With Daredevil: Born Again making waves on Disney+, now is the perfect time to revisit some of the Man Without Fear’s greatest comic book stories. But if you’ve already read the classics, then it may be time to turn your attention to another classic comic book that was initially inspired by the Marvel hero. While longtime fans may already be aware of this connection, many don’t realize that the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were based in part on Daredevil. Yes, these two pop culture icons are intimately connected, and it all happened in the very first issue of TMNT.
‘TMNT’s Creators Were First Inspired by Frank Miller’s ‘Daredevil’
In 1984, Mirage Studios first published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, and anyone who has read some of Frank Miller‘s work from the ’80s (particularly his Daredevil run) can see the clear parallels between them. The original TMNT comic was quite a bit darker than most of the cartoon adaptations that came after, as the Ninja Turtles were merciless towards their enemies as they protected the streets of New York City from the shadows. However, the clearest connection between TMNT and Daredevil comes not just from the shared location or similar tone and material but from the origin of the Turtles themselves.
When Splinter explains to his four “sons” — Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo (whose name is erroneously spelled Michaelangelo for much of the original series) — how they first came to be, he recalls a day when a blind man was almost hit by a truck, only to be pushed out of the way by a brave young man. Sound familiar? This young man (who goes unnamed in the book, but is intended to be Matt Murdock) was hit in the face by a canister full of radioactive material. While you have likely caught on that this is a callback to Stan Lee and Bill Everett‘s original Daredevil #1 from 1964 (a pivotal moment later retold by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. in the Daredevil: The Man Without Fear miniseries), it doesn’t end there.
The same canister that blinded this young man bounced into the crowd where it smashed into a glass container holding four turtles. The turtles fell into the sewer where they were mutated by the radioactive ooze, only to be found by Splinter, who was likewise changed as a result of his contact with the substance. So, while the radioactive sludge blinded Matt Murdock and granted him his infamous “radar” sense, the turtles became more humanoid and sentient than other animals. Thus, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were born, seemingly at the same time as Daredevil.
The Ninja Turtles’ Supporting Cast Echoed Daredevil’s
Of course, anyone who has delved into the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knows that there’s more to the story than just that. When speaking with The Week, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird unveiled that some of the Turtles’ other supporting cast were parodies of Daredevil characters as well. Chief among them was the Ninja Turtles’ mentor.
“Splinter’s name was a tip of the hat to the Daredevil supporting character Stick,” Laird explained, referencing the man who trained a young Matt Murdock to hone his senses and fight blind long before he donned his red tights. Stick became a recurring character throughout Daredevil’s comic book history, and, like Splinter with the Ninja Turtles, Matt wouldn’t have grown into a hero without being trained by him. Though it’s worth noting that Splinter has a much more affectionate relationship with his protégés than Stick ever enjoyed with Matt.
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However, Daredevil’s allies weren’t the only characters that Eastman and Laird used as the basis for their TMNT comic series. Longtime Marvel fans will note that The Hand is one of the most powerful organizations in the comic book universe. In fact, The Hand plays a major role in Frank Miller’s Daredevil run (he first introduced them in Daredevil #174, just a few years before the TMNT debuted), and became major antagonists in the Marvel/Netflix shows, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. Naturally, with The Hand already taken, Eastman and Laird chose to call their evil band of ninjas The Foot (or the Foot Clan).
It’s a clever reversal, and if you weren’t as familiar with the Daredevil mythos, you probably didn’t think much of it when watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons as a kid. Even funnier, Shredder was inspired by a cheese grater, and wasn’t nearly as important to the TMNT comic books as he was to the franchise at large.
Daredevil and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Have Yet to Cross Over Officially
Even though the original TMNT comic series connects quite distinctly to Daredevil, the two books have never crossed over officially. Sure, an unnamed Matt Murdock shows up in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, but Mirage Studios obviously couldn’t use the name already trademarked by Marvel. Even in recent years, when the Ninja Turtles have teamed up with everyone from the Power Rangers to Agents Mulder and Scully from The X-Files to even Batman himself (among so many others, including the Stranger Things cast), there has never been a Daredevil/TMNT collaboration.
“[A crossover happens] in my mind a lot and often,” Kevin Eastman admitted to ComicBook.com back in 2023. “It’s been something that in all sincerity I believe will happen. But if not, I’ll just do it for free and put it out.” Eastman calls a Daredevil/TMNT crossover a “bucket list item,” and notes that he has a story already planned out. It’s in Marvel’s court now.
“The thing is…Daredevil was my guy.” Eastman explained. “I really gravitated towards the more, I don’t want to say grounded, but you had Daredevil, Captain America and Batman, there was similarities of more human, accessible characters, but Daredevil was my favorite.” While Frank Miller’s influence on the original TMNT comic series is indisputable (again, the tone of the comics is far different from the kid-friendly Ninja Turtles we’re so used to), Eastman and Laird’s clear love for his Daredevil stories in particular were part of the catalyst for crafting their own.
It’s no wonder too, as Miller’s “Born Again” story arc remains not just one of the best in Marvel Comics, but a clear inspiration for Season 3 of Daredevil as well as the latest Disney+ revival series of the same name. Hopefully, Marvel will come to its senses and pursue an official crossover between the Man Without Fear and the Heroes in a Half Shell, but until then, we can rest well knowing that (from a certain point of view) their origins are forever connected.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are available on Tuesdays on Disney+. Meanwhile, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is available for streaming on Paramount+.
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- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
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Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
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- Network
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Nickelodeon
- Showrunner
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Christopher L. Yost, Alan Wan
- Writers
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Christopher L. Yost, Alan Wan
- Franchise(s)
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
