Welcome back to our channel! Today is a great day because in our video, we will discuss Jennika, the femme fatale of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” To learn more about the other members of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” family, see additional videos on our channel.
In the nearly 40-year history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Jennika represents a big transition. Prior to IDW acquiring the rights to publish TMNT comics, a female turtle would not have been imaginable. Additionally, in a largely male-dominated culture like that of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles published by IDW, it could be difficult to generate and nurture strong female characters. Thank goodness Jenny is not a replica. She has grown in popularity enough throughout this season to justify not just one but two solo miniseries.
So what distinguishes Jennika from other recent Turtles additions? Jennika has a number of benefits over earlier attempts to include new turtles in the canon, the most significant of which is probably the long-form story that comics as a platform enable. Jennika was first introduced by Bobby Curnow, Kevin Eastman, Ken Garing, and Tom Waltz in TMNT issue no. 51 for IDW as a mortal Foot Clan soldier.
She then made appearances in more than 40 issues before undergoing a transformation in TMNT issue no. #95. Those issues were full of intrigue, shifting allegiances, and even a murder attempt on Master Splinter before Jennika received a transfusion of blood from Leonardo and underwent a mutation to become the fifth Ninja Turtle.
The Intriguing Origins of Jennika
Teenage Foot Assassin Jennika was a Foot Clan ally who preferred the Foot Clan to The Shredder. She lived on the streets after being kicked out of her family as a small child for objecting to her father assaulting her mother. She began seeing a young man named Silas, who eventually had her arrested for murder conspiracy after luring her into the realm of small-time larceny.
When she was detained, she first encountered the Foot; a Foot ninja who was stationed there shielded her from other inmates and immediately became one of her friends. The lady trained Jennika covertly as they discussed how to escape the jail. But when they were preparing to depart, one of the other inmates murdered Jennika’s friend. She saw the Foot outside and joined them, using her newly acquired killing skills on the woman who had slain her friend.
She had doubts about the new commander after Shredder’s passing and wondered why such a “rat” was in a position of authority. She believed that his refusal to murder without hesitation diminished the Foot Clan. She viewed his acts of mercy as evidence of weakness and cowardice since she believed that swift and lethal action was required to maintain supremacy. She thus hid her affiliation with the Street Phantoms and Darius Dun. Jennika made an effort to assassinate Splinter in just one combat when the Phantoms assaulted the Foot Clan, but she was soon beaten.
In issue no. #51, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael observe a conference between the Mafia and the Street Phantoms, a brand-new tech-based gang, in an abandoned warehouse. Don is surprised when Harold’s equipment fails to pin down the “Street Phantoms” and notices something disturbingly familiar about the enemy technology.
Leo gives the order for the Foot Soldiers and his brothers to attack the enemy. Jammer, the Street Phantoms’ leader, commands his men to flee, and the masked thugs disappear after vanishing through the ground. Lupo, the mafia boss’s boss, is left all alone to undergo questioning. Although a Foot Assassin intends to torture him, Leo is adamant about upholding the “no murdering” rule. All they discover from Lupo is that the Foot Clan has softened up, so all the gangs who used to serve them are plotting an uprising.
The Turtles then disperse, with Raph going to do something private, Don asking Harold about the technology, and Leo returning to Splinter. Maze and Jammer of the Street Phantoms meet with the boss Darius Dun at Dun Import/Export. A female Foot Assassin observes them as they leave from the shadows. Jammer remarks to Dun that the Foot Clan appears to be still as powerful as ever, but Jennika, the female Foot Assassin corrects him and claims that the Foot are running out of power.
She started to see the wrong of her actions after Splinter shamed her, and she swore her allegiance to the new Foot commander and his sons. Though he would still have to punish her for her betrayal, Splinter had faith that she would have a change of heart. He was impressed by her steadfast duty and gave her the responsibility of guarding the Shredder’s grave, which she performed until Kitsune and Alopex assaulted her.
Splinter’s choice of her as his new chunin was verified during the Triceraton invasion. She was still quite impetuous, though, and he had to control her. She was also extremely troubled over Splinter’s intentions. In order to prevent Splinter from killing Commander Zom, she ultimately organized for the Turtles to flee from the Foot Clan headquarters.
