20 Most Powerful Turtles in TMNT Canon (Ranked)

Summary

• While the original 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the most famous, they are far from the only Mutant Turtles in the franchise.
• From impostors, to robots, to the next generation of TMNT, there are a number of Turtles in
  TMNT
  canon, and all of them range in power.
• Some are more skilled than others, some are more intelligent, and some possess magical abilities that put them above ones that are physically stronger – but only 1 is the most powerful Turtle in
  TMNT
  .

Every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan is well aware of the four titular Turtles, easily the greatest warriors in their established universe. But even fans may not know that they’re not the only Turtles in their universe, and perhaps not even among the most powerful.

Since they were introduced in Mirage Studios’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo never faced a bad guy they couldn’t take down–at least, not initially. As the franchise progressed, and new iterations of the TMNT started to surface, every aspect of the series evolved into something much bigger. Now, these progressions have culminated into one cohesive narrative, thus making it necessary to ask: Who are the top 20 most powerful Turtles in TMNT canon? And out of them, who’s number 1?

20 Picasso Was A Turtle Everyone Would Rather Forget

First Appearance: Bah, Hembeck!

It’s no secret that every member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is named after an artist. This trope was continued with the ridiculous character of Picasso, another mutant turtle. Picasso appeared as his namesake, as a bizarre surreal version of a turtle. Picasso desperately wanted to be the fifth member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Despite the cheers and support from the main members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles group, Michaelangelo refused to include Picasso as the fifth member. As such, his fighting skills were never seen and Picasso simply went off into the wilderness, never to be seen again.

19 The Null Turtles are Pathetic Substitutes for the TMNT

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game #1 by Tom Waltz and Vincenzo Federici

Despite being a thorn in the TMNT’s side during the Armageddon Game, the Null Turtles don’t come close to comparing to the original. The Null Turtles (who are secretly the Gang of Four in disguise, working for Madame Null) existed purely to smear the good name of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But, when they were finally defeated in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Armageddon Game – The Alliance #6, the original TMNT weren’t even needed to defeat them, which says everything that needs to be said about these villainous imposters.

18 Terrorpin

First Appearance: Intruders

A very strange turtle was the gigantic Terrorpin. Seemingly a completely regular snapping turtle, Terrorpin had grown to absolutely monstrous size. Terrorpin lived in the New York City sewers and was the guardian of Merpson Rihana. Terrorpin wasn’t actively malicious, only wanting to protect Rihana and her people from any outsiders.

This brought Terrorpin into confrontation with Leonardo, who had accidentally stumbled into Terrorpin’s territory and was nearly devoured by the giant turtle in response. While Terrorpin was unbelievably large and dangerous, his overwhelming size would be his undoing, as his weight caused the sewer to collapse, seemingly killing both Terrorpin and Rihana.

Defeated: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #99 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dave Wachter

Metalhead is a robot Turtle with an intellect nearly equivalent to that of Donatello, as its programming once had access to Donatello’s mind. Not only does this Turtle-bot have genius-level intellect, but it’s also physically imposing. Metalhead has built-in weapons, unmatched superstrength, and the intellect to accurately predict its opponent’s every move. However, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #99, Metalhead was taken down by a small device known as the ‘metal-buster’.

All it took was for Donatello to sneak up behind Metalhead and place the metal-buster on its body, which is a pretty simple way to beat someone, especially for ninjas. So, while Metalhead is incredibly strong and smart, it also has a pretty simple and easy to exploit weakness.

16 Odyn is a Member of the New TMNT (& is Currently the Least Skilled)

First full appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop

Odyn is one of the four next generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles within The Last Ronin continuity. Trained by the daughter of April O’Neil and Casey Jones using the manual written by Splinter and Michelangelo, Odyn and his siblings are on their way to becoming the definitive TMNT for an all-new era. However, having only been featured in two storylines thus far (one of them just an origin story and the other currently ongoing within the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution), Odyn has yet to truly prove himself.

The one thing that is clear in the brief time he’s appeared in TMNT canon (unfortunately for him) is that Odyn is the least skilled member of the new team. He’s not as intelligent, he’s not as focused, and he was actually the only one who was defeated at the end of his Re-Evolution #1. Odyn is physically the strongest, to be sure, but far from the most powerful.

15 Moja is a Skilled Warrior, But Her Loner Style Keeps Her from Being Great

First full appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop

Moja is probably the most badass of her siblings in TMNT’s Re-Evolution continuity. The appearance of her ninja suit is intimidating, her mastery of swordplay is vicious in combat, and her mind is as focused as the deadliest lone warrior. But, that’s the thing, Moja is too much of a loner to be truly great. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (any iteration), are always better together than they are apart.

The Last Ronin‘s Michelangelo is a rare example of the opposite, but that was during a time of necessity and desperation. If the version of Michelangelo from The Last Ronin was fighting alongside his siblings, he’d be ten-times deadlier – and that’s the issue Moja currently faces. Once she learns how to work more cohesively as a team player, Moja may turn out to be even more dangerous than even the original TMNT.

