are Black teenagers when in human form.
The created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984, and has gone on to launch cartoons, multiple films, , and more.
It follows – as the title suggests – and who were trained as ninjas by their rat sensei Master Splinter.
Named after artists Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo, the four live in the sewers of New York City and emerge to fight crime.
Fans of the series have long held head canons and theories that the four are based on Black teenagers, and a new comic book has confirmed this theory.
In the issue, the turtles team up with the Power Rangers for Boom Studios Power Rangers series, and are transformed into humans using a hologram in order to fly under the radar.
A panel from the comic has made its way across social media, showing the four characters as Black teenage boys, with one noting: ‘Everyone’s staring,’ while another explains: ‘Because these holograms make us look hella dope, man.’
It’s the first time Leonardo and Raphael have been revealed as Black while human, however a previous crossover issue saw Donatello and Michaelangelo transformed thanks to a hologram created by Don and Blue Ranger Billy.
Readers of the series became emotional as the new issue was revealed, with one saying it was ‘monumental … especially for us black fans that have been in the trenches being harassed by trolls.’
‘Holy f*** I’m gonna go cry because at first they only showed Mikey and Donnie, but now Raph and Leo are too,’ one wrote along with a series of crying and heart emojis.
They added: ‘My Turtle Boys are all BLACK LIKE ME!!!! Y’all my TURTLE BOYS ARE BLACK!!!!’
‘These feelings of joy I have right now is overwhelming,’ one fan penned.
‘The glow up is immaculate,’ another wrote, while yet another admitted they were ’emotional for a weird reason.’
It comes as TMNT fans prepare for the release of Seth Rogen’s take on a Turtles film, which is due to be released this year.
The Pineapple Express star, 41, is behind a fully-animated feature-length film, and previously described it as being ‘deeply personal.’
Feeling a deep affinity with the pizza-loving turtles who live in the sewers, the producer told The AV club: ‘It’s a teenage movie, we’re putting a lot of our own feelings — of awkwardness and insecurity and a desire to belong and be accepted and all that — into the movie.’
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is set for release in August 2023.
