The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around for decades and, at this point, have cycled through multiple iterations of their team that have hit nearly every kind of tone and visual deviation imaginable for these iconic reptilian brothers. Always cracking some joke, catchphrase, or quip, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ very first word ended up being far more effectual and was the perfect representation of who they eventually became as NYC’s Heroes in a Half Shell.
Originally portrayed as more gritty and violent characters than what fans are used to seeing today, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael’s origin has mostly stayed the same over the years, with the idea of the Turtles being bathed in glowing ooze triggering their mutations and acting as the jumping-off point for their eventual teenage growth and ninja evolutions.
In the debut issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released in 1984, Splinter tells the story about how the Turtles came to be, revealing that once the brothers gained the ability to talk, their first word was his name!
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“Splinter” Was the First Word Ever Uttered by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 – 1984 (Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird)
Having no idea that these Turtles would physically grow as fast as they did post-ooze exposure nor what lay in store for them the longer they did, Splinter also wasn’t aware that Leo, Donnie, Mikey, or Raph even could talk until, in a heartwarming detail, one of them says his name. Uttering, “Splint-ter?” as the Turtles’ master looks on in disbelief, the Turtles then start to put together random noises and words that aren’t legible, flooring Splinter and forcing him to realize that all of their transformations may result in them becoming something far more than their current selves.
Considering that at its core, the story of TMNT is all about familial bonds, the fact that “Splinter” is the first word any of the Turtles speak is an incredibly important one, as it solidifies the brothers’ bond to their father by making him an integral part of their first formative memory, one that defines and injects their growing personalities with the idea of family. Furthermore, this word becomes even more significant, as across other media, the brothers say increasingly silly words first like “Star Trek,” “radical,” and, as seen in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action film, “pizza.”
The Turtles’ First Word Shows Just How Important Splinter Is to the Team
So while Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael still had a long way to go before they started jumping high into the air and shouting “Cowabunga” at the top of their lungs, making “Splinter” the first word they ever said was a smart move by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird that perfectly captures what the team is all about and who they hold most dear. The only question remaining after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ first word is revealed is simple: which one of them was the original Turtle who said Splinter’s name, to begin with?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
