12 Ridiculous Early Concept Designs Of Iconic Characters

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is just a fun string of words to say, Shakespearean in its very meter. This phrase became so ubiquitous that it stopped seeming ridiculous. TMNT was everywhere, in cartoons, comics, video games, and even movies with a litany of feature films. The brand also has staying power, with every generation since its inception having their own version of the Turtles.

While the name was always a homerun, the character designs needed some time in the batting cages. The first drawing simply came to the mind of Kevin Eastman as the words, "Ninja Turtle" popped into his head. Finding the concept funny, he drew a masked turtle standing upright with some nunchucks in its stubby arms, which came out of its huge shell. He showed the drawing to fellow artist, Peter Laird, who found the concept equally novel.

The two artists went back and forth, one-upping each other's designs before realizing that they had one of animation's hottest commodities in their hands. Inspired by their drawings they made the adolescent amphibian martial artists the focus of their next project.

Since then the turtles have seen various redesigns, with the colored bandannas being introduced by the original TV show. They took on an anime inspired aesthetic in their 2003 edition, simplifying the look for their return to the silver screen in 2007 and their new TV series in 2012, before diving right into the uncanny valley with the ungodly Michael Bay film in 2014.