Slash: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Fifth Turtle, Explained

Long before characters such as Jennika or even Venus de Milo, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were faced with another mutated creature: Slash. Unlike his later female counterparts, this turtle wasn't always heroic, and sometimes, he wasn't even from the planet Earth.

Since there are so many different versions of the spike-covered turtle, we're breaking down his journey from dim-witted villain to irreplaceable ally across the Turtles' TV shows and comics to the ongoing IDW series.

Slash (1987 Cartoon)

The first incarnation of the character appeared in 1989 in the fourth season of the original TMNT cartoon. In "Slash - The Turtle from Dimension X," he was initially a pet owned by the Shredder's lackey Bebop, who was mutated to do menial tasks for him and Rocksteady. Perhaps as a result of their pouring too much of the mutagenic ooze on him, he was erratic, dim-witted, and prone to acts of violence. This was especially the case if he were to lose track of his Binky, a toy tropical tree that was in his bowl before he was mutated.

When his Binky is accidentally lost by Bebop and Rocksteady, he ventures to New York to search for it. His ensuing misadventures destroy the heroic turtles' reputation, leading to their facing each other. Slash is bigger and much stronger than the Turtles and is easily able to take them all on in a fight. Eventually, however, he becomes stuck in space, but Slash is perfectly fine with this, since the rocket that he's sent into space with has a small plastic tree. Slash's appearance is essentially an evil version of Donatello, and his bulkier frame is fitted with armor and swords that somewhat make him look like a pirate. Fitting the more one-dimensional, cartoony characterization of the show, this was the most outright villainous version of Slash.

Slash (Archie Comics)

The Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics initially followed the cartoon's continuity, but eventually diverged to forge their own path. Archie's version of Slash wasn't a mutant, but rather an alien turtle who had traveled to Earth with Krang. The planet that he hailed from was lush, verdant, and filled with tropical greenery, essentially the comics' adaptation of his Binky from the cartoon.

Though starting out on the side of evil, he would eventually change his allegiance after befriending the Mighty Mutanimals. These spin-off characters would eventually be killed off by the evil Null, with Slash seeking revenge for their murder. Accordingly, he would actually team up with the Ninja Turtles, as well as future versions of them that had traveled back in time in an effort to defeat Null. This would ultimately see him sacrificing himself to save the Turtles, becoming the first example of the character taking a turn for the heroic.

Slash (2012 Cartoon)

Like many of the elements introduced to the franchise in the 1987 cartoon, Slash was notably absent in the 2003 series. He would eventually return, however, in the CGI 2012 animated series, where he started off as Raphael's pet turtle Spike. Spike constantly overhears Raphael's angry rants about his brothers' behavior and grows to hate them as much as he loves Raph. After being exposed to mutagen, he mutates into a gigantic spiked turtle and is more than willing to become Raphael's new partner. Renaming himself Slash, he unleashes unholy terror upon the Kraang aliens and the other Turtles, who he sees as holding Raph back. This causes Raph to lash out at his former pet, who slinks off into the night. His weapon was a mace, which was used in the toyline for the original Slash.

The wayward turtle would team up with the Newtralizer against the Kraang but is at odds with the latter's outright villainous ways. He eventually turns on his new ally, siding with the Turtles when the heroic attributes that Raph believed in began to resonate within himself. Although he would decline to join the Turtles, he would go on to become an anti-hero of his own and actually led the show's version of the Mighty Mutanimals.

Slash (IDW Comics)

The newest version of the character appears in the rebooted IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. Like the TMNT, Slash's origin is changed to being part of a genetic experiment, with his being conducted by Stockgen. After being freed by April O'Neil, he escapes from a soldier of Krang's, but not before stealing a familiar toy palm tree. He was initially a snapping turtle that was mutated for the chief task of hunting the Turtles, but his trademark large size also made him mentally unstable. Wandering around New York and attacking people at random, his lacerating violence earned him the name Slash.

Though the Turtles fought him to end his rampages, he comes to form a bond with Michelangelo, who he sees as his personal hero. He also allies with the morally ambiguous mutant cat Old Hob, who begins producing his own army of mutants. These become the Mutanimals, who Slash also forms a close relationship with. The experiment to create this new army also personally involves Slash's own DNA, leaving him far calmer and more intelligent than before. Thus, much like his previous counterparts, Slash becomes a hero in his own right, and the unofficial fifth turtle of the group. Though he hasn't shown up in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yet, chances are that he and some version of his Binky aren't too far away.