TMNT Makes Permanent Change to Their Origin, As Donatello Causes Their Mutation

Summary Donatello was behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' mutation, altering their origin story entirely in issue #150.

By orchestrating the mutation, Donatello not only ensured their creation but also their reincarnation from their original human forms from feudal Japan.

This event marks the end of the current TMNT storyline, with major changes made to the Turtles' origin thanks to Donnie's actions.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150! The origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is well-known by hardcore and casual fans alike, even when considering the changes made to their backstory in the current IDW Publishing continuity. However, everything fans thought they knew about the TMNT’s origin has just been drastically altered, as it’s revealed that Donatello was actually the one who caused their mutation.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 by Sophie Campbell, Vincenzo Federici, Fero Pe, and Dan Duncan, the TMNT's climactic Road to 150 event finally comes to a close. This storyline not only marked the end of Sophie Campbell’s 50-issue run, but also the entirety of TMNT canon under IDW Publishing thus far - and it did not disappoint. Throughout the Road to 150, Donatello and Venus are traveling through time, chasing the cosmically powerful gargantuan shark known as Armaggon, who is on a mission to erase the Turtles from the timeline.

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During their mission, Donatello and Venus find themselves in the laboratory where Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello himself were kept as pre-mutated turtles. Donnie got to see himself and his brothers in their original forms, and while he was taken aback by that experience, it didn’t take long for the reality of the situation to set in. Donatello realized that he and Venus might inadvertently alter the circumstances of their own ‘birth’, so Donnie made deliberate efforts to ensure that didn’t happen.

Related TMNT Kills a Major Turtle Sibling in End of an Era Sacrifice TMNT's Road to 150 event marks the end of the current storyline, one filled with heartbreak and sacrifice, including the death of a Turtle sibling.

Donatello Orchestrated the Events of the TMNT’s Mutation, Making Him Directly Responsible for It

Donatello didn’t just stand back and let the events play out as they were meant to, he became the puppet master to his and his brothers’ mutation (plus that of his father and one-time nemesis, Old Hob).

Originally, April O’Neil was working in the lab that kept the turtles (and rat) for mutagen experimentation, and one night, she was attacked by the Foot Clan, who were stealing the substance for Master Shredder. April fought them off as best she could, but in the end, the test animals under her care suffered as a result of the ninja attack, and April could only think about making it out of there with her life.

In this altered version of the events, Donatello and Venus fought the Foot Clan on April’s behalf, but that meant Splinter and the turtles may not have ended up in the mutagen ooze as they were supposed to, which would have effectively erased Donnie from existence. Plus, they had Old Hob to account for, as they came dangerously close to scaring off the alley cat before he had a chance to mutate. In the end, everything ended up as it should have, but only after Donatello nearly kept it from happening at all.

Donatello Ensured More Than Just the TMNT’s Mutation, but Their Reincarnation

In TMNT canon under IDW Publishing, the Turtles are reincarnated versions of their human selves from feudal Japan, who were the biological children of Hamato Yoshi. They reincarnate due to the passing on of their QNA - substance within every living thing that uniquely connects them to the timestream, which can be cataloged through magic or high science. When Donatello went back to feudal Japan to beat Armaggon, he ensured that their QNA passed on to their future, turtle selves, meaning he was the reason the TMNT were mutated and reincarnated.

While Donatello seemed to be cleaning up the temporal messes he started in the first place by racing through time to defeat Armaggon (who he also created), that doesn’t detract from the fact that the alterations he made to the timeline reverberated through the whole of TMNT’s established canon. In other words, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made permanent changes to their origin (both aspects of it), as Donatello is now responsible for creating them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 by IDW Publishing is available now.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 (2011) Writer: Sophie Campbell

Artists: Sophie Campbell, Vincenzo Federici, Fero Pe, and Dan Duncan

Colorist: Ronda Pattison

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Cover Artist: Vincenzo Federici