Trying to Scientifically define Mutagen's effects

[Tarris Vaal]

This is an interesting line of thought that came up on one of the other threads - and I will apologise in advance if this question has come up ad infinitum. Threadomancy, gotta love it.

Anyway, the question is; 'How exactly does the Mutagen work?'

The ooze and its exact effects appears to change from iteration to iteration so to be clearer we will focus only on the 2k12 series.

So what do we know about it?

* It is milked from the Krathatrogons, a worm creature from Dimension X. Presumably it is a food source for their young.

* The Kraang use it to mutate other creatures. It is implied that within Dimension X, this can be done with significant precision as it is mentioned frequently that it doesnt work as expected in our universe.

* The Kraang are convinced that April's specially bred telekinetic powers can stabilise the mutagen enough to allow it to be used for the Kraang's intended purposes.

- However - The invasion shows the Kraang happily using it without April in a reasonably consistent manner. Presumably this is a modified version which has a compromise effect (its not what the Kraang intended, but it'll do)

* It is generally kept sealed. Whilst 'fresh' it appears to most commonly combine the prominent DNA features from a creature that the affected subject recently came in contact with (even if this was some time beforehand, eg Dogpound, Kirby and Fishface). How it determines exactly what creature to combine with from the subjects previous encounters is unclear and may be pot luck.

- This effect does not commonly fuse the creatures together unless the subjects are in close proximity and exposed at the same time (Baxter, Karai or Chimera)

* The newly mutated creatures are commonly much bigger physically. Though not in all cases (Squirrelanoids initial stage, Ice cream kitty and Dr Cluckingsworth MD)

* Newly mutated creatures commonly exhibit abilities that neither the subject nor its additional DNA had (eg Fishface's poison, Dogpound's bony extrusions, Karai's additional heads, Spiderbyte's spitting acid, Rahzar's shooting finger bones, Timothy's acid)

* Unsealed mutagen appears to be more unstable, resulting in mutations that seem to detract from the original subject's physical body (Rahzar and Timothy)

* Mutagen has been shown to mutate plant matter (Creep, Mushroom man and Snakeweed)

* Mutagen has also been shown to mutate non organic matter (Speed Demon), though this is very unclear how.

* Mutagen can be extracted from a subject resulting in it returning to a normal or alternate state (Creep, Raphael)

* April ONeil is immune to its effects. This is presumably a unique trait of her unusual biology. It is unclear and untested if this is true of more mutants (as only 1 has ever been exposed twice)

* To date it has very rarely fused clothing with a subject (Cockroach terminator is only known example though clothing has disappeared in other cases and remained in others (Karai's breastplate remained for instance, where Timothy's entire costume vanished))

* We know it burns and that mutation is a painful process. This implies a significant increase in thermal energy during a mutation.

* Mutated creatures appear to have a roughly 85% chance of being sentient and non feral. (Rahzar/Dogpound, the Turtles, Splinter, Tigerclaw, April ONeil, Fishface, Punk Frogs, Dr Cluckingsworth MD, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Mushroom man, Spiderbytes, Snakeweed, Karai, Speed Demon (insane) as opposed to Squirrelanoids, Creep, Chimera, Ice Cream Kitty, Timothy, Kirby)
Presumably, mutants that started human have a higher chance of being non feral/sane/sentient, whilst non humans are less likely. This is by no means guaranteed (the Turtles themselves being perfect examples)

edit:

* It appears likely that the likelihood of a resulting Feral mutation can be influenced by the emotional state of the subject at the time of mutation. Calm subjects (such as Splinter, the Turtles, Dogpound, Fishface) appear more likely to be non Feral. Agitated or panicking subjects (Kirby, Karai, Baxter...) are more prone to feral mutation.

* Mutagen is shown to remain inside the subject - Speed demon for instance spreads mutagen over a wide area when destroyed. It is also shown to be extractable (Raphael and the Creep), which can result in unusual effects or the reversal of the mutagenic effect.

Edit:

* Mutagen has shown to require direct contact exposure. Commonly this is depicted as skin contact - suggesting that the mutagen is absorbed through the epidermis and into the cellular structure of the subject, presumably transferred through the body by moving into the bloodstream and the lymphatic system. It is implied that organic based clothing provides no defence against this absorption into the body, however there is very little direct on screen evidence either way. This becomes more complex with the question of how Speed Demon became mutated given there is no bloodstream, nor lymphatic system to conduct the mutagen through the car, nor an epidermis to absorb mutagen through.

