The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT; known as the Teenage Mutant "Hero" Turtles, TMHT when they were introduced in the UK) are a fictional group of four mutant turtles who were taught how to be ninjas by a mutant rat named Splinter. The TMNT were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and made their comic book debut in 1984. In October 2009, Nickelodeon purchased the intellectual property rights from The Bage Studios.