Superstar artist Jim Lee once redesigned the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the '9os toy line, and the results were divisive amongst fans.




Jim Lee is one of the biggest comic book artists of all time, but how many fans know he once provided redesigns for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Appearing in 1995  the designs were commissioned for a wave of the long running Playmates toy line, and have never been seen or referenced again.


Jim Lee is one of the biggest comic book artists of all time, but how many fans know he once provided redesigns for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Appearing in 1995  the designs were commissioned for a wave of the long-running Playmates toy line, and have never been seen or referenced again.


Jim Lee’s redesigns are emblematic of what was popular in the days of the “extreme” nineties, with cybernetic armor, oversized weaponry and pouch-heavy belts. Interestingly, the Jim Lee designs lean rather heavily into a more super heroic look for the Turtles, with each wearing brightly-colored, skintight outfits. These designs never appeared in any other TMNT media, so there was never an in-story explanation for the new look. However, each figure came packaged with a mini-comic teaming the Turtles up with Savage Dragon and his allies. Written by Erik Larsen and with art by Michael Doney and John Cleary, the five-page comic is clearly an excuse to have all the characters fight briefly before teaming up to take on the Vicious Circle, the super villain gang from the Savage Dragon comics. The mini-comic does show off Jim Lee’s design for the unreleased Leonardo, and states that the Turtles’ redesigns are the result of cybernetic enhancements .Other than that, it’s nothing more than a bit of toy tie in fluff.