How old are the Turtles?

[Jarrah White]

As the title suggests they are in their teens, but which teen number exactly? The original comic books says they are at least thirteen, but in the show they are seen driving motors like the Sewer Slider/Cellcycle/Turtle wagon, you have to be sixteen to drive. More to the point, are the turtles even the same age? Were they born one at a time or are they quadruplets?

[Cascadia]

they are about 15 years old. The driving license is not an issue with the TMNT. In terms of if they were born at a time or are they quadruplets....we are not really sure because the creators never covered that issue.

[MW8979]

I think if memory serves me right, Leonardo is 16, Donatello is 15-16ish, and Raphael + Michaelangelo are 15. That's the official dogma anyway, although in some instances one could argue they're considerably more mature and older than the prescribed age.

[heretic888]

As the title suggests they are in their teens, but which teen number exactly?

In the new cartoon, they are 15 --- most likely approaching their 16th birthday sometime soon in the show. In the Mirage comic, they are approximately 28.

The original comic books says they are at least thirteen, but in the show they are seen driving motors like the Sewer Slider/Cellcycle/Turtle wagon, you have to be sixteen to drive.

The turtles are not legal citizens and thus don't care about the law.

More to the point, are the turtles even the same age?

Yes.

Were they born one at a time or are they quadruplets?

They were all born at approximately the same time (i.e., they were hatched from the same set of eggs from the same mother turtle). They are not, as far as we know, quadruplets.

Laterz.

[heretic888]

I think if memory serves me right, Leonardo is 16, Donatello is 15-16ish, and Raphael + Michaelangelo are 15. That's the official dogma anyway, although in some instances one could argue they're considerably more mature and older than the prescribed age.

That is, in fact, not true at all.

[Spacefille]

Okay that answer I do know... as far as I can remember, the going age is 15 in the new cartoon, old cartoon and the movies.

I figured it out once... they'd be about 30 years old right now, relative to the original comic book series.

As for the age relative to each other question... if they were all babies when the tank broke I think it can be safe to assume that the turtles all came from the same litter as a mom turtle lays a whole lot of eggs. They wouldn't be quadruplets in the identical sense because the DNA mixing would be slightly different in each egg... but they probably can be considered fraternal quadruplets.

[Karpo_007]

Thre's no reason to asume they wouldn't be the same age. Even if they hatched at diffrent time[wich sounds unlikely to me] their real birth was the moment they were exposed to the ooze.

In Mirage, accurate age has always been hard to tell, in volume 1 somehwere between 13-16, 16 during volume 2, and "in their thirties" in the ongoing series.

As for the new cartoon, I think it's 15.

[Anarchistguy]

At the VERY beginning of Volume 1, they were 13 years old. At around volume 1 no.7 they were 15 1/2 years old. From Return To New York to the end of volume 2(?), they were 16. And now, in volume 4, they're 28 years old.

I'm not sure about the RTNY part, though. :ohwell: :-?

[heretic888]

I'll give some "unofficial" but basically accepted ages:

Volume 1, #1: 13 years

Volume 1, #4: 15 years

Volume 1, #21: 16 years (Leo states 3 years had passed since their first battle with Shredder)

Volume 1, #50: 16 years (beginning of City at War)

Volume 1, #62: 17 years (end of City at War)

Volume 2, #1: 17 years

Volume 2, #13: 18 years (approximately)

Volume 4, #1: 28 years (Mike alludes that 15 years have passes since they fought the Purple Dragon)

[Karpo_007]

The time lines in Mirage are confusing. During City at War they said on the mail page that the turtles are 16.

[Bowser_Koopa]

[quote]In the new cartoon, they are 15 --- most likely approaching their 16th birthday sometime soon in the show. In the Mirage comic, they are approximately 28.even in the first comic?!

[Stone Ill]

[quote]In the new cartoon, they are 15 --- most likely approaching their 16th birthday sometime soon in the show. In the Mirage comic, they are approximately 28.even in the first comic?!

No.. :roll:

Read the above posts..

[Bowser_Koopa]

how can they be 13?? i don't accept it! they have to 15+ or something :s

[HorseTechie]

I knew it.... they are as old as me! 28 years... :P

Actually, it was dietermined by a bunch of us on a mailing list that the original Turtles must have been born in 1969, if they were to be 15 at the start of Volume 1 in 1984. So that would make them to be 34 in 2003.

(Which I think would be cool, cause my husband was born in 1969)

But if they were 13, then it would be 1971. The key point in time was 1984.

[Stone Ill]

In the new cartoon, they would've been born in 1988, like me. :D

[heretic888]

The time lines in Mirage are confusing. During City at War they said on the mail page that the turtles are 16.

