One of the most popular media franchises in the 1980s was “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” which was created by the comic book writers Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It started out as a comic book series, with Mirage Studios publishing the first issue in 1984.
The characters were licenced to Playmates Toys because Kevin and Laird eventually sought to enter the toy business, as is the case with most comic book properties. They began as sceptics because the comics had not gained much traction, so they started an animated TV series that debuted in 1987 and ran until November 2, 1996.
Between 1988 and 1992, this cooperative effort was able to bring in 1.1 billion US dollars from toys, making them the third-best-selling toy figures of all time. The ten-season show followed the Turtles’ everyday exploits as they fought enemies and saved the world. One of the many intriguing and unusual characters it provided us is Kerma from the planet of the Turtleoids.
Small turtle Kerma has different characteristics from the Ninja Turtles, however he can speak like them. Let us get started with the movie for today and learn more about Kerma and The Planet of the Turtleoids’ history.
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KERMA’S ORIGINS
FOR THE FIRST TIME ON TELEVISION (TMNT 1987)
Kerma is an ambassador of the anthropomorphic alien race called Turtleoids. The Turtleoids are a bunch of meek and peace-loving turtles that can talk. They are smaller in size compared to the Ninja Turtles and reside on a planet called Shell-Ri-La. Kerma and the Turtleoids were specifically created for the 1987 cartoon series. Kerma first appeared in season 5, episode 21, as a part of the story “Planet of the Turtleoids, Part 1”.
The story begins with the four Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, making their way to a nearby night pizzeria when they encounter a sumo wrestler breaking into a pet shop. The four of them follow the sumo wrestler and try to stop him, but to their surprise, the wrestler transforms into a hamster after getting accidentally electrocuted. From the incident, they infer that Shredder and Krang must be using the Mutagen again for their evil purposes.
Meanwhile, a small humanoid turtle wearing a trench coat and fedora approach a reporter from Channel 6 called Vernon. He seeks knowledge about humans, but Vernon gets scared and runs away from it. Shredder and Krang are working on the Mutagen to create new mutated henchmen out of animals so they can steal a giant ruby from the museum. The ruby could refocus Krang’s new heat ray and free his base, The Technodrome.
At the Channel 6 headquarters, Vernon informs another reporter, April, about his incident. April knew the ninja turtles and enquired if it was one of them who interacted with Vernon. While the turtles attend to April’s call, Shredder and Krang, along with their henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady, look for the wildest and strongest animals from the City Wild Animal Park. The two muscle men capture a lion and a gorilla and free a mole and an ox. As they prepare for the mutation, Kerma arrives and frees the lion and the gorilla.
Things go haywire, and the ox and the mole get transformed into a humanoid form instead. The two new mutants call themselves Groundchuck and Dirtbag and manage to escape from the clutches of Krang and Shredder. They soon encounter the Ninja Turtles and engage in a fight before Kerma arrives and captures them, as he had only faced trouble from the inhabitants of the Earth. He takes them into a building that transforms into a huge spaceship and starts their journey for Shell-Ri-La.
On his way, he keeps apologizing for bringing them against their will, as he had no other choice. The Turtleoids need desperate help from Earth in solving their small problem. Believing that the Turtles are out of their way, Shredder and Krang plan on building an indestructible robot out of the strongest metal, Adamantium, to complete their schemes. They also kidnap April. Upon arriving on the planet of the Turtleoids, the Ninja turtles were amazed by seeing their machine that could transform lead into gold.
The Turtleoids require the gold’s bright reflection to survive as it is the main energy source. Soon a two-headed dragon named Herman the Horrible arrives with its new weapons. It tries attacking but gets blocked by the city’s energy shield. Kerma explains to them that the shield is getting weaker every day while Herman’s weapons are developing, and soon they will not have anything to stop their demise. The Turtleoids hope to shift their civilization to Earth which is why Kerma arrived on Earth and sought information about humans.
While Groundchuck and Dirtbag escape, Kerma takes the Ninja Turtles to the high council chambers of Shell-Ri-La, where, unfortunately, the turtles get accused of sabotage and get locked up in prison. Herman’s two heads have different minds of their own, as one is more prone to violence while the other likes planning and making strategies. Herman recruits Groundchuck and Dirtbag and makes a plan to destroy the shield’s power source from within.
Meanwhile, the Ninja Turtles escape the prison and devise a plan to stop Herman once and for all. Three of them leave in search of the dragon while Donatello stays back to help Kerma build a weapon. The three enter Herman’s cage and damage his weapons. While they are gone, Groundchuck and Dirtbag arrive at the threshold of the Turtleoid shield and request a few Turtleoids to let them in.