14 Yi is the New Ninja Turtles’ Resident Genius, Though She’s Still Untested

First full appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop

Yi is the resident genius of the new TMNT within The Last Ronin universe, and her fighting abilities are truly impressive based on what’s been shown thus far. However, Yi is still untested. Sure, she likes to tinker with machines akin to Donatello, but her lack of experience doesn’t put her anywhere close to Donnie’s level of genius.

The role that was left vacant by Donatello is the one Yi has filled on the team, to be sure, but the truth is, fans just haven’t seen enough of what she’s capable of yet. Of course, Yi and the other new Turtles are only just beginning their TMNT careers, so only time will tell how Yi will live up to her predecessor.

13 Uno is the Leader of the New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

First full appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop

Uno is the leader of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles within The Last Ronin continuity, and he earned that spot not only by being the most tactically competent or the most skilled in combat, but because Uno – like his predecessor, Leonardo – is a natural-born leader. Uno proved as much during the training sessions shown in The Lost Years, and then again during an actual combat scenario in Re-Evolution #1.

Like his siblings, Uno is still untested, meaning he and the rest of the new generation of TMNT are squarely placed below the original Ninja Turtles in terms of power ranking. However, among his siblings, Uno currently takes the top spot – and only time will tell if he’ll keep it.

12 ‘Old Man Raph’ is a Time-Displaced Cyborg from the Future, But He’s No Match for the Original TMNT

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2023 #1 by Michael Walsh, Vlad Legostaev, and Santtos

At the start of the historical Road to 150 event in TMNT canon, a version of Raphael from the future travels back in time to kill Donatello before Donnie accidentally creates a villain capable of consuming entire timelines: Armaggon. However, despite being from the future and therefore more experienced, ‘Old Man Raph’ is taken down by the combined efforts of the original Turtle siblings.

Sure, he takes a few of them down one-on-one, but not in a lasting way, and he doesn’t complete his mission to kill Donatello. Therefore, ‘Old Man Raph’ cannot confidently be placed at a higher ranking than any of the other Turtles who collectively defeated him.

11 Jennika is a Worthy Addition to the TMNT Family

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #51 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Ken Garing

While Jennika made her debut as a Foot Clan assassin in
TMNT
#51, she wouldn’t be mutated into a Ninja Turtle until
TMNT
#95!

Jennika proved she was a member of the TMNT before her mutation, both in terms of skill and compatibility. Jennika was a human member of the Foot Clan hand-picked by Shredder himself as one of his most trusted assassins. Then, when Splinter took over the Foot Clan, he made her his chunin – or, second in command – because of her skill level. After she was mutated into a Mutant Turtle, Jennika became IDW Publishing’s first official 5th Turtle, and her skills were nearly on-par with the original Turtles immediately.

However, the original Turtles were born into Splinter’s superior ninja training, while Jennika only got a small taste of what they learned. While the difference in skill-level is practically non-existent, that little bit of difference must play a factor, making Jennika a top contender, though not quite worthy enough to take a spot from one of the original.

10 Michelangelo Has Yet to Unlock His Full Potential, Putting Him Behind His Brothers

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dan Duncan

Michelangelo is the TMNT’s resident party dude, but that doesn’t mean he can’t fight. Time and time again, Mikey has proven that his laid-back attitude doesn’t hinder his ninja-training in the slightest, though it does keep him from becoming more skilled than his brothers. The Last Ronin proved that Michelangelo has what it takes to be a brutal and unyielding warrior, but as a teenager, Michelangelo is simply too unfocused to reach that full potential.

Plus, Mikey hates violence – something that became crystal clear when he walked away from Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #64 – so that drive to be the strongest just isn’t there.

9 Raphael is One of the Physically Strongest Turtles, But He’s Still Too Much of a Hot-Head

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dan Duncan

Leonardo himself named Raphael as the strongest Turtle brother in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100, and while that is probably true, it doesn’t detract from Raph’s shortcomings. While Raphael is easily the most ferocious in battle, with a drive to be the best that fuels his ninja training progress, he’s just too much of a hot head.

Usually, Raphael can channel his emotions into his fighting, but when left unchecked, his emotions become his downfall. However, once he learns to manage his anger, there’ll be almost no one stronger than him.

8 The Great Turtle

First Appearance: Donatello: The Ring

While not being a fighter by any means, there wouldn’t be any other characters on this list without the Great Turtle. The Great Turtle is the origin of all turtles and is the opposite of the Adversary, who is a giant rat. The Adversary would consume the eggs laid by the Great Turtle and feed off the Great Turtles’ sadness.

Eventually, the Great Turtle reached out to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to face the Adversary. While Donatello tried to face the Adversary, he was defeated and realized that the Great Turtle’s true avatar was none other than Leonardo. Guided by the Great Turtle, Leonardo was then able to defeat the Adversary once and for all.

7 Leonardo is a Great Leader & Skilled Fighter – but NOT the ‘Most Powerful’

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dan Duncan

Leonardo is the leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the most focused of his brothers when it comes to ninja training. Not only that, but in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #23, Leonardo becomes Shredder’s chunin with the Foot Clan, meaning he mastered the fighting styles taught by both Master Splinter and Master Shredder.

