A nostalgic comic book cult favorite that’s been sequelized, rebooted, spun off but never bettered puts on rose-tinted streaming glasses

Anyone who thinks comic book properties being pummeled into oblivion by sequels, remakes, reboots, spin-offs, offshoots, and everything else in between is a new phenomenon need look no further than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for evidence to the contrary, with the cult classic arriving 33 years ago.

A monster-sized hit at the time, the suburban superhero story focusing on the heroes in a half-shell hauled in $202 million at the box office on a $13.5 million budget, and while the critical reactions were hardly through the roof, its current Rotten Tomatoes audience approval rating of 81 percent from upwards of 250,000 votes tells you all you need to know about its enduring popularity.

Naturally, the property has been bled dry since then, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles getting two direct sequels of declining quality, before the 2014 Michael Bay-produced reboot bottomed out in record time when successor Out of the Shadows bombed, but there’s naturally another reboot in the works already.

That’s not even mentioning 2007’s animated TMNT or Seth Rogen’s incoming Mutant Mayhem, either, but unless something drastic changes in a few weeks when the latter comes to theaters, it’s going to be hard to dislodge the OG from its pedestal.

Seeking a quick fix of nostalgia before then, Paramount Plus subscribers have been flocking to the original vintage in their droves, with FlixPatrol revealing that it’s right on the cusp of breaking into the platform’s worldwide Top 10.

Often imitated but never bettered, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles holds a soft spot in the heart of a generation for a reason.