Summary

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have crossed over with numerous franchises and their many appearances in different worlds are explained by their connection to sewers.
  • A Sonic the Hedgehog comic from 1994 reveals that the Turtles are aware of being in the wrong sewers, indicating their ability to move across dimensions.
  • The Turtles' ability to travel between realities could be attributed to their resourcefulness, use of technology, and knowledge gained from their previous crossovers.

The Sonic the Hedgehog comic hailing from the Archie Comics era of his adventures, a fan theory about how the Turtles constantly find themselves in different worlds is revealed.

Featured in many crossovers stretching back decades, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo have ed forces with pop culture greats like Batman, the Ghostbusters, Usagi Yojimbo, Savage Dragon, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Street Fighter, The X-Files, and even the kids from Stranger Things fame, nearly all stories of which went on to receive critical and commercial acclaim.

TMNT walking in the sewer as Sonic runs by

But when making a quick appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog, the reason behind the Turtles popping up in so many fictional universes is highlighted in a way that makes sense: they're connected to the sewers of every world they’ve visited.

Shredder as the Power Rangers' Green Ranger.
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The TMNT Could Be Using Sewer Systems To Travel Between Worlds

Sonic the Hedgehog #10 (Angelo DeCesare and Dave Manak)

Leonardo from TMNT and Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog

Giving a convincing explanation as to how and why the TMNT can slip in and out of so many universes in 1994’s Sonic the Hedgehog #10, this background cameo came about as Sonic zips around the sewers trying to outrun a rush of river water coming his way. Drawn hustling towards an open manhole as Sonic speeds by, Leo, Donny, Raph, and Mikey talk amongst themselves saying, “We’re in the wrong sewers, dudes!” and “Or at least the wrong comic!” directly addressing how the brothers can move from world to world.

Caught in the act of traversing realities, this one-and-done cameo brings a lot of validity to the idea of how the Turtles can travel across the multiverse, as they’re clearly aware they’re in the wrong sewer here. Given the knowledge gained throughout their endless list of crossovers — especially during their dimension-hopping tales with the Ghostbusters and the Bat-Family — use of technology hailing from Dimension X, and overall resourcefulness in being heroes, the Turtles could have feasibly found a way to fit some kind of transdimensional device into their most oft-used options for traveling.

TMNT's Many Crossovers Make More Sense After Their Sonic Comic Cameo

Sonic Knuckles TMNT

Though a canon reason for how and why the Turtles are able to partake in so many crossovers isn’t something that necessarily needed to be explained outside of the simple fact that the brothers mesh so well with other characters no matter which world they find themselves in, the idea that they have some sort of special sewer access to travel between realities is an interesting way to justify it. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will undoubtedly keep crossing over with any franchise they can, so maybe their next one should return them to the sewers of Sonic the Hedgehog!

Sonic the Hedgehog #10 is now available from Archie Comics.