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Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids. |
Ground Pounders are a species of lizard or dinosaur-like beings created by Vaughn Bodé. They have four legs and are quadrupedal, but also have two arms and an upright second torso, similar to that of the mythical beast known as the centaur.
Ground Pounders appeared in "Times" Pipeline, a story with art from Vaughn's son Mark and written by frequent Bodé collaborator Larry Todd. The Turtles first encounter a Ground Pounder after being shunted to an unspecified past, finding it tied up and carried away by a crane. It frees itself and attacks the crane, and the Turtles later learn that not only are they sentient, but they are allied with a rebel faction, P.L.O.P., which opposes the forces that had been capturing the Ground Pounders and shredding them up into meat for intergalactic fast food chains. The Turtles join forces with P.L.O.P., with Raphael riding in the car chassis cab that one of the Pounders wears as a saddle/armor. Raph and his Pounder later save Donatello from the caveman Stump Foot.
At the tale's end, the Turtles have left enough of an impression on at least one Ground Pounder to inspire it to wear a bandana, carry a bō, and have a "I ❤️ Ninja Turtles" license plate on its cab, and shout "Cowabunga!"