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Are the ninja turtles as strong, in terms of physical force as a normal human? Do they possess beyond-human capabilities?

If there are major differences between the various formats (comics, TV series, Films, etc) , please indicate what those are.

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    In which format? There's nine comic series, three different TV series, three feature films, an anime series and a reboot film – Valorum Jul 4 '14 at 15:49
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    They can jump 50 or more feet into the air, spin faster than the eye can see, withstand incredible g-forces and shrug off bone-shattering impacts with no visible damage: youtube.com/watch?v=nNa2Fr6CA0E – Valorum Jul 4 '14 at 15:58
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    Seven. They’re seven strong. – Paul D. Waite Jul 4 '14 at 16:14
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    @PaulD.Waite - They possess turtle power – Valorum Jul 4 '14 at 16:56
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    Stronger than your average turtle. – Avner Shahar-Kashtan Jul 4 '14 at 18:19
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Per this article on ComicVine, the Turtles are described by TMNT comic artist Mateus Santolouco as "semi-Superhuman" with enhanced reflexes, speed and durability.

Their strength however, is described as being marginally below that of Bruce Wayne. Obviously that would still put them in the very highest percentile for strength against a "normal" human.

Mateus informs me that thanks to the mutation the Turtles are in fact low-level superman, therefore making them slightly above Wayne when it comes to physicals. Yes, Batman has better strength and endurance feats at the moment, but the Turtles appear to have him edged out on speed and reflexes. Plus, their shells grants additional durability. Seeing as Batman is peak human and the Turtles are being classified as low-level superhuman, I of course have to give this one to the four brothers.

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  • This was actually retconned with the new movie. The turtles are back to semi-superhuman each one can throw a shipping container. – Robert Dec 31 '14 at 13:02
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Generally speaking, they're “narratively strong”

across the different properties, with as much strength or weakness as plausibly fits whatever story arc they're part of at the moment.

If you're looking for “an” answer, though, Palladium published their TMNT & Other Strangeness RPG in 1985, almost immediately upon the creation of the turtles and with extensive input (and art) from Eastman & Laird.

Palladium's stats for the turtles

can be taken as roughly definitive for the original vision of the team, which puts them in the realm of upper-tier human to low-tier superhuman:

Avg. human: PS 9 (lift 180 lbs at full effort)

Raphael: PS 20 (lift 1200 lbs at full effort)

Leo: PS 15 (lift 600 lbs at full effort)

Donatello: PS 13 (lift 390 lbs at full effort)

Mikey: PS 16 (lift 640 lbs at full effort)

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  • Do you have any images of these stats from the book? – DCOPTimDowd Aug 6 '18 at 19:16
  • I have the book and could take a photo but that's silly. It's just text and there's no reason to violate copyright including things outside the scope of the question. (Not 100% sure anyone would still care: Palladium doesn't seem to even sell the game under their old license so maybe no one would mind at all. Still, it's too much trouble to go to just to provide the same info I already did.) – lly Aug 6 '18 at 19:30

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