Ahem: "Volume 1, #50: 16 years (beginning of City at War)"

:roll:

how can they be 13?? i don't accept it! they have to 15+ or something

Very simple:
1) Splinter states in Volume 1, #1 that he had trained them for 13 years.
2) Eastman and Laird stated in response to fanmail that the TMNT were 16 during the Return to New York story.
3) Leo stated that 3 years had passes since they first fought Shredder when he faced him at the end of the story.
4) 16 - 3 = 13

Laterz.

[Bowser_Koopa]

too bad i don't care, its just stupid they are just kids they look and feel older, even if its the "original age" its not the way it should be

[Karpo_007]

And you know how humanoid turtles with ninjutsu training should act at the age of 13?

[Bowser_Koopa]

well....not really, but turtles live for hundreds of years so they should have a long infance or something

[Mouse]

i tihnk we can all safely assume that the foursome are extremely up there in years:)

what i think is that if you do the math you might find them in their thirties maybe nowadays if the math was done correctly:P

[Karpo_007]

Or they could be adults at the age of 10 and act that way for the rest of their lives. Thats how it goes with many animal species, IE Dogs become "adults" at the age of 2, my dog is 7 soon, and has been acting the same way for the last 5 years.

My point? Even if they get human atributes, doesn't mean they age like humans.

[Bowser_Koopa]

i guess.........i still think they should be older

[Leo656]

I think it's irrelevant and, honestly, just another case of fans trying to pick something apart for lack of anything better to do. Does it matter? Did they ever even ACT like teenagers? Would you even know they were if the name of the book had been simply "Ninja Turtles"? Probably not.

In DC, half of the members of the current "Teen Titans" are in their 20s now. Just let it go. Trying to figure out the ages of fictional characters is pointless because they do not age in real time. Events do not happen in real time. It's only relevant to the story the writer is trying to tell at THAT moment in time. No sense getting all worked into a tizzy over it. It's better to say that the Turtles were "around 15" in the originals and "late 20s-early 30s" now. There's no need to ever address the issue specefically and thus it most likely won't be. I highly doubt Peter Laird ever sat down with a slide rule and a stack of old Mirage comics and tried to determine each Turtle's exact age.

[Bowser_Koopa]

when i said "i guess....." i was letting it go

[Karpo_007]

Thats what I've been saying, the Mirage continuty isn't accurate enough so that you could give them specific ages. And it doesn't matter, but it's a topic to discuss about.

[MW8979]

I think it's irrelevant and, honestly, just another case of fans trying to pick something apart for lack of anything better to do. Does it matter? Did they ever even ACT like teenagers? Would you even know they were if the name of the book had been simply "Ninja Turtles"? Probably not.

In DC, half of the members of the current "Teen Titans" are in their 20s now. Just let it go. Trying to figure out the ages of fictional characters is pointless because they do not age in real time. Events do not happen in real time. It's only relevant to the story the writer is trying to tell at THAT moment in time. No sense getting all worked into a tizzy over it. It's better to say that the Turtles were "around 15" in the originals and "late 20s-early 30s" now. There's no need to ever address the issue specefically and thus it most likely won't be. I highly doubt Peter Laird ever sat down with a slide rule and a stack of old Mirage comics and tried to determine each Turtle's exact age.

Ditto.

[Leo656]

Discussion I'm all for, I just get a bit miffed when people seem as if they're telling people they're right or wrong in a debate such as this where there is no "right" answer. But I love everybody anyway, let's play pool. :D

[heretic888]

Thats what I've been saying, the Mirage continuty isn't accurate enough so that you could give them specific ages.

Yes, it is. Every one of the ages I listed (with the possible exception of the Volume 2 ages) is validated by either the characters themselves and/or Eastmand and Laird responding to fanmail. All you have to do is apply a little common logic.

[Leo656]

OR we could say that E and L were using the "yeah, that seems about right" method of determining the Turtles' ages, also commonly known as the "Pulled It Out of Their Ass" equation. And the fact remains that all of us probably spent way more time thinking about the subject than Eastman and Laird EVER did.

[HorseTechie]

Yeah... and they are 34, dammit!

Or 32... 30 something...




:D

[Buslady]

Typically 15 for all of them, far as I know.

I like to have them different ages in my fics. How do we know if they were from the same clutch of eggs, same parents, hatched the same time, blah blah blah.... so In my fics I have Raph and Leo both about the same age, 18 and Don 15 Mikey 14. that's the fun of fanfics, you can do whatteevverrrr you wanna

well....not really, but turtles live for hundreds of years so they should have a long infance or something

actualy pond turtles dont live for hundreds of years, Red Ears, if that's what they are, live upward of 30ish years. Tortoises onthe other hand are a different story. the oldest Galapagos, Harriet, was collected by Darwin himself and resides at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo.

