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Four turtles, four brothers, trained in the art of Ninjutsu, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had many adventures across several generations of comic books, television shows, and movies. With these adventures, the Turtles have come across a variety of enemies, and allies, ranging from a mutant alligator to a samurai rabbit and even alien dinosaurs.
In reality, some of the Turtles’ most valuable allies have been ordinary human beings. Some have been with the Turtles from the start, and others have lost their way and found it with help from the Turtles. Here are the best human allies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
7 April O’Neil
April O’Neil has been the steadfast mother figure in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mythology. Having been brought to their lair after being rescued by the Turtles, she became an essential ally. Her many incarnations range from being an assistant to nefarious scientist Baxter Stockman in the Mirage comics and 2003 series to being a reporter in the 1987 cartoon.
In the 1990 movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, April is a news anchor who pulls no punches when holding figures in power accountable for their actions, even losing her job because of it. She brings the Turtles to her family’s old farm house and helps nurse the fallen Raphael back to health after a brutal defeat from the Shredder’s foot soldiers.
6 Casey Jones
The maniac with the hockey mask is the best friend of Raphael and the love interest of April O’Neil. While he is not trained in the art of Ninjutsu, Casey knows street fighting, taking on criminals with an assortment of sports equipment, including hockey sticks, golf clubs, and even a cricket bat. He may be an airhead, but he has a heart big enough to make up for it.
Casey first appeared in the one-shot comic “Raphael #1,” released in 1985. Raph encounters Casey on one fateful night on the streets of New York City, when his temper drives Raph to almost hurt one of his brothers. Raph stops Casey from killing some thugs, telling him that there is a line that he shouldn’t cross when pursuing justice. They end up brawling, in which Raph and Casey earn each other’s respect. Casey would become a part of the Turtles' family in later adventures throughout the franchise.
5 Angel
Angel is a character not from the original comics but instead created for the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. She is a young girl Casey promised her grandmother that she would look after.
Casey finds Angel involved with the Purple Dragons, a notorious street gang that the Turtles have crossed paths with several times before. When the Dragons capture Casey and make him the prize in a cage match, Angel realizes she’s gotten in over her head and recruits the Turtles to help bail him out, and then returns home to her grandmother. The character of Angel would return in IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic.
4 Danny
In 1994’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Danny is a teenager often getting in trouble at school and in the streets, butting heads with his father, who happens to be April’s boss. His teenage angst makes him perfect prey for the Foot Clan, who manipulate troubled teenagers into carrying out the will of the Shredder.
Finding the Turtles’ teacher, Master Splinter, held captive in the Foot’s lair, he discovers a friendly ear to listen to his struggles. Through Splinter’s wisdom, helps Danny understand that, as he put it, “all fathers care for their children” and helps to rescue Master Splinter from execution at the hands of the Foot.
3 Keno
Everyone knows who the real hero of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is: the humble pizza deliverer, the one who provides the delicious cheesiness that fuels the Turtles for ninja action. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze, that pizza courier is Keno, a teenager whom the turtles aid when he attempts to apprehend a burglary operation at a mini-mall. After that encounter, Keno enters April’s apartment, where he discovers the turtles in residence.
When Keno is not delivering pizzas, he studies martial arts, which come in handy in tight situations, especially when he poses as an aspiring Foot member to find their hideout. While he is a bit of a hothead, like another certain turtle, he won’t hesitate to put himself in harm’s way to help his friends.
2 Nobody
Nobody’s origins are in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book, where, while staying at April O’Neil’s farmhouse in Northampton, MA, the turtles take a trip to Springfield. There, they encounter the masked vigilante, who is a police officer by day, and a crime fighter by night. Nobody would return in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, as a vigilante in New York City attempting to take down the wealthy arms dealer that ruined his reputation.
He is essentially a knockoff of Batman, dressed in black, wearing a cowl, brooding on rooftops, and using a raspy voice. The rogue cop is not the only character to take up the mantle of Nobody, as April and Angel would later use the name in the comic books.
1 Kirby
This Kirby is not the pink puff gamers often associate with the name. This Kirby is a character in the one-shot solo comic Donatello #1, which would become the basis of an episode for the 2003 cartoon dedicated to real-life comic book artist Jack Kirby. In this episode, Kirby is a cartoonist living in a spare room in the basement of the April’s apartment, who possesses a crystal he stumbled upon one day that brings his illustrations to life.
When he and Donny enter a portal Kirby created, leading to a world of his creations, they end up in the middle of a battle to protect the city that lies within. Though the battle is won, the portal collapses, and Kirby urges Donatello to go ahead of him. Kirby ends up trapped in his world, sending a final note to Donny through paper airplane: an illustration of Donatello, and the message. “Donny, life at best is bitter-sweet. Take care of yourself. Kirby.”