Mutagen, also known as ooze, is a mucilaginous substance that has served as a key plot device in nearly every medium of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Any creature exposed to mutagen will rapidly increase in size, strength, and sometimes intelligence. It is responsible for mutating, among others, Splinter, the four Turtles, and villains such as Tokka and Rahzar.
History[]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)[]
In the first film, the mutagen is shown to be the substance that mutated Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Splinter from ordinary animals into anthropomorphic beings.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze[]
As opposed to being labeled "T.C.R.I." (Techno Cosmic Research Institute) like in the Mirage comics, the canister containing the ooze is labeled as "T.G.R.I." (Techno Global Research Industries) to fit the film’s plot. Thus, the company's activity is identified as "Global" rather than "Cosmic".
The mutagen plays an important role in the second movie. A Foot Clan spy within April O'Neil's news team discovered a mutated plant near the T.G.R.I. company premises after an interview . He immediately returned to the Shredder, who then ordered the Foot Clan to obtain the source of the mutation. Having identified T.G.R.I. as the source of the ooze, the Turtles, who were also after the origin of the mutagen, could not prevent Tatsu and the Foot Clan from retrieving the last canister before its destruction and kidnapping Professor Jordan Perry.
The Shredder, now having abducted Professor Perry, forced him to create a new batch of ooze so he could create new mutant warriors to use against the Turtles. This mutagen was used to mutate a wolf cub and a baby snapping turtle into Rahzar and Tokka, respectively. Professor Perry modified the new ooze and thus prevented intellectual development in the subjects, resulting in the two mutants behaving like infants. In contrast, Splinter achieved human-level intellect soon after mutating, and the Turtles’ intellect was limited only by their young age.
Perry explains to the Turtles that the ooze responsible for mutating them and Splinter was an accident. In Perry's words, it was "an unknown mixture of discarded chemicals was accidentally exposed to a series of radiated waves", resulting in the ooze having "remarkable but dangerous mutagenic properties." Donatello was very disappointed and upset upon learning this, as he had always hoped that there would be more to their origins than just an accident. However, Splinter told him not to judge his worth based on his origins.
The professor succeeded in creating an anti-mutagen for the ooze that mutated Tokka and Rahzar, which caused the two to revert back to their original forms. Near the end of the film, the Shredder also drank the last vial of mutagen and became the Super Shredder.
TMNT (film)[]
The canister was seen placed among the helmet of Shredder, the Time Scepter, and Yaotl's helmet in the Turtles' trophy room.
Anti-mutagen[]
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, it was mentioned that the neutralizer is made of dimethyl chloride and must be heated to 338 Kelvin (65° Celsius or 149° Fahrenheit), which must be consumed in order to be effective. The Turtles were able to trick Tokka and Rahzar into taking the anti-mutagen by freezing it into ice cubes and hiding the cubes in doughnuts.
Unfortunately, not only did they discover them but it made them queazy, causing them to burp which is retarding the anti-mutagenic reaction. Carbon dioxide is needed to speed up the processes, and the Turtles forced them to drink from the fire extinguishers.