Recommended music: Beastie Boys – Flute Loop
Hey everyone, #TurtleTuesday is back for another year. I’m close to 100 posts about TMNT toys in my collection, so this will probably be the last year for this theme. Today, let’s check out the NECA Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rat King!
In season 3 of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, one of the few comic villains made it into the show. The episode “Enter the Rat King” introduced him, and he appeared in 10 episodes between 1989 and 1994.
The character first appeared in January 1988 as the main villain in the fourth issue of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, called “I, Monster.” Since then, he’s shown up in almost every TMNT comic or cartoon series. He’s had several action figures over the years, starting with the original Playmates toy in 1989, followed by later cartoon versions in 2006, 2007, 2013, a Mirage-style figure in 2024, and a Super7 Ultimates release in 2025. NECA did a great job recreating him with this 2021 figure, which is based on his look from the 1987 cartoon. The old Playmates figure didn’t really look like the cartoon version, so I’m happy NECA got it right. The paint is clean, and there’s a lot of detail that matches the Rat King’s cartoon design.
The Rat King was released in a Target-exclusive 2-pack with Vernon. Like other figures in the line, he has almost 20 points of articulation and comes with plenty of accessories. These include a disguise, a flute for controlling his rat army, five interchangeable hands, a mutagen canister with a removable cap, three “soda-pop bombs”, and three small rats. Two of the rats can even grip him thanks to their tail shapes, further improving this fun release.
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