April O'Neil, an ace reporter for Channel 6, investigates recent break-ins, allegedly by Ninjas, which have resulted in the thefts of numerous technologies. However, a chance encounter with a gang of thugs soon leads her to a bigger story when she is saved from the criminals by four Ninja-trained, mutated turtles.
This episode has examples of
- Accidental Misnaming: A Running Gag in the episode has April mixing up the turtles' names.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: When Splinter explains how Yoshi had been in contact with rats before mutating, April realizes that he is Hamato Yoshi.Raphael: You got a mind like a steel trap, lady.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- In the flashback, Hamato Yoshi befriend the rats, with a close-up to one of them to suggests that's a pre-mutated Splinter.
- When the Turtles encounter an old lady who screams at the sight of them, it's expected that she'll run away in fright. Instead, she pulls out a rifle and aims it at them.
- At the ninja pizza parlor, one of the employees hurls a knife with a piece of paper at the turtles. Donatello wonders if it's a threatening note, Raphael says it's worse than that: it's the check.
- The Coats Are Off: After the Robotic Reveal of the Foot Soldiers the Turtles decide it's time to quit holding back and ditch their trenchcoats and fedoras.
- Deadpan Snarker: After a sexist remark from Rocksteady, April gets back at him by faking sex appeal.April: Sure. No problem.
- Dramatic Unmask: Shredder removes his faceplate the last time he's seen in the episode, confirming that he is in fact Oroku Saki.
- Fighting Fingerprint: While watching the Turtles fight his Foot Soldiers, Shredder recognizes their fighting style as the Foot Technique, which helps him realize that his foe Hamoto Yoshi was still alive.
- First-Episode Twist: Shredder is Splinter's rogue pupil Oroku Saki.
- George Jetson Job Security: Oroku Saki managed to have Hamato Yoshi banished from the Foot Clan. How? By pinning him to the wall with his tanto. This leaves him unable to bow when his master walks in and is confused as a sign of disrespect. When he manages to get the knife out, they think that he pulled a knife on them and they "throw the bum out." Yoshi never even gets a word in edgewise.
- Hypocritical Humor: When April asks if the Turtles find anything suspicious about the "Ninja Pizza" restaurant they're in, Raphael insists that the name is just a gimmick—you wouldn't find ninjas in a pizzeria. April points out that the Turtles are themselves ninjas in a pizzeria.
- I Have to Go Iron My Dog: April's colleagues give a series of lame excuses when abandoning April to the thugs.
- Literal-Minded: When a street vendor challenges the turtles to 3-card montee, he tells him to "cut the cards." Leo whips out his sword and cuts the table in half.
- Never Mess with Granny: The first thing the turtles encounter on the surface is an old lady who whips out a gun and starts making threats.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Immediately after discovering the truth about the Foot Ninja, Michelangelo leads a charge against them, shouting "Robots?! Let's rock!"
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Upon recognizing the Turtles' fighting style as the Foot technique, Shredder realizes that Hamato Yoshi was still alive, a detail which leads into The Reveal next episode.
- Robotic Reveal: Leonardo slices open one of the Foot Clan soldiers, revealing that they're all robots.
- Title Drop: Splinter gives a dramatic one when he finishes introducing each of the turtles.Splinter: And that is how they became, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
- Wham Line:Shredder: They are the Turtles! Hamato Yoshi's Turtles! They must not discover my Technodrome. [through the speakers] All Foot Soldiers return to the Technodrome at once!
Raph: Technodrome? What's that?