After the invasion was over, she was not punished for her disobedience but rather deployed by Splinter to guard Casey Jones. Over time, the two grew to appreciate each other’s company and have romantic sentiments.
Jennika assisted in caring for the orphans that the Turtles delivered to the Foot Clan. When Karai came back from Japan, Master Splinter was ready to hand over control of the Foot to her, but she insisted that the kids be trained as soldiers instead. As talks broke down and Karai was refused the Gauntlet, Jennika stepped in to save Splinter. After failing in her effort to retake control of the Foot, Karai stated that Splinter and his supporters would soon face battle.
Karai and her group raid Antonio Puzorelli’s mansion on the Brooklyn waterfront. As they get through Puzorelli’s security, Karai approaches him and commands him to join her in fighting Splinter, promising him that if he does so, he will never again be required to pay homage to the Foot Clan. She warns him that the Oroku Clan will destroy everything he values most in the world, if he rejects, though.
Casey and Jennika drop by the Baxter Stockman mayoral campaign office to see how April is doing, because Splinter fears Karai may be after her. Before Casey and Jennika break off to monitor the Turtles, the two of them have an unpleasant conversation. However, their awkward conversation is cut short when a letter attached to an arrow informs them that Karai wants to have a meeting with Jennika.
Jennika informs the group that Karai wishes her to participate in a meeting with just “humans” on “neutral ground” to propose a ceasefire. Casey and Angel will accompany her, but Don claims that Alopex and the Turtles can securely keep an eye on them, thanks to the Turtle Van’s new stealth technology.
At East 36th Street and FDR Drive, Jennika and Karai intersect. Jennika receives a request from Karai for a ceasefire. Jennika rejects Karai’s efforts to get her to side with her and turn against Splinter. Jennika replies that she would die for him when Karai questions if she would, and Karai delivers by stabbing Jennika in the heart using the Kira no Ken. Karai tries to kill her as the opening move in her campaign to recapture the Foot from Master Splinter, since she had utterly anticipated this eventuality.
While Alopex and Leo assist in loading Jenny into the vehicle, Casey and Angel interfere. Ocho arrives out of nowhere from below and blocks Natsu and Karai’s escape. To transport Jennika to a medical facility, the Turtles and their companions depart in the van, but Bludgeon and Koya stop them. The two mutants dodge Raph’s gunned vehicle as it barrels at them, launching themselves into the air.
The Clan Hamato, along with its friends, transported her to none other than Harold Lilja’s lab in a last-ditch effort to save her life. The severely injured Jennika is prepared for oozing therapy at Harold Lilja’s lab by Harold and Libby, as Donatello and Lindsey speak with April over the phone about the ooze’s use.
Hob had locked away most of it so that Lindsey could only take one vial, but April reassures her that she had more than was handed to her father. While waiting for Jenny to recover, Casey, Alopex, Angel, Leonardo, and Michelangelo talk about Raphael’s choice to leave and enlist in the Mutanimals.
Jenny receives the ooze from Lindsey, and it appears to be working. Suddenly, Metalhead charges in and grabs Don by the neck as Harold’s security breach alert sounds. Leo, Angel, Mike, Casey, and Alopex from the “Earth Protection Force” invade as well, prepared to battle. Harold gets ready to attack Metalhead with a cannon when the bot blasts it first.
Libby orders Lindsey to keep an eye on Jenny while she goes to grab something, but just as she is about to leave, Metalhead fires a shot at her that misses but hits the ooze. As Jennika’s vitality wanes, Donatello loses his fury and attacks his artificial double. Libby, who is in charge of security, shows up in the exo-suit and blows Metalhead before introducing herself.
Lilja’s protection system activates in the lab’s garage, helping the gang with blasters that emerge from the ground. Donatello helps Jennika to the vehicle while Libby shoots Metalhead through the wall. Donatello directs the others to board the van and proceed through the portal while Libby holds off Metalhead.
In order to stop Metalhead from following, Michelangelo takes the van right through, and Libby obliterates the portal once they have passed through. Harold detonates a thermite explosive to disguise the coordinates he gave and burns down his computer. Sadly, Bishop then shows up and takes Harold and Libby into custody for supporting “known mutant terrorists.”
