Originally a young boy's pets, four turtles were lost in the sewers when a canister of glowing ooze smashed their terrarium. The four ooze-covered turtles were rescued by a kindly rat, and all five were affected by the substance, becoming more human by the day. The rat, Splinter, was the former pet of a ninja master, and he trained his newfound charges in ninjitsu, giving them names from a book he had found. Together, the four brothers became a force for good in New York City, as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
