‘TMNT’ April O’Neil Race-Swapped Yet Again, This Time For ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Universes Beyond Set
Another new piece of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media, another case of April O’Neil’s fan favorite, Lupin III design being relegated to the cutting room floor, this time as Wizards of the Coast has chosen to follow in the footsteps of her more modern depictions and race-swap the intrepid heroine for their upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universes Beyond set.
Set to kick off MTG‘s 2026 release schedule on March 6th, the first of the year’s four total Universe Beyond sets will present players with 440 total cards, as made up of brand new cards, reprints, and alt art printings, inspired by the entirety of the titular reptiles’ 41 year history.
Even looking at the small handful of preview cards and art revealed during the set’s announcement panel at the recent New York Comic Con 2025: Leonardo, Sewer Samurai draws his armored appearance from the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Super Shredder presents a far more bio-horror take on Oroku Saki’s Ooze-boosted form from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secrets of the Ooze, and Krang, Master Mind gives proper due to the 1987 Animated Series original villain.
There’s also the aptly named Turtles Forever, which like the 2003 animated movie of the same name portrays a meeting between the Turtles of four different eras – Donatello from the New Line Cinema films, Raphael from the 1987 animated series, Leonardo from Michael Bay’s film duology, and Michelangelo from the original Mirage Comics – as well as the The Last Ronin’s Technique, its art calling back to the main plot point of the eponymous 2020 comic book series.
And while MTG‘s goal of presenting a streamlined, ‘composite’ version of the Turtles’ expansive lore has resulted in the brothers themselves being drawn more akin to their older iterations, the same cannot be said of the aforementioned April O’Neil.
As seen on her card April O’Neil, Hacktivist, rather than her original comic book or iconic Animated series look many expected her to rock in such a ‘mass appeal’-oriented product (itself inspired by the cat burglar Fujiko Mine’s appearance in the final episode of Lupin the IIIrd Part 2, as explicitly confirmed by original series developer and writer David Wise), MTG‘s version of the Turtles’ long-time ally does wear a yellow jumpsuit, but is instead depicted as a black woman with red hair akin to the recent race-swapped incarnations of her character seen in 2018’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto Vol. 1 miniseries.
Further, it should be noted that while some defenders of April’s ongoing race-swapping directive will likely raise the regularly-espoused claim that she was initially depicted as black in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series
However, this is nothing more than a misconception that has taken on a life of its own.
Making her public debut in the second issue of the franchise’s flagship title, April was originally depicted with straight hair and a fairly light complexion, especially compared to that of Dr. Baxter Stockman, an actual black character who was depicted by Laird with an explicitly dark skin tone.
Two issues later, April would undergo a slight makeover, suddenly deciding to get her hair permed – as was a widely popular fashion choice during the 1980s.
This change, combined with the black-and-white nature of the book’s art, led many to misinterpret the Turtles’ long-time friend as a black woman.
However, as the years went on and trends changed, 1989 would ultimately see April return to her original straight hair-style in the series’ 28th issue.
Another citation regularly raised by those who believe in ‘original black April’ is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #32 , as in the second printing of the issue, she was explicitly depicted as black woman.
However, what many do not realize is that this issue was produced not by the Turtles’ creators, but by underground comic artist Mark Bodé, who wrote the story during a period when Mirage was allowing other creators to play with Eastman and Laird’s toys.
To this end, not only are the issues produced as part of this experiment (Issues #22 – #44) are considered non-canon, but this mistake was also corrected long ago, with all subsequent reprints of the story consistently portraying April with white skin.
But perhaps the hardest nail in the black April theory’s coffin was driven in courtesy of Lair himself, who when asked about the topic in 2013 via his personal blog, asserted that he “has always imagined her as white, and very likely of Irish/Scottish/English ancestry.”
“Kevin may have had a different view, and I can’t speak for him, but that’s the way I always saw her,” he explained. “As for the coloring of her skin in the color reprints of the Mirage comics [referring to the discussion surrounding the above Issue #32], Kevin always had a lot more input on that end of our business than I did, and in fact I’m pretty sure he did the colors on the initial such reprinting from First Comics, the one in graphic novel form. Make of that what you will.”
Currently on track to emerge from the sewers on March 6th, the various offerings of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universes Beyond set for Magic: The Gathering – including a Commander precon deck and a new Turtle Team-Up co-op format – are now available to pre-order at local game shops and major retailers.
NEXT: ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Releasing Seven Total Sets In 2026 – And Most Are ‘Universes Beyond’
