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Ninjara is a fox who was once a part of an ancient race of humanoid foxes living on a hidden island off the coast of Japan. Her real name is Umeko, but for reasons that were never fully revealed she goes by the name "Ninjara." Ninjara joined the Ninja Turtles and moved into their lair in the New York City sewers. She was Raphael's girlfriend in the TMNT Archie comic series.

History

TMNT Adventures

She first appeared in issue #28. Ninjara ended up becoming a thief and assassin for the villainous dog-man Chien Khan, but then had a change of heart when she met the Turtles. She had helped Khan capture the Warrior Dragon and was working closely with Khan. Why she did this-since Ninjara does not seem to be inherently evil-has not yet been revealed. Perhaps Khan's dog-like nature gave him some control over Ninjara's feel spirit. Whatever the cause, Ninjara switched allegiances when she discovered that Khan intended to poison the Japanese countryside with radioactivity. She helped defeat Khan and his demons and has since been traveling with the Turtles. Ninjara soon moved in with the Turtles, and began a romantic relationship with Raphael. She helped out on many missions, from the Mid-East to the darkest depths of space. Her family life was explored more in detail when her younger brother managed to track her down and convince her to come back home. The Turtles discovered the island was hidden by fog banks, but despite this, it had been discovered by an opportunistic, greedy hunter. She was a powerful member of the team from issue #29 until issue #70. The Moon Eyes Saga is when the relationship between her and Raphael came to end due to personal differences, as Ninjara realizes she was no longer in love with him, and would like to stay in Mokoshan's (leader of an Alaskan clan of humanoid wolves) village.

After TMNT Adventures

Ninjara-Furrlough

Since Ninjara was created by Dean Clarrain and Chris Allan rather than Kevin Eastman or Peter Laird, after the Archie series ended they were allowed to continue using her. She had a brief stint in her own comic in Furrlough, a comic from Radio Comix. So far she has appeared in issues #47, #48, and #52. The tagline was "She's not hanging out with teenagers anymore."

Ninjara during this time was now a widow to Mokoshan, and they have a daughter named Moka. Mokoshan was assassinated by an unknown human sniper as his original mate was, and Ninjara took Moka and left the wolf clan, bound for Japan she traveled with her child, working as a mercenary, to find the person who killed her husband with only a token bearing a kanji symbol, dropped by the sniper, as her only clue.

Powers & Abilities

Ninjara is purported to be the best theft in all Japan. She also has great skill in the martial arts and is a formidable swordswoman. She is equal (or nearly equal) to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in stealth and fighting abilities. She can climb the sheerer walls with ease. She also has the animal-keen sense of a fox.

Trivia

  • Issue #70 where Raphael and Ninjara parted ways is her last appearance in the Archie Comics Continuity, although it wasn't meant to be. The series was canceled by Archie before it could continue with its new storyline therefore it's unclear if the two could have patched up their relationship.
  • Ninjara is one of the very few romantic interests in the Turtles fiction of any kind, as others such as Karai and Mona Lisa. Although the Turtles have many female acquaintances, such as April O'Neil, and Mitsu, almost none of them have ever really shown more than a friendship.

Gallery

see Umeko/Gallery

Gallery

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