Rise of the Turtles

Rise of the Turtles is the first and second episode of the first season and overall. It officially aired on September 29, 2012.

Plot
Four mutant ninja turtles named Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello live beneath the surface of New York City in the sewers. Fifteen years ago, Hamato Yoshi/Splinter, the turtles' sensei left a pet shop with four baby turtles. He passed a strange man on the streets, but something felt wrong about him. He decided to follow him but was caught after a rat squealed near him, distracting the men who were holding a strange substance. The glass cylinder that held the substance dropped on the floor, mutating Hamato Yoshi into a rat, as the baby turtles turned into large talking turtles.

The turtles feel that now that they are fifteen years old, they feel it is time to explore the surface, but Splinter feels it is wrong because they lack the maturity to use skills wisely. Eventually, he agrees to let them go later at night, but must "stay in the shadows" and not talk to any strangers. When reaching the surface, they see it is unlike anything they have seen before.

They realize they are too exposed on the streets, so they plan to go on the rooftops. Before running, Mikey notices a box of pizza that a pizza delivery boy dropped on the road. He brings it to the rooftop, and they are all confused what it is. Mikey decides to try it and experiences a burst of flavor unlike what they have never tasted before. After, they explore the city more.

Leonardo suggests that the group goes back to the lair, but Donnie notices a girl who he immediately has a crush on who is walking with her father on a quiet street. The girl and father are both walking but a van pulls over a group of strange men corner and kidnap them. The group attempts to fight them off, but find it challenging. Donnie is about to save the girl until Mikey accidentally distracts him, causing the girl to be driven away kidnapped.

The group leaves to follow the van but leaves Mikey behind. Mikey encounters another one of the men and tries to fight him off but escapes instead. The man walks closer to Mikey at a dead end but Mikey slahes him in the face with his nunchaku blade. The man falls down and Mikey turns him over and notices that a robot is under the skin. A brain-like creature crawls out of the stomach and escapes. Mikey finds the group and explains what happened making it sound very doubtful to them. They do not believe him, so he brings them to the area where he last saw the robot, but it is gone.

Back in the lair, the turtles explain to Splinter about the fights. Splinter says that their inability to work has caused them all to get away and they cannot go up to the surface again do to their behavior up there. Donnie explains that they need to return to the surface because that girl was putting trust in them to save her, but they didn't. Splinter says that if they must go, they must have a leader and he quickly decides it will be Leonardo.

When returning to the rooftops, they wait for a kidnapper to show up. After a long time, a van pulls up to the building below them. When the turtles are seen, the van quickly drives away. The group soon catches up after Leonardo throws a shuriken at the tire, causing it to skid to the side. When Raphael opens the back door to the truck, a canister filled with the strange substance rolls out onto the ground.

The group stares at the mutagen canister and realizes it is what turned them into what they are now. The group thinks that the group that they encountered earlier has a connection to the group that Splinter encountered a long time ago. Raphael interrogates Snake, the man who drove the truck. He threatens to mutate the man with the canister if he doesn't give them information about the kidnapping group. He says that they call themselves "The Kraang" and they have been grabbing scientists from all over the city, including the girl's father.

They decide to watch over the Kraang hideout, but Snake escapes while Mikey gets zoned out while keeping an eye on him. They try to chase him, but Snake hides. Leonardo and Raphael hear him hiding, and they make up a fake plan out loud that they will steal his van and drive up to the Kraang hideout to trick him and the Kraang.

Later at the Kraang's building, the truck with no one driving it speeds up to the building and crashes into the wall. Snake falls onto the ground and a blob of mutagen lands on him, mutating him into a weed. The turtles sneakily climb on the wall while the Kraang were distracted by the van.

After sneaking into the Kraang's lair, Mikey talks too loud, alerting the Kraang. Donatello finds the girl and her father. Donatello takes too long, making Raphael impatient. Out of temper, he destroys the lock, making it stuck. Before they can reach them, multiple Kraangs escort the girl and her father to a helicopter. The turtles see them, but are quickly encountered by Snake, who is now a mutant weed. Donatello tries to rescue the girl and her father while the other turtles fight off Snake. Donatello is able to rescue the girl, but her father, Kirby, is taken away by the Kraang in the helicopter. After, Snake is electrocuted, which blows him up.

The turtles escape and they bring April, the girl, to her aunt's house. The turtles vow to her that they will not rest until they find her father. Later that night back in the lair, the turtles watch television and the news has a report on the violence that broke out that night. The police discovered a shuriken with the Hamato Clan symbol on it.

The end of the episode is set in Japan. The news is being watched and someone notices that the shuriken has the Hamato Clan symbol. The person watching it is Splinter's greatest enemy - The Shredder.

Characters

 * Leonardo
 * Michelangelo
 * Raphael
 * Donatello
 * Master Splinter
 * Kraang
 * Pizza Delivery Guy
 * April O'Neil
 * Kirby O'Neil
 * Snake
 * Spike
 * Oroku Saki

Quotes
Donatello: "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Raphael: "Isn't she the only girl you've ever seen?"