* Mutagen has also been observed to enter the digestive system (Ice Cream Kitty, and possibly Pizza Face). Given the speed of mutation on screen, this appears to work in the same manner as skin contact; mutagen is absorbed into the body, moving through the bloodstream to attack the subjects cellular structure.

From the evidence it seems reasonable to presume there are 3 versions of mutagen:

Contained Fresh - The most commonly depicted. This appears to randomly take DNA from a source the subject was recently exposed to and fuse it with the subject. The exact process is unclear (for instance - just what did the Squirrelanoids fuse with???) and effects on personal items about the subject appears random. Mutation appears to take apx 5 seconds.
Fresh mutagen is capable of creating mutants from Inert objects (cars) and create sentient creatures from non sentient objects (Creep, Speed Demon)
Exact abilities appear random

Contained, non Fresh - Commonly depicted in large vats within Shredder's lair. Though similar to Fresh Mutagen, this appears to have more unpredictable effects, and is often more debilitating with a higher chance of feral mutations. Effects take a little longer to occur (nearing 10s)

Weaponized - Depicted only once in Invasion. A variant of mutagen that creates consistent effects on subjects it touches. Humans and animals become 'Kraangy' whilst tarmac reacts by becoming crystalline. Effects are near instantaneous.



Initial thoughts? Did I miss anything?

[Refractive Reflections]

Here's a thread of some members discussing about it a year or so ago about the mutagen's qualities:
http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=45369

I don't know if it's specifically what you are looking for, or if it applies to the mutagen's properties currently if it's changed during the run of the series (especially with the show's plot amnesia), but it gives some background information over what was specifically discussed at the time.

[Tarris Vaal]

Thank you! I was looking for a thread like that!

I was hoping to incorporate something like the mutagen into an RPG game and was hoping to get a better idea of its ground rules. Plus i like theorising on this sort of thing

It occurred to me as well that I missed Slash as an important example. He obviously becomes humanoid, but the only humanoid Spike has any contact with on screen is Raphael, which presumably means that Slash is sharing at least a part of Raph's DNA in order for a humanoid mutation to occur - which suggests that Slash is now theoretically related to Raph (father/son?)

[snake]

Wow. Lovin' that in depth stuff.

[Tarris Vaal]

As I said, I like theorising on this sort of plot point

There was a suggestion of emotive state having some effect on the mutagen - though I forget who it was who mentioned it now.

The theory was that in most mutations (so 'Fresh mutagen' at least) the chances of a non feral mutation increased if the subject was calm - or at least calmer - at the time of exposure. Dogpound and Fishface self mutate (well Bradford does at least), Slash seems to take to it more calmly than any other example. The turtles and Splinter are more shocked than terrified when exposed. Even Spiderbytes is only shouting out after the mutation has already begun.

By contrast, just prior to mutation, Karai is clearly panicking, Kirby is in hysterics, Baxter is also panicked as is Snakeweed - all cases where the mutant resulting shows feral or slightly unhinged tendencies.

I am reading far too much into this aren't I?

[Luckyday]

You may be on to something there Tarris.

Perhaps because stress release a certain hormone in the body and for whatever reason, the mutagen seem drawn to it.

Another thing is that mutagen stays within the body although I don't know how but maybe it has to or else the mutation will not stay in effect.

What experiment I want to see done with mutagen is to mutant two element that can not bond easily like anything from the noble gases whose outer ring is full with electrons.

If the mutagen does the impossible by bonding them together to create a compound of some kind then maybe it will show what power the mutagen has over the mutants's molecule .

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by Tarris Vaal

I am reading far too much into this aren't I?

As you can tell in the thread I mentioned beforehand, I tried to rack my brain around the mutagen's effects as well earlier in the series, but I couldn't find any firm consistency other than creative whims.

It doesn't help either, and actually dissuades me to figure it out, when the show has substantial plot amnesia with the characters; which, in my opinion, is a much deeper grievance against the show's storytelling than the inconsistency of the Nick mutagen.

[Tarris Vaal]

As you can tell in the thread I mentioned beforehand, I tried to rack my brain around the mutagen's effects as well earlier in the series, but I couldn't find any firm consistency other than creative whims.

