Before Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael hit screens everywhere, they started as characters in an independent comic convention in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After finding success in their niche, the brothers and their Master Splinter would have many successful runs. Their most recent and arguably most popular was their run with IDW Publishing.
Here, we will review the best story arcs they've had in print and which of these stories should see an adaptation into film. Whether live-action or animated, these story arcs provided plenty of action and drama for the brothers as they tangled with classic foes like Krang, Karai, and the Shredder.
10 The Secret History of the Foot Clan
This story arc mainly focuses on Oroku Saki, the Shredder, and his history in the Feudal era of the Foot Clan. After taking the Foot Clan over, Saki would begin his pursuit of more power. He would soon come across and befriend Kitsune, a fox spirit that appeared ready to help Saki in his quest.
This would be one of the earliest instances of Utroms coming to Earth, with Saki being introduced to a mutagen element that the Utroms had been bringing to Earth. Following the guidance of Kitsune, Saki would drink some of the mutagen before killing himself. With his body being laid to rest, with the mutagen both preserving and strengthening his body, Saki would wait for the day his bloodline would resurrect him, and he would take his place as Shredder, the head of the Foot Clan once more.
9 Change Is Constant
While the previous entry focused on the past, this story arc focuses on how the turtles came together. While they were turtles (and a rat) used in experiments, an accident led to them and a cat (Old Hob) being exposed to the radioactive chemicals that would give them sentience.
During the group's struggle, Raphael is separated from his brothers and has to survive this alien world alone. During this story, Raphael finds and befriends Casey Jones, while his brothers would all don red masks in honor of their brother as they search the streets for him. This story arc showed how far the brothers would be willing to go for each other and their friends, and it also established one of their earliest rivals in Old Hob.
8 Sins of the Father
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While some will look at this arc as a transitional one, it is critical to the development of Casey's relationship with the Turtles as well as to the character growth of Raphael. Casey would reveal that his alcoholic father was beating him, and Raphael would grow angry at this, leaving to confront Casey's dad.
As Raph lost his temper and started beating Casey's father, Master Splinter would intervene, telling Raphael that if he wished it, Splinter would kill Mr. Jones right there. Seeing his father take this dark tone shocked Raph back to his senses. Though Raph didn't want to murder someone, he was afraid that if he did nothing, Casey would die. Splinter would declare that Casey would live with them from now, stating that Casey and April were family.
7 The Mutanimals
After significant events with the Foot Clan, Michelangelo decided to stray from his family's path. During his adventure, Mikey finds a group known as the Mutanimals, led by his old enemy, Old Hob. Mikey decided to stick around and work with the Mutanimals as he saw that Slash (another mutant turtle, though much more powerful and intelligent) had joined the crew, acting as a moral figure to Hob's ambitious plans.
Things would come to a head when Mikey discovered that Hob had been pursuing plans behind the team's back, letting them believe all of his actions were morally upright when Hob was willing to go to any lengths to ensure mutant-kind would be seen as equals if not superiors.
6 Shadows of the Past
While part of this story is told in the present day, most of the action is done in a flashback to the past, with the Turtles learning how the Foot Clan wasn't always an evil sect of ninjas. In the IDW print, the turtles and their master Splinter are the reincarnations of Hamato Yoshi and his four sons, who lived in a past era of the Foot Clan, where Hamato Yoshi was a respected member of the clan.
Along with Hamato Yoshi was Oroku Saki, the man who would become the Shredder. Yoshi and Saki were brothers-in-arms, but ideologically opposed to how the Foot Clan should evolve. Whereas Yoshi wished to grow past his rage and the limitations it imposed on him, Saki wanted to hone their rage and turn the Foot Clan into a fearsome force. The most emotional moment of this story came when Yoshi was forced to witness the murder of his sons before being killed, leading to his wish being granted that he and his sons come back to haunt Saki.
5 Karai's Path
Sometimes, one of the best story arcs comes when the focus is on someone other than the Ninja Turtles. With her father defeated, Karai would be spared a lethal fate and would seek out the sect of Foot Clan that operated in Japan. Accompanying her would be her most loyal allies, Koya, a mutant falcon who had recently lost her ability to fly, and Bludgeon, a mutant hammerhead shark who had recently been blinded.
During this journey, Karai would have to fight for this sect of the Foot Clan to return to her control, earning herself the name Oroku Karai. But she would make this conquest at significant risk, as she had taken the cursed sword, the Kira No Ken, as her own, despite the sword's history of destroying any who wield it.
4 Turtles in Time
The arcade game inspires the story arc; the Turtles would go on an adventure spurred by their new time-traveling friend, Renet. Split over multiple time periods, first, we'd see the turtles attempting to survive the dangers of the Cretaceous period. This section would lay the narrative groundwork for the Triceratons. Following this, the turtles would venture into Feudal Japan, where they would get to fight alongside their father when he was still a human.
After taking their martial arts to the high seas in the golden age of piracy, the turtles would see a possible future. In this future, Shredder, Krang, and Baxter Stockman have taken over the world, and Donatello has given up on the fight, leaving his brothers to fight alone, leading to their deaths. This leaves a dark mark on the Turtles when they're finally able to return to their present time, as Donny reveals that he has thought of giving up before, fearing that he is already on the path that would lead to this dark future.
3 Krang War
While the Turtles work with April to get more information on what Stockman is planning, they get teleported to an alien world and caught in the crossfire of a war between the Neutrinos and the world-conquering Utroms.
This epic battle would make for a great sci-fi flick, as we see the turtles split up to help the Neutrinos. With Raphael helping to lead a full-frontal assault and Donatello working with scientists to create a weapon that will help take out the Utrom's major weapons, Leonardo and Michelangelowork with the princess to save the King and Queen.
2 City Fall
One of the most emotional chapters in the battle between Clan Hamato and the Foot Clan, this fight involves new players as Casey's father takes the name Hun and joins the Foot Clan with a sect of the Purple Dragons street gang. Casey's best friend Angel would attempt to lead her loyal members of the street gang. Meanwhile, Shredder has turned the turtles against one another after brainwashing Leonardo into becoming the second-in-command of the Foot Clan.
The brothers would work together to fight against Leonardo and remind him that they're family. While the mind control still lingers, Leonardo can take himself out of the fight so that the others can focus on Shredder and his goons, such as Bebop and Rocksteady. Only thanks to the help of their friends-by-circumstance Old Hob and Slash can the family escape, with all parties preparing for the next chapter in their centuries-long war.
1 Vengeance
This would be the ultimate battle between Clan Hamato and the Foot Clan. With Splinter throwing down the gauntlet in a Foot Clan tradition, the family would battle Bebop, Rocksteady, Koya, and Bludgeon while Splinter and Shredder prepared for their battle. After a robotic Donatello sacrificed his Metalhead form to take down Bebop and Rocksteady, and the Turtles disabled Koya and Bludgeon, they joined their father in the final battle against Shredder.
As Shredder attempted to put Clan Hamato to rest finally, Splinter realized that this battle would never truly end until one had killed the other. Splinter would strike the lethal blow, leaving Shredder shocked that his old friend had committed the deed. Honoring his friend's request for an honorable death, Splinter helps Oroku Saki commit seppuku before beheading him. This would leave repercussions that would reverberate throughout the rest of the series run, with Splinter becoming the new leader of the Foot Clan and Michelangelo leaving his family behind, refusing to take part in murdering anyone.