The names Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael are immediately recognizable to the vast majority of the public as they belong to the four original members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–though despite their name recognition, many fans might not know that they do, in fact, have a last name as well.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first introduced in the Mirage Studios comic of the same name by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. In the original run, the Tmnt were normal turtles who were mutated and then adopted by a mutated rat named Master Splinter. Splinter–back when he was a non-mutated rat–was the pet of a martial arts master named Hamato Yoshi who was killed by the Shredder. Before Yoshi was killed, Splinter learned a great deal from him simply by watching Hamato’s movements, and upon Splinter's and the Turtles’ mutations, he passed that knowledge onto his adopted sons.