I wonder if it is as bad as it seems. The substance is mysterious by its very nature (and stated as unreliable outside dimension X), so there is a lot of scope for it to do weird things whilst still sticking to a vague set of rules.

I'm wondering if we will see more of what it can and cant do as the series progresses, with increasing hints being dropped as we go. I can well imagine there being a very vague set of guidelines for the writers to follow - but guidelines none the less. Just for consistency if nothing else

Another thing is that mutagen stays within the body although I don't know how but maybe it has to or else the mutation will not stay in effect.

Forgot that! Added to the list!

What experiment I want to see done with mutagen is to mutant two element that can not bond easily like anything from the noble gases whose outer ring is full with electrons.

If the mutagen does the impossible by bonding them together to create a compound of some kind then maybe it will show what power the mutagen has over the mutants's molecule .

Well... the most powerful thing we have observed it achieve so far was mutating a car into a sentient and semi organic construct in Speed demon. We have also recently had it mutate 3 creatures simultaneously in Chimera.

Ice cream kitty and the Cockroach terminator also bound interesting components (and arguably pizza face presuming he wasn't a figment of Mikey's imagination)

The power and complexity level is definitely increasing as the show goes on. Be interesting to see what Shredder does with it

[Luckyday]

Well if he found a way to use mutagen break atoms rather then just bonding them...then well.



But that's more of the worst case scenario with someone like the shredder having nuclear weapon of mass destruction.

[Tarris Vaal]

So much for New york...

Imagine Donnie being told to clean up that mess.



Anyway - that is an interesting point to make though. The Mutagen almost certainly binds molecules in order to produce new elements and composite DNA (Ice Cream kitty being of particular note here)

In theory at least, a Retromutagen would then HAVE to divide those molecules again. Its not splitting the atom, but it may provide some explosive results.

In most cases of mutation (both organic parents) I would doubt that, unless it was quite an extreme celluar mutation (such as ICK), a retromutagen would have that effect as the celluar structure being altered would be nominally quite similar from creature to creature. In extreme cases however, it is feasible to assume that the Retromutagagen could have explosive or other hazardous reactions due to the release of energy during the change.

We've seen Donnie cause hazardous freezing and explosive effects in Mutagen already (Mutagen Man), so we know that Retromutagen can cause dangerous side effects.

Timothy mentions it burns during a mutation - suggesting an energy release or build up. Speed Demon literally explodes after being knocked about badly.
-
This suggests some mutants literally cannot be Retromutated safely.

This posits two interesting points for the future of the series:

Ice Cream Kitty is potentially a bomb - Which also means Mikey might be responsible for killing everyone.

and more seriously...

If Shredder gets hold of the Retromutagen and realises this, he may have a actually weapon of mass destruction.

[Luckyday]

Originally Posted by Tarris Vaal

So much for New york...

Imagine Donnie being told to clean up that mess.



Anyway - that is an interesting point to make though. The Mutagen almost certainly binds molecules in order to produce new elements and composite DNA (Ice Cream kitty being of particular note here)

In theory at least, a Retromutagen would then HAVE to divide those molecules again. Its not splitting the atom, but it may provide some explosive results.

In most cases of mutation (both organic parents) I would doubt that, unless it was quite an extreme celluar mutation (such as ICK), a retromutagen would have that effect as the celluar structure being altered would be nominally quite similar from creature to creature. In extreme cases however, it is feasible to assume that the Retromutagagen could have explosive or other hazardous reactions due to the release of energy during the change.

We've seen Donnie cause hazardous freezing and explosive effects in Mutagen already (Mutagen Man), so we know that Retromutagen can cause dangerous side effects.

Timothy mentions it burns during a mutation - suggesting an energy release or build up. Speed Demon literally explodes after being knocked about badly.
-
This suggests some mutants literally cannot be Retromutated safely.

This posits two interesting points for the future of the series:

Ice Cream Kitty is potentially a bomb - Which also means Mikey might be responsible for killing everyone.

and more seriously...

If Shredder gets hold of the Retromutagen and realises this, he may have a actually weapon of mass destruction.

I can see it happening once this series becomes Shredder focus. I can see OT Shredder putting the entire city under hostage if the country doesn't give in his demands like a super villain but Nick Shredder acts like a ninja or at least a mercenary. For him, he might send a message to the turtles to say "I have an equivalent of an atomic bomb, and if you don't give me Hamato Yoshi and Karai, I will use it on your city."