The two show them a big chunk of trilithium crystal, which they need to keep their force field running. The Turtleoids fall into their trap and open the shield as the crystal is a mere salt rock. The two manage to reach the force field generator and destroy it, leaving the Turtleoids defenseless to Herman. Herman soon arrives and attacks them as well. Donatello had attached a pulverizer to one of their aircraft, making it into a weapon.
The turtles attack Hermon along with Groundchuck and Dirtbag, and after a fierce fight, they win. The turtles realize that the giant two-headed dragon is actually a robot controlled by the two council members of the Turtleoids, who had accused them. The two were fed up with using gold only for their survival and wanted to overthrow the government. After their victory, the turtles travel back to Earth in their spaceship while the two council members get arrested.
REAPPEARANCE IN “RETURN OF THE TURTLEOID” AND “ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE TURTLEOIDS”
RETURN OF THE TURTLEOID
Kerma reappears in Season 5, Episode 6 of the animated show. The episode was aired on September 26, 1992, and begins with the Ninja Turtles watching April’s news broadcast about the newly invented sonic ray disintegrator capable of converting hard solid metal into powder.
Leonardo is sure that Shredder is attempting to steal the device for his evil purposes, for which the four Turtles plan on guarding it. Much to their surprise, mob boss Big Louie arrives and tries to steal the disintegrator. Eventually, he is defeated by the Turtles, following which he manages to escape. Meanwhile, a destructive robot named Destructor X arrives on Earth in a Space Capsule and starts destroying things around. The Turtles get the news and start investigating when Turtleoid Kerma appears behind them.
The Turtleoid is again in trouble, and this time it’s Destructor X who has been hunting him. Destructor X is an intergalactic law-enforcing robot created to take down vicious criminals. Unfortunately, due to some technical glitch, it has confused Kerma with a villain named Nerma and wants to kill him. The Ninja Turtles face the robot once and are made to retreat with Kerma.
At the same time, Big Louie steals Kerma’s gold machine. Without the gold’s reflection, Kerma is weakened and so has to hide under Splinter’s guard in April’s apartment. Raphael and Leonardo go to take back Kerma’s gold machine from Big Louie while Donatello and Michelangelo look for the disintegrator to use it on Destructor X, who soon breaks into April’s apartment. The Ninja Turtles arrive just in time, and Donatello shoves the disintegrator into Destructor X’s body, reducing it to powder. Kerma is saved, and the turtles bid him farewell as he leaves for his home in Shell-Ri-La.
ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE TURTLEOIDS
Kerma again appears in The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated show in season 7, episode 8, where he finally learns a few things about defending himself and his planet. The episode begins with the Ninja Turtles watching an old Sci-Fi movie and wondering if the Turtleoids are facing any new crisis as they lack both aggression and defense. Meanwhile, Krang and Shredder find their Technodrome malfunctioning and decide to use a solar storm to fix its power fluctuations.
They plan on making a solar collector on the Colossus building and use deadly Hunter Drones to neutralize the Ninja Turtles if they intervene. Back at Channel 6, the turtles arrive and try to make contact with Kerma, who reveals their newest problems. The Turtleoids have built robots to defend them but cannot program aggression into them. The robots are timid, just like them, and are definitely incapable of providing any protection.
The Ninja Turtles leave for Kerma’s planet while Krang’s Hunter Drones enter Channel 6 and ransack the place. The Turtles reach their planet, and Donatello starts reprogramming aggression into the robots. They are soon interrupted by Groundchuck and Dirtbag, who are now joined by the cyborg brigand Captain Dredd. They try to steal the Turtleoid’s gold machine but are easily stopped by the Ninja Turtles.
However, they manage to get hold of Kerma and take him captive. They torture Kerma, which finally makes him infuriated enough to break his bonds and escape. Ground chuck, Dirtbag, and Dredd re-attack Shell-Ri-la, and this time they bring along a team of bulky aliens called the Brute Force.
After a few glitches, Donatello finally reprograms the robots, and Kerma begins fighting his enemies owing to the new aggression he discovered in him. The Brute Forces are made to retreat while Groundchuck and Dirtbag are taken down. Donatello reprogramed Dredd’s systems, making him tear himself. The Ninja Turtles bid Kerma farewell, believing that he can now train his fellow Turtleoids to be able to defend themselves.
CONCLUSION
Voiced by Jan Rabson, Kerma is exclusively made for the animated tv series… a soft and timid turtle who could talk like humans. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles intended to showcase a series without violence, and Kerma is undoubtedly one of the most non-violent characters in the series. His entire race is soft and lacks aggression, for which they always seemed to face troubles from their enemies, until Kerma learned more about aggression and the importance of being able to defend oneself.