View source for Rat King (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

{{Short description|Fictional character}}
{{italic title|noerror|string=Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|all=yes}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProjectComics-->
|image= TMNT405EpisodeGuide.png
|caption = The [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)|2003 TV series]] version of the Rat King.
|character_name = Rat King
|publisher = [[Mirage Studios]]<br>[[Archie Comics]]<br>[[IDW Publishing]]
|debut = ''[[Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' #4 (Feb. 1988)
|creators = [[Jim Lawson (comic book writer)|Jim Lawson]]
|full_name =
|alliances = The Pantheon
|aliases = Monster, Ghost, The Rat, Ha'ntaan, The Slayer, The Ultimate Slayer, Dr. Victor Falco
|powers = Capable of communicating with and telepathically controlling rats<br>Enhanced strength<br>Enhanced speed and agility<br>Cloaking<br>Inhuman healing factor
}}
The '''Rat King''' is a fictional character in the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' multimedia franchise. The character was created by [[Jim Lawson (comic book writer)|Jim Lawson]] and first appeared in the comic ''[[Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' #4 written by Jim Lawson and has made various appearances since, in the comic books and other media, such as animated series and video games.

Born and raised in Boston and later migrated to New York, the Rat King remains one of the more enigmatic characters in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', with various appearances depicting him as either a villain, a neutral character or even an ally to the titular team. The Rat King has apparent telepathic influence over [[rat]]s.

==Appearances==

===Mirage Comics===
In the [[Mirage Studios]] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, the Rat King makes his first appearance in ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' #4 as the story's main antagonist. After residing in a swamp for several months, the Rat King (who remains unnamed until the end of the issue) decides to venture into a nearby abandoned [[industrial park]] and use it as shelter against the oncoming winter. There, the Rat King happens upon the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their friend [[Casey Jones (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Casey Jones]], who had come to the industrial park to train. Believing the Turtles and Casey to be other "monsters" who wish to take his territory, the Rat King proceeds to stalk them throughout the park, even capturing [[Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Michelangelo]] and leaving him to be devoured by the rats (Michelangelo later escapes). The Rat King is eventually defeated by [[Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Leonardo]] who, in a duel with the Rat King, flings several [[shuriken]]s at him, which knock him off balance, sending him plummeting into a silo.<ref>{{Cite comic
 | Writer = Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
 | Penciller = Jim Lawson
 | Inker = Ryan Brown
 | Story = I, Monster
 | Title = Tales of the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
 | Volume = 1
 | Issue = 4
 | Date = January, 1988
 | Publisher = Mirage Studios
 }}</ref>

The Rat King would return later during the Mirage series final arc, City at War, where his corpse communicates with Splinter.<ref>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles v.1, #55-59</ref>

===Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996)===
Despite being a minor character in the Mirage comics at the time of its initial airing, the Rat King (voiced by [[Townsend Coleman]]) is featured as a recurring character in the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series]], being one of the few villains from the Mirage comics to make the transition into the cartoon (the others being [[Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|the Shredder]], The [[Foot Clan]], the Triceratons, and [[Baxter Stockman|Dr. Stockman]]). The cartoon counterpart of the Rat King was somewhat inconsistent in some regards to his comic version, being shown with blonde or orange hair instead of black and having a slightly altered costume; his first few appearances on the show also had him controlling rats with a flute (à la [[The Pied Piper of Hamelin]]) instead of his mind as in later episodes. Even Splinter was affected by the music and almost killed the TMNT in a fight.<ref>{{cite episode| title = Enter the Rat King | series = [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] | credits = Buzz Dixon (writer) | network = Various | airdate = 1989-10-10 | season = 3|number = 33}}</ref> The cartoon version of the Rat King was also depicted as highly intelligent, shown to be able to create such things as various chemical concoctions and bombs.<ref>{{cite episode| title = Leatherhead Meets the Rat King | series = [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] | credits = David Wise (writer) | network = Various | airdate = 1989-11-29 | season = 3|number = 55}}</ref><ref name = "Wrath">{{cite episode| title = Wrath of the Rat King | series = [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] | credits = David Wise (writer) | network = Various | airdate = 1994-09-24 | season = 8|number = 171}}</ref>

===Archie Comics===
In [[Archie Comics]] ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Archie Comics)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures]]'' series, the Rat King is given the name '''Lord Ha'ntaan'''. The Rat King's first appearance in the Archie Comics is in issue eleven, where the Turtles encounter him while searching for the Shredder in the sewers. The Rat King allows the Turtles to pass him unhindered and tells them where the Shredder is, after Leonardo proves that he and his brothers mean him and his rat subjects no harm.<ref>{{Cite comic
 | Writer = Ryan Brown and Dean Clarrain 
 | Penciller = Jim Lawson
 | Inker = Gary Fields
 | Story = White Light
 | Title = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
 | Volume = 1
 | Issue = 11
 | Date = June, 1990
 | Publisher = Archie Comics
 }}</ref>