[miru]

Originally Posted by Tarris Vaal

So much for New york...

Imagine Donnie being told to clean up that mess.



Anyway - that is an interesting point to make though. The Mutagen almost certainly binds molecules in order to produce new elements and composite DNA (Ice Cream kitty being of particular note here)

In theory at least, a Retromutagen would then HAVE to divide those molecules again. Its not splitting the atom, but it may provide some explosive results.

In most cases of mutation (both organic parents) I would doubt that, unless it was quite an extreme celluar mutation (such as ICK), a retromutagen would have that effect as the celluar structure being altered would be nominally quite similar from creature to creature. In extreme cases however, it is feasible to assume that the Retromutagagen could have explosive or other hazardous reactions due to the release of energy during the change.

We've seen Donnie cause hazardous freezing and explosive effects in Mutagen already (Mutagen Man), so we know that Retromutagen can cause dangerous side effects.

Timothy mentions it burns during a mutation - suggesting an energy release or build up. Speed Demon literally explodes after being knocked about badly.
-
This suggests some mutants literally cannot be Retromutated safely.

This posits two interesting points for the future of the series:

Ice Cream Kitty is potentially a bomb - Which also means Mikey might be responsible for killing everyone.

and more seriously...

If Shredder gets hold of the Retromutagen and realises this, he may have a actually weapon of mass destruction.

"Gulp"

What if Shredder turned his motely mutant crew into suicide bombers with Retromutagen?

[Tarris Vaal]

I doubt that would happen with the existing mutants in Shredder's employ.

Fishface, Rahzar, Tigerclaw and Baxter (and Karai for that matter) are all organic/organic mutants so the initial celluar structures are too similar to require significant changes to the fundamentals of how the cells work. Retromutagen would only restore them to their original selves ....

... Though I have to wonder what would happen to Rahzar with the Retromutagen, given the circumstances of his mutation.

Dangerous mutants at the moment were Speed Demon, the Cockroach terminator (ish) and Timothy.

And the mutagen itself.

[Tarris Vaal]

Following an excellent point made on another thread:

But that episode has a really big WTF though, he states that he only have enough for 2 people, he loses one and all hell breaks lose when everyone wants the second one, and in the end a single drop of it was enough to de-mutate Kirby. One drop, he could de-mutate everyone in the city with one canister alone let alone 2.

- Devilspooky

This raises the question of dosage required to facilitate a mutation, and the dosage required by Retromutagen to counteract it.

So far from observation we can surmise the following points regarding mutagen:

* Shredder's minions commonly have massive dosages - Dogpound, Fishface, Karai and Rahzar are all dunked or deluged in vats of the stuff.

* The Kraang use a standardized container for all but the largest attacks. Given the dangers and difficulties of extracting and importing the mutagen this suggests that each container is intended as a single dose, however this is regularly shown not to be the case;

* Relatively small amounts of mutagen have been shown to initiate a mutation. Baxter stockman is a clear example, however Spiderbytes and Kirby have only part of a cannister strike them. The Turtles and Splinter share a single cannister between them - The Punk frogs, Speed Demon and Ice cream Kitty are extreme cases where only tiny amounts of mutagen was sufficient to cause the reaction.

From this we can observe that the mutagen is capable of initiating mutation with very small doses. The fact that a car was mutated from brief exposure to its tyres suggests that the size of the mutating object is not a factor in the amount of mutagen required to initiate the mutation.

That said, the Speed demon seems to be an extreme example in many instances - discounting it briefly and it would appear that more commonly human sized creatures require roughly a quarter to one half of a cannister to initiate change (taking Baxter to be the example of the smallest known amount of mutagen needed on a human sized subject)

Smaller creatures, such as cockroaches, cats, frogs and squirrels seem to have initiated mutation with extremely limited exposure, perhaps as little as 1/50th of a cannister (2%). It is also possible that Spike falls into this category, though we are not shown how much mutagen he is exposed to.

Speed demon is the only occasion where tiny doses of mutagen were used on a large subject. It is also one of the only occasions where an inanimate object is mutated and mutated to give sentience. It seems reasonable to postulate it as a 'wild card' example.



* Retromutagen is stated to require 10 mutagen cannisters to make 1 Retromutagen cannister.

