History Characters / TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987

* NegativeContinuity: While it was established early on that Krang was reduced to being a disembodied brain after being stripped of his body, some episodes, like "The Three Musketurtles", suggested that he was naturally brain-like.

* {{Retcon}}: Sort of. [[spoiler:The 2012 cartoon had a crossover that revealed Krang to be an Utrom from that universe. Considering that Krang was based on the Utrom race, and his exact origins were murky at best, it’s not too much of a stretch.]]

Big Louie

* {{Retcon}}: Sort of.[[spoiler: The 2012 cartoon had a crossover that revealed Krang to be an Utrom from that universe. Considering that Krang was based on the Utrom race, and his exact origins were murky at best, it’s not too much of a stretch.]]

** StraightManandWiseGuy: Leo & Raph

** BrainsAndBrawns: Donnie and Raph

** TheSmartGuy vs BookDumb: Don and Mike, sometimes played as academic intellect vs (pop) cultural awareness.
** [[AgentMulder Spirituality]] vs [[AgentScully Science]]: Leo and Don, but they're both level-headed enough to defer to the other's expertise so they usually don't have any real tension when they pair up together. Leo tends to focus on the big picture while Don obsesses over the details, so they cover each other's blind spots.

* TheGenericGuy: When compared to his siblings. Some episodes tried to give him quirks of his own, but none of them stuck. This was actually deliberate, as Leonardo is described by the voice actors as "the setup guy", who allows the other characters to follow through with a great line.

* StandardizedLeader: A NiceGuy, TheFace, and a CulturedWarrior. However, he's also rigid in his thinking and almost inflexible in what he expects of everyone around him.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: This version of Raphael is a sarcastic wise guy rather than an angry, sullen JerkWithAHeartOfGold. Later seasons (after the movie aired and the more aggressive version of Raphael became popular) gave him a bit more of a temper, but he's still definitely on the fun-loving side compared to the more serious Leonardo and Donatello.

* BirthdayHater: As shown in "Mr. Nice Guy," he gets far more bitter when his birthday comes up.

* LeeroyJenkins: He doesn't usually think of a strategy before heading into battle.

** RedOniBlueOni: Raph and Mike are Red, Leo and Don are Blue[[note]]Their color-coding helps on this, even with Mikey (orange, which is close to red in the color spectrum) and Don (purple, which is closer to blue)[[/note]]
** FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Mikey > Don ~ Raph > Leo
** AllWorkVsAllPlay: Leo and Mike
** HypocriticalHeartwarming: Raph towards Mike

* AuthorityGrantsAsskicking: Consistently the most skilled Turtle, he falls into the leadership role by default. He's also the most dedicated to Splinter and fighting for justice, and also the most skilled ninja of the four.

* {{Flanderization}}: While they weren't exactly geniuses in the first season, they were still extreme physical threats to the turtles, especially in their second appearance after being mutated. From that point on, they became more or less ineffectual against them, and even some humans.

-->Voiced by: Creator/JimCummings, Peter Renaday ("Night of the Rogues")

-->Voiced by: Creator/TownsendColeman (Attila the Frog), Creator/JimCummings (Genghis Frog), Creator/PatFraley (Napoleon Bonafrog), Creator/NicholasOmana (Rasputin the Mad Frog)

-->Voiced by: Creator/JamesAvery (Seasons 1-6 and first half of Season 7), Creator/DorianHarewood (some episodes of Season 3), Creator/JimCummings (In "Napoleon Bonafrog: Colossus of the Swamps" and most of the "Vacation in Europe" arc), Townsend Coleman (later half of Season 7), William E. Martin (Seasons 8-10), Creator/DanielRusso (European French)

* StatuesqueStunner: [[MsFanservice Beautiful, buxom]], and according to ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'', quite tall, 5'8'' (173 cm).

* ForTheEvulz: When Shredder orders Groundchuck and Dirtbag to help steal a ruby after they are mutated, Groundchunk replies that he'd rather just tear stuff apart, and Dirtbag agrees. The two then pummel Shredder, Rocksteady, and Bebop and depart.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: Even Shredder, a proclaimed "ninja master", wore outlandish Samurai armor and would often broadcast threats with as much pomposity as Dr. Doom.

* ButtMonkey[=/=]TheChewToy: He often suffers humiliating misfortunes, but a lot of times he has it coming.

* CompositeCharacter: In the original comics, Hamato Yoshi was murdered and his pet rat became mutated into Splinter. In this version, Yoshi himself is mutated into a rat-man. A rather poignant episode {{lampshade|Hanging}}d the fact that Splinter was pretty lonely because of this, since he couldn't interact with other humans anymore. He was mostly a quiet man after all.

* PluckyGirl: Can't be both an IntrepidReporter and the best friend of four warrior turtles without impressive determination.

* BlueIsHeroic: Played with. He a good guy who wears a blue shirt and thinks he's a hero, but his [[VigilanteMan vigilante nature]] puts him closer to AntiHero territory most of the time.

** His hatred of the Turtles seems to be partly motivated by the fact his girlfriend Tiffany hated all Turtles due to a childhood incident. When April makes does a story that makes the Turtles look good to the public, TIffany breaks up with Burne because she sees him as a turtle lover and Burne becomes a thorn in the Turtles' side from that moment on.

-->'''Donatello:''' Michelangelo, have you every considered calling Pizza Eaters Anonymous?\\

* [[AccidentalHero Accdental Heroine]]: She inadvertently defeats The Rat King and Leatherhead by stepping on The Rat King's foot when he refused to take her hostage instead of April. This causes The Rat King and Leatherhead to collide into each other and save April and the turtles at the same time.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted and played with. '''Zack''' is name of the kid who calls himself the fifth turtle, while '''Zak''' is the name of the neutrino from Dimension X who debuted earlier in the show.

A mercenary hired by Shredder

* AmbiguouslyJewish: The name is Jewish, or at least ''sounds'' Jewish, but that's the only clue.

* [[BreakoutVillain Breakout Villains]]: They're not from the source material but they turned into very popular bad guys due to the '87 series that they came to be considered iconic and even integral to the ''TMNT'' franchise. Many subsequent cartoons, movies, and comic books came to utilize the pair in new incarnations. And even some cartoons like WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 that didn't use them had some sort of MythologyGag to reference them, like in the episode "Samurai Tourist" where Usagi's rhino friend Gennosuke appeared and put on clothess that made him resemble Rocksteady while an evil boar, Kojima, antagonized the Turtles, making him reminiscent of Bebop.