When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first introduced in 1984, comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird set out to skewer the superhero stories then dominating the space (sound familiar?), piling on the parody (teenage…mutant…ninja…turtles?) and (oopsie!) crafting their own unexpected hit heroes in the process. Over the course of nearly four decades, those wily heroes have cycled through countless iterations, eventually becoming a favorite for kids (of all ages) and spawning their very own entertainment complex.