With a comics career that began over forty years ago, it’s no surprise that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a vast rogues gallery of their own. Much like the Turtles, the most iconic villains have evolved along with the rest of the franchise through numerous iterations over the past four decades.

While there’s no doubt that the original versions of the Turtles’ worst enemies laid the foundation for every other version that would follow, that doesn’t necessarily mean the originals are the best. Many TMNT villains have only gotten better or worse over time. Not to mention those from the comics of the past twenty years, many of whom have become an indelible part of the franchise and deserve recognition in discussions of the best TMNT villains of the modern era.

Updated October 31, 2024 by Scoot Allan: IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the franchise was revived after years of building a famous new world that embraced the past and created a new future. Since the 2000s, exciting new villains have been added to the roster while old enemies have been revamped.. This list has been updated with a few other top TMNT villains that have appeared in the comics since the 2000s and to comply with current CBR standards.

15 Old Hob is a mutated alley cat who hates humans

The leader of the Mutanimals frequently works against the interests of the turtles

One of the biggest changes to the IDW origin story for the Turtles was the addition of an unexpected party when they mutated. An alley cat found Splinter and the turtles after they escaped from Baxter Stockman’s laboratories. He tried to get an easy meal, although Splinter diverted his attention during the battle. Raphael was separated from the Turtles and Splinter, who had begun to transform after exposure to mutagen.

The cat was also exposed to the mutagen, which transformed into the evil Old Hob. He launched a mission of revenge against the Turtles and Splinter for taking his eye, although his mission changed when he led the Mutanimals. Haunted by his imprisonment and experiments, Old Hob decided to turn his war against humans into a hero for all mutants.. Even though he continued to commit criminal acts, he did so with righteous justification in his mind. Old Hob was responsible for creating even more mutants when he set off a mutagen bomb in New York, creating Mutant Town.

14 Leatherhead is a mutated crocodile who hates Utroms

His powerful body became even scarier after Krang took over

Fans have seen several versions of Leatherhead in the various TMNT continuities over the years. While he was more of a friend in the ’90s Archie comics, the IDW comics reimagined the character as an enemy. After mutating hundreds of years ago during one of the Turtle’s time-traveling missions, Leatherhead spent decades as a prisoner of the Utroms.

Leatherhead massacred some freed Utroms but hid the information from the turtles, forcing him to turn against them when they discovered the truth. While there may have been hope that they could all find peace, Leatherhead was taken over by Krang’s parasitic body after eating his old enemy. Krang in Leatherhead’s body upped the ante for both characters, making him a deadly and gruesome addition to IDW’s group of villains.

13 Lord Blackwulfang was the leader of a gang of “vampires”

His bite transformed Raphael into a monster during the Mirage era.

Co-creator Peter Laird returns for a fourth volume of Mirage Comics TMNT in the early 2000s. Although there was renewed focus on the Turtles and the Utroms, a few new villains also appeared. One of the most memorable was a human named Wendell, better known to his crew as Lord Blackwulfang.

Lord Blackwulfang led the Dark Lords of the Night, a group of aspiring vampires who killed people by biting them and drinking their blood. However, when Lord Blackwulfang bit Raphael, the turtle transformed into a raging monster. The Turtles eventually captured Lord Blackwulfang to study him and find a cure for Raphael, but the series was canceled before it was even resolved.

12 Kitsune is a shape-shifting witch of the Pantheon

Kitsune is a powerful shape-shifting wolf spirit with incredible mystical gifts. She can mentally connect with others and even manipulate them. She could also gain increased control over other wolves, including the Turtles’ ally, Alopex. Due to her centuries of manipulating the human world, Kitsune holds a special place in the modern Turtles’ rogues gallery.

The immortal wolf spirit was the first member of the Pantheon that the Turtles encountered when they faced the Shredder in modern times. However, Kitsune was connected to the Foot Clan long before Shredder and Splinter joined feudal Japan. She manipulated Oroku Saki to help bring about her father’s return and destroy the human race, making her a threat to be remembered.

11 The animated Hun took over the comic purple dragons

The reinvented character of Hun has evolved further Casey Jones

Created for 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, it didn’t take long for Hun and the rest of the Purple Dragons gang to make their way into the comic book world. Initially, Hun and the Purple Dragons were linked to the Turtles’ longtime ally, Casey Jones, through a violent and often casual feud between the gang and Jones’ father. With Hun’s iteration in the recently concluded IDW series, this relationship was made even more complicated by presenting the villain as both Casey Jones’ worst enemy and his own father.

This compounded the anguish Casey and his allies suffered at the hands of the Purple Dragons. It also made the pain of knowing that his father was actively working against his closest allies all the more painful for Casey, who was frequently forced to face Hun and his army in open combat. Although the Arnold Jones version of the villain eventually had a moment of redemption when he sacrificed himself to save his son’s life during a fierce battle, the fact that the two were on opposing sides until then was a terrible indictment of hatred. Hun from IDW really was.

