Injustice 2’s Easter Egg Pays Loving Tribute to Classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Game

We’re just a few days away from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cleaning house in Injustice 2, with the ability to choose from any of our favorites – Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. But we’re kind of leaning towards Mikey at this point, because his skateboard has a wonderful Easter egg that fans of the Turtles’ gaming exploits will easily recognize.

As pointed out by this tweet from MasterWuggles, there’s a series of stickers that are on the bottom of Michelangelo’s skateboard. At first glance, they seem like typical New York fare, including an NYC sticker that looks like a sewer lid, as well as an obligatory slice of pizza. (It is Mikey, after all.)

But take a look at the two stickers on the left in the image below. You’ll notice an apple with the word “BIG” written on it, along with a sticker that reads “3AM”. And that’s totally a nod to a classic Ninja Turtles game.

In case you’re unfamiliar, there was a game released years ago called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time, which first released in arcades before finding a home translation on the SNES under the name Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV. When you start the opening level of the game, the announcer notifies you exactly where you are:

“Big Apple. 3 AM.”

That’s right, the team at NetherRealm just threw in a great throwback Easter egg for those that remember that game. And if you’re not familiar with the announcer or the stage, we included a YouTube clip that hooks you right up with the audio.

Who knows, we might be seeing more Easter eggs like this when the Turtles actually arrive in the game, like certain dialogue that spells out more about their personality (like their love for pizza), or maybe even a nod to the classic live-action films that were making the rounds in the 80’s.

NetherRealm has been quite savvy with its Easter eggs in Injustice 2, between Mortal Kombat mentions, comic book references and so much more. Add this one to the pile, because it’s really awesome – and makes us want to play Turtles In Time again.

Injustice 2 is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The Ninja Turtles arrive this Tuesday as part of Fighter Pack 3.