[EZweasel]

Typically 15 for all of them, far as I know.


I like to have them different ages in my fics. How do we know if they were from the same clutch of eggs, same parents, hatched the same time, blah blah blah.... so In my fics I have Raph and Leo both about the same age, 18 and Don 15 Mikey 14. that's the fun of fanfics, you can do whatteevverrrr you wanna

about the whole egg thing. it gets me to thinking maybe one day the turtles can find their mom even though shes only a turtle and wont know them it might be neat i guess.

[Jarrah White]

Typically 15 for all of them, far as I know.


I like to have them different ages in my fics. How do we know if they were from the same clutch of eggs, same parents, hatched the same time, blah blah blah.... so In my fics I have Raph and Leo both about the same age, 18 and Don 15 Mikey 14. that's the fun of fanfics, you can do whatteevverrrr you wanna

about the whole egg thing. it gets me to thinking maybe one day the turtles can find their mom even though shes only a turtle and wont know them it might be neat i guess.

Gee finding their mother will be extremly difficult, turtles lay their eggs on the beach then abandon their eggs.

[Karpo_007]

OR we could say that E and L were using the "yeah, that seems about right" method of determining the Turtles' ages, also commonly known as the "Pulled It Out of Their Ass" equation. And the fact remains that all of us probably spent way more time thinking about the subject than Eastman and Laird EVER did.

Yep, thats what I think too. Age was never a big part of the story, and accurate answer was never given. Most accurate was "around 16" during City at War, of course you can draw conclusions from there, but there are some plot holes, like how small gap there would be between Return to New York and City at War, and few like that. I think Heretic's theory is realistic, but before Laird completes his Mirage timeline project there won't be a correct answer.

[Lanagirl]

Well, the turtles look much older than 15-16 years old. I'd say- 22-23 at least
And how old is Splinter then? I guess he is Saki's coeval :-?

[Jarrah White]

Splinters the late-Hamato Yoshi's pet in the new series.

[Sparvid]

but there are some plot holes, like how small gap there would be between Return to New York and City at WarDoesn't Karai mention this some time during City at War? Like "X years ago you [Leo] slayed Shredder and started this whole thing" or something..?

[EZweasel]

Typically 15 for all of them, far as I know.


I like to have them different ages in my fics. How do we know if they were from the same clutch of eggs, same parents, hatched the same time, blah blah blah.... so In my fics I have Raph and Leo both about the same age, 18 and Don 15 Mikey 14. that's the fun of fanfics, you can do whatteevverrrr you wanna

about the whole egg thing. it gets me to thinking maybe one day the turtles can find their mom even though shes only a turtle and wont know them it might be neat i guess.

Gee finding their mother will be extremly difficult, turtles lay their eggs on the beach then abandon their eggs.

donatello is so smart he could find them some way then study their DNA

[Karpo_007]

but there are some plot holes, like how small gap there would be between Return to New York and City at WarDoesn't Karai mention this some time during City at War? Like "X years ago you [Leo] slayed Shredder and started this whole thing" or something..?

Can't remember, I might check sometime.

[Jarrah White]

If you ask me, the turtles from the old cartoon don't look a day over twelve.

[Cascadia]

turtles do not live to be 100 years.....tortoises do. According to my turtle book, most species live to 35-45 years

[Mecha Cow]

Yeah, but that doesn't apply for mutant turtles, does it? ;)

But their age is irrelevant, really. They're teens(at least at the beginning), that's all you know and all that matters.

The reason they don't act like normal 13-15 year-olds is because they weren't raised as normal 13-15 year-olds. In fact, they aren't even normal 13-15 year-olds.

[Ryan]

As the title suggests they are in their teens, but which teen number exactly?

In the new cartoon, they are 15 --- most likely approaching their 16th birthday sometime soon in the show. In the Mirage comic, they are approximately 28.


They were all born at approximately the same time (i.e., they were hatched from the same set of eggs from the same mother turtle). They are not, as far as we know, quadruplets.

Laterz.

I have to agree with you on everything you said. You have it to science.

In the cartoons, you see the Turtles as babies and they are all the same size. In the movies, they are all the same size. Voice changing and fluxuations for size is normal for any sibling. My idea, they were born at the same time, it is normal for a mother Turtle to have aproximately 20 eggs. One must wonder, where were their brothers and sisters?


Ryan

[Spacefille]

My idea, they were born at the same time, it is normal for a mother Turtle to have aproximately 20 eggs. One must wonder, where were their brothers and sisters?


Ryan

Four siblings born at the same time are still quadruplets. Or 20-uplets or whatever the amount of hatched eggs there were. If they were born at the same time they're fraternal quadruplets or whatever.

[Jarrah White]

turtles do not live to be 100 years.....tortoises do. According to my turtle book, most species live to 35-45 years

Seaturtles can live up to a hundred years or more, we see them all the time at the GBR.

