O'Neil]], surprisingly.

** The turtles usually all scowled and all had the same colour headbands.

* TheWormThatWalks: The truth behind The Shredders resurrection - he's essentially just a huge colony of worms with the memories and personality of the original Shredder, shaped like a human being. As seen when he removes his armor and helmet, even calling him human anymore is a stretch.

Creator/IDWPublishing (who has published other licensed {{Comic Book}}s) has gained the rights for publishing Ninja Turtles comics, which include reprinting this series, though Mirage retains the rights to publish up to 18 new issues a year, something they never used through to their decision to go dormant in 2021 (as Kevin Eastman would instead write material in IDW's [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW new continuity]]). This has made finding it easier than it ever was, so check them out if you're interested.

Creator/IDWPublishing (who has published other licensed {{Comic Book}}s) has gained the rights for publishing Ninja Turtles comics, which include reprinting this series, though Mirage retains the rights to publish up to 18 new issues a year. This has made finding it easier than it ever was, so check them out if you're interested.

* WeirdnessMagnet: This is true of every version of the TMNT, but--especially taking all the random back-up stories into account--the Mirage Turtles really cannot go five minutes without being attacked by aliens or sent to another dimension.

* ContinuitySnarl: As mentioned under ExiledFromContinuity on the Trivia page, virtually all of the Guest Artist Era issues were removed from continuity due to legal reasons, and while this isn't a problem for the most part, since almost all of them were standalone stories, there's one exception; #28, "The Sons Of the Silent Age", directly references the events of #25/26, "The River", which no longer officially took place.

* ActionGirl: Shadow Jones.

* AlienAmongUs: The Utroms

* {{Antihero}}: Type III

* ArmsDealer: Ruffington.

* BlackSheep: Sid, Casey's cousin.

* DaEditor: Charles Pennington.

* DeusExMachina: Employed surprisingly often.

* EvilOverlord: Savanti Romero.

* FantasticVoyage: In volume 4, thanks to Ultrom technology.

* FishPeople: Several.
* FlyingBrick: Nobody/The Herald.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Complete Carnage.

* TheFuture: Has played a part in several stories.
* GoingForTheBigScoop: Reporter Lauren Stanton, in the issue "Expose".

* IntrepidReporter: Lauren Stanton in later issues of ''Tales''.
* KilledOffForReal: Splinter, Oroku Saki, Rat King, Baxter Stockman.
* KingOfTheHomeless

* LoveTriangle: Oroku Nagi, Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen.

* MistakenForAliens: After the Utrom arrival on Earth.

* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Dome.
* TheMultiverse

* {{Posthumous Character}}s: The Hamato Yoshi/Tang Shen/Oroku Nagi trio. Professor Obligado.

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The antagonists from the volume 1 story "Survivalists".

* SecondLove: April, to Casey.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Raphael, ''espesially'' in Vol. 1. Of all the Turtles, he gets by far the most attention, and if an issue gives any single Turtle the starring role, it's almost certain to be Raph. This is eventually toned down in Vol. 3 and 4, where the focus is more evenly split between the four Turtles.

* TimeyWimeyBall
* {{Tsundere}}: Princess Serilicus.

* WingedHumanoid: Raptarr.

* ScarsAreForever: The turtles' mutilations in volume 3. Foot Ninja Cha Ocho sports a scar left by Leonardo.

*** ''Urban Legends'' issues 24, 25 and 26 serve as a delayed one to Vol. 3, giving it a proper conclusion after it had been LeftHanging and was originally [[CanonDiscontinuity removed from canon]].