10 The Crusher threatens the Turtles in every continuity

His modern transformation still doesn’t make up for his life as a villain

The Shredder is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise since the beginning and has followed them through almost every entry in the franchise. This saw the Shredder take on a myriad of forms, ranging from otherwise ordinary warriors to clones made of worms. Yet it was only in his latest incarnation that Shredder became a mystical hero in his own right.

Despite years of fighting against the Turtles and their allies, the Oroku Saki of the IDW continuity found redemption after his own demise and that of his oldest rival, Hamto Yoshi, better known as Splinter. After his return, Oroku Saki acted as a sort of guardian angel for the Turtles, and once he revealed his presence to them, he became their new mentor. This drastic change certainly didn’t please all of the Turtles’ allies for obvious reasons, but it marked a major turning point for the better of the series. And, for fans who prefer their Shredder firmly on the side of evil, he continued to be exactly that throughout. TMNT comic book crossovers with characters like Power Rangers or actors from Street fighter.

9 Madame Null is an invincible corporate demon

The IDW version remains an enigma after years of terrorizing the turtles

Madam Null from IDW shares a lot in common with her predecessor, Mr. Null, from Archie Comics. Adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. However, she still poses a completely different type of threat. Despite being true corporate demons, Madame Null has been much less open in her villainous endeavors than her Archie Comics counterpart, though not necessarily for the better..

When Madame Null debuted in comics in 2015 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutanimals #1 (by Paul Allor, Andy Kuhn and Nick Filardi), she was the last enigmatic entity to pose a threat to the Turtles and their fellow mutants. In the years since, Madame Null has orchestrated inhumane experiments on various mutants, attempted to publicly disgrace one of Mutant Town’s greatest heroes in order to discredit the community as a whole, and worked alongside all other major villains, from Baxter Stockman to the immortal Rat King. Madame Null was also seen surviving what should have been fatal strikes. Yet nothing has ever given readers a definitive insight into his life or work beyond the terror of Earth’s mutants.

8 Chi-You was a lost member of the Pantheon

He reunited the Ninja Turtles with another team of 80s icons

A member of the IDW Immortal Hall of Fame Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline, Chi-You only made a few appearances in hundreds of issues. That being said, Chi-You has more than proven how powerful he is at every turn, so much so that he has become a threat to heroes who don’t even inhabit the Turtle world.. Hundreds of years ago, Chi-You was thrown into a distant dimension by his sister, Kitsune.

It was only through the modern experiments of the Turtles’ longtime ally Harold Lilja that Chi-You was unwittingly freed from his imprisonment, albeit into a world he did not recognize. Instead of being released into the Turtles’ reality, Chi-You was released into that of the Ghostbusters, who teamed up with the Heroes in a Half Shell to put down the ancient deity and his army of possessed warriors. As the heroes managed to defeat Chi-You, they would see him freed once again when their old enemy was used as a weapon against his brother, the Rat King, to end the latter’s twisted game of Armageddon.

7 General Krang is the alien leader of the Utroms

He continues to be one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ worst enemies.

Although Krang was created for the 1987 animated series as a solo replacement for the larger Utrom alien species that were part of the original Mirage Studios comics, the little villain has maintained his place in most franchise releases. Unlike my long-time comrades TMNT great villain the Shredder, Krang has not taken any recent opportunities to become a hero, instead choosing to become a worse version of himself over time.

This is especially true in the IDW timeline, in which Krang pushed the limits of his utter villainy in every way possible. In addition to his usual efforts to kill turtles and turn the Earth into a scorched wasteland, IDW’s Krang took his parasitic nature to a whole new level by transforming the mutant Leatherhead into one of his famous prosthetic bodies. This horrific display of cruelty immediately earned itself a top spot among the worst things Krang had done. Fortunately, Krang’s reign of terror has ended Armageddon gameThe events of, the heroes taking extra precautions to ensure that the villain does not make a miraculous recovery.

6 Baxter Stockman is a brilliant scientist with dark plans

The IDW version is worse than almost every other TMNT villain

Baxter Stockman’s beginnings in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The franchise dates back to the second issue of the original comic book series by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. As such, it’s no surprise that he’s become a permanent fixture in the franchise at large, including its most recent entries. This includes almost all iterations of the TMNT comics, which repeat the character along the lines of his myriad previous forms.

THE Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles And Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles recalled the Baxter Stockman from the 1987 animated series. On the other hand, the IDW series built on the character’s first incarnation as a relentless corporate scientist. If being ever-present throughout the comics wasn’t enough, each version of these characters has posed a legitimate threat, further cementing Stockman’s place in the overall Turtles mythos.