In battle, Leonardo has no equal, as he’s easily the most skilled warrior on this list. However, this list is about who’s the ‘most powerful’, not the ‘most skilled in combat’.

6 Slash is Easily the Strongest Turtle in TMNT (Just Not the Most Powerful)

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #15 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Andy Kuhn

Slash is unofficially the first 5th Turtle of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and canonically the strongest out of the bunch. As confirmed by Michelangelo himself in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #90, Slash is essentially the culmination of all the Turtle brothers merged into one. In fact, Slash even proved to be a major threat to the Turtles when his mind was taken over by the villainous Agent Bishop, and he was used as a living weapon against them.

While he’s admittedly not as well-versed in ninja training as the original four, he is a pillar of unadulterated power, as the abuse he can withstand is far beyond anything most of the original four Turtles would survive, making Slash a beacon of raw strength and power.

5 Last Ronin’s Michelangelo Achieves the Original Turtle Brothers’ Full Potential

First Appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin #1 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, and Ben Bishop

While the main-series Michelangelo didn’t quite make it to the #1 entry as the most powerful Turtle in TMNT canon, his Last Ronin counterpart made it much closer to the top spot, the reason being that this version of Mikey is one who had no choice but to reach his full potential. As the last surviving member of his family, Michelangelo had to take on the full might of the Foot Clan when the villainous ninjas were at their strongest – and he succeeded in toppling the entire world-conquering organization almost single-handedly.

Michelangelo in The Last Ronin has reached the pinnacle of the training he and his siblings went through under Master Splinter. However, ninja training can only take one so far, and the final two entries have surpassed landmarks of power that shouldn’t even be possible.

4 Venus Isn’t as Skilled as a Ninja, But She’s a Powerful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in Another Way

First IDW Publishing appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #127 by Sophie Campbell and Pablo Tunica

Venus was the first 5th Turtle – at least, in the meta-sense. Making her debut in the ‘90s live-action series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Venus was introduced as a long-lost Mutant Turtle who joins the TMNT. However, in the relevant continuity of IDW Publishing, Venus’ story is a bit different. Rather than being a Ninja Turtle already, Venus was originally a human who was mutated into an anthropomorphic frog. Venus (whose real name was Bonnie) joined the Punk Frogs before she was experimented on. Her body was sliced apart and reconfigured to resemble a Mutant Turtle instead of a Frog.

While her story certainly became more interesting, her skill level as a fighter definitely took a hit. Venus is a proven fighter and valiant warrior, but she just lacks the advanced training of the other TMNT. However, her growing skills in magic manipulation greatly makes up for that shortcoming. In fact, despite being a less-skilled fighter (though not by much), Venus’ magical abilities make her a more formidable opponent than nearly any other Turtle in TMNT canon.

3 The Super Turtles Could’ve Been The Strongest Version Of The TMNT

First Appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol 4) #7

On a far different Earth from the one fans are used to, the planet came under threat by aliens, or so Chairman Lucks claimed. In order to combat this, the brilliant doctor Shreddarius and Lucks created beings known as Terrorkinetics to combat the aliens. Unknown to Lucks, Shreddarius also created four super turtles, just in case Lucks ever betrayed him.

These turtles were Griddex, Graviturtle, Blobboid, and Shellectro, each with amazing superpowers. Such as Graviturtle being capable of controlling gravity itself. Their powers were further augmented by being trained by Silver, a sadistic rat who put the four through training that nearly killed them.

2 Lita Has The Full Power Of The Time Stream At Her Finger Tips

First Appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #105 by Sophie Campbell and Shawn Lee

While all the other members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles specialize in ninjutsu and melee combat, very few of them have access to the same level of power like Lita. She started out as a young girl, pretty harmless by all accounts. But readers got to see a future version of her that wielded the Time Scepter.

This powerful staff allows the user to travel anywhere in time and can even cross continuities, as one user managed to bring different versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into the IDW continuity. With this staff, Lita was able to change the past and prevent the destruction of her family.

1 Donatello is The Most Powerful Turtle in TMNT

First appearance: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dan Duncan

Donatello is a certified genius with inventions that could match those of Marvel Comics’ Reed Richards. Donnie had a hand in the creation of multiversal portal travel, he merged magic with science to literally travel through time (as seen throughout the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Road to 150 event), and he even cheated death after Donatello was effectively killed by Bebop and Rocksteady by transferring his consciousness into the body of Metalhead (before it became sentient), and then transferred back to his original body once it was healed. Not only that, but Donatello’s intellect has always been instrumental in his understanding of his ninja training, making him as effective in battle as his siblings.

Plus, with his unparalleled brilliance when it comes to machines, Donnie is always coming up with increasingly powerful weapons and gadgets to use in battle, which directly correlates to how powerful he is, since they couldn’t have existed without him. Overall, Donatello is the most powerful member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and if fans are being honest with themselves, they’ll see that it’s not even close.