When April can’t get Donatello on the telephone at the campaign headquarters of Baxter Stockman, she starts to get worried. However, a campaign staff interrupts her and informs her that the news team is there to question Baxter. When April approaches him to seek his attention, she sees Zodi telling Stockman to pay attention to Null as she sits in his office with Null, Krisa, and Zodi. The Turtle Van pulls up to the Turtles’ original hideout.
The party is divided into teams to gather the “Purple Dragons” and ensure the coast is clear, because they will need to get there undetected by the EPF or Karai. Donatello claims that those are the only coordinates that came to mind at the moment, but because Metalhead thinks similarly to him, he will find them fairly soon; thus, they must travel to a location that Metalhead isn’t aware of. Angel advises visiting Skara Brae. Don claims that Leo is needed there and refuses to let Leo take Mikey to buy some Foot Ninja.
Mikey rushes to get Raph and informs him that he is required. Casey is adamant about leaving, but Alopex and Angel persuade him to go. After they are all gone, Don explains why he needs Leo: they must immediately inject Jenny with ooze or mutagen since they cannot afford him to suffer the mental damage that a blood transfusion would cause. In addition to beginning to heal Jennika, the transfusion also causes her to change into a turtle.
The Purple Dragons led them as they worked their way to the Brooklyn Bridge’s residence for safety, where Donatello verified what had occurred and explained what was happening. Jennika and Casey were reunited after fending off an onslaught from Karai’s assassins at that location. When Jennika finished evolving and came to sense, she was initially baffled by the transformations she had endured. Casey overcame his initial ambivalence with her change after witnessing her defending her comrades.
Jennika resided in the New York slum, now renowned as Mutant Town, after Splinter gave his life to stop the Dragon. There, she met Mona Lisa after she saved her from Puggle and Bandit. Jenny was made a sensei of the Splinter Clan after all the turtles came back together and established a dōjō. She also serves as an elder sister to the rest of the Turtles, in addition to her role.
Despite their sporadic reunions and uncomfortable interactions, Jennika and Casey do not appear to be at odds. They seem to have drifted apart. Later, Jenny began dating the Bomb’s mutant pig lead vocalist Sheena Murphy. She was reluctant to create her own music group, “Created in Darkness,” but was persuaded to do so when a time-traveling Lita showed up to warn her that the Turtles might lose their identity and suffer significant losses in a conflict with the Foot Clan without it.
What Makes Her A Strong Ally Of The Turtles
Jennika is skilled in the art of ninjutsu, which includes stealth, escape, and espionage, as well as unarmed and armed fighting. She is highly agile and possesses athletic abilities that even the best-trained athletes cannot match; however, she probably does not know as much about this like the rest of the turtles.
She was expressly trained for assassination, unlike most of the other Turtles, and has murdered people pretty brutally on several occasions. More than any other Foot Clan or Clan Hamato member that was visible, Jennika was charged with overseeing and caring for the youngsters of “Saint Robert’s Orphanage.” These orphans learned fundamental martial arts skills from Jennika.
Jennika is a bipedal turtle of humanlike height and posture, which provides advantages (and possible drawbacks) for mutant turtles. Her shell, which is made up of a carapace and a plastron, is the most noticeable feature. What other particular improvements she now has are unclear.
Jennika adhered to a strict dress code known as the “Foot Assassin Uniform,” which included striped sleeves and a scary red mask. She was a Foot Assassin, and her clawed armament was a glove that had bladed fingers, which resembled Freddy Krueger’s signature weapon, but with claws more along the lines of a tanto. After the transformation, she uses a four-bladed version of the classic tekkō-kagi wielded by Oroku Saki. It was somewhat of a hybrid of the “tekkō-kagi” and “neko-te.”
The only weapon Jennika often carried and used was a single katana when not dressed as a Foot Assassin. After the mutation, Jennika adopts the turtles’ custom of donning a yellow eye-mask bandana. She also used joint wraps.
Interesting Facts About Jennika
Jennika is the sixth mutated turtle character to be introduced in the IDW chronology, following the 4 Clan Hamato boys themselves as well as the late Slash. Additionally, she is the first female mutant turtle in IDW. This does not include appearances from other continuity or forms that only appeared in dreams.
Jennika is one of the rare female mutant turtles in any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continuity. Past instances include Mei Pieh Chi, also known as Venus de Milo, in “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation” and April O’Neil in the Archie universe (who was only momentarily altered).
