Random Most Blatant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ripoffs (10 items)

(#8) Stone Protectors
- Jim Byrnes, Ian James Corlett, Stevie Vallance, Don Brown
The beautiful thing about the Stone Protectors is that it wasn't enough to knockoff one established hit. Because one hook just won't do, the Stone Protectors are also in a rock band, have magical stones, and take advantage of the inexplicable return in popularity of Troll dolls in the mid-'90s.
What do you get when you mash together entirely too many ideas? Apparently a 13-episode run, a somewhat successful toy line, a video game, comic books, and even a board game.
(#7) Creepy Crawlers
- Joey Camen, Heidi Lenhart
Loosely based on the popular toy oven that allowed kids to bake spiders, insects, and assorted bugs using "Plasti-Goop," Creepy Crawlers the animated series aired from '94-'96 with 23 Goop-tastic episodes. In the series, teenager Chris Carter builds a device called "The Magic Maker" (identical to the toy oven) which, combined with cosmic energies that rain down from the sky due to a conveniently-timed planetary alignment, result in the creation of human-sized magic/bug creatures who Chris dubs "Goop-Mandos." Together, they regularly thwart the evil Dr. Googengrime's schemes of world domination.
(#3) Biker Mice from Mars
- Clancy Brown, Rob Paulsen, Ian Ziering, Jess Harnell, Dorian Harewood, Lisa Zane, Jim Ward
Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie are three anthropomorphic alien mice with a penchant for motorcycles who crash-land on Earth in the city of Chicago. Biker Mice from Mars went three seasons, wrapping up in 1996, and unlike the rest of the chumps on this list, actually received an inexplicable reboot in 2006. No slouches, these hog-riding rodents had lines of action figures, comic books, and even video games, but no matter how successful they've been, they're still products of what is basically Ninja Turtles Mad Libs.
(#2) Battletoads
- Kathleen Barr, Scott McNeil, Michael Donovan, Ian James Corlett, Alvin Sanders, Andrew Kavadas, Jason Michas
Battletoads was one of the most popular beat-em-up video games of the early '90s, but not even the people at Tradewest (now a long-forgotten video game company) could deny comparisons to the Ninja Turtles. Just sub out reptiles for amphibians, and nobody will know the difference, right?
In 1992, a pilot for Battletoads (written by none other than David Wise, the head writer of the classic 1987 TMNT animated series) aired, showcasing the sick skills of Rash, Pimple, and Zitz and their adventures in Oxnard, CA, but that was the only episode made. The 'Toads starred in some more video games produced in the mid 90s, including a crossover with Double Dragon, but have since faded into obscurity.
(#1) Street Sharks
- Andrew Rannells, Matt Hill, Lee Tockar
Here's an original idea: a team of four totally rad skateboarding, roller-skating mutants take on the forces of evil on the city streets. Sound familiar? That's because it's the premise for Street Sharks. From 1994-1997, Ripster, Jab, Streex, and Big Slammu extreme sports-ed their way into America's heart taking on the evil Dr. Piranoid.
They even had their own toy line, Don't believe it? Just ask a young Vin Diesel. No, seriously, click that link. You won't regret it.
(#5) Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
- Jim Cummings, Jeff Bennett, Pat Fraley
Yet another instance of animal mutations, these ruminants weren't changed by some mysterious ooze, but rather by an irradiated comet (or "cow-met"). For two seasons (in 1992 and 1993), Marshal Moo Montana, the Dakota Dude, and the Cowlorado Kid swore to uphold the Code of the West by protecting their fair town from the villainous Mayor Oscar Bulloney and Sheriff Terrorbull. They even had a line of action figures, a comic book, and an arcade game.
Hey, at least the Cowboys of Moo Mesa took a different approach to the TMNT ripoff by adding a little Southern twang and endless bovine puns.