Tokka and Rahzar

Tokka and Rahzar
Publication information
First appearance	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Created by	Kevin Eastman Stephen R. Bissette
In-story information
Team affiliations	Foot Clan
Abilities	Tokka Enhanced strength Razor sharp claws and teeth Spines on shell Rahzar Enhanced strength Enhanced senses Razor sharp claws and teeth

Tokka and Rahzar are two fictional mutant villains in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. They first appeared in the 1991 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Rahzar was played by Mark Ginther and Tokka was played by Kurt Bryant. They were both voice-acted by Frank Welker.

The design of Tokka in the movie was inspired by the drawings of comic book artist and writer Stephen R. Bissette.

Film

When The Shredder found out that the substance that mutated the Turtles had been created by TGRI (Techno-Global Research Industries), he sent his Foot Soldiers to steal the ooze and kidnap head TGRI scientist, Professor Jordan Perry. Shredder instructs Perry to use the ooze to mutate an Alligator Snapping Turtle and a Gray Wolf (kidnapped from the Bronx Zoo) which resulted in the creation of Tokka and Rahzar. However, Jordan had secretly altered the mutagen, and as a result, the two mutants had the intelligence of human infants. Saki ordered the monsters to face him in battle, to teach them who their master was, except the infantile mutants misinterpreted the word "master", thinking it meant "mamma", and hugged him instead. Angered, Shredder ordered them to be destroyed, but Perry had sympathy for them and showed Saki their total obedience to him and that, as they were "playing" in the junkyard, partially lifting a skid steer, they had great strength. This prompted Shredder to keep them alive.

Despite their low intelligence, the two mutants' incredible physical strength made them more than a match for the Turtles. On their first encounter at Shredder and Tatsu's junkyard base, the Turtles were ill-prepared and barely managed to escape when trying to save their brother Raphael from capture and rescue Dr. Perry. During the escape they trapped Tokka in a manhole from the waist down. Michaelangelo teased Tokka and tickled the bottom of the snapper's clawed feet. Later that night, Shredder let them loose in the city, telling to 'go play', which they did by tipping over cars, knocking down telephone poles, and trashing buildings. After doing a report on the devastation the next day, April O'Neil was confronted by the Foot with a message for the Turtles: If they didn't meet the Foot at a construction site near the docks, Shredder would set Tokka and Rahzar out again into Central Park. As many people would get hurt, the Turtles and Splinter agreed that there was no other choice but to face Shredder. But the professor had a plan; with the help of Donatello and Keno and using the contamination is the ooze that mutated Tokka and Rahzar as a basis, Dr. Perry prepared an anti-mutagen to de-mutate them, which had to be ingested.

During their second encounter at the construction site, amidst a distraction, Leonardo and Michaelangelo trick Tokka and Rahzar into eating the antidote (they froze the concoction into ice cubes and then hid them in a box of donuts, which they then offered to the two mutants as the "ritual of the traditional pre-fight donut"). Rahzar and Tokka devoured some of the donuts with continued coaxing from the Turtles. Surprisingly, Rahzar, regardless of his infant-like mentality, figured that something was wrong with the situation, and crushed one of the donuts in his claw, to discover the anti-mutagen cube. Enraged, Tokka and Rahzar smashed Michaelangelo through a wall and into the Dockshore Club interrupting a crowded dance concert by Vanilla Ice.

As the final showdown commenced at the club, Leo and Raph were fending off Rahzar and Tokka's snapping attacks. Dr. Perry informed them that their repeated burping was slowing the anti-mutagen and that carbon dioxide was needed to speed up the demutation. The Turtles knocked their foes off their feet and flat on their backs with a couple of barrels they found somewhere in the concert, and then the turtles shoved fire extinguishers into the creatures' mouths, which administered the needed carbon dioxide to reverse the mutation. Finally, the antidote took effect and the two mutants returned to their normal animal forms. What happened to them after this is unknown, though it is most likely that they could've been sent back to the Bronx Zoo.

1987 cartoon series

Tokka and Rahzar only appeared once in the seventh season of the 1987 cartoon series. In 1993, they were featured in the season 7 episode "Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter". They were out-of-control mutants created when the Shredder exposed zoo animals to mutagen years earlier (whether this refers to when he created Bebop and Rocksteady or Groundchuck and Dirtbag, is not made clear).

Not long after their first battle with the Turtles at the Crystal Palace Mall, they were captured by Dirk Savage. The animated versions were more intelligent and more eloquent, particularly Rahzar. Rahzar states to Tokka, "...You are my only friend."