* The Retromutagen is only used on one occasion to date; to demutate Kirby. On this occasion only a seemingly small dosage was required. (I cant find a clip to confirm precisely how much was required though - if memory serves it was a syringe worth). However what is certain is that it was a smaller dosage than the initial mutagen exposure.

* Although unconfirmed in quantities, it does appear that mutagen can be counteracted by a comparatively small amount of retromutagen. This suggests the Retromutagen is more potent, and that overexposure may have unpleasant side effects of its own.

[Tarris Vaal]

The Speed Demon question -

On more than one occasion, the mutant known as Speed Demon (Race with the Demon - season 3), breaks almost all the known 'rules' of mutagen. So the question is how it could possibly work within the known 'rules'. Is it actually a complete aberration or is there something we are missing that actually does make it work as normal?

We know from The Croaking, that Speed demon is a car that drives over an open cannister of Mutagen. This means that the car was driving country roads at speed and at night and was obviously being driven.

so some basic observations;

* Given the size of the car compared to the cannister and corresponding spill, it is likely the mutagen only touched initially at most 2 tyres.

* Night time driving at speed, the windows are almost certainly closed. Though not impossible, it is highly unlikely that the car is in such a bad state that it has a hole in the floor through which the mutagen could reach the rider. This means the rider was almost certainly not affected by the original mutation.

*Previous observations of Mutagen show that it does not affect non living objects unless weaponized (and even then, it does not produce sentient/living creatures). Clothing is frequently shown to be struck by mutagen (along with tables, floors, etc) without causing a mutant. This means that an organic component HAD to be present somewhere on the car at the time of exposure.

* In order to affect cellular structure beyond the immediate exposed area, a situation must have occurred to bring the mutagen into contact with a large proportion of the car itself.

* Mutagen has been shown to merge inorganic/non living material and organic subjects (cockroach terminator).

* The car was shown to be driving a country road.

From this we can make some reasonable assumptions:

* Night time driving through a country road - There is a reasonably high chance that the car had hit an animal earlier in its journey

* Car driving at speed makes it likely that the Mutagen splashed.

* A car has its oil transmission system as well as the radiator/coolant system. This operates in a similar manner to a vascular system in a living animal. Given the age of the car, it is a reasonable assumption to presume that at least some point of the oil or coolant transmission system tubing is in a poor state or repair, breached and leaking, or just very worn and thin.




From these assumptions, it is possible to construct a scenario which explains the Speed Demon mutant whilst maintaining the known 'rules' of mutagen as depicted;


The car is driving along a winding Northampton road at night and at speed. The road passes close to a swampy area. At a point in the journey, the car runs over a small predatory animal (fox, raccoon, etc). Within a matter of minutes after this incident, the car then drives through what appears to be a puddle. This is in fact a mutagen spillage.

The impact of the tyres at speed - already contaminated with animal viscera - throws mutagen droplets across the underside of the car.

Some of these droplets get caught up in the primary transmission, others get onto weak points in the car's oil leads.

The mutagen, already in a state of mutation with the animal dna, integrates with the (semi organic) oil system. As normal, it merges the animal dna with the oil and non organic components present. The oil system spreads the mutagenic solution through the entire car in a matter of seconds, just like a vascular system in a normal animal.

The car mutates, merging bodily with elements of the animal it struck. It takes on the predatory nature of that creature. As there is proportionally much more car than there is animal, the mutant retains the overall appearance and shape of the car.

In effect, Speed Demon is less a mutated car, so much as a mutated oil system within a car, that is using a car like mobile battle armour. This explains why the car does not increase in size (as would also be normal), because it is not the car itself which mutates.

The newly mutated 'Speed Demon' immediately attacks the initial driver - being almost certainly a feral mutation - absorbing him like any other animal attack would 'eat' prey.
The mutation is so fresh however, that 'Speed Demon' partly absorbs the driver, taking on personality traits (a need for speed, a lack of care for the rules of the road, the ability to speak, etc). The absorption is not total and is closer to consumption than absorption, which is why the rider is eventually ejected without obvious harm or lasting mutation. He may be partly 'digested' but is otherwise no worse for wear beyond psychological trauma.


The mutagen collects in the car's engine system. When Speed Demon is rammed, the mutagen reacts with the existing fuel, causing an explosion, spreading the small amount of remaining mutagen over an unfortunate eagle.





