Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1 -

This season transitioned the franchise into with a heavy focus on character growth and humor.

: Reviewers from IGN praised the season for its "fluid, fast-paced" action and its "show within a show," Space Heroes .

: The Turtles celebrate their 15th "Mutation Day" and visit the surface for the first time, encountering pizza and the alien Kraang . Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1

: The season concludes with the Turtles infiltrating the TCRI building , discovering their origin's link to the Utrom aliens, and Splinter mysteriously disappearing. 2012 Animated Series (Nickelodeon)

: Critics from Rotten Tomatoes note it as "hip, playful and witty," though it is famously more comedic and campy than the original Mirage comics. 2003 Animated Series (4Kids) This season transitioned the franchise into with a

The debut season began as a in December 1987, establishing the core "turtle-mania" tropes.

: Shredder, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady are introduced as the primary antagonists operating out of the Technodrome . : The season concludes with the Turtles infiltrating

: It features a darker aesthetic with heavy shadows and no pupils in the Turtles' masks.