Tokka has a very uncontrolled appetite which leads him into Dirk Savage's trap which consists of a buffet. The Snapper gets captured by the Mutant Hunter after he devours the smorgasbord. Even though Rahzar made a big deal of his friend being captured, and he was shown attacking Dirk later on, it was never shown if he ever got reunited with Tokka, even after the bad guys were defeated.

Their look in the cartoon was very much like that of their action figures, made two years prior to their cartoon appearance.

In this episode, their names were spelled Toka and Razar.

Toka was voiced by Rob Paulsen while Razar was voiced by Townsend Coleman.

Comics

Tokka and Razhar appeared in two non-canon stories in the Turtle Soup limited series. Tokka was April O'Neil's pet snapping turtle who bit Raphael and became Tokka due to Raphael's mutagen blood. Razhar was a mutated dog created by Krang.

In the current TMNT comic series, published by IDW, Slash bears resemblance to Tokka.

Turtles Forever

During the course of Turtles Forever, Ch'rell the Utrom Shredder uses mutagen obtained from the universe of the 1987 animated series to mutate his human troops, with two of these mutated soldiers taking on forms identical to Tokka and Rahzar. However, they are later dispatched by the 2003 incarnations of Donatello and Raphael with the aid of the 1987 Party Wagon.

2012 series

In the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Chris Bradford (voiced by Clancy Brown) is a celebrity martial artist who owns a chain of dojos, but is secretly the Shredder's greatest student. Shredder confided in Bradford his twisted version of his past regarding his deceased love Tang Shen, painting Hamato Yoshi as the one who betrayed their friendship. Bradford grew to respect Yoshi, acknowledging he was as powerful as his master, but believed he would never go through with killing his enemy.

When the Shredder moves his Foot Clan to New York City, Bradford is sent to kill Yoshi and his sons, tricking Michelangelo into a faux friendship to get to them. Bradford reveals his deception when he has captured the turtle, sparking a bitter hatred from him. After this plot failed to kill the Turtles and after numerous repeated failures, the Shredder became enraged at his lieutenant's incompetence. Disgraced, Bradford is prepared to die with honor than continue his life of shame when confronting the Turtles near a Kraang mutagen bomb with fellow Foot member Xever Montes. The bomb is defused, but the two Foot are painfully mutated, Bradford into a humanoid akita, distracting Shredder and inadvertedly saving the Turtles from the Shredder. In his new form, Bradford has increased size, strength and sense of smell, but has lost his capacity for speed and stealth. Upon their first encounter with the new Bradford, Michelangelo dubs him as Dogpound, a name the Turtles eventually accept. Dogpound is still referred to by his human name by the Foot Clan, however.

Dogpound is not entirely without scruples, despite being a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. When pushed too far, Baxter Stockman traps him, Montes (whom Michelangelo dubbed Fishface) and the Turtles in a labyrinth filled with deadly traps and foes to kill them all. In response, Dogpound allies with the Turtles and even accepts Leonardo's leadership in their effort. When they have defeated Stockman, the two groups intend to renew their fight, but being exhausted from the day's trials, they agree to simply give up for the night.

With failures mounting, Dogpound finds himself on the bad end of several vicious beatings from his master. He admits he has been recruiting virtually anyone to join the Foot, regardless of their skill. When a scheme to develop mutated super soldiers fails, Dogpound receives more abuse, and observes the advent of an alliance of the Foot Clan with the Kraang. Dogpound later retells the Shredder's backstory to Fishface, and is easily defeated by the invading Splinter.

Early into the second season, Dogpound expresses great disdain with his mutated form, lamenting the loss of his agility. He has also lost his rank as second-in-command, with Karai being placed in charge of the Foot while the Shredder is away. Dogpound finds hope when he is ordered to forcibly return Stockman to the Foot, believing the scientist can turn him human again. However, Dogpound ends up falling into Stockman's vat of mutagen, undergoing a painful secondary mutation into a lean and bony mutant resembling a werewolf. Having regained his speed and stealth, and retained his strength, Dogpound relishes his new form. Michelangelo dubs him Rahzar to reflect this new mutation. Rahzar later welcomed Tigerclaw into the Foot upon the Shredder's return from Japan, congratulating him on his capture of Splinter. Upon his introduction to his subordinate's new form, Shredder only briefly comments that he looks terrible. Rahzar later witnesses the Shredder mutating Stockman into a humanoid fly, gleeful at the fate that befalls his hated comrade. When he learns of Donatello's retro-mutagen, Rahzar attempts to claim it to become human again (while he is comfortable with his Rahzar form, he would prefer to be human again), but fails.

