Hero wa Manhole Kara Yattekita (ヒーローはマンホールからやって来た, Hero(es) Came From a Manhole) is the first story in Mutant Turtles #1. It is loosely based on Turtle Tracks.
Appearing in Hero wa Manhole Kara Yattekita[]
Major characters[]
- April O'Neil (debut)
- Donatello (debut) (mutates in flashback)
- Foot Soldiers (debut)
- Leonardo (debut) (mutates in flashback)
- Michelangelo (debut) (mutates in flashback)
- Raphael (debut) (mutates in flashback)
- Splinter (debut) (mutates in flashback)
Minor characters[]
- Bebop (debut)
- Dopey (debut)
- Dumbo (debut)
- Grunt (debut)
- Ninja Pizza staff (debut)
- Professor (debut)
- Rocksteady (debut)
- Scrag (debut)
- Shredder (debut)
Species[]
Locations[]
- Japan (flashback only)
- New York City
- Ninja Pizza
- PANAM Building
- Sewers of New York City
- Turtle lair
- Technodrome
Synopsis[]
On a busy New York day, ace reporter April O'Neil is chased through the sewers by a gang of unruly punks. Suddenly, four giant mutant turtles show up and beat up the thugs, and rescue April, who promptly faints.
April wakes up in the Turtles' home, surprised to see not only did she not dream up her encounter, but now that there is a mutant rat there, too. The rat, Splinter, explains that he was once a Japanese ninja by the name of Yoshihama Takeshi. Forced to flee his homeland, Takeshi ended up in a New York City sewer, where he lived with rats and four turtles. One day, they came into contact with a strange mutagenic substance, turning Takeshi into a rat man, and anthropomorphizing the turtles. He trained the turtles in the art of ninjutsu and gave them the names Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
Later, April goes out and interviews a professor about some recent crimes. One of the criminals had left behind a piece of rope which reads "Made in Japan". April returns to the sewer to tell the Turtles and Splinter of this, and she and the turtles investigate the area where they saved her from the thugs for clues. Raphael picks up a matchbook with "忍者ピザ" (Ninja Pizza) written on it.
The turtles don trenchcoats and fedoras and accompany April to a pizza parlor with that name. April spies a security camera, and while the turtles are busy ordering pizza and being distracted by the staff's playing up the ninja theme, she goes off to investigate on her own. The turtles notice she's missing and leave to search for her.
Finding some graffiti on a building left by someone directing them to the top of the building, the turtles find April tied up in a chair. Suddenly, they are ambushed by an army of ninja who turn out to be completely mechanical in nature. After trashing a few, the robots flee to another roof nearby. The Turtles and April swing over to that building via grappling hook. Inside the building, they are monitored via camera by a a mysterious man in metal, bladed armor. While exploring the building, they see a ninja robot duck into a trapdoor, but then suddenly the room starts flooding. They break a window and use the grappling hook to escape to the side of another building.
Back in the sewer, the Turtles tell Splinter of these robot ninja. He notes that there must be someone behind this.