Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator believes a Daredevil crossover is inevitable

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a number of high-profile crossover appearances in recent years, but co-creator Kevin Eastman is still chasing a Daredevil crossover story. 

It’s a well-known fact that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Daredevil’s origin go hand-in-hand. Creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird have been very open about their love of Daredevil, especially Frank Miller’s run on the character. 

TMNT was originally created as something of a tongue-in-cheek dark parody of Daredevil. Today, that piece of trivia is well-known, and that connection is almost universally recognized, albeit unofficially. 

Both properties have gone on to become critically acclaimed, and the TMNT have made a name for themselves, having high-profile crossovers with the likes of Batman, Ghostbusters, and even the Power Rangers. But Daredevil remains a pipe dream, though one TMNT creator feels it’s going to happen. 

Kevin Eastman says a Daredevil/TMNT crossover will happen

While speaking with Comic Book for the upcoming digital release of the latest film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, co-creator Kevin Eastman stressed that he feels Daredevil is going to happen, one way or another. 

“(It happens) In my mind a lot and often. It’s been something that in all sincerity, I believe will happen. But if not, I’ll just do it for free and put it out.” Eastman explained. 

The Daredevil connection begins with the real-world creation of the property, where concepts like the Foot Clan and the ninja master Splinter were created to parody Daredevil’s fights with ninja cult The Hand and his blind master Stick. In modern interpretations, though never spelled out on paper, the accident that caused Daredevil to lose his sight and gain his enhanced senses is the same one that spilled ooze into the sewers and mutated the four turtles. 

“I have a story and I have ideas and one time, I would like that opportunity to do it,” Eastman said. “But you know, in the meantime, we were lucky enough to cross over with Ghostbusters and Batman in the comic and man, what a blast. So yeah, one day. That’s definitely bucket list.”

Those Ninja Turtles crossovers have become high-profile in recent years. Crossover comics with Batman and Power Rangers spawned toy lines, with TMNT x Batman even receiving an animated film adaptation. Today, they’re battling Shadaloo in TMNT x Street Fighter and exploring the Upside Down in TMNT x Stranger Things, both on sale from IDW. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is available now on digital. For more TMNT and comic book news, be sure to follow all our coverage.