The Rat King is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and has made various appearances since, in the comic books and other media, such as animated series and video games.
The Rat King remains one of the more enigmatic characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with various appearances depicting him as either a villain, a neutral character and even an ally of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Rat King has a distinguishable attire, which consists of filthy, tattered rags and, most prominently, various bandages covering his body. The Rat King has apparent telepathic influence over rats, with his only other consistent power being his immense strength (which varies throughout incarnations of the character).
Famous quotes containing the words rat and/or king:
“But you think ... that it is time for me to have done with the world, and so I would if I could get into a better before I was called into the best, and not die here in a rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“For who shall defile the temples of the ancient gods, a cruel and violent death shall be his fate, and never shall his soul find rest unto eternity. Such is the curse of Amon-Ra, king of all the gods.”
—Griffin Jay, Maxwell Shane (1905–1983)