The Last Ronin introduced a deadly new crusher for a dark future

Introduced in the pages of the 2020s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin #1 (by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz and Esau & Isaac Escorza), Oroku Hiroto was the leader of the Foot Clan in the series’ not-so-distant dystopian future. As Karai’s son, Oroku Hiroto would always be the next to take the reins of the Foot Clan, although no one could have predicted how much crueler he would be than his predecessors.

Not only did Oroku Hiroto orchestrate a brutal attack on the surviving members of the Splinter Clan under the guise of reaching a peace agreement, but he also transformed New York into his own fascist kingdom. the day after the heroes’ defeat. It wasn’t until Michelangelo, the sole survivor of the Foot Clan’s assault, returned to lead the charge against his former enemies that anyone had a real chance of dethroning the power-hungry and violently delusional future Shredder.

4 Doctor Jasper Barlow was a mutant with demonic powers

It took the twisted science of TMNT in a whole new direction

2022 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Issue #125 (by Sophie Campbell, Pablo Tunica, Ronda Pattison and Fahriza Kamaputra) of IDW marked the debut of another fan-favorite mutant team in the form of the Punk Frogs. While it was clear from the start that these Punk Frogs were unlike any fans had ever seen before, their introduction was further undermined by an infinitely more troubling foe in the form of Doctor Jasper Barlow. Once a renowned surgeon, Barlow’s life was thrown into abject chaos when Old Hob’s mutagen bomb transformed him.

Following his transformation, Barlow directed his efforts in the reconstruction procedures towards “curing” the mutants of their own transformations. On its own, this might not have been so bad. Yet Barlow also took on much darker projects, including creating Venus Di Milo from the deceased remains of Punk Frog Bonnie, Donatello’s old broken shell, and a dragon scale recovered from the wreckage of the disappearance of the deity. While this successfully brought Venus to life, it also opened the doors for Barlow to further experiments with the remains of the Dragon, leading to a series of demonic transformations that affected mutants, including the once-beloved Doctor himself.

3 Bebop and Rocksteady are deadly mutant humans

The duo has only gotten bigger and badder over the years

Bebop and Rocksteady may not have made much progress in overall intelligence since their original incarnations first appeared in 1987. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Still, they definitely got meaner to make up for it. With a place in almost every entry in the franchise since their debut, Bebop and Rocksteady have an outsized reputation to match their imposing physiques, and nowhere is this more true than in the IDW comics.

Over the years, Bebop and Rocksteady have threatened the Turtles, their allies, and even reality as a whole. As the overpowered muscle of the Foot Clan, Bebop and Rocksteady played an important role in several major storylines. However, none are as infamous as their gruesome and near-fatal attack on Donatello. In a single devastating issue, readers followed Bebop and Rocksteady shattering Donatello’s shell before leaving the turtle to die in agony with his organs exposed. As incompetent as Bebop and Rocksteady are, that alone earns them one of the top spots in any conversation about modernity. TMNT bad guys.

2 Armaggon is a mutant cyborg shark from the future

Archie Comics Villain Has Found a Horrible New Life in the IDW Universe

Armaggon was another villain that appeared in the Archie Comics series, but was greatly reinvented for IDW’s continuity. When he first appeared, he was a deadly mutant cyborg shark from the future meddling with the past. The IDW version had a similar premise, although the character was also given a huge Lovecraftian boost, making him even more terrifying.

When the Turtles first encounter Armaggon, he is responsible for the deaths of most of the team.. Arriving through a portal in the sky, the enormous shark devoured the team before beginning to eat the future it came from. Donatello and a few all-time survivors banded together to uncover Armaggon’s dark secret and save his brothers. Armaggon’s threat coincided with the end of IDW’s first series, highlighting the villain’s importance.

1 The Rat King received a huge remake in the IDW Canon

He’s the deadliest TMNT villain modern comics have ever seen

The original Rat King of the Mirage Studios timeline is a confusing character whose beginnings as a wandering villain led to a shocking revelation that he was instead an immortal member of the Pantheon. And just as the Pantheon has changed over the years, so has the Rat King. Unfortunately for the Turtles, they have not improved in recent years, nor have his plans for their entire world. In the IDW timeline, the Rat King has long been a menacing force of abject chaos.

As an immortal entity, the Rat King has had thousands of years to torment his fellow members of the Pantheon, not to mention humanity as a whole, but the Turtles gave him a renewed sense of purpose that rang the bell. death knell from the start. During Armageddon gameevents, The Rat King’s propensity for destruction reached its peak when he gathered all of the Turtles’ worst enemies to tear the world apart.. To prove just how powerful the Rat King is, it wasn’t even the Turtles that brought about his ultimate defeat, but rather one of his own that had been equally despised by the rest of the Pantheon.