This version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles draws more references and plotlines from the original comics than the original television series did. Four turtles are contaminated with "ooze", a radioactive substance that causes four turtles to change into humanoids. Their Master Splinter, a rat whom also came in contact with the ooze, teaches them the art of ninjitusu. Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo are Splinter's disciples who are now ready to take on forces that oppose them, including the Shredder. The Shredder is the Turtles' nemesis, as he killed Splinter's Master Yoshi. The Turtles become envolved in a complex trail of events to uncover just who or what the Shredder really is.