It's been almost 40 years since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird brought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise into the world. Originally created to lampoon the gratuitous violence in gritty comics at the time, such as Frank Miller's Daredevil, these comics soon gained popularity. Since then, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has become an integral franchise.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael are some of the most successful superheroes ever, but only true fans of the franchise know that their team includes other members. For example, the talented ninja Jennika was introduced to the franchise in the "Order from Chaos" storyline, by Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, and Tom Waltz.
Updated on September 23rd, 2023 by Mayra García: When considering how many Ninja Turtles are there, casual fans may be inclined to say four, but the answer is five. Jennika is the fifth Ninja Turtle and the only female on the team. This list has been updated to comply with CBR's standards for all those who want to know more about who is the yellow Ninja Turtle.
13 Jennika's Title As The Sixth Turtle
In the current IDW Comics timeline, Jennika is the fifth Ninja Turtle and the first female to join the team. However, hardcore TMNT fans know that this title only applies to comic books. When considering the whole franchise, Jennika is the second female Ninja Turtle. The first one is Venus de Milo, whose bandanna is light blue.
Created by Eastman and legendary Haim Saban, Venus was created for the late '90s live-action series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Unfortunately, this girl Ninja Turtle wasn't as well received -- just like the series, which always felt like a Power Rangers and Super Sentai rip-off. It wasn't until 2022 that Venus was introduced to the comics and fans started liking her. If it wasn't for this, she would've faded into oblivion.
12 Jennika's Band, Created In Darkness
Following the "City of War" arc, Jennika moved into Mutant Town, a city in New York where people who suffered animal mutations due to Old Hob's bombing live. Here, she founded her own dōjō and started a band with her new friends -- Diamond, Jay, Jo, Koya, and Tusk -- called Created In Darkness.
Created in Darkness was founded on TMNT #116 as part of the battle against Bebop and Rocksteady. Its first performance took place one issue later. This arc cemented what fans already knew about Jennika: she's one of the coolest characters in the franchise. Additionally, it introduced her to the band scene in Mutant Town, which has put her in the path of new adventures.
11 Jennika's Loyalty To The Foot Clan
Jennika had a rough upbringing. When she was younger, she ran away from home after seeing her father beat her mother. This put her on the path to homelessness and petty robbing. Eventually, she became an involuntary murder accomplice, which landed her in jail. While in prison, a female member of the Foot Clan saved Jenny from a beating, which prompted her to pledge her loyalty to the clan, not the Shredder.
The woman then trained Jennika in secret but was killed when the two escaped prison. Jenny still found her way to the Foot Clan, completed her training, and earned her spot by murdering the person who killed her friend. Amidst a very tumultuous life, only the Foot Clan showed Jennika any kindness, which explains why she's loyal to them.
10 Jennika's Main Love Interest
Originally a hockey mask parody of a vigilante, Casey Jones became more and more important in the franchise as the years passed. After the comics retconned his story — his mother passed from cancer and his father was violent towards him — Casey was saved by Raphael and the two of them became a vigilante duo.
In addition to this, Casey became Jennika's love interest in the comics. When she was still a human, the two of them shared a close bond that unfortunately ended following Jenny's mutation. As of now, they have a nice, close relationship, but it's definitely platonic.
9 Jennika's Initial Distrust Towards Splinter
When Jennika first joined the Foot Clan, Shredder was its leader. Given this, once Splinter took charge, the ninja had a hard time with the change. She didn't trust him, especially because Splinter's hesitation to kill felt like a weakness to her. In fact, she tried to kill him in battle.
Splinter beat Jennika easily, which humbled her immediately. After this fight, she open her mind to Splinter's leadership pledge allegiance to him and the Ninja Turtles. Since then, Jennika became one of the team's greatest allies and then an official member of the team as the fifth Ninja Turtle.
8 The Price Of Jennika's Debut Issue
Comic book collectors know that when a comic book features the debut of a new character, this issue immediately goes up in value. Jennika's debut in the IDW books was no exception. The 5th Ninja Turtle debuted in TMNT #50 (by Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz, Mateus Santolouco, Cory Smith, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee), the first part of "Order from Caos."