The Rat King has an extended role in "The Future Shark Trilogy", which reveals him to be still active several decades in the future (showing no signs of having aged at all). After the future version of [[Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Donatello]] exterminated most of the world's rat population, in a future where floods following [[global warming]] causing rats to enter the [[house]]s in the [[town]]s, the Rat King declares war on him and his allies for killing so many of his "children".<ref>{{Cite comic
 | Writer = Chris Allan and Dean Clarrain
 | Penciller = Chris Allan
 | Inker = Brian Thomas
 | Story = Past Lives
 | Title = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
 | Volume = 1
 | Issue = 43
 | Date = April, 1993 
 | Publisher = Archie Comics
 }}</ref> Though mentioned throughout "The Future Shark Trilogy", the Rat King only appears in person in the story-arc's last issue, which has him engaging in a [[battle royal]] with the Turtles, their allies and several other villains. The Rat King is defeated in the issue after Verminator X accidentally floods the room everyone is in, washing the Rat King and his rats away.<ref>{{Cite comic
 | Writer = Chris Allan and Dean Clarrain
 | Penciller = Chris Allan
 | Inker = Jon D'Agostino
 | Story = Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
 | Title = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
 | Volume = 1
 | Issue = 44
 | Date = May, 1993
 | Publisher = Archie Comics
 }}</ref>

===Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003–2009)===
In the 2003 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', the Rat King (who is never referred to as such and voiced by [[David Zen Mansley]]) appears in the episodes "Bishop's Gambit" and later "I, Monster", which is an adaptation of his first appearance in the Mirage Comics. Flashbacks reveal the character as '''"Slayer"''', [[Agent Bishop]]'s prototype clone/super soldier mixed with Splinter's DNA. After a fight floods Bishop's lab, he retreats to the sewers with no memories and battles the Turtles again. Instead of dying like in the comics, the Rat King survives the fall into the silo after his fight with Leonardo.<ref name = "Monster">{{cite episode| title = I, Monster | series = [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] | credits = Brandon Sawyer (writer) | network = 4Kids TV | airdate = 2005-10-15 | season = 4|number = 83}}</ref>

===Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012–2017)===
The Rat King appeared in the 2012 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon, voiced by [[Jeffrey Combs]]. In this series' season 1, the Rat King was introduced as '''Victor Falco''', a scientist working on a [[neurochemical]] that allows him to read thoughts, and ultimately, to anticipate every move the Turtles make. After an experiment leaves him disfigured, he leaves for the sewers to plan his revenge on the Turtles by mind controlling Splinter, until he and his armies were stopped. In season 2, after the Mutagen rain that New York had, several containers of Mutagen fell on the city. The Rat King obtained one of these containers and began to perform experiments on his rats, mutating them. The Rat King's plan is to make an army of human rats like Splinter to conquer the city. In the final battle, the Rat King is defeated by being thrown into the Undercity by Splinter. In season 4, the Rat King returns from surviving the fall, using his mind games against Splinter again, but by overcoming him, he manages to defeat the Rat King, who is discovered as a [[Skeletonization|skeletal corpse]] and realizes that everything he had it was nothing more than a hallucination created by his fever.

===IDW Publishing===
In the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Publishing)|IDW comic book series]], the Rat King is a member of [[List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters#The Pantheon|the Pantheon]], a group of demigods who once influenced humanity's evolution as a sort of competition among themselves. Scheming to become the ultimate winner in this "game", the Rat King begins pitting the Turtles and their enemies against each other until his brother Chi-You brings the conflict to an explosive conclusion which temporarily takes out the whole Pantheon.

==Video games==
The Rat King appears as a boss in the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] version of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time]]'', battling the player using the Footski equipped with missiles and spiked buoys.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time | developer = Konami | publisher = Konami | date = 1991 | platform = Super NES }}</ref> The Rat King also appears as a boss and unlockable playable character in the Super NES version of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters]]''.

The Slayer version of the Rat King from the 2003 animated series also appears as the boss of Episode Two in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare]]''.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare | developer = Konami | publisher = Konami | date = 2006 | platform = Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo DS }}</ref> It also appears as a recurring boss in the [[Nintendo DS]] version, at one point fighting alongside Agent Bishop himself.

The Rat King is the primary foe of the first act of the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014 3DS game)|2014 3DS game]], and functions as the game's second boss.

The Rat King appears as a boss in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge]]'', reprised by  Townsend Coleman.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051101063946/http://www.ninjaturtles.com/html/profil19.htm Rat King Profile Information from the Official Ninja Turtles Site]

{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles}}
{{Pied Piper}}

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