Human-born mutant

A human-born mutant is a human who has become a mutant. This is in contrast to animal-born mutants who were born as ordinary animals who later became mutants. The term has relevance in the IDW version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because it usually implies a fundamental difference in how the mutation was experienced and adapted to, as well as the question of what choice a mutant had in their mutation.

Some incarnations of TMNT have no human-born mutants as a general rule.

Mirage and Palladium

In the official continuity of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Mirage Studios, mutants of any kind are intentionally written as rare, and human-born mutants are generally nonexistent.

This lack of human-born mutants extends to the universe of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness by Palladium Books, where there are many animal-born mutant characters, but human-born mutants are still relatively nonexistent. The Palladium universe's post-apocalyptic future Earth is mostly inhabited by animal-born mutants and their descendants, but the few humans who survive are still non-mutants.

IDW

In the IDW continuity, whether a mutant was born a human or born an animal is relevant to the cultural attitudes of the Mighty Mutanimals. Thus far all almost all of its mutant members—Old Hob, Slash, Pete, Mondo Gecko, Herman, Seymour Gutz, Ray and Sally Pride—were born as animals and never had a choice in being mutated. Hob, Slash, Seymour, Ray and Sally in particular have traumatic post-mutation pasts as laboratory experiments against their will, while Pete, Mondo and Herman were mutated by other mutants, respected as individuals, and have experienced much more dignity overall. Attitudes vary among the group, but Hob in particular has a strong prejudice against human-born mutants because they are culturally humans, often mutated willingly, and usually didn't experience the indignity of being treated like a lab animal long after their mutation.

When Pete unsuccessfully tries to recruit Bebop and Rocksteady into the Mutanimals, Hob becomes disgusted upon learning the pair were originally humans who mutated by choice.

In Universe issue 11, Ray and Sally are mobilized to investigate sightings of a "Jersey devil" in the New Jersey wilderness, where they encounter Dreadmon, a human-born mutant jackal. Their meeting is cordial, and they share their backgrounds and histories, and more of Ray and Sally's pasts as animal-born mutant laboratory specimens comes to light. But when Dreadmon reveals that he was born a human who became a mutant by free will, Ray quickly sours to him because Ray was never given a choice. Ray admits to sharing some of Hob's prejudice against human-born mutants. But Sally insists it doesn't matter, because they are all mutants, and regardless of where they came from, they have a shared plight. Meanwhile, Dreadmon is being hunted by a Null Group paramilitary team consisting of Colonel Fist, Deadeye, Lynch and Waster, on orders to bring the jackal back alive. The calculus of a "human-born mutant" is further complicated by the revelation that this team are not only all human-born mutants themselves, but have equipment that allows them to shift between normal human and their mutant versions at will by controlling the levels of mutagen in their biology. Dreadmon is offered a job as part of their team along with the chance to also have access to this technology and have human skin again, but Dreadmon turns down the offer when their loyalty pledge requires executing Sally. Ray, Sally and Dreadmon escape together, but Dreadmon still refuses to join the Mutanimals. Yet unlike the Mutanimals' antagonistic encounter with Bebop and Rocksteady, the animal-born Ray and Sally part with the human-born Dreadmon on respectful terms.

TV Series and Films

In the TV series from 1987 all the way to 2012 and most of the films, both animal-born and human-born mutants are abundant, a circumstance originally (and still) driven by Playmates Toys' desire to create a marketing vehicle for selling many different mutant action figures. But the difference between animal-born and human-born mutants is seldom given any plot relevance except in the effects of retro-mutagen.