My idea for a 5th turtle

*ToTheNines* · 01-30-2026, 11:47 AM

A couple of different threads recently made me think of this. One of which was the discussion around Eastman and Laird arguing over the 4th turtle being Donatello or Bernini. So for the sake of simplicity, I'll call this 5th turtle Bernini/Bernie.

This might be hacky and I am absolutely "fridging" this character, gender aside, but here it goes.

The origin is otherwise almost exactly like Mirage, but what if this 5th brother was there from the start and grew with the other 4 but didn't survive their initial confrontation with Shredder? For the sake of pacing (let's say this is a show or a comic) this reveal won't happen be until a little later. The series would start a few years into the conflict with the Foot when the guys were 16-17, and the dead brother would be revealed via flashback.

Imagine Raph was super close to him and that's part of his anger issues. How would that effect Leo's leadership abilities or the other guys' estimation of him? How would that mould Don and Mike's personalities?

Is that too edgelordy? I am constantly hating on Last Ronin, so it's funny that I'm even entertaining the idea lol. I'm not actually writing anything like this, just an idea I'm playing with.

*neatoman* · 01-30-2026, 12:09 PM

Honestly, the concept only deserves to be a gag at best and not entertained at all would be preferable. If, and only if, such a gag is to be made, it ought to be as little of an actual character as possible.

I can imagine something like:
Chet buys a batch of five turtles initially, his dad takes it out of the bowl right before the truck incident. Chet drops the other four into the sewer as normal and dad tries to cheer him up by by showing he still has one left. As he hands it over, it bites Chet's finger and he flings the turtle onto the road, just as the truck starts up again and crushes it. Then dad goes "Aw geez, that's the one you named Jennika, right?".

Something like that is as close as the "fifth turtle" concept deserves to get, and frankly, it's still more than I would want.

Smithguy789 · 02-03-2026, 11:00 AM

I've mentioned it before in other threads, but I genuinely believe a 5th turtle could work.

When I was a kid with my dial-up internet connection, I first read about The Next Mutation and Venus. The idea of another turtle with the same origin that got separated and was raised with different training/values fascinated me. Having now way to watch the show at the time, I built the whole thing up in my head thinking it would be awesome (imagine my surprise years later...)

So I guess I'm still waiting for someone to come along and play with the "5th turtle with different values/skills" in a meaningful, entertaining way.

*Andrew NDB* · 02-03-2026, 11:44 AM

I always thought the GENERAL idea of the NT:TNM 5th Turtle origin wasn't terrible. Basically there was 5 turtles in that bowl and 1 of them got swept away in the sewer, for some reason. So the 5th turtle grows up alone or in a "school of hard knocks" living off the land with similar types. It's WAY too coincidental that this 5th errant turtle end up also training with some other martial arts master. So I'd nix that.

The introduction of such a turtle in this way, especially if much later into a series, could provide a new set of eyes on everything. Like, the Turtles would take this Turtle into the fold and they'd probably be relulctant and set in their ways, but we'd see them learning the way of the ninja day by day and getting better and better.

01-30-2026, 11:47 AM	#1
ToTheNines Col. Stinkmeaner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 19,088	My idea for a 5th turtle A couple of different threads recently made me think of this. One of which was the discussion around Eastman and Laird arguing over the 4th turtle being Donatello or Bernini. So for the sake of simplicity, I'll call this 5th turtle Bernini/Bernie. This might be hacky and I am absolutely "fridging" this character, gender aside, but here it goes. The origin is otherwise almost exactly like Mirage, but what if this 5th brother was there from the start and grew with the other 4 but didn't survive their initial confrontation with Shredder? For the sake of pacing (let's say this is a show or a comic) this reveal won't happen be until a little later. The series would start a few years into the conflict with the Foot when the guys were 16-17, and the dead brother would be revealed via flashback. Imagine Raph was super close to him and that's part of his anger issues. How would that effect Leo's leadership abilities or the other guys' estimation of him? How would that mould Don and Mike's personalities? Is that too edgelordy? I am constantly hating on Last Ronin, so it's funny that I'm even entertaining the idea lol. I'm not actually writing anything like this, just an idea I'm playing with.

02-03-2026, 11:00 AM	#3
Smithguy789 Thug Join Date: Dec 2024 Location: Tennessee Posts: 76	I've mentioned it before in other threads, but I genuinely believe a 5th turtle could work. When I was a kid with my dial-up internet connection, I first read about The Next Mutation and Venus. The idea of another turtle with the same origin that got separated and was raised with different training/values fascinated me. Having now way to watch the show at the time, I built the whole thing up in my head thinking it would be awesome (imagine my surprise years later...) So I guess I'm still waiting for someone to come along and play with the "5th turtle with different values/skills" in a meaningful, entertaining way.

02-03-2026, 11:44 AM	#4
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,279	I always thought the GENERAL idea of the NT:TNM 5th Turtle origin wasn't terrible. Basically there was 5 turtles in that bowl and 1 of them got swept away in the sewer, for some reason. So the 5th turtle grows up alone or in a "school of hard knocks" living off the land with similar types. It's WAY too coincidental that this 5th errant turtle end up also training with some other martial arts master. So I'd nix that. The introduction of such a turtle in this way, especially if much later into a series, could provide a new set of eyes on everything. Like, the Turtles would take this Turtle into the fold and they'd probably be relulctant and set in their ways, but we'd see them learning the way of the ninja day by day and getting better and better.