Before it was decided, the notion of Jennika turning into a mutant turtle had been discussed for three years. Sophie Campbell created the mutant version of Jennika. While Tom Waltz requested the hue to match Jennika’s hair color and was not aware of Campbell’s fandom character Artemisia, the similarity in color between the two was completely coincidental.
Before changing to their more vibrant appearances, the turtles sported red bandannas on each of them when they made their 1984 debut. The fandom for Sophie Campbell’s creation, Jennika, has already consumed as many images of Jenny’s turtle form as they can find online. Jenny’s turtle form includes a yellow bandanna, jeans, and a sweatshirt.
Jennika remarks in issue no. #101 that Raphael reminds her of her “terrible young brother.” Jenny’s age in relation to the other 4 Turtles is a complex issue since, despite the fact that they are reincarnated people who were born in medieval Japan centuries earlier, their biological turtle bodies are just a few years old.
However, given that the Hamato Sons passed away as teens and were reborn as socially inexperienced teenagers, it is possible to infer that Jenny is chronologically elder than Raph, at least, and his socially younger siblings Donatello and Michelangelo. Leonardo’s social age in relation to Jennika is uncertain because he is culturally older than Raph. In “The Cure for You,” Jennika states that Silas deserted her ten years before the events of the narrative and that she was an adolescent when they last got along.
As Magneto and Xavier play chess, so do new comic book characters, and their issues gain value as a result. No different is Jennika’s first appearance as a turtle. IDW has already released a second printing since the topic has been so contentious. At least one case of the problem selling online on eBay for $275 has occurred. Her initial appearance and mutation concerns are currently going for roughly $45.
Jenny was highly committed to the Foot Clan since they were the only true family she had ever known, even though she wasn’t all that dedicated to Shredder’s principles. She continued to disagree with Splinter’s refusal to commit cold-blooded murder. She would covertly enlist with the Street Phantoms. She later became Splinter’s Chunin, and although she and Splinter occasionally argue, she remains committed to his teachings. On at least 1 occasion, she carried out her responsibilities as a Chunin by guarding small children and teaching them specific skills.
Every enthusiast worth their weight in pizzas is aware of the existence of nunchucks, katanas, sais, and a bo. Each turtle must own a distinctive weapon, right? Jenny’s is unique. It has shades of Freddy Krueger or Vega from Street Fighter, but in the hands of a skilled ninja, it is probably even more effective. Jenny will become a team player who is deserving of inclusion. Despite her own proficiency with a katana, she prefers to use a claw, which is certain to become a standard melee armament in video games.
The San Diego Comic-Con would still be a comic book convention, despite the fact that it has recently evolved into a refuge for devoted geeks from all over the world to meet their favorite celebrities and view some fantastic future films and movie trailers. IDW was prepared to bring the popular TMNT issue no. # 95 along for widespread fan consumption. Supposedly, the corporation opted not to bring the problem to the Con out of concern for people’s safety (in light of a fanboy rush) till the problem took off like a rocket.
The Ultimate Femme Mutant Turtle
The most recent surprise in the comics— a female mutant ninja turtle— might be the zaniest ever, given the series’ history of strange mutations and robotics. Despite having a tough female attitude, Jennika is actually quite kind and considerate. She struggles with anger a lot, like Raphael, but she manages it better and is more polite than him. She also enjoys listening to heavy metal music a lot.
Jenny often sports an ensemble resembling the one she did as Splinter’s human chūnin in the Foot Clan, which includes a blouse and pants appropriate for ninjutsu; however, now, she also sports a yellow scarf that matches the color of her previously blonde hair and is styled like the other turtles. She has never been seen wearing the typical “naked” turtle attire of belts, harnesses, and bandannas, but apart from a few pieces of cover art and concept art, nor has she even shown her plastron topless. She does not, however, seem out of place despite her attire, as the rest of the turtles have also begun to don fully-clothed uniforms more frequently since TMNT issue no. #101.
The Splinter Clan was established by Jennika, the other turtles, and her comrade ex-foot soldier Alopex at Union Square Park. They also constructed their own dōjō there. Later, she started the band “Created in Darkness” and began dating Sheena.