April O'Neil (Version 2)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.65 stars by Toasted Brains
NECA's initial TMNT Mirage line put out the best figures the license had at the time, but it ended up cut short due to what I assume was Playmates' unwillingness to share, so all we got until a couple of years later were the four bros, an SDCC-exclusive set of Mousers, and another exclusive in April O'Neil. Many more years later, the Turtles received all-new figures, and there’s been a new Mouser here and there, so that left April to get remade, fittingly billed as "version 2." The first NECA April, sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios, was based off how she appeared in her debut in issue #2, but Richard Force's sculpt reflects her subsequent appearances, and it's quite the improvement. The Mirage run had an inconsistent style due to its variety of illustrators, though April here resembles...[See More]

Chote
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.60 stars by Toasted Brains
Having run for nearly 10 years, the first volume of the original TMNT comic book has had plenty of stories, and I've read all 62 issues (plus Tales of the TMNT's first incarnation), and I read the ones collected in IDW's "Ultimate" collections before checking out the rest, and I can tell why a good chunk was absent from those collections. Much of those stories were very outlandish, dark, or just plain nuts (I loved the "Spaced Out" three-parter). The "Masks" story, which came shortly before the City at War arc, not only brought back Renet and Savanti Romero, but also introduced Chote, the dinosaur samurai. It's two cool things in one, how is he not figure-worthy? Playmates did a figure of him back in the 90s as "Shoate" as part of their "Shogun" sub-line, and now NECA is bringing him...[See More]

Karai as the Shredder (City at War)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.75 stars by Toasted Brains
Shredder may not have lasted long in the original TMNT comics, but his Foot Clan remained a recurring element in the series, especially the "City at War" arc. The arc also introduced Karai, the female Foot member who would become a regular throughout the franchise. NECA did a figure of her before, but as she appeared in The Last Ronin, and now we have the original Karai as she appeared in the Mirage era. Sculpted by May Thamtarana (who did a few Foot-related figures before), Karai's design adheres to Jim Lawson's style well, and the portrait seems to be based off a specific panel ("Gaze upon the face of vengeance…"). She's beyond ticked, with somewhat messy hair and thick lashes, and the paint on the face is very clean. You can swap the head out for one donning Shredder's helmet, with...[See More]

Super Turtle and Domeoids
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.75 stars by Toasted Brains
Having gotten back into doing figures from the Mirage TMNT comics a few years ago, NECA has put out a lot of characters and variants since then, and it feels like their main focus now, given the toon line is slowing down (they didn't reveal much at SDCC recently). The "Return to New York" four-pack gave us newly sculpted Turtles that felt like a step up from what came out in 2008, and since then, they've gotten plenty of different outfits. The "Unmentionables" set looks cool, but I haven't caved in yet, though I did get this Super Turtle last month. This look appeared in issue five of Tales of the TMNT, but it wasn't specified which turtle it was. Since we already got variants of Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael, I'm assuming this is Michelangelo. Rather than the usual eye mask, Mikey...[See More]

Leatherhead
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by Toasted Brains
One of the most commonly seen supporting characters in the TMNT world, Leatherhead is usually known as having just been an ordinary crocodile until the Utroms (or Krang in the 2012 series' case) experimented on him and gave him human intelligence. For some reason, the original toyline and cartoon changed his whole character. His anthropomorphism was caused by mutagen, and he was not at all a good guy, and for some reason was Cajun. After doing three different "ragin' Cajun" versions, NECA's finally doing the true Leatherhead. Leatherhead didn't actually debut in the Mirage comic proper, but rather its side comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The sculpt here resembles his appearance in issue #45 of the main comic more than his debut, and was done by Gurjeet Singh, who...[See More]

Rat King (Eastman & Laird)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by Toasted Brains
You'd think with his common presence in the TMNT franchise, the Rat King was a regular in the old Mirage comics, but no, he wasn't. Like Shredder, his appearances were sparse, first appearing in issue #5 of the Tales of the TMNT side-series, then appearing in the main comic during the City at War arc, where we eventually learned he died right after his first appearance. Nevertheless, he was an effectively creepy character whenever he appeared, and his inclusion in the NECA line is fully welcomed. The Rat King viewed himself not as a man, but rather as a monster, and the default head certainly has a monstrous look. The head is near-completely covered in yellow bandages, with his eyes and mouth exposed. The skin is kept mostly hidden, and the crazed expression makes him someone you don't...[See More]

First Turtles (Eastman & Laird)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.65 stars by Toasted Brains
As I've brought up already, this year is the 40th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and whilst a huge franchise spanning comics, film, animation, and video games, it started off as mere sketches done between friends. Playmates gave us a set of Turtles based off Peter Laird's original group drawing, but NECA went one step further and gave us a two-pack of both Kevin Eastman and Laird's "first" turtles. This was an SDCC exclusive available through both the show and NECA direct, so unless you got them then, eBay's your only option now. As a convention exclusive, NECA had to do something special with the packaging, hence why in addition to the usual Mirage line graphics and trapezoidal shape, there's also a slipcover. The front of the cover depicts Eastman's renditions of this...[See More]

Baxter Stockman
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by Toasted Brains
Unlike everything that followed after, the Mirage TMNT comics didn't have a huge cast of mutants and other non-human characters, but it still had some pretty interesting humans. One of the first human villains after Shredder's "demise" is the evil scientist Baxter Stockman. Despite his presence throughout the franchise, his role in the original comics was minimal. Over at NECA, Richard Force and David Giraud brought the original Baxter into action figure form. The default portrait is a sly grin, and it's very accurate to how he appears in the comic, but it can be swapped out for a more sinister look with a wider grin and visible forehead wrinkles. The hair has a lumpy texture, giving it a bit more definition, and the paint is good, though the alternate head has better work. At about 6...[See More]

Savanti Romero
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.65 stars by Toasted Brains
The TMNT universe has been home to all sorts of unique, unusual characters, including the original Mirage comics that were more serious and realistic. After the first few issues involving a tyrannical leader, a mad scientist, and common crooks, we had stories involving dinosaur aliens and time travel. The latest release in the NECA Mirage line is another character from said time travel story, the evil sorcerer Savanti Romero. Savanti has a rather inhuman look, with giant curved horns, pointed ears, red eyes, and a big jaw and nose. His beastly appearance was caused by Lord Simultaneous, and while nobody knows how he looked beforehand, Gurjeet Singh and Kushwara Studios did a good job bringing his design to plastic form. The head looks nearly spot-on to the comic, with clean paint lines...[See More]

Wanderer
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.60 stars by Toasted Brains
The original TMNT comic book had plenty of unique, interesting stories, but one of my personal favorites is issue #17: "Distractions." Penned by the kind-hearted turtle Michelangelo himself, this in-universe story depicts him as a lone warrior separated from his brothers, facing off against a crooked warlord and his army. Sounds a lot like The Last Ronin, doesn't it? Anyways, I loved the story, and was hoping NECA would did a figure of that specific Mikey. I guess dreams do come true. Like the Mirage turtles four-pack that came out earlier this year, Michelangelo the "Wanderer" was sculpted by Paul Harding. However, as the four-pack matched Jim Lawson's designs, the Wanderer was drawn by Eric Talbot, bearing a slightly different head shape. He's captured pretty well in plastic, with a...[See More]