Sorry guys, just needed to get that out of my system. Its been bugging me for ages.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

It's also possible that the mutagen reacted with the tires themselves as well- given that tires are a petroleum (or sometimes natural rubber)-based product. I'm guessing that some of the mutagen also got into the engine assembly, which would explain why Donnie got absorbed when the car "ate" him. The car's hood acted like a giant mouth and as you suggested, it "digested" him- into the driver's seat, which in itself suggests that the car is now "alive" to some degree. All of this would possibly support the theory of the car's oil system mixing with material from road-kill.

[Amaranthus]

Also don't forget everything is always covered in bacteria. Which are living organisms. Which is why Timothy got turned into an amoeba-like goo, because he didn't directly touch anything. Mutagen seems to burn, which is why clothes usually disappear during the process. This didn't apply to Dogpound and Baxter Stockman.
I don't get Dogpound's second mutation though. He clearly touched Mikey before falling into the mutagen.

[Tarris Vaal]

It might be a quantity thing - Splinter didnt lose his clothes either (if the flashback is anything to go by they ripped when he mutated)

Dogpound I dont think we got much of a clear shot of him immediately post mutation (please correct me if I'm remembering that wrong), so its 'possible' his clothes were added later. Obviously Xever lost all his clothing, and Baxter was hit by comparatively small amounts of mutagen so possibly it wasnt enough to cause the clothing to be absorbed.

Rahzar is an interesting one though - admittably there weren't many clothes to lose, but Rahzar is odd anyway because he actually loses body mass rather than gains it - which is itself unusual. And Rahzar isnt the only one to be hit by mutagen immediately after touching one of the turtles (Timothy for instance). He and Timothy I can only put down to a potential change in the mutagen if its left in an open container for too long (Fresh vs Non Fresh mutagen)


I may attack the Timothy question later, there are a lot of odd things about his mutation....


As for bacteria, I can only presume that because its literally everywhere, that it has had an effect on Every mutant we've seen, and is just absorbed into the mix like everything else. We just dont see much of it - though that may explain the sometimes random abilities of some mutants.

[Luckyday]

Originally Posted by Tarris Vaal

It might be a quantity thing - Splinter didnt lose his clothes either (if the flashback is anything to go by they ripped when he mutated)

Dogpound I dont think we got much of a clear shot of him immediately post mutation (please correct me if I'm remembering that wrong), so its 'possible' his clothes were added later. Obviously Xever lost all his clothing, and Baxter was hit by comparatively small amounts of mutagen so possibly it wasnt enough to cause the clothing to be absorbed.

Rahzar is an interesting one though - admittably there weren't many clothes to lose, but Rahzar is odd anyway because he actually loses body mass rather than gains it - which is itself unusual. And Rahzar isnt the only one to be hit by mutagen immediately after touching one of the turtles (Timothy for instance). He and Timothy I can only put down to a potential change in the mutagen if its left in an open container for too long (Fresh vs Non Fresh mutagen)

But you are forgetting Slash. How did he turn into a mutant if the only person he had touch was clearly Raph?

[Tarris Vaal]

But you are forgetting Slash. How did he turn into a mutant if the only person he had touch was clearly Raph?

Well, as you say the only person he touches is Raphael (certainly immediately prior to his mutation at least), but he does exhibit fairly expected results from what we know of the mutagen depicted in the show;

* He increases in body mass significantly (more so than the turtles, suggesting perhaps a larger exposure)

* He is calm during the mutation (implied willingly mutated) and retains memories, faculties and sanity (arguably ), suggesting again that emotional state has an effect on the end result

* He starts as a turtle and retains far more of the physical characteristics of turtles than any of the other turtles do (albeit exaggerated, such as his far more pronounced beak, spiked shell and retractable talons). This suggests that where the turtles (L/R/D/M) are roughly 50/50 human/turtle DNA mix, that Slash has a much higher proportion of turtle DNA, which makes perfect sense if he borrows DNA from Raph with which to mutate (suggesting a 25/75 ish human/turtle split)

- This does imply that genetically speaking, Slash is at least related to Raphael, arguably a son, as he shares 50% apx of his genetic makeup with Raph.


Slash actually follows the 'rules' as observed fairly well. Rahzar and Timothy are harder to explain because we see them have physical contact with the Turtles, yet do not borrow any observable DNA traits or characteristics from them following their mutations.