Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)/Easter eggs: Difference between revisions | TMNTPedia | Fandom

Latest revision as of 17:49, 11 July 2023

This page is meant for hidden content - also known as "Easter eggs" - and references in the Nickelodeon 2012 TV series only.

Other references

I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman

Michelangelo hums the 1987 series theme song as he takes his headphones off.

Monkey Brains

The T-Phone's ringtone is actually the 1987 series theme song.

The Mutation Situation

Michelangelo calls Mr. O'Neil's mutant form "Wingnut" as a reference to that character.

Follow The Leader

When Donnie turns on his Mutagen Tracker it makes the start-up sound of the classic 1989 Game Boy model which the device largely resembles.
Raphael says "Your scanner is about as useless as a trench coat on a turtle" as a reference to the disguises wore by their counterparts in the 1987 TV series.
Karai uses Footbot Soldiers to attack the Turtles. When they attack they exclaim "Yii!" or "EEE!" in a manner similar to the Shocker Combatants from Kamen Rider.
Michelangelo sings "Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go!" from Vanilla Ice's "Ninja Rap".

Invasion of the Squirrelanoids

This whole episode is an homage to the film Alien.

The Lonely Mutation Of Baxter Stockman

Baxter Stockman says he has "great plans, mutant pigs and rhinos", as a hint to Bebop and Rocksteady's appearance in the show.

Vengeance is Mine

When Michelangelo gets scratched by Rahzar in slow motion he moans "Tokka" as a reference to Rahzar's partner in other incarnations.

A Chinatown Ghost Story

Ho Chan says "I see a girl with red hair and a yellow jumpsuit, no, it's just a t-shirt" as a reference to 87's April outfit.
This whole episode is an homage to the film Big Trouble in Little China.
- Ho Chan says Irma also may have powers, Irma has green eyes and in the film only a girl with green eyes could make Lo Pan mortal again.
- The Purple Dragons represent here the film's Chinese street gang "Lords of Death", as well as "The Three Storms" with their straw hats and glowing eyes.
- Kevin Eastman talked in an interview about how Big Trouble in Little China influenced the personalities of Donatello and Casey Jones in the original comics.[1] By coincidence this episodes's main plot revolves around Casey Jones and Donnie.
- Ho Chan's line "It's all in the reflexes", is one of the best known catchphrases for the that film main character, Jack Burton.
Sid attacks Mikey saying "Shoryuken!", the name of an attack move from the Street Fighter games.

The Croaking

Attila the Frog quotes Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now saying "The horror... The horror...".

Vision Quest

When Raphael enters the cave he says "So much for finding a hidden pirate ship…", a reference to The Goonies, a film in which Sean Astin, the voice actor of Raphael, participated.
When Leonardo says "It's time to go back" and the Turtles stand tall at the end of the episode, it's a reference to the first live action movie.

The Deadly Venom

The title of this episode as well as the movie Six Deadly Poisons that April and Casey Jones watched is play on the movie Five Deadly Venoms.
- The Six Deadly Poisons movie title also references the fact that six characters were poisoned during the episode.

Turtles in Time

The title is a reference to the game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, as well as to the IDW arc of same name.
Renet's voice actress, Ashley Johnson is known for playing the love interest to characters voiced by Greg Cipes.
- Terra from Teen Titans.
- Jinmay from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!.
- Gwen Tennyson from the Ben 10 series.
Mikey's says "It's the elf ears. Chicks dig'em." was a reference to Cipes and Johnson's roles in the Teen Titans series. As in the episode titled "Betrayal", Beast Boy says something very similar to Terra: "It was the pointy ears wasn't it? Ladies love the pointy ears."
Renet stated that meeting the Turtles is more exciting than meeting Billy the Kid, or Genghis Khan, or Socrates. Those historical characters are three of the people Bill and Ted met in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
The knights named in the credits - Sir Paul, Sir George, and Sir John - are named after members of the British band The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon).
When sent back into medieval England, the Turtles find signs giving directions to Camelot, Avalon and Savanti's tower, these named Turtles in Time regard it as being entirely fictional, its geography being perfect for romance writers; Arthurian scholar Norris J. Lacy commented that "Camelot, located no where in particular, can be anywhere". Nevertheless arguments about the location of the "real Camelot" have occurred since the 15th century and continue to rage today in popular works and for tourism purposes.
- Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudo-historical account Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of the Kings of Britain") as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds after the Battle of Camlann. Avalon was associated from an early date with mystical practices and people such as Morgan le Fay.

Tale of the Yokai

Mikey hums the 1987 TV series theme song during his dance to calm Tang Shen.

The Arena of Carnage

When Leo battles Tiger Claw in the Fugitoid's fighting simulator, he shouts "Shoryuken!" as he punches him.
- This is also the second time that this phrase has been said in the series.

Tale of Tiger Claw

Bebop refers to Tiger Claw as "TC", which is a nod to the Hanna-Barbera series Top Cat, whose titular character is called "TC" by the other members of his feline gang.
When the Turtles catch up with Tiger Claw and Alopex, Raphael shouts to Tiger Claw "Back off, Tony!", referencing Tony the Tiger, the mascot of the Kellogg's breakfast cereal "Frosted Flakes".
Raphael mentions Alopex to Chompy as "Really something, but she's no Mona Lisa." This is an indirect reference to the IDW's TMNT comics, since in that reality her counterpart is Raphael's girlfriend.