Warning! This article contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution An all-new team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was recently introduced who will soon have their very own comic series, though despite the big plans IDW Publishing has for their future, they were originally just an easter egg. Apparently, there were no concrete plans to further the development of these new characters, which is a behind-the-scenes tidbit revealed by the creative team behind the new Ninja Turtles’ series during an exclusive interview with Screen Rant.

The new TMNT are Yi, Uno, Moja, and Odyn, and they are going to be the main focus of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution. This Last Ronin sequel will essentially pick up where the story of these four new Turtles left off in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - The Lost Years. The Lost Years followed Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja throughout their entire childhood, from the time they were infants to when they finally matured into teenagers, all the while showing them training to become ninjas like their iconic predecessors. However, before even that storyline, Yi, Uno, Moja, and Odyn made one other appearance first. They were featured on the final page of The Last Ronin as four normal turtles in a terrarium, and apparently, that inclusion was totally impromptu.

TMNT’s New Turtles Were Originally Included Just To “See How People React”

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, co-writer Tom Waltz, and artist Ben Bishop, the creative team behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution discussed what went into crafting this next chapter of TMNT lore. During the interview, Tom Waltz revealed that Kevin Eastman simply decided to include four turtles in a terrarium in the final issue, just to “see how people react”. Tom Waltz's comments were as follows:

It was, if anything, just his gut instincts on small ideas, and big ideas, and little things like, “Hey, why don't we throw four little turtles in a terrarium at the end? And see how people react?” And talk about genius, right? And I thought, “Okay, that'd be cool, you know, nice little easter egg.” And it's just one more thing that has expanded this universe in ways I would have never expected.

The idea that these new Ninja Turtles only exist because Kevin Eastman thought that it’d be cool to throw in a little easter egg is astounding, if not a little anxiety inducing, as it implies fans were almost robbed of this epic new TMNT storyline to come. Yi, Uno, Odyn, and Moja are already beginning to make a name for themselves after their captivating story in The Lost Years, and that was just their origin story. The real tale of these soon-to-be iconic of TMNT lore has yet to be told, and according to this interview, it was incredibly close to not being told at all, if it wasn’t for the creative foresight of the co-creator of the entire TMNT universe himself, Kevin Eastman.

Now, it’s almost impossible to imagine The Last Ronin universe being void of Yi, Uno, Moja, and Odyn, as they so perfectly carry the legacy of the original four. So, while these new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may have started out as simple easter eggs with no real plan for further expansion or development, they certainly - thankfully - didn’t stay that way.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 by IDW Publishing is available December 13, 2023.