Stranger Things, TMNT Crossover Announced by IDW & Dark Horse

One of the biggest properties from the 1980s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will officially crossover with the juggernaut that is Stranger Things, making an ouroboros of 40-year-old culture not seen in some time. IDW Publishing confirmed the news online, revealing the cover art and confirming more news is on the way. “The comic book crossover event of the summer is coming,” IDW tweeted. “Stay tuned for more details! @DarkHorseComics.” It would appear that writer Cameron Chittock and artist Fero Pe are attached to the series, their surnames listed on the full cover that was shown by IDW Publishing. This remains to be confirmed however.

In recent years the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have crossed over with a slew of popular franchises. Three volumes of TMNT/Batman have been published while the second volume of a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers crossover is currently ongoing. Other crossovers have included TMNT/Ghostbusters, TMNT/X-Files, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter (set to be published this year). TMNT has even crossed over with itself as various versions of the turtles have met in multiversal adventures. 

Fans of both Stranger Things and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles know that the two franchises have crossed already in one form, action figures. Playmates has released four two-packs featuring new versions of the Turltes paired with characters from Stranger Things, including Raphael &Jim Hopper, Michelangelo & Dustin, Donnatello & Lucas, and Leonardo & Eleven.

The toy crossovers even featured a narrative reason for why such a meeting of franchises would happen, with the boxes all reading: “The Turtles have tracked TCRI’s latest illegal experiments from NYC to Hawkins, Indiana, where it’s trying to harness the power of the upside down. The half-shell heroes must team up with eleven and her friends to try and stop TCRI’s next experiment before it succeeds.” It remains to be seen if the new comic series will have a similar plot, since this was just a non-canon explanation on a toy box, but it’s not a bad place to start!

This new series continues Stranger Things’ expansive footprint in the comic book world. Dark Horse has been publishing prequel and spin-off stories set within the franchise for some time including character specific volumes like Science Camp and Six. Stranger Things also crossed over with the biggest property that makes the most sense, Dungeons & Dragons. In that series, we saw Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin play out the DND campaign that would define their friendship, and set the stage for the Demogoron.