Rahzar took part in the massive hunt for the Shredder's stolen helmet, forming a sincere friendship with Tigerclaw, despite the disparity in their species (Rahzar identifying himself as a dog), and it is later revealed that Rahzar holds command whenever Tigerclaw is absent, making him third-in-command over the Foot. He later joins in the Kraang-Foot invasion of New York in the second season finale, but is defeated by Michelangelo. He appears as a vision to attack Michelangelo in "Vision Quest". Upon the Turtles' return to New York, Rahzar takes part in another hunt to find Karai, only to come into conflict with Steranko and Zeck. Rahzar helps subdue the two criminals and gleefully witnesses their mutation into Bebop and Rocksteady. Rahzar later battles Casey Jones several times during "Casey Jones Vs. the Underworld", and chastises the boy for openly identifying himself to the Foot. He later attended Xever's underground mutant race in "Meet Mondo Gecko" and makes a brief cameo sleeping peacefully in "Attack of the Mega Shredder".

In "The Fourfold Trap", Rahzar participated in Karai's gambit to lure Splinter out by trapping his sons in a series of deadly traps, fighting alongside the rest of the Shredder's inner circle. He nearly ambushes Splinter but is once again soundly defeated by the old master. When the Triceraton Empire threatened to destroy the Earth in the season finale, "Annihilation: Earth!", Rahzar joined in the alliance between the Hamato and Foot Clan in an effort to save the world. Rahzar battled several Triceratons before his master betrayed Splinter, dooming the Earth to be destroyed by a black hole. In his last moments before his death, Rahzar was kicked off to face oblivion by Fishface, who soon followed his hated comrade.

Following this, the Turtles traveled back in time six months in an attempt to prevent Earth's destruction with the aid of the Fugitoid. During this effort, the Turtles would train using holographic recreations of Rahzar and his two previous forms, Dogpound and Chris Bradford. Tokka would later be introduced as a monstrous alien guardian of the final piece of the Black Hole Generator on the planet Magdomar. This version of Tokka is also female/referred to as female due to being the parent of Chompy Picasso, an alien turtle that Raphael becomes attached to. Tokka is a massive creature, resembling a humanoid Turtle but with the ability to breathe fire and survive in lava, as well as fly through space. Lord Dregg is able to steal the Black Hole Generator piece from Tokka, who while attempting to recover it is caught in the explosion of a dwarf star triggered by the Triceratons and seemingly perishes, though Chompy survives and remains with the Turtles.

In "Earth's Last Stand", the Turtles create a new timeline when they save the Earth - and Rahzar - from the Triceratons, though the original Rahzar remains dead.

Games

Although the old TMNT videogames are based on the 1987 cartoon version of the franchise, and the first game listed here came out in 1991, two years before Tokka and Rahzar appeared on that show, the two mutants are nonetheless part of three of the games.

They are in both versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time once again voiced by Frank Welker. In the original arcade version, they are the bosses of the pirate ship level, while in the Super NES version, they have been moved to the new Technodrome level. They are paired together as a double-boss. They can team up in their attacks in the SNES version; one of their moves involves Tokka withdrawing into his shell and Rahzar hopping on top and riding around the screen chaotically like a skateboard. Their low intelligence from the movie is also included in the game: they will often accidentally hit each other instead of the player, and will take damage for it. In the Super NES version, Tokka is also able to use an ice breath attack, while Rahzar uses a fire breath attack. Just like in the movie, when the player defeats them in the game, they de-mutate to normal animals. It is possible to attack Rahzar after he has de-mutated. He makes a 'Yelp' sound. Also, in the game, their names have the spelling of the movie, not the later spelling of the TV show. The Super NES version borrows a quote from the movie which Tokka and Rahzar said, right before the fight: "Master say have fun." "FUN!" In the movie, they say this when they're tearing up a backstreet to lure the Turtles into a confrontation.

They also made an appearance in the NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project. Here the player fights them individually in separate instances. Rahzar appears in the Technodrome level immediately before Shredder, and uses an ice breath attack. Tokka appears as the boss of the rooftop level and carries a shield for blocking jump kicks. Rahzar's name is spelled "Rahzer" in the game's ending sequence.

They also return in the modern remake Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. They again are featured as a double-boss in the pirate ship level.

External links

• Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter at the Official Ninja Turtles website.