[Karpo_007]

They never go into details what ooze does excatly, but I'd imagine it does prolong age.

[TMNT is cooler than MOTU]

Well, on the backs of the new toys, it says they're all 15. But, in the old continuity Leonardo=16, Donatello=15, Michelangelo=15 1/2 and Raphael=15.

[Jarrah White]

I doubt they are 18, that would make them adults. Adult Mutant Ninja Turtles?

[Leo656]

Well again, in the new Mirage book they're in their late 20s-early 30s, and the book is still called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"... it's just brand recognition, that's all. And they don't refer to THEMSELVES as the TMNT, that'd just be corny. Like bands who wear their own shirts onstage.

[Quiller-Bee]

If anyone cares what Laird has to say, he already answered the question regarding the "Mirage" Turtles' current age in the letters column ... stating that the Turtles are currently in their mid-thirties. Their exact age at any point in the Mirage books can only be speculated at best, since no exact answer has ever been offered by Eastman or Laird in regard to the boys' age at any specific point in the series.

[Buslady]

Typically 15 for all of them, far as I know.


I like to have them different ages in my fics. How do we know if they were from the same clutch of eggs, same parents, hatched the same time, blah blah blah.... so In my fics I have Raph and Leo both about the same age, 18 and Don 15 Mikey 14. that's the fun of fanfics, you can do whatteevverrrr you wanna

about the whole egg thing. it gets me to thinking maybe one day the turtles can find their mom even though shes only a turtle and wont know them it might be neat i guess.

Gee finding their mother will be extremly difficult, turtles lay their eggs on the beach then abandon their eggs.

Who says they are sea turtles? :wink: just kidding!!!! But yeah, Pond turtles find soft dirt or whatever and start digging.

[heretic888]

Time to address some things...

Four siblings born at the same time are still quadruplets. Or 20-uplets or whatever the amount of hatched eggs there were. If they were born at the same time they're fraternal quadruplets or whatever.

I don't believe it works the same way for reptiles as it does for humans.

They never go into details what ooze does excatly, but I'd imagine it does prolong age.

Actually... its been implied several times that the mutagen does in fact prolong age. Rats are only supposed to live for a few years, but Splinter lived for somewhere in the range of 30 years after he was initially mutated.

Of course.... he lived an extraordinarily long life (for a rat) before he was ever mutated, so you never know....

In the After the Bomb RPG supplement put out by Palladium, there is a comic strip featuring Raphael. ATB takes place in a post-apocalyptic world; basically, there was a big nuclear war or something and almost all the animals on the planet, being doused with radiation, were mutated. Over 90% of the human population is killed. MOST humans are concerned with helping their newly sentient brethren, providing them with education, technology, and so forth. A minority, however, are actively interested in WIPING OUT all mutants, seeing them as abominations. They call themselves the Empire for Humanity. Interesting storylines ensue.

Raphael is alive and well, and teaching a "new generation" of ninja turtles (one of which is female). Elsewhere, there is a mention of a "Gang of Four" which has established a "ninja clan network" of some kind and there are pretty broad hints they are the Turtles.

All of this takes place around 2100 or so. If we go by this account, all the TMNT live well over 130 years...

Well, on the backs of the new toys, it says they're all 15. But, in the old continuity Leonardo=16, Donatello=15, Michelangelo=15 1/2 and Raphael=15.

The "old continuity" is irrelevant. They are all the same age in all versions now.

If anyone cares what Laird has to say, he already answered the question regarding the "Mirage" Turtles' current age in the letters column ... stating that the Turtles are currently in their mid-thirties. Their exact age at any point in the Mirage books can only be speculated at best, since no exact answer has ever been offered by Eastman or Laird in regard to the boys' age at any specific point in the series.

I actually believe he said "early 30's". The actual ages he has given are "between 28 and 32", I believe. He obviously hasn't worked out the specifics yet.

[Bowser_Koopa]

oh man just drop it ok?, don't argue anymore, it isn't fun

[heretic888]

:roll:

[Quiller-Bee]

oh man just drop it ok?, don't argue anymore, it isn't funYes ... it is!

And for those who don't have the comic in which the letter appeared, here's Peter's response to the question about the Mirage Turtles' current age ... verbatim:

Peter Laird, Turtle Tracks letters section of TMNT vol. 4, #3:
"Okay… this will be the first, last and only time I answer this oft-asked question in this book. The Turtles are not teenagers any more. They are in their thirties. That being said, the book will not be called MIDDLE-AGED MUTANT NINJA TURTLES or any other equally lame thing, because I like the name TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, and that's the name I think of when I think of these characters."

Make of it what you will.

[Bowser_Koopa]

:sweatdro: