TMNT's New Villain Is Revealed, and You'll Never Guess Their Secret Identity

IDW Publishing has conscionable kicked disconnected a caller epoch for the flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic. Issue #13 marks the debut of the series' caller originative team, writer Gene Luen Yang and creator Freddie E. Williams II. It besides serves arsenic the archetypal quality of a large caller villain known arsenic Ujigami. And this villain is carrying a unspeakable secret.

Read connected to find retired what happens successful this contented and larn the shocking information of Ujigami's existent identity, but beware of afloat spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 ahead!

Who Is TMNT Villain Ujigami?

Easily 1 of the biggest crippled twists successful IDW's long-running TMNT beingness came with contented #100 of Vol. 1, which featured the decease of the Turtles' begetter and mentor, Splinter. That decease has continued to formed a shadiness implicit the franchise ever since. That is, until the erstwhile originative team, writer Jason Aaron and creator Juan Ferreyra, ended their tally by bringing Splinter back.

That's a beauteous large improvement for Yang and Williams to physique upon successful their caller story, and they discarded nary clip successful doing conscionable that. Issue #13 opens with the mysterious, masked Ujigami interrupting a heated Triad gathering and murdering Xiang Fei Tong, the person of the Ghost Boys gang. The Turtles statesman investigating the execution and observe a transportation betwixt the Triads and Baxter Stockman, present the recently elected politician of New York.

Meanwhile, Splinter is shown eking retired a meager beingness successful the slums of New York. He whitethorn beryllium alive, but he's acold from well, arsenic helium struggles with amnesia and a pervasive consciousness of dread.

The Turtles fearfulness it's lone a substance of clip earlier the Ghost Boys face Mayor Stockman, and their fears are proven close erstwhile the gang's caller mutant person attacks him. But erstwhile again, the conflict is interrupted by the accomplishment of Ujigami, who earnestly wounds Stockman and claims to beryllium a true, faithful state to the Hamato family. Ujigami past escapes into the night.

It's determination that the large uncover happens. Ujigami is Splinter. In his addled condition, helium seems to deliberation he's helping his sons by assassinating their enemies. Check retired the slideshow assemblage supra to spot the large uncover play out.

As it stands, the Turtles aren't alert that their begetter is alive, and they surely don't cognize that he's masquerading arsenic Ujigami. But it astir apt won't beryllium agelong until the unspeakable information comes out.

What This Means for TMNT's Future

Both Yang and TMNT radical exertion Jake Thomas spoke to IGN astir this large twist and however it'll signifier the bid going forward. For Yang, fatherhood truly is 1 of the driving themes of his TMNT run, drafting connected his ain idiosyncratic experiences.

“Splinter's instrumentality to IDW's TMNT beingness is immense – what an unthinkable mode for Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra to extremity their run! Freddie and I wanted to marque definite it was meaningful," Yang tells IGN. "I thought a batch astir my ain acquisition of fatherhood. My woman and I person 4 kids, and I've been tempted again and again to bash everything successful my powerfulness to marque their lives arsenic casual arsenic possible, to support them safe. But then... that's not ever what's champion for the kids, is it? Especially aft they go teenagers."

Yang continues, "Great Turtles stories person ever been astir family, truthful Freddie and I are leaning into that. Can't hold for fans to work what other we person successful store! And it's not conscionable Splinter. There's different quality who volition soon beryllium making an quality – their archetypal successful the IDW incarnation of TMNT!”

Thomas explains that the extremity with bringing backmost Splinter wasn't simply to reconstruct the accepted TMNT statuis quo, but to bash thing drastically antithetic with the quality and reexamine his narration with his sons.

“There is thing undeniably almighty astir the nonaccomplishment of a parent. When the Turtles mislaid Splinter – their master, their teacher, their begetter – backmost successful TMNT (2011) #100, it changed the brothers and their satellite forever," Thomas says. "When we discussed bringing Splinter back, we knew the household couldn't conscionable instrumentality to concern arsenic usual. The far-reaching communicative Gene and Freddie are conscionable starting present is not astir resetting the presumption quo, it is astir questioning and examining the quality of family, fear, loss, love, and sacrifice, each done the unthinkable action, hijinks, heart, and wit that springiness these Turtles their power. Buckle up, this is going to beryllium a chaotic ride."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 is disposable successful stores now, and contented #14 volition beryllium released connected January 14, 2026. You tin prime up some issues astatine your section comic shop.

For more, larn however you tin commencement speechmaking the TMNT comics successful 2025.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.