However, Jennika didn't go through a mutation until TMNT #95 (by Dave Wachter, Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Dave Wachter), during "City at War." Regardless of which issue, Jennika's debut comics were successful enough that IDM put out a second printing for them. In 2019, there was at least one instance of TMNT #95 selling for $275. Four years later, the comic is still priced at around 150 dollars, especially if it's in mint condition.
7 Jennika's Signature Color
When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted in 1984, they each had red bandannas. However, as time passed, they got different colors, which have become signatures for them in any of their iterations throughout the franchise. Of course, Jennika isn't an exception to this rule. As the fifth Ninja Turtle, she dons a yellow bandanna.
Contrary to her peers, she never used the red one. Instead, since Jennika was first drawn by Sophie Campbell in her turtle form, she has used a yellow bandanna, pants, and a hoodie that gives her a mysterious vibe since she first appeared. Her costume is simple but effective. Everyone recognizes her as the yellow Ninja Turtle immediately.
6 The Blood Transfusion
Jenny was already an incredible hero when she was a human, but "City at War" turned her into something even more powerful. After she was stabbed with a katana, the Turtles raced to help her. However, they were being followed by the Earth Protection Force, which limited their options.
Terrified about losing Jenny and concerned that nothing worked, Leonardo gave her a blood transfusion. Since his blood had mutagenic properties, she was transformed into one of them practically immediately. This rocked Jenny's work, forcing her to end her relationship with Casey and change her role as the Clan's chūnin, but it also made her part of the official team.
5 Jennika's Bisexuality
Whe the Splinter Clan visited the Kennel Klub, they met the band performing at the place, After the Bomb. Jennika became closer to the vocalist, Sheena, a pig/human mutant. The two women became closer with time until they actually kissed in TMNT #113. They became an official couple in TMNT #117, after the Battle of the Bands.
It has been confirmed that Jennika is a bisexual woman. Although nothing has been said about previous romances. Before Sheena, Jennika's only love interest was Casey. However, their romance fizzled out following Jenny's mutation. Fans hope Jennika's romance with Sheena lasts way longer.
4 Jennika's Human Origins
Before becoming the fifth Ninja Turtle, Jennika had already been a part of the Foot Clan for a while. With the Foot Clan being the only real family Jenny had ever truly known, she was fiercely loyal to them, even if she wasn’t that loyal to the teachings of Shredder.
Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Leo were originally turtle hatchlings serving as guinea pigs in the laboratory of StockGen Research, Inc. Additionally, they were all reincarnated from the Hamato sons in Feudal Japan — at least in the IDW continuity. Jennika's origin story separates her from the rest of the Ninja Turtles.
3 Jennika's Weapon Of Choice
True, long-standing fans of the franchise know that each Ninja Turtle has a different signature weapon. Leonardo uses twin katanas, Donatello wields the bō, Raphael has the twin sai, and Michelangelo's more traditional choice is the nunchaku. Jennika's choice makes her stand out from all of them since she uses a claw.
This weapon, reminiscent of Vega in Street Fighter, or Freddy Krueger, is a strange choice for a ninja, but that's exactly what makes it such a compelling idea. If this wasn't enough, Jenny's training makes her proficient in the use of the katana. This is only a small glimpse at how dangerous the female Ninja Turtle can be in battle.
2 Jennika's Position As Splinter’s Chunin
Jennika only became a turtle 45 issues after debuting, but, by this point, she had been training with Splinter for a while. Their relationship was complicated at first, with Jenny constantly questioning Splinter's abilities. However, he humbled her quickly. After all, Splinter is one of the best characters in the franchise.
After some time, Jennika became better at following the teachings of her mentor. This, combined with her natural talent, soon earned her the rank of Chūnin in Splinter's clan. This title turned her into Splinter's second-in-command, a ninja ready to look after and guide other ninjas.
1 The Fan Drama Surrounding Jennika's Debut Comic
Considering how successful debut issues are, IDW planned to bring a batch of TMNT #95 to the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. However, the comic started selling incredibly well, which prompted IDW to cancel the sale at the convention. This decision was mostly taken out of safety, as IDW feared a fanboy stampede would affect the event.
Four years after this, Jennika is still one of the most beloved characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Both due to her power and her personality, a constant contrast between true kindness and a perfectly curated tough girl persona. Fans would love to see her star in a film together with her peers.